A Body of Water

A young couple is hiking through the mountains, enjoying their love for nature and each other. For every turn, every step they take is full of love and awe; they stop for a moment to take in their surroundings. They look into the eyes of each other and smile (all they see is love). They embrace, but their kiss is cut short, a rustle of leaves from the trees on the mountain’s edge, birds fleeing in unison as if startled by something, the movement catches the man’s eye. As he looks down through the trees, an opening reveals the most beautiful lake with crystal blue waters. The sunlight shimmers off the water’s surface and beckons the couple to venture down for a closer look.

As they cautiously navigate their way down the rocky mountainside reaching out to help each other as only lovers do, their excitement builds with every step as the lake begins to reveal itself to them. It’s the most beautiful and serene lake surrounded by trees like a hidden oasis seen for the first time. Accompanied only by the sounds of the wind rustling through the trees, birds chirping and a small waterfall gently flowing. It’s peaceful, the perfect place for two people in love to rest—a dreamy oasis all to themselves.

As they approach the water, the man leads the way. Feeling drawn towards the water, he begins to hasten his steps and pull away from his love; she tightens her grip. As he gets closer to the water, the light quickly begins to fade. Too early for sunset, it’s unsettling, but he continues forward in earnest. His love sensing the change, starts to lose her nerve. She feels a sharp pain in her gut; something isn’t right, the birds have stopped chirping, and the lake falls silent. She loses her grip, and as he reaches the water’s edge, he looks into the now dark water, his reflection drawing him closer. She stops and calls out for him, but he can no longer hear her calls. Instead, he hears only his own voice emanating around him “you’re a failure”, “weak”, “broken”, “damaged”! These hollow whispers surround him as a mist begins to emerge from the treeline, thundering out across the water like a herd of wild horses; his lover screams his name and runs toward him. She calls out to him but still, he can’t hear her. He’s transfixed on his own reflection, tears beginning to fall from his eyes; he can no longer feel the love in his heart, only the fear and hatred in his soul. The water calls to him, he begins to wade into the lake as the mist closes in. His lover is scared and confused by what she can see, and she continues to scream his name with no reply. As she gets closer to the water, she hears his voice, but something is wrong; it’s no longer filled with love but the sound of pain. His words echo around her “I’m weak”, “broken”, “I don’t deserve you”. She replies with all her love of reassurance, but it’s too late, and her desperate cry of love is lost into the darkness as the mist engulfs him. She’s forced off her feet and back away from the water, away from her love. She’s knocked momentarily unconscious but relentless in the pursuit of her love; she opens her eyes and sits up with a sharp, sudden rush of adrenaline, but it’s too late.

He’s gone.

The daylight has returned, and the lake is as beautiful as when she first laid eyes on it a short time ago, only this time, her eyes are no longer full of enchantment but fear and heartbreak instead. She rushes back to the water and calls out for her love, but he’s nowhere in sight. Unperturbed, she dives into the water and submerges herself beneath the surface. She searches for him, but he’s not there. She tries again and again. She swims down to the deepest depths and looks around frantically. The water begins to darken beneath her, and she looks around in panic. There’s a shimmer of light, it’s her lovers face, she swims towards him, but he disappears. She looks around with desperate intent, but every time he appears only to fade away. She reaches out for him, but his image fades once more, she turns and finally looks into his eyes, but they are empty, soulless, lifeless. She’s startled and starts to lose her breath, but she won’t give up. A hand reaches down and pulls her away, but she tries to fight it; she wants to stay with her lover.

Drowning and too weak to fend him off any longer, the man pulls her to the surface. He had heard her screams and raced down to the lake only to find a woman thrashing in the crystal waters of this hidden oasis. Without hesitation, he’d jumped in to save her. But as he drags her back onto the dry bank, she coughs up water and, without rest, instinctively rushes back toward the lake. Her rescuer quickly grabs hold and restrains her. She’s crying, screaming, and he tries to calm her, to speak to her. He wants to help. The rest of his hiking group joins him, and they try to calm her down, but she calls out for her lover, and they all look back in fear. The men rush to the water, dive in and begin to search for a man, her love. They search and search, trying to find him, but there is no one to be found. The water is clear, beautiful and still.

The park rangers arrive to help with the search. It’s a big lake, so the search continues late until the daylight begins to fade. While the rangers conduct a thorough search of the lake, the woman is comforted by their colleagues. They try to question her, but she can’t answer, the words won’t fall from her lips, she’s in shock, in pain. Consumed by the words and the thoughts of her dying lover, all she can feel is pain.

The following day the search is called off. There’s nowhere left to look, the ranges and hikers confused by what they found. Nothing. But how could this be? How could a man disappear without a trace? Was there ever really a boyfriend? How could there not be? Her pain is real, but no man has drowned here in this lake, in this beautiful place.

Questions are asked, but no answers given. As the days pass and life returns to normal, future visitors are warned of swimming in the lake, but no incident is ever reported, the beauty of the lake undisturbed.

Haunted by her loss, she returns the following year. She sits and cries by the water’s edge. She looks out across the body of water and sees only his face. His soul lost, his light, his love. Her heart is empty. Then she hears it, the sound of whispers on the wind “you let him drown”, “it’s your fault he died”, “you didn’t do enough to save him”. She begins to shake, tears falling from her eyes. She wades out into the lake just as he did. A group of hikers nearby alarmed by the sight of a distraught woman fully clothed walking into the lake. They rush towards her, but the darkness takes hold once more, and the mist begins to roll in from the treeline. They call out to her, but she can’t hear their calls. She’s drawn to the lake, her thoughts luring her deeper; she reaches out for him, but no one is there, only darkness. She’s alone, scared, engulfed by her pain. And the mist.

She’s gone.