“The Lake”

   “Untamed, formidable and frightening… yet radiantly pure and full of light.”

 
     When she was seven, Katrin had almost drowned just across the marina from where she was standing.  That nearly fatal afternoon she had been playing on the cliffs with her brother Donovan, then five, while their mother was busy indoors packing after the divorce.  His action figure doll, Lightning Man, had fallen over the precipice and down into the water below, resurfacing momentarily before floating away on its back.
     “Katrin!  Katrin, get him!” Donovan screamed, pointing below in a panic.  Of all his action figures, Lightning Man was his favorite.
     Katrin shook her head, a strange uneasiness filling her.  “No, Donovan.  We can’t get him.”  Her dark hair blew across her face as she watched the action man’s progress below.  There was no way to retrieve the toy and at seven she possessed an innate sense about the power of the lake that Donovan as of yet could not.
     Her brother fell silent, his round little face like a cherub as he studied his sister regretfully.  Unlike most boys his age, he had never been prone to tantrums.   “You shouldn’t have been so close to the cliff,” Katrin couldn’t help scolding, motioning him to follow her home.  Their mother would be angry if she knew they were here in the first place.  “C’mon, we’ve got to go!”
     Donovan appeared to comply but halfway down the path Katrin turned to find her brother had vanished.  Fear filled her. “Donovan!” she cried out, searching behind her.  Instead of running back along the path, however, she instinctively turned down a narrow little trail leading to the lake below, carefully gazing along the shoreline.  Sure enough, she spotted him clinging to a fallen log in the water, attempting to retrieve his doll.
     Rushing toward him she grew angry and decided to hit her brother once she rescued him.  Before her wish was granted, however, he fell in.  After scrambling over the fallen tree she plunged into the icy water, quickly grasping him by the collar.  Donovan struggled vigorously and managed to climb back up on the log.  Katrin attempted to follow but lost her footing and went under.  It was the last thing she remembered about that afternoon.

     Awakening some time later, she was surprised to discover herself at home in bed, the doctor and her mother standing over her. 
      “She’ll be fine,” the doctor assured her mother.  He turned back to his patient with a smile.  “You gave us quite a scare!”
      Her mother simply stared, her expression relieved but still somewhat ashen.  Donovan stood behind them and peeked out at her guiltily, concealing something behind his back.
      “It’s lucky you managed to get yourself up on that shore, young lady,” the doctor confided as he listened to her heartbeat for the tenth time that afternoon.  It was steady and strong.  “Very lucky.”

     The following day, Katrin gazed over at her brother as her mother presented her with a bowl of soup.  She’d been fussing nervously over her children all day.  Donovan had his back to her and was playing over in the corner near the fireplace.  Observing his happy little game she frowned, struggling to remember.  Sure enough, he was playing with Lightning Man.
     “Hey, how’d you get Lightning Man back?” Katrin immediately demanded, forgetting her bowl of soup.  The water had dragged him too far out for either of them to reach; she remembered it clearly.
Her brother shrugged, refusing to answer.  He continued his game.
     “Did he wash up?” Katrin ventured.
“Nope.”  Donovan shook his curly little head.  “He didn’t.”
      “Then how’d you get him back?  We didn’t get him; I remember.  He was too far out.”
      He glanced up at her somewhat warily, holding the doll protectively to his chest.  “Promise you won’t tell anyone.”
     She frowned, studying her brother closely.  “Okay, I promise.”
     “A man got him.  He got you and Lightning and put you on the shore.”
Katrin listened incredulously, still staring at her brother. Finally she shook her head.  “There wasn’t any man there.” 
     Donovan pressed his mouth into a little line, his round, blue eyes determined.  “Remember, you promised you wouldn’t tell.  He was just like Lightning Man.”  He examined his doll as if for the first time.  “’Cept his hair was longer than Lightning’s.  It went way down his back.  And it wasn’t plastic.”
     Katrin shook her head again in disbelief.  “I don’t believe you.”
Strangely enough, her brother didn’t seem to care.  He continued to stare pensively at the doll, his normally mischievous demeanor subdued. 
      “There wasn’t any man there,” Katrin repeated.  “I would have seen him.”
     “That’s because he came up right out of the water… like he had been under there the whole time.”

