What Truly Haunts Us

The three women had been friends since grade school, supporting each other through the awkward years of puberty, the daunting unknown of graduation, and the strains of adulthood. Less than a year ago, they all would have said that their childhood friends could be trusted with anything, but nothing had prepared them for the mistakes and guilt they would accrue by their mid-twenties. The obvious tragedies that had befallen each of them, Heather’s unprecedented divorce, the death of Paige’s brother and the loss of Sydney’s business, made the suggestion of a cabin getaway seem natural. There was, however, a palpable desperation.

The winding road through thick woods and a heavy fog made the drive take longer than anticipated and they labored to maintain their careful conversation. When they finally arrived, they stood beside their vehicle and gazed at the simple structure. The main floor contained a single, large space that served as living room and kitchen while the three bedrooms and washroom were upstairs. A porch with no railings and a couple rocking chairs ran across the front of the cabin. One path led down to the dock and lake while another led into woods. Despite the abysmal weather, a flicker of hope that they may find a little bit of peace, flared in each of them. They shared awkward glances and small smiles before unloading the car.

As Heather stepped off the porch to get a second load, the fog parted. The dock and a small section of the lake became visible between the trees and she stopped abruptly to stare. A woman stood perfectly still, waist deep in the water. Long, dark hair fell to her waist and her head tilted forward so that her face was obscured. Her exposed arms and midriff were exceptionally pale making Heather’s skin prickle. The woman remained unnaturally still before the fog closed in. Heather peered, but when the mists parted, the water was calm and empty. The woman was gone and there wasn’t a ripple to prove she had ever existed. When Heather looked to her right though, Sydney stood, also transfixed.

“Did you see that?” Heather asked.

“Yeah,” Sydney breathed.

Heather turned back towards the lake.

“What’s that?” asked Paige as she came down the steps.

“There was a woman in the lake,” Heather gestured, “she was just standing there.”

Paige raised an eyebrow at her as if asking what was wrong with enjoying the water. Embarrassment bloomed in Heather’s stomach, but one glance at Sydney told her that her disquiet was warranted. Unable to explain further though, she turned away and avoided looking at the lake while she finished unloading.

With their belongings unpacked, the three women stood in the living room, unsure of what to do next. The welcoming feeling the cabin had produced upon their arrival had been slightly dampened by the appearance of the woman in the lake. The secrets they were keeping hung heavily in the air. Unbeknownst to one another, they each stood on the edge, trying to build the courage to take a step and start the conversation that would plunge them into the unknown. They were all too scared.

Paige broke the spell, suddenly declaring she was going for a swim. As she went upstairs to change, Sydney gave Heather a worried look.

“I’ll watch her,” Heather said reassuringly.

Paige came out of her room in bathing suit and towel and headed to the lake. Sydney excused herself and went to her room to nap, begging a headache in response to the oppressive mist. Heather remained in the kitchen and contemplated a glass of wine versus a cup of coffee before deciding on the latter to remain alert.

As they each settled into their private spaces, their thoughts ran along similar wavelengths. This cabin getaway was a last chance. The weight of their secrets was pulling them under and if a helping hand did not pull them up soon, they would drown. Their secrets were dark though and they feared the hands could just as easily push them under in judgement. If no peace could be found here, then they might have to live alone with their guilt until their dying day.

Heather

Heather’s husband was the boy next door, her high school sweetheart, and her best friend. Hollywood would have been obsessed with their relationship. People told her all the time how fortunate she was, and part of her agreed, which made her feel guilty whenever she wondered what might have been.

His promotion had enabled her to quit the job that she hated and to “fix” all of the things that had bothered her since she was a teenager such as her ill-fitting clothes, crooked teeth, and the few extra pounds she carried. She went to the gym, updated her wardrobe and regularly maintained her hair, skin and nails. It didn’t take long for people to start paying her compliments and attention, and it was intoxicating. When it became an addiction that flattery no longer satisfied, she found herself making an unforgivable mistake.

Her husband was a gentleman and was keeping her indiscretion quiet, but he had made it clear that their marriage was over. She didn’t blame him. The pain of the loss was unbearable, and she was aching to talk to someone, but the idea of sharing was terrifying. What would her friends think if they knew the truth? She couldn’t afford to lose them too. She needed them desperately. She needed them to need her.

