Mysterious Lake

Viknyna Lake in Central Ukraine is shrouded in mystery. It is used regularly as a good lake to fish and for having a family picnics. Although locals visit it quite often to catch fish or just have a picnic, nobody is brave enough to swim in it. Why would that be? Because, according to legend, the lake is a portal or gateway to another world; another dimension. This comes from the fact that the name “Viknina” is a derivative from the Ukrainian word “window” (“vikno“). Locals also say that the lake does not freeze, even in severe frost, and that fish grow in it at an unusually rapid rate.

So, Viknyna is a mysterious lake to be sure. Supposing…

“Andrij, did you bring the beer?”

“Of course. You think I would come to Viknyna Lake without something to keep the spirits of the lake away? Are you stupid or what? Of course I brought some beer. Why? Do you want some? Do you need to be fortified first? Remember, we agreed that we would swim in the lake today.”

“Yes, I remember but that was last night and the vodka was flowing nicely.”

“I have some vodka, too, in case you are starting to chicken out, Fedir. Are you, huh? I would not be surprised.”

“Are we going to fish?”

Ni, you idiot! We came here to swim…at least those of us who are not afraid.”

Andrij looked at Fedir, then at the two girls. “How about you, Alina? Did you bring your bathing suit?”

Alina said, “I am already wearing it.”

“Sofia?”

“Me, too Andrij. You want to see it?”

“I will see it soon. Do you want some vodka, girls?”

“Of course we do. Do we look like babies, Andrij?”

“No, of course not. But it remains to be seen who will be brave enough to enter the lake. Then we will tell the babies from the brave.”

Alina asked, “What is so special about Viknyna Lake anyway. Is it haunted? Is there a monster that will eat us?”

“No, not that I know of but there is a legend that anyone who swims in Viknyna Lake will be transported to another dimension.”

“Are there ghosts in that dimension? I am afraid of ghosts,” said Sofia.

“Then just stick your toe in the lake, Sofia. Maybe only your toe will go to another world and you will stay here. Then we shall call you nine-toed Sofia and you can pray that somehow your toe will return.”

They all laughed.

“By the way, Sofia. There are many ghosts right here. You do not have to travel to another dimension to find them. Right here in Ukraine there are many places that are haunted.

“Are you kidding me, Andrij?”

“Of course not. I never kid around. You know me.”

“Yes we do know you, Andrij. You are the biggest kidder of all and you are serious about it, too.”

“Well, I don’t know about you three, but I am going for a swim. Is anyone coming with me?”

“I think the rest of us are going to wait here and see if you disappear to another world.”

“And what if I do disappear?”

Alina said, “I guess that means more vodka for the three of us.”

The three of them laughed and toasted Andrij. “Go ahead, big guy. Go for your swim. You are not afraid, right?”

‘Of course not. Here, I am going right now.” He stripped down to his bathing suit and walked to the edge of the water. He bent over and looked at the clarity of the water. “It is very clear. I can see the bottom.”

“Good, then you will know when you get to another world, Andrij!”

More laughter. Andrij plunged into the water, resurfaced and swam out a few yards. He called back to shore, “This is so refreshing. You all need to come in now.”

The others just stared at him. Then Andrij disappeared under the water. There was no thrashing about. He seemed to be pulled under the water. One second he was there and the next he was gone. It was the same effect as a riptide that can pull swimmers under in seconds. There was only a small ripple in the water where he was.

“Andrij, stop fooling around. I am scared,” called out Alina.

They all called his name but there was no answer.

“What are we to do? Should we go after him?”

“Are you crazy Sofia? We will suffer the same fate and get pulled under to another world that we don’t know anything about.”

“Should we go for help? Maybe get the police?”

“Do you think the police are going to come to Viknyna Lake, Sofia? I don’t.”

The trio was beginning to feel the effect of the vodka and beer, though it was only Fedir who drank beer.

His words slurred a bit as he said to the girls, “I think we ought to stop drinking and try to clear our heads if we are going to help Andrij. I don’t know what we can do but we should have clear heads to help us think about it.”

They sat on the sand and looked out at the water for a long time.

A voice from the middle of the lake called to them.

“Fedir! Alina! Sofia! You must come in the lake. This new dimension is excellent. It is warm and friendly. It is amazing. Come on in!”

“Is that really Andrij? It looks like him.” Andrij was swimming closer. He came ashore and was all smiles.

“Hey, Andrij, do you want a shot of vodka?”

“Nah. Maybe later but I want to tell you about the other dimension. It is tropical – not like the Ukraine we know here. It never gets cold. The dimension is in the future and they have learned how to control the weather so that it is perfect all year.

Everybody looks healthy. There is no sickness. Everyone has a job and you see smiles on every face. Not like the Ukraine we know and all the difficulties we have with the Russian Bear next door to us, heh? It is wonderful. Leave everything right here. We will come back for it later. You have to come and see this. You will not believe it. Come on.”

Andrij ran back to the water’s edge and plunged in, swimming strongly out a few yards. He turned around and beaconed for them to follow him. Fedir took off his clothes and, wearing only in his bathing suit, ran down to the lake and swam out to where his friend, Andrij, was treading water.

“Oh, this is nice, Andrij. It is cool and refreshing. This is truly wonderful. Come on in girls. Let’s see those bikinis!”

Not wanting to be left out of the adventure, and with a little help from one last shot of vodka each, the girls shed their tops and slacks.

“Woo-oo! Nice. You two should apply to be models, you know. You both look fabulous. Come on in!” The boys both beckoned the girls.

Alina and Sofia held hands as they ran to the water and leaped in, amid giggles and yelps that the water was cold. They swam out to the boys.

