Storytelling: The Enchanted Lake

There is an enchanted lake in my hometown that no one really knows about. Why, you ask? I should rephrase. No one has ever lived to tell about it. Men, women, and children alike have visited the lake to never return again. Fisherman, kayakers, picnickers. All disappeared to never be found. The lake has no type nor no mercy. Why do people keep visiting such a place? Skepticism. Curiosity. Stupidity, even. Whatever the reason may be, the impending danger of eminent death has not been an effective deterrent for all. Including myself. My reason for embarking on this journey are a mixture of all three. I need to know what happened to all those people. I don't believe that people can just disappear.  And I have never been the sharpest tool in the shed. So, to the lake I go with foolish hopes of a different outcome than my predecessors.

Day 1:

I am nervous and fearful. This will not stop me though. I woke up early to prepare myself for the trip. For weeks, I have been getting my affairs in order in case I really do disappear without a trace. I'm not afraid of death. Only pain. I am hopeful that those before me suffered no pain before their disappearances. One can dream, right? I'm not actually going to reach the lake today. I will only be making observations around it. Of course, no one really knows where the border lies between enchantment and our normal world, so I will be keeping a safe distance. For now.

I see nothing unusual. I am an experienced camper, and nothing about this campsite seems scary or even out of the ordinary. Flora. Fauna. Your typical wilderness. I hear animals in the distance which poses a question. Can animals venture to the lake and leave as they please? There is a relatively close water source not too far from here, but one would think the animal population would be affected by this phenomenon. Something scientists should look into. I'll remember that if I ever come back to tell them.

Enchanted Lake, online source

Day 2: I am excited to see what this day will bring. I have accepted that it may not be a fate that I will like, but at least I will go down in history. I copied my day one entry and left it at the campsite, just in case that's the only one they find. I have made it about 200 yards from the lake's edge with no sign of anything weird. I am slightly panicking because I saw a large splash and a burst of light coming from the lake. I'm not ready to die. I creep toward the water anyway. My heart keeps beating faster and faster as I slowly make my way. My palms are sweaty. Knees weak. Arms are heavy... No time for jokes. I see a figure start to appear under the water. It looks like a giant fish. Of course, the enchanted lake would have giant fish. Wait! That is a human! A human who looks like a fish... a mermaid. I am seeing a mermaid right before my eyes! I can't believe it! And neither should you.

I am a coward. I always have been, and I thought being the first man to make it out alive from the enchanted lake would make me happy. More importantly, I thought it would make me special. The days leading up to this terrifying excursion led me to do a lot of thinking, and I realized that I really am special. We are all special, and I don't need to risk my life to prove it. So, I never made it past day one. I never made it past my campsite a mile away from the lake. I thought about faking an entire crazy story and have it published, but then I realized that there would be no fulfillment from writing a crazy story just to claim it as fact.  There really is an enchanted lake in my hometown, but I don't believe anyone will ever know about it. People will know about me though. I am going to make sure of it. In the right way.

Bibliography: Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India by Katherine Neville Fleeson, link to online source

Author's Note: The original story of the enchanted lake was interesting to me because it told of this special, enchanted place but explained that it was only enchanted to those inside it. The enchantment did not exist to the outside world, which is the inspiration I used for the setting of my story.