Prologue: Sinking to the Depths
The water was calm as the sun's light was reflected and caused the lake to glisten enchantedly.
The urge to walk to the shoreline compelled me towards the lake, my siren call had come.
I floated down, feet light on air and body almost weightless. It was surreal. I felt disconnected from the real world, only a five minute walk away.
The wind whistled through the branches and whipped my hair into my face before calming down slightly.
The rustling of the leaves filled my ears long after the breeze died down and the braches finished moaning and swaying.
I raised my face to the heavens seeking the sun's protection and warm from the bone-chilling cold but it gave me none.
Instead I received cold water hitting my feet as the water rolled in and back out again leaving my feet and gypsy skirt damp. Although cold, the water seemed refreshing to my weary feet, from all the runs and messages I had done today so I kicked off my sandals and took them in my hands before walking round the lake to look for the ideal spot to sit and relax with my feet dangling in the water.
I found one soon after though it would add an extra five minutes to my journey back but I found it hard to care.
My ex-boyfriend who dumped me by text, my excuse for a job which barely paid for my living expenses and my boss who did nothing but make my life a misery, as far as I was concerned they could all go to hell and I wouldn't care at this moment in time. It was too serene for such trivial thoughts in this other worldly place.
The spot I found was perfect for resting. It was nearly a stone pathway that out into the middle of the lake. A medium sized stone lay at the edge, in length nearly as long as me.
Placing my sandals and bag on the same rock, I sat down and let my feet dangle in the water, playfully sending ripples out away from me and watched the still surface break with a fascinated face. With a sigh of relief for finding somewhere peaceful I lay back on the rock and used my bag as a cushion to rest my head.
For half and hour everything was peaceful and I felt happy for the first time in the last few days. I could hear the chirping of small birds in the trees nearby as well as the sound of the grasshoppers lurking in the grass at the lake's edge.
My headache from earlier slowly dissipated and I felt as if a weight from my shoulders had been lifted suddenly. If my ex-boyfriend didn't have the guts to break up with me face to face then he wasn't worth my tears. As for my job and boss, that was easily solved, quit and get a new better paying job. Everything seemed so easy now that I took a step back to look at it. This was what a quiet place could do for you.
I smiled again before I felt the sun's light stop hitting my face as a cloud must have blocked it. Something wrapped around my foot and ankle and I sighed at the thought of having to untangle my foot from whatever it had gotten caught in, thinking with a shudder of seaweed. Opening my eyes I sat up and took my phone out to check the time. Five o'clock, people were bound to have noticed my absence by now.
My body slid forward on the rock ledge as whatever was tugged around my foot pulled slightly. Grimacing slightly from discomfort I pulled back to sit further away from the ledge and the water as I hitched my skirt back up to my knees and decided to relax again.
A second was all before my foot was tugged again, this time harder and insistently. I struggled, holding onto a rock edge to stop from falling into the lake. Curiosity overwhelmed me as I wondered what was possibly gripping my foot and also a slight worry that something bad was going to happen. It was only then at this moment did I notice the silence and realised it had been like this for the last while. The birds were no longer chirping and making their sweet music, nor where the grasshoppers.
I used my other foot to kick off whatever was around my ankle but I felt nothing and it wasn't long before both legs were being pulled.
Reluctantly I released one hand to grab my phone and without looking I hit any random button to speedial someone for help.
But only using one hand to stop myself from being pulled in was hopeless and I lost my grip on my phone and the rock.
The skin of my legs not protected by my skirt was peeled off by the rock's rough uneven surface as my skirt was rolled further and further up as I was dragged.
I found no other hold to hang onto and resorted to screaming for help as well while I thrashed about my head just above the surface.
The force from my feet spread to my legs, hips and the waist. I struggled and fought harder but my fingers one by one slid off and before I could grab a breath I had been pulled under.
I shut my mouth instantly and my eyes stung as soon as they met the water, making it hard to see. Although on the surface the water looked clean and clear as I was pulled deeper into the bottom of the lake, unable to move use my legs to kick myself upwards, the water became darker and murkier, making it practically impossible to see anything, even the light above me.
From my waist downwards, my body was held in a death tight grip that stopped the feeling in my legs. With jerky movement my lungs cried out for air and the need to open my mouth and breathe was impossible to ignore, even though I knew it would be the death of me. I could feel the pressure build up in my chest and head as I struggled to breathe and my headache returned.
The engagement ring belonging to my mother that hung around my neck floated at the same level as my eyes.
As I was drawn deeper to the depths the force spread to my arms, shoulders and finally my neck before tightening its grasp.
Without meaning to, my mouth unconsciously opened to scream but instead I sucked in water. My body shuddered and thrashed against the force which was like a rope making me unable to move. Without meaning to I drank in more and more water as I sought for air that I knew I would never find.
I felt the force climb further still, inching closer before it touched my lips and delved into my mouth, pushing down my throat and causing me to gag.
The water in my lungs choked me and before I faded out I felt my heart stop pumping and laughter resounding in my ear.
So what do you think? Just came to me last night when I had a pen and piece of paper in my hand. Ever get that feeling? As soon as you touch pen to paper you keep writing until there's nothing left to right because you're finished.