Shadows Beneath The Silver Lake
The fog rolled across Silver Lake like a living creature stretching pale fingers over the still surface. Every night it returned and every night it grew thicker heavier almost sentient. Locals whispered that the lake was cursed that something ancient and restless lurked beneath the shimmering water. Most stayed away after dusk. Except for Arlen Reeves.
Arlen stood at the lakes edge his boots sinking into the damp earth as he stared at the reflection of the moon rippling across the surface. The cold breeze brushed his skin and for a moment he felt it again that strange pull the sensation that someone or something was watching him from beneath the dark water. It had haunted him for weeks. He did not know why. He only knew he could not ignore it any longer.
You came.
The voice was soft like silk brushing against his ear. Arlen spun around but the shoreline was empty. His heart pounded yet he felt no fear. Instead he felt a familiar ache a longing he could not explain.
Show yourself he said quietly.
The water rippled. Light glimmered beneath the surface a pale glow swirling hypnotically before rising slowly like a star emerging from the deep. A figure appeared floating upward before breaking through the water with barely a splash.
She rose with the fog clinging to her like a gown her hair drifting around her face in strands of silver and black. Her skin shimmered faintly as if kissed by moonlight. Her eyes were the color of deep ocean storms. She was haunting breathtaking unreal.
Arlen stared unable to move. Who are you
The woman tilted her head slightly. For a moment she seemed surprised at the question. I am called Lysandra.
He swallowed. Are you human
Her lips curved in a small sad smile. I was.
His breath froze. You died
I drowned she said simply. Long ago. But the lake would not let me go. A curse binds me to its depths until the one soul connected to mine chooses to break it.
Arlen shook his head. I do not understand. What does any of this have to do with me
Because you are the one who once loved me Lysandra whispered though her voice trembled with uncertainty. Not in this life but another. Your soul remembers even if your mind does not. When you were born the curse stirred. When you came to the lake the bond awakened.
Arlen felt his pulse in his throat. He wanted to deny it but something about her voice her gaze the way she said his name moments earlier it stirred emotions deep inside him. Emotions that felt too real to be born of imagination.
Show me he said quietly.
Lysandra extended her hand though she did not touch him. The fog thickened swirling around them until the world blurred into white. Then visions formed.
He saw a different era. A village of stone and wood. A young man who looked like him though dressed in ancient clothing. He saw himself running toward the lake calling a name.
Lysandra.
She was human then beautiful and laughing as she raced ahead of him. They met at the lakes edge. He held her. She whispered promises. They kissed.
Then darkness. Soldiers. Flames. A chase leading to the lake. A desperate escape gone wrong. She slipped. She fell into the dark water her scream swallowed by the current. He jumped after her but he arrived too late. When he held her lifeless body in his arms the world collapsed.
The vision shattered.
Arlen stumbled back breathing hard. Lysandra drifted closer her expression fragile. I have watched you live many lives. Always I waited. You never came near the lake until now. And when you did I felt hope for the first time in centuries.
Arlen pressed a hand to his chest. Why me Why must I be the one to break the curse
Because it was your grief that bound me. Your sorrow anchored my soul to the lake. Only your acceptance can release me.
He stared at her. What must I do
She looked down at her shimmering hands. The lake needs your willingness to acknowledge me. To accept the bond we once shared. To forgive the past and free me from it. But if you choose me if you choose to keep the bond then the lake will give me form again and I will walk the world beside you.
Arlen inhaled sharply. If I choose not to
She looked away. Then I fade into the depths forever. No memory no soul. Nothing remains.
He felt a sharp ache in his chest. He did not understand why it hurt so much but he knew the answer. Lysandra had lived in his dreams his thoughts his unexplained emotions for weeks. And now he knew why.
When must I decide he asked.
Midnight she whispered. When the moon touches the highest point of the sky the lake opens its heart. That is when the choice is made.
The fog thinned and Lysandra slowly sank back into the water until her form dissolved beneath the glowing surface. Arlen stood alone his breath forming pale clouds in the cold night.
The hours crawled. Arlen returned home but he could not rest. His mind swirled with visions of past lives and drowning screams and the sorrow in Lysandras eyes. He walked the floor of his small cabin until he realized he could not deny what he felt.
When midnight arrived he was already standing at the lakes edge.
Silver Lake glowed brighter than usual swirling with pale light. The fog parted and Lysandra rose from the water again her expression unreadable as if she feared he would turn away.
Arlen stepped forward until the water lapped at his boots. Lysandra he said softly. I remember pieces. Maybe not everything but enough. Enough to know I do not want to lose you again.
Her breath caught. Then your choice
He held out his hand. Come back. Be real again. Be here with me.
The lake responded like a living force. Water swirled around Lysandra lifting her as if the lake itself pushed her toward him. Light erupted from beneath the surface glowing brighter and brighter until she cried out her form flickering violently.
Arlen waded into the water reaching out instinctively. Lysandra
Her body shimmered between solid and translucent as the lake pulled at her struggling to reshape her spirit. The fog turned silver spiraling around them like a cocoon. The water roared with power.
The lake must anchor her to the living world a voice whispered through Arlens mind. But she must bind herself through him. Through their shared soul.
Lysandra looked at him tears of light streaming down her face. Do not let go Arlen. Please.
He grabbed her hands feeling warmth pulse through her for the first time. I will not lose you again. Not in this life or any other.
The light intensified. Lysandra screamed as her spirit compressed solidified reshaped into mortal flesh. Arlen pulled her tightly against him holding her through the pain through the storm of light.
Then suddenly the forest fell silent.
Lysandra collapsed into his arms breathing hard her body warm and alive. Her heart beat against his chest strong and steady.
Arlen stared at her stunned. You you are real.
She touched his face her fingers trembling. I feel warmth. I feel breath. I feel you. I am alive Arlen.
Emotion overwhelmed him. He pulled her into a deep desperate embrace burying his face in her hair. Lysandra held him back with equal intensity her tears soaking into his shirt.
The lake glowed softly behind them no longer cursed no longer haunted. The fog lifted revealing a peaceful silver surface.
Lysandra leaned back to study his face. I do not know what this life will bring but I want to walk it with you. Not as ghosts of who we were. But as who we choose to be now.
Arlen cupped her cheek gently. Then we start again. Together.
She smiled a radiant human smile. Then kiss me Arlen. Let us seal this life not with sorrow but with love.
He kissed her deeply fiercely as the moon bathed them in silver light. The air hummed around them as though the world itself acknowledged their bond.
From that night forward Silver Lake was no longer feared. The fog never returned. Villagers occasionally reported seeing a couple walking along the waters edge at dusk hands intertwined eyes glowing with love that felt older than time itself.
They said the lake had been healed by a promise fulfilled.
And that two souls once drowned in tragedy now lived again bound not by fate but by choice.
Arlen and Lysandra.
Love reborn.