Andrij called out, “Now, everybody… hold hands!”

The four of them disappeared under the water. For a few seconds the girls panicked as they could not breathe. Then everything was all right.

It was fine because they were standing on a beach beside the lake. There was a floral aroma in the air.

“Oh, how lovely this is. It smells wonderful. I love the temperature, too. It is perfect. Not too hot. Not too cold.

“Where are we, Andrij?”

“Don’t worry Alina. You are still in Ukraine but we are far into the future and many things have changed quite a bit as you will see. But, as I said, everyone is happy, working, and healthy. I wish we could say that about the Ukraine we just came from.

“Hey, here are my new friends, Anna and Demian.” He waved as a couple of young people about his age came strolling towards them.

“Anna and Demian, these are my friends Fedir, Alina and Sofia.”

The newcomers said something they did not understand. Then suddenly they somehow did understand. Huh?

“Nice to meet you, too! What language were you speaking before.”

“Everybody now speaks Univish – it is the language of the entire universe. That way everybody can understand. When so you speak Univish, if someone does not understand, it automatically translates into their language. At the same time, it adds those Univish words to the person’s internal vocabulary. So now, if I said the same thing to you again in Univish, now you would understand it.

“Wow! That is amazing. What are you staring at?”

The pair was staring at the two girls. “Oh, it is just that your chests are different from ours. They look so primitive...so animalistic. Ugh!”

“Alina, Sofia and the two boys looked at Anna’s chest. It was totally flat.

“You have no breasts! How do you feed your newborn babies?”

“Oh, I understand. Many millennia ago, we used to feed babies like you just mentioned but we stopped doing that ages ago. It was so inconvenient Also, men staring at women’s breasts all the time. It was degrading to women.”

Fedir stepped up. He said, “Men like it. You must realize that from the very beginning of life, every child recognized a breast as life-giving and so, really, when men look at women’s breasts, it is in awe, appreciation, and thanks for giving everyone life. Remember, that was one of the first things every baby saw and they are always remembered.”

“We did away with them a long time ago. Now the problem is solved. No more staring. No more embarrassment.”

“What about sex. Have you done away with that, too?”

“As a matter of fact, we have. It was very disruptive to society. It destroyed people’s lives, marriages, family and business relationships. It had to go.”

“So how do you procreate…have babies if there is no more sex?”

“We no longer need to fertilize women the old fashioned and very primitive way it was done long ago. We are not animals anymore. We have progressed way beyond that stage now.

We grow everything we need. Babies are produced disease-free, healthy and with every part functioning to its maximum potential. Women no longer have to go through the agony of labor birth. Also, that completely eliminated childbirth deaths of mothers and children. Any birth defects can be corrected usually before the baby is born.

Fedir asked, “What about the male sex drive. Surely that is still active, heh?” He smiled at Andrij and the girls.

“No, actually it is not. It is no longer needed in our society. To avoid that, men are no longer born with testes or a prostate gland. Again, the problem of male aggression towards women has been resolved! Rape does not exist anymore.

“We have also tuned the weather so that it is perfect every day. No more snowstorms, tornadoes, floods or any other weather interruptions. Every day is idyllic. Isn’t that wonderful?

With every word that was spoken in Univish, the vocabulary in the newcomers’ heads was growing. Granted, that was amazing but there were questions from the newcomers.

So if there is no sex any more, what about vodka? Surely there is still vodka, no? I mean it is a Ukrainian tradition. I cannot see it disappearing for any reason.”

“We do not drink vodka anymore. Nobody feels depressed, guilty, unhappy, stressed-out, anxious, or in need of a drink now. We have made living the best in every way. Not only that but now we have plenty more potatoes.

“Do men and women still, you know…?”

“There is no need for sex. We have taken care of that, too. When you don’t feel the need for sex, ever, you don’t have that as a distraction so you are far more productive for your family and to society as a whole. People don’t even think about it anymore.”

Andrij, Fedir, Alina and Sofia all looked at each other. One of them said, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I think so!”

“Then let’s get the Hell out of here!”

All four of them ran down and plunged into the lake swimming out until they disappeared. A few minutes later, they were back on their own beach.

“Whew. That was close. You know, I think I have developed a new understanding of the world. Sure, our country has a lot of problems but, do you know what?”

“What?”

“With all of its imperfections, it is our home and we love it. Sure we would like to see improvements. If so, it is up to us to work towards that, no? In the meantime, Fedir, please pass around the vodka bottle!”

Fedir handed the bottle to Alina. She lifted it to her mouth and let some of the fiery liquid run down her throat. The alcohol simply fell right through her onto the sand. The others looked at her.

“Oh, damn!” said Andrij, “I forgot.”

“What did you forget?”

“I forgot something very important that Demian told me. Once anyone moves to their future dimension, it is impossible to go back as themselves.”

The other three looked at Andrij and together said, “But we are back!”

Andrij looked sadly at his friends. “Yes, you are back but only in spirit. That is what you are now…a spirit…a ghost. If you came back as a human you would be tempted to disrupt the natural process of discovery and implementation in society. This would lead to all kinds of problems.”

The others reached to put their arms around each other and their arms just wrapped around the air straight through the bodies of their friends.

Four ghostly sounds of anguish were heard from the beach and anyone who comes there to fish or picnic now claims to hear sad choruses of anguished cries. That is another reason why not so many people come there anymore and if they do, they certainly do not swim.

©March 2021 Robert W. F. Taylor

This story first appeared in my 2019 book entitled ‘Where is Jacob? and Other Haunting Stories’