The Lake of Souls

Deep in the forest, there is a lake that nobody has seen. Well, at least...they haven't seen it and left alive. How do I know you ask? Well there has only been two people to live after visiting this lake. I, and a young boy. This lake, you see, is a lake of souls. Some souls go to the underworld, some go into the sky and may live on, some are trapped here on Earth to forever wander...but this lake, please try to understand, is the lake of murderous people. The most murderous and vile souls get delivered to my lake, to forever swim in a circle where no life is able to grow. No fish, the trees around the bank are just drywood now. Any animal unlucky enough to walk too close to the edge of the eerie, light blue water gets pulled in, skin melting away the instant it comes in contact with the water. For these souls are always longing to get out of the burning water that picks at their remains. Souls feel pain too. Where do you think the 'heart' is? I am getting a bit off track, my apologies. Where was I? Oh! The boy! This boy and his mother were outcasts. Hated by their village. For what reason? Oh, I do not know, but they were kind, kind people. Actually, the village is right outside of these woods. I believe they were framed. I do not talk to anyone. Just wait until they fall death to my lake. All the souls are anxious to see a human face, because then they may be able to pull themselves out of the water and take a form replacing their place in the lake with another body, to finish their unfinished riot paused by death. If that body held a soul dark enough. But of course the souls can always wait however long to leave, if they really want to stay in water that feels like fire.

Watching over this woman and her boy as they came upon a cabin, I may have felt sympathy. May have. A small run down cabin in which they made their home. The woman had brought pages, pictures, which she stored under the floor boards while her young son was out. He hunted and cared for his mother, and she picked berries and gathered supplies and cared for her son. I watched the mother stumble upon my lake, but she did not fall in. She knew what this place was. I could say I was quite impressed. She ran back to her son and told him to never look under the floorboards of the cabin and told him she would be back. Being human, I can only be in one place at once. I stayed at the cabin and watched over the boy, because I knew he would not be able to hold the urge to peek under the rotted, mossy boards.

Unfortunately for me, he waited as patiently as ever for his mother to return. Boring choice I had made. Until a few hours passed and the boy became restless. He left to look for his mother, she should have been home by now. Oh and that boy managed to track his mother all the way to the lake, to where her footsteps ended, and he peered in. "Hello my son," rang a voice. High and clear. So clear that the boy didn't even budge before answering. The face looked so vivid and familiar....her beautiful long hair flowing in the flourescent light, her flawless skin, and her huge clear eyes. "...M...m...mmm.....mother?" he stammered, "What has become of you?"

"My son, help me, I cannot get out, please, help me. Give me your hand."

The boy reached his hand out for the woman in the water to grab, moaning souls passing her through the water.

"That's right. Mommy loves her son."

"I love you too mother."

The woman said nothing back and her left eye twitched unnaturally.

"Mother...you...." he pulled his hand back and the woman clawed the air.

"You insolent boy! Give me your hand!! Don't you love your mother?! GIVE ME YOUR HAND SON! HELP ME! MOMMY LOVES HER SON! HELP ME"

He jerked his boy back as the woman jumped at him, but she fell back in the water, for she had no body to replace her.

Confused little boy. He ran back to the cabin. He did not understand. That was his mother, yet, it was not. He was so young. He did not understand. He fell to his knees once inside the fallen in cabin that lost people stay in. Crying, he lifted the floorboards of the cabin. And saw what his mother had been hiding. Photos? Just photos? He picked them off the dirt ground below the floorboard and flipped through them, hoping he would find one of his mother, so he could remember her face, because he apparently did not. One of his father, one of his grandmother, another of people he did not know. One of his mother and....a twin. His mother looked so pretty. Was this what she looked like before they had moved to the woods? The twin sported a black X on her face. The boy flipped over the bronzed photo and read:

"Me and Anna,

Twin electrocuted after murder of parents and first son, two

brothers, uncle, and grandfather."

"Add my sister for killing me," hissed a voice from behind that boy, "and her brat son who wouldn't help me out of a hell hole of acid water"

That poor little boy, a bloody mess everywhere. But at least he had refused to join his mother in the 'hell hole of acid water' for me to look after.