     They moved shortly after the incident and Katrin had returned only recently to tie up some loose ends regarding her father’s estate.  Turning to leave, she stared at the grandiose resort hotel that now stood where they used to play.  The water caressed her feet again and then quickly receded.  With a sigh, she headed up the sand to change clothes and get ready for her appointment at the real estate office.

     “I don’t want the house torn down and condos put up,” Katrin protested thirty minutes later to the affable man in front of her holding the Styrofoam cup of coffee.
     “No one said they were going to put up condos.  Besides, even if they did, it wouldn’t detract from the beauty of the property.  This developer is really top notch.”
     Katrin shook her head.  “I thought you said the offer wasn’t from a developer.”
     He was getting frustrated with her but made a valiant attempt to conceal his emotions.  “Look, it’s the best proposal we’ve had.  That property is worth a small fortune.”
     She hung solid.  “No, I’ll wait.  I really don’t want it developed if I can avoid it.”
      It was his turn to shake his head.  “Well, it’s your call.  I was just trying to get you a good price and save you all this trouble traveling back and forth.”
     Rising up out of her chair, Katrin extended her hand.  “Thanks.”

     Two weeks later she was back again.  Autumn was approaching and the wind was whipping across the water, spraying a fine sheet of mist into the air.  One afternoon on a whim she decided to drive twenty-five miles north of the estate along the lake to explore a historic lighthouse.  Arriving thirty minutes later, she walked out along the jetty and surveyed the jagged shoreline and shimmering water, remembering that this was how it had looked only a short time ago in her own town.  Now the water's edge was built up and walled in by everyone who demanded a view. 
     The lake appeared choppy and moody as it churned against the rock wall below and she imagined it angry over the relentless destruction of its very splendor.  The wind began to blow harder, spreading intermittent sheets of rain over people as they rushed back to their cars with coats pulled over their heads.
     “You’d better get off the jetty; a terrible storm is coming,” a man wearing a parka warned her, nodding in the direction of the sloping hill in the distance where her car was parked.
     Pulling her sweater tighter, Katrin glanced at him momentarily before he headed down to the far end of the jetty where the lighthouse stood.  By the time she reached her car minutes later, she was completely drenched. 
     Once safely back within the confines of her late father’s creaking old house, Katrin found herself unable to dispel a curious, disquieting sensation that seemed to have no foundation.  The rain was indeed building up into a horrific squall.  The waves visible out the living room window appeared terrifying, twisting and spiraling in all directions at once. The man who warned her about the storm had seemed oddly familiar yet she was unable to place the face.  His hood had been pulled up but she recalled the eyes had been gray, like the tossing water.  Assuming he was probably a lighthouse keeper, she supposed she had seen him around before, perhaps in a crowd.  Finally she switched off the lamp and went to bed, the storm still raging.
     The following morning the gale had passed and Katrin stopped by Dave’s Coffee Shop and Diner for a pastry and a cup of coffee.  The headline in the local paper outside on the boardwalk read: Worst Storm of the Decade Catches Community by Surprise.

