The Girl in the Lake

One day, I saw a girl in a lake. The warm rays of sun shone down on the clear water and she looked right at me. Her hair was long and curly, yellow as the sun and her eyes a clear blue like a crystal. She was the most beautiful creature I had laid eyes on in my entire life.

I stared at her for hours, saying nothing, doing nothing, as if I was waiting for her to disappear so I could convince myself it was all just a part of my imagination.

But she didn’t disappear. She didn’t say anything either, didn’t move, but when I looked into her eyes and saw her image floating in sync with the small waves in the lake, I knew she had to be real.

Life wasn’t always easy and most days just felt like a filler, leading to the next day, but after finding the girl, I suddenly had something to look forward to. No matter if it was because of bad grades, because of a scolding from a teacher, because of another lousy day at my part time job or another fight at home, going to the lake and looking at the girl became my medicine.

As long as I could see her, it didn’t matter. Even if she never spoke, it was okay. Even if she never moved, it was okay. Even if I couldn’t touch her, I would be fine. Even if I could never be with her, I was happy. Even if she wasn’t real, she was my whole world. It was enough. She was enough for me, just the way she was.

Until she wasn’t anymore. I thought life would get easier. But as the days went by and I got older, my problems only seemed to get bigger. Was this really all there was to life? Why wasn’t it getting better? Why wouldn’t life just give me a break?

“Even you don’t care about me!” I yelled at the girl one day, but her facial expression still didn’t change. She looked just the same as the first time I saw her. No emotion, no reaction, nothing. In a way she mirrored my own self perfectly. With time, I too, had become numb to the world around me. At least that’s what I thought, but the truth was, I wanted more. I was becoming greedy. I wanted life to treat me better.

“Say something! Do something! Help me!” I yelled at the girl. “Why did you show yourself to me? Was there really no reason?” I kept yelling and yelling at the top of my lungs, my breath creating even more waves in the water as my voice hit the lake. 

And then, suddenly, for the first time, she spoke.

It was only one word. Just one single word.

“Come!”

And suddenly, it all seemed so clear to me. It didn’t have to be this way. I didn’t have to continue to struggle. If I wanted, I could be with her.

Looking into her crystal blue eyes I took a step forward and felt my foot getting soaked into the water, getting enveloped by her. 

“Ah, finally,” I thought to myself. “I can finally feel her.”

I kept walking into the water until I lost my foothold and sank. Fear was the first emotion to hit me, until I opened my eyes and saw her right in front of me. If I reached out my hand, I would be able to touch her. 

“Stay.” The words flew through the water like small bubbles and hit me like a wave. I opened my mouth and exhaled. 

And then, time stood still.

Hi everyone!

I saw a picture on Pinterest the other day and it just gave me this crazy idea so I just had to write it down immediately. Well, this is how it turned out.

I rarely write short prose, since I have a hard time expression myself in short, so this was a huge change for me, but it was also fun and challenging and I'm really happy about the result.

What did you think about the story? I hope it wasn't too sad, but I also hope it reached your heart.

As always, I hope you will all take good care of yourself and stay happy and healthy!

Love, Annalise~