The Woman in Red

The townspeople all know of the spectre of darkness that blankets the lake. They’ve all heard the echoing melody that lures children to the edge of the dark water. Many children in the town have disappeared, last seen walking calmly into the waters that reach up to consume them, their bodies never recovered from the lake despite the efforts from the local law enforcement. Sometimes, there’s not even a splash. People, as humans do, have woven tales for generations. Some people claim to have seen a woman in black near the lake, is it a ghost that lures the children to the depths? A lake monster? As the skeptics would say, a lack of parental supervision that sends the children to their deaths? What supernatural force dwells beneath the obsidian currents of the Black Lake?

These are the thoughts that swirl through Annie’s head as she stands on a dock overlooking the lake. She wears a long burgundy robe and slippers. She hadn’t been planning to come here but has found herself at the edge of the dock, contemplating her next move. She lives nearby, alone. She knows the tales, even knows some of the children who’ve gone missing near here. Sometimes, in the dead of night she can hear the screams travelling through the wind and shaking her cottage walls. The fear has always been there, eating at her, driving her to never carry children of her own. Today that fear is different, the dull shiver that usually rides her spine at the thought of the lake is now a razor sharp dagger, slicing at her stomach. Today, her twin nieces will arrive from across the country. Annie’s sister was in an accident, and though she will survive she needs time to recover. So, Annie agreed to take her nieces for a few weeks. At first, she didn’t think anything of it and was beyond excited to see them. They just turned seven years old and she hadn’t seen them since they were four. Annie loves her family and would do anything for them.

Looking out at the lake now made her blood run cold in ways that had nothing to do with the droplets of icy water that sprayed against her skin in the wind. She vowed at this moment that she would make sure the twins stayed far away from the lake and all her mysteries and terror. Annie wasn’t sure if she came here tonight to beg for mercy for her nieces or to show that she would not be terrorized by whatever lurked in the water and stole the children of the town. Either way, she left with a new determination that she would do whatever she needed to do to keep her nieces safe, even if it meant offering herself to the lake instead.

Before anyone knew it, two weeks had gone by with Annie and her nieces and everything seemed to be going splendidly. They would walk together into town and her neighbors began to recognize the girls and offer them treats. The twins were well behaved and always went to bed after exactly two stories were told and the blankets were securely tucked around them. Annie was getting used to having children’s laughter fill her home and life. She kept a keen eye on them when they went outside to play and always reminded them first to stay in the yard. Annie saw a lot of herself and her sister in the girls and her heart tugged on the nostalgia they brought. It was good to see them, it was good to feel connected to her family in the city again. She felt a love so fierce for these two little girls, she dreaded the day she would have to send them home.

Today was not that day though, and Annie decided to take them shopping for new dresses. The grey haired plump shop owner was delighted with the task of finding the perfect matching set of dresses for the twins. It’s not often there are children in town for the people to spoil and dote on. Annie’s heart nearly stopped when the girls came out of the dressing room with matching yellow dresses. She brought one hand to her heart and covered her mouth with the other as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. They were so beautiful. The twins had long black naturally curly hair and bright green eyes, so much like her own. Rose wears her hair to the left while Lily parts her hair to the right, and Rose has the faintest freckles under her eyes and down her nose while Lily’s skin is like porcelain. They both have the most adorable dimples when they smile and full rosy cheeks. The yellow of their dresses makes their hair seem darker and their green eyes brighter. They look absolutely stunning. The shop owner came out from the back and handed Annie the most beautiful looking red dress Annie had ever seen. When she tried it on, she felt sexy and vibrant, the twins clapping at how pretty it looked on her. It was a flattering A line dress that came down to her ankles and split up the side. She decided to take it, all three of them would have pretty new dresses today.

After the dress shop, Rose and Lily asked for ice cream, which Annie couldn’t refuse. Annie caught the ice cream shop owner sneaking in extra scoops into their cones, but she didn’t mind. Another example of the whole town celebrating the life of two perfect little girls. After their ice cream they went home to the cottage near the lake and sat outside in the warm sunlight. It was a picture perfect day, the girls ran around in their new dresses and laughed as they tried to outdo each other at jump rope. When they started to get tired, they sat on the chair swing on the porch and began playing I Spy. Rose asked Annie for some juice, Lily was quick to clap her hands together and ask for a glass as well. Annie smiled and obliged, and went into the house to get three glasses of juice. Then, that’s when she felt it. The wind picked up outside, screaming as it shook through the walls of the cottage. The sky suddenly seemed darker, the air colder. Her skin prickled with a sense of dread, her hairs stood on end. Something was terribly wrong. She dropped the glasses, shattering them on the ground and ran outside to find the girls. They were gone. Frantically, she turned in circles trying to catch a glimpse of the bright yellow of their dresses, straining to hear the echo of their laughter, but there was nothing, only the wind picking up around her. She choked on a sob and ran in the direction of the lake.