     “Katrin, I’m afraid the quality of your work is somewhat inconsistent,” her supervisor informed her, staring intently from across the room while holding a recent evaluation. 
     Katrin immediately wanted to object but realized it was useless.  The problem with her career was one day you did the work of three people and the next simply your own.  Of course the quality of her work was inconsistent.  To protest the matter would be pointless, however, like stating the obvious.
      “Also, your taking time off constantly to go up north isn’t helping the situation.  Have you considered possibly moving there, since you seem to like it so much?”
     “No.”  She sighed inwardly, hoping the evaluation would be over soon.  Everyone took time off frequently, especially her supervisor.  Not only did the supervisor take time off but she also called in sick at least once a week.
     “Well, just sign at the bottom.”  She placed the piece of paper next to Katrin on the desk, her demeanor emanating disappointment. 
 After scanning the column of low numbers again a final time, Katrin halfheartedly scrawled her signature on the line.
     “Thank you.”  Her supervisor didn’t smile.
      Katrin turned for the door, anxious to escape.  Once outside she quickly crossed the street, heading for the little park scattered with trees.  Sinking down onto a bench a moment later she sighed again.  The vocation she had once pursued so diligently had turned out to be nothing more than endless, seemingly pointless meetings, paperwork, and a million machines with cords and wires arranged in tangles across plush carpeting.  Some days it actually seemed as though the place was threatening to destroy her but she had too many debts from her brother’s legal fees to quit anytime soon.
     For a moment she considered her property up north, beautifully graced by towering trees and wild grasses, with the water glistening beyond, so unbounded and natural.  The proceeds from that sale would spell the end of her financial troubles. 
     “Katrin, hello.”  A familiar face smiled her way and she felt her heart skip a beat.  He possessed such a charming smile and his expression was kind as he paused for a moment before her in the bright afternoon sun, holding his briefcase.
     “Hello, Hadrian.”  She returned the smile, experiencing perhaps just a tiny trace of hope.  It was short-lived; however, a moment later Charlene stood by his side, clasping his arm protectively.
     “Hello, Katrin.”  Charlene managed her usual friendly concern, none of which felt entirely truthful to Katrin.
     “How is Donovan doing?” Hadrian asked, driving the stake even deeper into her heart.  She knew he sincerely cared about her brother and that made the entire fiasco even more difficult to endure.
     “He’s doing okay,” Katrin managed, not wanting to discuss the subject in front of Charlene.  She had lost the district attorney’s affections to Charlene forever when her brother’s illegal activities had threatened to sully his impeccable reputation. 
     “Well, that’s good to hear.”  Hadrian nodded and attempted to smile again, his expression regretful.  In the final analysis there had been no way out of it for him.  The responsibility had ultimately fallen on Hadrian to put her brother behind bars.

     She was up at the lake again the following weekend to review more offers from the real estate agency.  “I want to sell the house to a family,” she insisted, handing the agent back yet another offer.
     “That’s a little unrealistic,” he groused, accepting back the paperwork irritably. “It’s also discrimination.  And you have to realize that the house is not really all that structurally sound any longer.  It’s highly unlikely anyone who buys the place is going to want to keep it intact.”    

     Later that afternoon Katrin wandered aimlessly along the shoreline, stooping occasionally to pick up bits of floating trash as she worked her way north.  People crowded in around her up from the city for the weekend for a little leaf-looking and fun. The water was blue today, forming tiny crests tipped with silver foam, a startlingly beautiful contrast against the brilliant fall foliage along the beach.
     Squinting into the jostling crowd a moment later, she froze.  It was the man she had seen the night of the storm out on the jetty.  He was walking ahead of her slowly through the crowd, surveying the people around him as he passed.  The hair was curly and golden brown, his stature tall and powerful.  Gently pressing her way forward she was curious to catch a glimpse of his face again.  Suddenly he turned and glanced back at her, their eyes meeting for an instant.  She turned away self-consciously, startled by his magnetism and the intelligibility in the eyes.  When she looked back again he was gone, swallowed up by the crowd.
     Later that evening she sat down to a cup of tea in the dilapidated old house, slipping into a pensive frame of mind.  She had cut out early on Friday and the stack of unfinished paperwork lying on the desk in her office weighed on her mind.  Her hasty departure was bound to land her in trouble again.  The image of the man in the crowd interrupted her thoughts about work for the tenth time that day and she sighed, resting her head in her hands.  There was something about him she was unable to dismiss from her mind, perhaps the expression of sincerity in his clear blue eyes when he glanced back at her.  She had mistakenly assumed them to be gray the first time they’d met during the storm.  One thing was certain: he was extraordinarily handsome and it had been a long time since anyone had looked at her that kindly.

