The Witch of Suicide Lake.

What is that moving in the shallows over there? It is a long, black, smooth, silhouette gliding towards my one man, wooden, blue canoe. It is getting larger and larger the body size is getting larger than my canoe, the waves trailing behind the small hump of black mass bobbing in and out of the water as it glides slowly meticulously towards my canoe, are small in comparison to the creature I am watching come ever closer. I grab for my paddle, it isn’t much, just a few feet long, but it is my only means of defense if that thing keeps coming towards me in the direction it is. It is only a few feet away and I can see nothing on the left of my canoe but the big black mass in the water unlike on the other side where I can see the rocks and shells on the bottom. The waves are getting bigger and bigger now, tossing me from side to side in my canoe, with one hand I hold the paddle tight to my chest and the other I hold the side of the canoe trying to steady myself. The last thing I want to do is fall in the water with this thing. Sweat is pooling in my shorts where I am sitting or is that water splashing in from the lake from the waves, I am not sure they are mixing together now, I can feel sweat beading on my forehead, my heart is pounding so hard in my chest, I can’t take my eyes from the thing headed my way. The sky is getting darker over head like a warning of something bad or of rain.

My knuckles are turning white on my hands I am holding on so tight to the paddle and the side, if I wasn’t watching this thing so intently I would feel the wood of the canoe slicing into the flesh of my fingers and the small splinters finding their way in to my fingers and joints. Its so close now, I want to swing the oar at it and hit it to make it turn away, but I am frozen solid like an ice sculpture, I couldn’t move right now if I wanted to. My breath is coming in slow pants as I try to think of what I’m going to do. It is still coming, I close my eyes and holding my breath my hold body hunched and clenching the oar and the sides of the canoe. I’m done for.

I wait for what seems like forever, then the rocking of the canoe stops and the water seems calm even the air seems to have calmed. I slowly open one eye and look around, I see the sun shining off of the small waves to my left, so I open my other eye and look fully to my left, nothing, I let my breath out slowly and my shoulders down. I let go of the side of the canoe, my fingers now feeling the pain of the splinters and lack of blood from holding on so tightly. They hurt, I let out a small yowl in pain as I let go of the oar and rub my hands together to get the feeling back in my joints. My stomach is churning, I feel sick to my stomach. My mouth feels like I have been sucking on sand, it is so dry, my tongue is sticking to my teeth. All of a sudden I feel it coming, I lurch to one side over the edge and heave up all my lunch into the now calm clear waters. I close my eyes as tears stream down my face from the force of the heaving of my stomach, when I open them again still looking over the edge of the canoe, I almost fall in the water as I lose my balance and grip.

There looking back at me are the most brilliant blue eyes, innocently looking and taking in my now red and bloated and tear stained faced. I lean back now I have gained my composure and look back into those eyes, I see and feel nothing as I am lost in the tranquility and serenity and innocence of them, they fill me with such trust and love and warmth. I can see nothing of the face looking back at me, I am not scared as I look at the eyes, smiling now as I reach out to try to run my fingers along the cheeks I can now see that are pale, with the most pale pink kissing the apples of them, the smile wide and innocent like that of a child, hair so blond and wavy swimming around the round cherubin face. I am lost in her gaze as I reach too far over the edge trying to touch her. I am filled with a need to be with her.

As I fall into the water I don’t flail around and kick as I can see the long thin elegant arms reaching for me, to help me as if she is trying to catch me. I reach out to her still smiling not realizing I am swallowing so much water I am going to drown, I don’t care at this moment all I want is to be with her. I want to feel those arms around me, holding me comforting me, and filling me with the same love I see in her eyes. Then a small movement out of the corner of my eye catches my notice and I feel the cold fingers of pain as the ice cold water is now filling my lungs as I am falling further and further under the surface, my clothes now so full of water it is dragging me farther down. I can’t pull myself to the surface anymore. I am thrashing around trying to reach the surface, I can no longer see the light I see the dark under side of my canoe against the greyness of the surface water, I am falling now, my struggling is getting weaker as I have no more air in my lungs only water, I see black spots in my eyes, my lungs are screaming at me for air.

Suddenly I am filled with that sense of calm again as I see that face in my face again, the arms reaching out to me, I am not feeling the pressure of the water in my lungs or on my head pushing me down further. She’s still smiling at me, but now she is mouthing something to me, what I she saying. I am slowly losing consciousness and so I am really struggling to understand her. Then I hear in my head the most sweetest, sing song voice telling me to let go and come to her. I smile and am filled with love and can see light coming from behind her now. Again out of the corner of my eye is see that black shadow approaching, the same one that was coming for me when I was in the boat. Suddenly it makes sense, the black mass and her are the same, she is trying to kill me, the sudden realization coming too late. I have fallen prey to the witch of suicide lake. All I have now is the cold wet watery grave I am a part of now. I smile as I slowly sink to the lake bed and close my eyes and accept my fate.