Coming up on the lake she stopped cold. She saw a woman standing there in a long black dress covered in lace, the girls on either side of her. She wore a veil around her face but Annie could still see the spectre was unnaturally pale underneath. The yellow dresses were the only colors against the dark waters of the lake and the grey, stormy color the sky had taken. The figure looked at Annie, and Annie stared back. She was terrified, her stomach twisted, her blood ran cold and she could feel her heartbeat in her ears. She took a step toward the woman and that’s when she heard it, the whimpers of her nieces. They pierced through her heart and drove a new sense of purpose into her. Annie began to run towards them, but she was too far away. They began walking into the water, appearing so calm as the water reached higher and higher. Annie shouted to them and ran onto the dock, trying to reach them. Something shrouded her eyes and she realized it was some sort of veil. It covered her face and she couldn’t see clearly, and just as she thought she could move the veil from her view it tightened around her and she lost her footing, crashing over the edge of the dock and into the unforgiving waters below. She took a moment to resurface, the veil clinging to her skin. She spat and coughed out the water lodged in her throat and thrashed her arms out, attacking the invisible perpetrator.

Rose and Lily cried out, scared of the woman in the black dress who lured them here. They could feel the water rising around them and they didn’t understand what was happening. They had wanted to move, to go back to Auntie Annie, but they couldn’t control their legs. The lady in the black dress had sung them a song, told them their mother was here, but she lied. Their mother wasn’t out here in the lake. And she made them get their pretty new dresses dirty. Auntie Annie would be so upset. Around them the water bubbled and they could hear their auntie fighting with the bad lady. They wanted to help, but the water was heavy, they couldn’t see through the darkness. Rose reached for Lily’s hand as they sank beneath the surface.

Annie saw her nieces sink below the water and that renewed her will in the fight with the veil. She ripped it off her face in time to see the spectre melt under the water with the girls. Annie took a deep breath in and dove with them, determined. It was hard to see anything under the dark waters at first, but then she caught a glimmer of yellow at the very bottom of the lake. Her heart broke, but she continued swimming downwards. She picked up a limp Rose, then a limp Lily and swam up to the surface. Exhausted and aching, she checked their pulses, but she couldn't feel anything under their frozen, pasty skin. She had tried to save them with every ounce of energy she had. She kissed their foreheads and pulled them into her lap, petting their frozen hair and holding their small, innocent hands. Annie screamed at the top of her lungs and let out all the grief that was ballooning in her body. She shook with sobs as she threw her head back in agony, then saw the woman again. She was standing nearby, watching, ominously waiting to take the girls away from Annie and add them to her collection of children who have never been found at the lake. Annie carefully laid the girls side by side as she stood up and began to march towards the demon, but it suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke, then reappeared next to her, hovering over the twins who lay lifeless on the beach. In the tree line, Annie could swear she could see little hands and little eyes peeking around the trees. She knew the children were all still here, all the souls that this spectre had taken. They needed help.

Annie couldn’t save their lives, not now, but she could keep them from being trapped for all eternity with the spectre of the lake. Annie quickly made her decision and picked up the girls in her arms and carried them with her back into the lake. The water was freezing, somehow she hadn’t noticed that before. Her dress clung to her body as she walked. The sky had bled into nightfall and the moon glistened off the black water. The girls were heavy in her arms, soaked from the earlier dive, but she pressed on. She hugged them both to her and cried. She had failed them, but she would join them, she would protect them, she would set them free. She held them close to her as she let herself be dragged down by their weight to the bottom of the lake. Her chest exploded and fear had a firm hold on her, but she refused to resurface. Her death took longer than she thought it ever could and her body craved the release when it finally arrived. There they lay, the three of them, holding hands at the bottom of the lake.

Years later, the townspeople all knew of the Woman in Red who watched over the lake. Legend has it, she lost someone very close to her to the spectre of darkness that surrounds the lake. Now she protects the children of the town, keeping them away from the Lady in Black. The Woman in Red cries out in grief, and the whole town can feel it. We like to think she’s okay though, because every now and then a yellow ribbon lands in the lake and we know that whoever she was protecting is safe now. She won, and she watches over the children now, and everyone is safe.