     It was another Tuesday afternoon spent waiting in the anteroom of the prison for her turn to talk to an inmate.  Things were moving slowly today and she’d be late back to work again, another black mark on her soul.  But no one in the world besides herself cared about the well-being of the incarcerated young man trapped within the confines of these walls. 
     “Hi.”  Katrin smiled through the glass at her brother and held the phone to her ear.
     “Hi.”  Donovan struggled to return the sentiment.
     “How are you?” she asked, trying to lean as close to him as possible.  They hadn’t been able to touch each other for a year.  Her brother appeared pale and tired.
     “I’m okay,” he attempted to assure her but when he smiled his eyes didn’t seem to join in with the rest of his face.  “Have you sold the house yet?” he asked, not really interested but anxious to change the subject.
     “No, not yet.”  They stared at each other, a silence rising up and separating them much like the glass that kept them apart.  She had twenty minutes with him once a week but they never seemed to have much to say to fill up the time. He was too depressed and consumed with guilt to make small talk.
     “Hey, remember when you fell in the lake?” he suddenly asked, his expression losing some of its strain.  “You know, right after Dad walked out on us?”
     Katrin nodded.  “Yes, I remember.  You were trying to get Lightning Man.”
     Donovan laughed a little.  “Lightning Man.  Geez, I wonder what ever happened to him?  After all that trouble he probably ended up in a landfill someplace.”
     Katrin studied her brother thoughtfully a moment.  “Donovan, do you still remember the man who rescued me?”
     “What?”  He frowned in puzzlement.
     “You told me the next day.  You said a man pulled me out of the water.”
     Donovan was silent, trying to recall the events of that afternoon long ago.  “Gee, I think so.  It’s really hazy now or something, but yes, I think a man did pull you out.”
      “What did he look like?”
     He appeared a trifle embarrassed.  “I don’t know, Katrin.  Maybe I just imagined it after all.”  He shook his head.  “I seem to remember he looked just like Lightning Man except he had this really long, curly hair.”

     After the conversation with her brother, Katrin found herself wondering about the mysterious stranger on the lake and whether there was something unexplainably peculiar about him.  Browsing through a bookstore one evening she noticed a recent publication on legends and mysteries of the North Shore.  After purchasing a copy, she read it in one sitting, finally closing the book at midnight and dozing off in a chair.  She dreamed about the restless spirits of sailors who perished centuries ago in horrendous storms.  When she awoke in the morning she felt absolutely convinced he was a ghost.

     The next time she was in town Katrin set her alarm early to watch the sun rise over the lake.  Afterward she walked back along the boardwalk, her hands nestled deep in her coat pockets and her breath like frosty little clouds in the air.
     “Hello.”  Unbelievably it was the hypothetical ghost.  Immediately Katrin regretted the ridiculous supposition and experienced a twinge of embarrassment as he smiled charmingly at her when he passed by on the walkway.  “It’s going to be a beautiful day today,” he remarked, his expression somewhat introspective in the early morning sun.
     “Really?” she managed, anxious to get a better fix on him.  If nothing else he was extremely unusual.  “I heard it’s supposed to rain.”
     He laughed a little and waved the idea away.  “No, it’ll be beautiful today.” 
     She watched him with interest until he disappeared from sight.  The sun was well up now and it was already beginning to feel warm for so late in the year.  The local news had issued a storm warning and predicted chilly temperatures and high winds.  They were wrong; however, it was mild and sunny all day because the storm north of them swerved unexpectedly to the east.  It turned out to be an extraordinarily lovely day.

