Morin trekked across her frozen yard. Feet lost all feeling as the bare toes crushed the delicate snowflakes with every step. Blood dripping from her open wrists stained the pristine landscape with her life. The chill raised goose bumps along her skin as it shrieked around her silent form. The dark lake loomed before her as she crept closer and closer. When she reached the lake she could see the mountains rising along the opposite bank like immense sentinels guarding the lake. The lake's surface was a glossy black; there was no movement as far as Morin could see.
She was completely alone, but this was what she was used to. Her life teemed with instances of being shunned and met with hatred wherever she traveled. People couldn't cope with her strangeness and so were determined to keep her away. She tried to be content with living on the fringes of society, but her heart was slowly being washed away bit by bit by the bone-crushing loneliness. She decided that she couldn't live in that way any longer.
The freezing waters washed over her pale flesh as she stepped into its icy grasp. Continuing forward she sank deeper and deeper into the water. Her nightgown swirled around her body like a ghostly mist. When she reached a spot where the water was level with her chest, she slipped fully under the surface. To make sure she couldn't rise back to the surface she tore a strip of cloth from her gown and tightly bound her ankle to a large submerged log. Once she was held down she released all of her captured air. She watched calmly as the blood from her wrists mingled with the air bubbles as they both floated to the surface; away from her.
Pain suddenly gripped her chest and panic shot through her entire body as it realized she was slowly dying. Her body shook in violent convulsions while her mind flashed between wakefulness and unconsciousness. After a few minutes her body ceased to move and a warm feeling washed over her. Blackness closed over her eyes, but then a white light flashed and she passed out.
Outside of her consciousness a loud splash sounded in the water. A sharp tug pulled against the tether on her leg and it came loose, then a pair of strong hands wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her body toward the surface. Air pushed its way into her lungs, displacing the water trapped in her chest making her cough hysterically. Her body was gently laid upon the lakeshore on her side. Her throat was on fire from the amount of water she began vomiting. Once her body had expelled all of the water from her system the mystery savior scooped her up in their arms and carried her bridal style, dripping water and blood, away from the lake. Morin was exhausted from her near death and passed out once more in the arms of her rescuer.