The lake

The water flowed along my body, each little wave I formed with the movement of my arms made me feel a deeper and deeper connection with the murky water of the lake. Each little petal, each leaf, each fish made me feel as if my body, soul and mind were a part of it, each algae that stroked my foot as I drifted past, made me yearn for life underneath, but the ringing of the church bells brought me back to a reality I had to face, I knew I had to return to the shore line, I knew the monster was waiting for me, standing it the little crooked door, just waiting to yell at me with its scratchy voice, I did not want to return to it and its little house, filled to the brim with stuff one did not need, no, no one need all that when the lake had so much more, the lake was a home from which the monster tried to keep me, with its wrinkled hands, its grotesque face, yelling at me, trying to force me to accept a home which wasn’t mine, but I could feel the exaction take hold as I swam closer to the shore line. The Monster and I both knew that I had to return to its little cottage full of books and trinkets. It knew I could not stay in the lake forever, no matter how much it pained me.

As I swam closer to the shore, ripples in the water formed, letting me stare upon its beauty as I left. I could hear the Monster yelling at me, but I did not pay it much attention, as I looked at the lake one last time. The lilies, the reeds, the water as it glistened in the setting sun. My stomach groweled, and I began to wonder what the Monster had prepared for dinner.

Stepping closer to the house, I could smell it, fish, cooked fish. I stared at the Monster in disbelief. Proudly it proclaimed that it caught it this morning in the lake, my lake. It had disturbed the balance, it had destroyed a life. Tears began streaming down my face as I ran down the narrow hallway, passing the library on my way to the room the Monster had given me. I swung open the door to the room the monster called mine. It had tried something simpler in the past, it knew not to do that! I had to find a way out. I could no longer live with such a Monster, a being that could not understand the beauty of the lake and would rather see it destroyed than to ever let me live happily. The library, the Monster had hundreds of books. One must contain an answer. So I waited until it fell asleep. Quietly, I made my way past its bedroom and into the massive library. I did not know what I was looking for, but I would know once I saw it. I looked through hundreds of books before I laid my eyes on “Aqua”, which contained spells for water-based magic. One was a spell for breathing underwater. I backed my pack and ran down to the lake. All I needed was reed from the lake, algae and water. As I sat by the shoreline, having gathered all my ingredients, there was only one thing missing: gills. The monster screamed. It was accompanied by two large beasts dressed in white. I had to act fast now. I took the large knife that lay before me and placed it on my neck. The beasts were running towards me, their steps growing louder. I took a deep breath, my heart was racing in sync with the beasts steeps. I placed the knife at my throat, and made a deep cut. Blood began to run down my chest. The Monsters cries grew louder, her warm arms wrapped around me as I grew weaker. My voice trempling, “Mum”, as I drew one last breath.