She started tidying. Then she moved on to meal prep. While chopping vegetables, she realized Paige would be cold when she came back. She found a bathrobe to place by the door and prepped the kettle so she could have a hot beverage. As she stood at the kitchen sink, she worried it would never been enough. An idle desire to cease to exist so that the guilt would be gone as well, skipped across her consciousness.

The fog shifted.

She gave her head a shake and looked for something else to focus on. She noticed the gas fireplace and wondered if she could get it working. As she was fiddling with knob, she heard her name.

“Heeeeeathhher!”

It was a woman’s voice, but it sounded wrong. It was too far and too close. Too loud and too quiet. Impossible to describe. She shivered and stood. It was as if someone had tried to wrap a cold blanket around her and all she wanted was to shake it off. The visceral reaction and inability to explain the feeling, made her think of the woman in the lake again. She didn’t want to answer the call. Instead, she walked out onto the porch and listened. The fireplace knob was forgotten.

The fog had thickened again and hidden the lake from view, but Heather could hear the methodical footfall of someone approaching. She waited for the mist to swirl and for Paige to appear but the fog remained undisturbed while the footsteps came closer until they reached a spot in front of the porch. They paused and Heather frowned. Was the fog making it difficult to localize sound? She searched the fog again but a slap of skin on wood made her head jerk down to look at the section of porch right in front of her. A wet footprint appeared. With another thunk, a second footprint materialized beside the first. Heather stood frozen with her mouth hanging open, afraid to move or make a sound. She tried to take a small step to her right but as she finished shifting, she bumped into one of the rocking chairs.

“HEATHER!”

The voice burst forth from the empty space in front of her. Without another thought, she took off running until she found herself on the dock. Puddles of water clearly showed something had pulled itself out of the lake. She continued to spin, frantically searching for Paige, when she heard the subtle sound of disturbed water at the end of the dock. She glanced back at the shore, her breathing ragged, unsure of how much time she had, then cautiously approached the end of the dock. She braced herself before peeking over the edge.

There was nothing.

There was less than nothing.

Where Heather’s reflection should have been, there was only grey sky. Her shiny hair, her straight teeth, her narrow face, all of it was gone. She touched her cheeks to prove she was solid, then stared at her hands which seemed to look normal. She bent closer to the water, trying to catch a glimpse, staring in disbelief, willing herself to appear.

A bubble burst the surface and Heather lurched back. Her sudden movement caused her foot to slip and her legs to come out from under her. She cracked her head on the dock and her world went dark. The weight of her legs hanging off of the edge slowly pulled her into the water.

Paige

Paige dove into the water as soon as she reached the dock. If she was moving, she couldn’t think. If she was exhausted, she wouldn’t remember.

Everything about the cabin was making it difficult to forget though as it was very similar to the one her parents owned. Her family had spent most of their summers at their cabin, fishing, swimming and boating. As Paige and her brother got older, their parents continued to have an open-door policy. The only rule was anything they used, had to be replaced so that the next person would not be left without.

The week before her brother was scheduled to use the cabin for a fishing tournament, Paige went up without telling anyone. At the end of the weekend, she had lost track of time and was short on cash so she skipped filling the boat’s gas tank. She figured her brother would blame some kids for siphoning it, be a little annoyed by the delay but then fill it up and move on.

Her parents called her in a panic. A storm had blown in and her brother hadn’t returned. They all took boating safety seriously and he would have recognized the signs in the sky and come back. Unless he couldn’t.

She pulled herself out of the water and sat at the end of the dock, staring at the water dripping from her toes. She had nightmares about what his last hours must have been like, fighting the waves to survive. She could never tell her parents that it was her fault her brother hadn’t come home. She could never go back to the cottage even though her parents had invited her several times. She could never drive a boat; she could never go fishing, and she could never enjoy the water. She just didn’t want to experience happiness or exist in a world that no longer contained her brother.

The fog shifted.

Paige sensed the change and frowned. She stood up and wrapped a towel around herself looking for the reason for her unease. She hadn’t seen the woman in the lake earlier but she remembered Heather and Sydney’s faces. She looked back at the water. The stillness seemed unnatural. She felt silly but she knew Heather had promised to stay close, so she called out.

“Heeeeeathhher!”

She received no response. She started walking back to the cabin, her fatigue forcing her to trudge. When the cottage emerged, Paige’s concern deepened. The front door was open but there was no one in sight. She paused in front of the porch and as her gaze swept the area, she noticed something missing. She wasn’t casting a shadow. She was about to dismiss the observation as another side effect of the fog, but realized the trees still had shadows. Unable to explain, she stepped onto the porch. One of the chairs began to rock. Her eyes widened in disbelief; her throat tightened in panic, but she managed to push air out to shout.

