Legend, Myth or Dare

The lake had been frozen for years or certainly as far back as I could remember.

I had lived in the area from birth and I didn't remember a time when the lake had thawed. It was the ideal way to start a legend or myth and I smiled as I recalled the local legend stretching back years.

On one side of the lake there was a path that took the walker into the woods, ran for part of the lakes north side then brought the walker back into the sunny side where often families would picnic and warm up after the cold, dank walk .

It was a popular site , especially on holidays and bank Mondays as the sunny glade was full of wildlife but for some reason the lake never melted even on the hottest of days.

The legend was well known in the area that the walk in the woods was best walked as fast as possible, at least within fifteen minutes otherwise a family member would fall foul of an accident and it would be the walkers fault for not walking fast enough! It made sense really as it wasn't a place anybody would want to linger in and if you walked at a fast pace you could easily do it in ten minutes.

Of course there were always those that liked to play devils advocate and made it through with seconds to spare!

I was getting near to the woods and I could already feel the chill in the air. Most days I turned back at that point, the woods never seemed very welcoming and I usually had an appointment lined up with some agent somewhere. Today though I had a free schedule, and with nothing else planned for the day I didn't have any excuse not to go through the woods .

Was it my imagination or had the area gone really quiet? I looked behind me but couldn't see anyone else approaching. It had definitely turned colder. The cardigan I was wearing suddenly didn't seem warm enough and I hugged it closer to me as I approached the edge of the wood.

I could smell the damp moss from the barks on the trees in front of me and the light dimmed as I took the first few steps inside the cold entrance.

Too late I remembered the legend and quickly checked my watch. Dead on the hour I noted nervously sniggering as I noticed the unintentional pun.

Well ... I scolded myself...not much point wasting time.....walk!

It always strikes me as funny that sods law is usually around the corner. Today was no exception especially as my legs seemed to freeze and refused all attempts to move them.

"Oh come on!" I spat out forcefully " You have to be kidding me!"

I could hear voices behind me and for a brief moment it all seemed like an enormous joke. I looked down at my watch and my heart skipped a beat when I noted the time as five minutes past.

"So?" I said trying to convince my self. " I can take as long as I like!"

I listened out for the voices I had heard before but I couldn't make out any sounds.

"Concentrate!" I muttered and looked down at my legs willing them to move.

Sure enough they did! "Thank God for that!" I sighed with relief and followed the well worn path almost breaking into a run out into the sunny glade clearing.

I looked down at my watch.

It's true when people say " Time Just Stops" because for me , in that exact moment time, did in fact, stop. On twenty minutes past the hour to be accurate, five minutes later than it should have done!

Now I am, and I am sure anyone that knows me would say the same, a really level headed person. Unflappable. Down to Earth. Very Cynical and not at all Fanciful. But that day my personality did a big U Turn and I had a complete meltdown in front of at least twenty of my neighbours with a few strangers thrown in for good measure!

In fact my physical and mental wellbeing was so called into question that between them four strong men picked me up, marched back through the woods and got me to A & E of the nearest hospital within minutes!

According to the consultant in charge, I was jabbering on about curses, legends, time and accidents before they sedated me , admitted me to the psychiatric ward and informed my family I was in a bad way.

Several months later after copious amounts of drugs, hours of therapy and plenty of family TLC, I was allowed back home under the supervision of Community Nurse Gregg.

Plenty of paranoid thoughts of family dying filled every waking moment of my drug infused brain where as night brought the incredibly vivid night terrors that equaled any horror film to date! I seriously didn't feel my life was ever going to be the same again. I was a shadow.

Until one day I was sitting on the rare occasion in the park, on the grass under the ancient oak tree. I was joined by the local bag woman. Once upon a time I would have made my excuses and left but this time I stayed despite the awful odour.

"I see you tried it and failed?"

I looked at her. "What do you mean?"

She turned her head towards me so that I could see her blind eyes staring back at me. But still I held her gaze.

"The frozen lake legend. You tried it out and failed"

"Why do you say that?" I was intrigued..... How could she know? What did she know? "Have you heard anything? Are my family alright?"

"Oh yes" She chuckled. "They'll be fine. But you never will be!"