Lakeside

I stepped out onto the deck of my cabin wearing my pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt. Nothing seemed to be stirring in the middle of this autumn night. The light from the boathouse gave off a dim glow in the mist that rose off of the lake.

I was wide awake after sleeping soundly for only three hours, and I felt compelled to step outside. I was sure I wouldn’t stay long now that the temperature was dropping.

In the dim light over the lake, I noticed the mist began to swirl slowly. The flow began to resemble a dust devil of moisture that never seemed to pick up any speed. A gust of wind hit me bringing a concentrated cloud of the mist from the lake that obscured my entire backyard. I could no longer see the lake or anything beyond the wooden rail of my deck.

I began to smell the musty scent of wet leaves and mud I associated with the bottom of the lake. As the mist began to recede from my yard back to the water, I could hear sloshing as if someone were wading in the shallows. Something slightly whiter than the mist glimmered near the willow at the lake’s edge.

When the mist was no longer in my yard, I could still make out a light colored object among the willow’s drooping limbs. I watched for movement in vain, but the more I looked, the more I thought I saw a young woman’s figure in a nightgown. It had to be just my imagination. I could remember seeing trolls, elves, and all manner of grotesque creatures in the shadows of trees and bushes when I was a kid. I guess I was more tired than I had first realized.

The breezed picked up again and began to blow colder. I took this as my cue to return to bed. My hand was on the doorknob when I heard a splash in the lake behind me. I turned to see the lake free from every wisp of mist or fog and looking flat and still as a black mirror in the glow of the light of the boathouse. Nothing moved.

In bed, I dreamt of a smile dimpling a milky smooth cheek.

The next morning I walked down to the lake to find nothing out of the ordinary in the murky shallows. I walked to the willow and pushed through the streamers of leaves to view the cabin. I saw no evidence of the strangeness of the night before.

I started to push through the curtain of leaves to find some breakfast when a few gossamer strands brushed across my face and into my eyes. I quickly grabbed them and held them up in irritation for examination. I was holding several threads of long dark hair.