Caveat Emptor
Disclaimer: Arda and its inhabitants belong to the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Author's Note: Thanks to my awesome beta, dreamingfifi.
Edit: I forgot to add that "Caveat emptor" means "Buyer beware" in Latin.
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Mary walked home from high school, her purse jauntily swinging from her shoulder. She didn't need to carry home her bulky backpack today because she had completed her homework at lunch hour.
Tonight was to be her second solo voice concert. Though she had only started taking voice lessons two years ago, her teacher was impressed at her natural abilities and moved her to more advanced music.
She turned from the sidewalk to cut across a vacant lot, into the park behind her house. She didn't normally go this way, but since she had been at rugby practice after school, she didn't have a lot of time before her concert. The park was really more like a remainder of wild forest that the city had kept free from development.
Mary started into the trees, stumbling on the uneven path. She thought this might be a good place to bring her rugby team for a run. After all, she was the captain and she wanted to think of new and inspiring ways to train. The dense forest quickly grew dim, even though it was only late afternoon. The air felt heavy around her, and no birds sang.
Mary wound her way down to the creek. She glanced around her, utterly alone. Grey light struggled through the trees. She felt apprehensive about the creek, but dismissed her feelings. It could only be a foot deep at the most.
Mary stepped onto a flat rock, carefully transferring her weight. She set her foot on a round rock in the middle of the creek, and suddenly the air around her seemed to crackle with energy. She ignored this, concentrating on keeping her balance.
She shifted her weight, and suddenly she was not in a forest at all. Mary stared, dumbfounded. She was twenty feet above a wide, beautiful lake. Beyond the lake, rolling, treed foothills let to craggy, white-capped mountains.
Suddenly, whatever had been supporting her stopped, and she fell into the lake. The water was horribly cold and her body stung from the impact of the water. Shocked, Mary started to panic. There was no one to help her!
Mary flailed helplessly and her panic intensified; she did not know how to swim. Her mother, who had raised her alone, did not want her anywhere near water ever since the tragic drowning of her elder brother.
She tried desperately to stay afloat, but she could not avoid her fate; she choked and thrashed, and slowly started to sink...
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"That was cruel, even for you Melkor."