“HEATHER!”

An unseen animal, startled by her yell, took off running, making Paige jump. She tried to catch a glimpse of it but it was too fast and the fog too thick. She gave a small laugh and tried to relax, convinced that she had missed spotting it earlier. Sydney was taking a nap just like she said and Heather was likely out for a walk, unable to sit still.

Always thoughtful, Heather had left a robe by the door. Paige took of her wet suit, slipped on the robe and sat down on the couch to wait. Her heart slowly settled and it wasn’t long before exhaustion and the warmth of the cabin had her eyelids drooping. She succumbed and laid down. The fireplace hissed as the room slowly filled with gas.

Sydney

Sydney had done everything right. She’d had a good idea and she had turned it into a viable business. Unfortunately, she destroyed it by gambling. Everyone was baffled by her failure and she was too ashamed to explain. She had agreed to the cabin getaway in the hopes that the company and no internet would distract her and allow her to detox. She considered telling Paige and Heather but she didn’t feel as if she could burden them with her problems when they were dealing with their own. As she settled down to nap, she wished her and her problems could just disappear.

The fog shifted.

She woke up feeling worse than when she had laid down. She was still tired, her headache persisted and she had developed nausea. Also, to her dismay, her fingers were itching to open her phone and check for a signal. She held it in her hand for a moment but then threw back the covers to get some water from the kitchen.

It was quiet as she turned off the tap. Grey daylight endured which meant her friends were likely outside enjoying the lake or the woods. She used the excuse of checking for messages to open her phone and also check for a signal. Her signal was too weak. She shuffled over to the living space to sit and wait but as she looked down at the couch, she frowned. She didn’t recall it looking so lumpy and uninviting. Her frown deepened when she realized that it wasn’t as quiet as she had thought. There was a rhythmic shifting of air. Someone was breathing heavily. Alarm grew as she quickly searched the cabin with her eyes. There was nowhere to hide but the breathing grew louder and became raspy.

Sydney was suddenly overtaken by a coughing fit and took a step back. She fought to control her hacking so that she could listen but was forced to get some fresh air. Once out on the porch she was able to calm her breathing and her heart. She immediately questioned whether it was her own breathing she had been hearing. The line between the world of dreams and real life was likely still blurred. She gave her head a shake and drew a shaky breath.

The rocking chairs to her right were empty. The car on her left sat undisturbed. The fog parted in front of her and once again, the lake emerged. Nothing but a strange shaped log, bobbed in the water. A shiver ran down her spine and she wrapped her arms around herself. The flog closed in.

Sydney realized she wouldn’t be able to tolerate sitting by herself, staring at the lake, wondering if that woman would reappear. Paige and Heather had clearly gone for a walk in the woods, and if she followed the path, she might catch up to them. She debated leaving her phone to avoid temptation, but realized it would be dangerous to wander into unfamiliar woods alone, with nothing to call for help.

Still feeling dazed, she set out. The longer she walked, the more frequently she checked her phone. She told herself she was checking for messages but she knew she was checking her signal. She still had some data left and one working credit card. She desperately needed to find her friends before she found a better signal. She called out but received no answer and eventually gave up all pretense. When a path branched, she held up her phone. If the signal got stronger, she kept going. If the signal got worse, she double backed. She never saw the cliff. The fall knocked her unconscious and she landed near another path. A few hikers passed, and one tripped over her extended arm, but, unfortunately, none of them could see her until it was too late.

The Neighbor

A dip in the lake had been a part of the neighbor’s daily routine for years. When she tired, she stood in the water, hair hanging down, watching the minnows nibble at her legs while she caught her breath. It tickled, as did the bubbles that escaped the sand when she shifted her weight, but she did her best to stay still. Her fascination was broken when Heather’s body bumped into her.

The police found Paige’s body while attempting to identify Heather. The immediate coughing alerted them to the gas leak. After airing out the cabin and donning protective gear, they became worried when they found a third set of luggage.

A hiker eventually found Sydney’s body. They were confused as to how she had not been found sooner.

It was all ruled an accident. Police determined that the gas leak had caused Paige to suffocate while Heather and Sydney had woken up confused and had separate fatal mishaps. They took their secrets to the grave, along with their guilt. Unable to forgive themselves, their mistakes had haunted them and, in turn, they had unknowingly haunted each other.