     “Katrin, I asked you for that file three days ago,” her supervisor admonished, glaring at her from across the hall.  “When do you actually plan on getting it to me?”
     “Well, I’m waiting for a few more… ”
     “No, Katrin.”  Her tone was rigid and severe.  “No excuses.” 
People in the office studied her curiously, having overheard.  Katrin looked away self-consciously. 
     Later at her desk she tried to concentrate but longed to be free of the place forever.  She thought of her specter out on the lake and how fortunate he was.  After he had again correctly predicted the weather she decided that he actually was part of the supernatural after all.  If nothing else, presuming it was distracting and amusing, a release from the daily grind.  At least someone managed to escape working for a living.  With a sigh, she pulled the file open and steeled herself to do yet another substandard job. 

     To her delight she spotted him again the next time she was in town three weeks later, seated at a bench on the pier overlooking the harbor.  He was dressed in the old parka with a knit cap covering his curls but she recognized him instantly.  Pausing for a moment she regarded him uncertainly, wondering once again if she was losing her sanity and simply looking at an ordinary person after all.
     “You’re very good at predicting the weather,” she blurted out, feeling the usual rules of etiquette could be bypassed with a phantom.
    He smiled and looked away knowingly.  “Yes, I know weather.”  He glanced back at her again.  The eyes were emerald green today, like the swirling waters she had just been observing below.  That fact in itself convinced her he wasn’t like the rest of them.  “Would you like to sit down?”  He motioned to the space next to him on the bench.
     “All right.”  Sinking down she found it difficult not to stare.  He appeared so human, yet much more so than everyone else.  His humanity seemed enhanced in every way: the voice was richer, the expression in the eyes deeper, the body more physically fit.  She wondered if anyone else on the pier could see him or if he was only visible to her.
     “I see you walking out on the lake a lot,” he admitted, looking over the water.
     She nodded, enthralled with his voice.  “I love the lake,” she responded, glancing quickly at his striking profile.  “I come up here every chance I get.” 
     “Katrin!”  A friend from the city was gesturing to her.  Two other people she recognized waved as well.
     “Hi.”  She returned the wave, hoping they’d leave but they started toward her.
     “I have to be going.”  He stood up.  “Goodbye.”
     She grew distraught.  They were approaching and wrenching her gaze away from her friends she turned back to him but he was already gone.

     The next time she was in the library she exhausted the subject of ghosts on the Internet, particularly any sightings along the North Shore.  After exiting the last web site and gathering her things, Katrin felt more confused than ever.  He didn’t really meet the general criterion of ghosts, at least not the descriptions of any that she read.
     Considering the matter carefully the following week, she started down a new track and began to wonder if he had possibly come from another world some place.  He could have had to leave his own planet and live on theirs, assuming human form.  She recalled watching a movie about that once in the past.  If he had come down from space and taken on their appearance, he had made the mistake of being a little too good at the transition.  That was the most disturbing aspect of her encounters with the man: his remarkable beauty.

     It was November and all the leaves were down.  Katrin continued to receive offers on the house which she refused and eventually switched agencies.  To her dismay, Donovan informed her he was going to be released early due to overcrowding. Despite her happiness, she began to worry about how he would cope once outside of the prison walls again, knowing he would have to stay with her. 
     One weekend after driving north of the property, she spotted the space alien out on the jetty again standing halfway down looking over the water.  She hadn’t seen him in a while and felt anxious as she approached, attempting not to appear deliberate in her actions in any way.  It was a windy, blustery cold afternoon.
     He waved to her gallantly, all bundled up in a heavy coat.
     “Hello.”  She returned the friendly gesture. 
     “Let’s get out of this wind,” he advised, placing his arm around her as they hurried down the jetty toward the lighthouse where they seated themselves on a sheltered bench.  Protected from the wind chill they rested in silence, enjoying the view. 
     “I could just sit here like this and look at the lake forever,” Katrin confided at last, a deep peace enveloping her.  It felt timeless to look out over the water, as if all her cares were forgotten and far away.  She thought of Hadrian a moment and the possibility of never seeing him again.  Unfortunately, she’d be encountering him and Charlene next week at the annual employee holiday party, which she had been roped into helping organize. She’d feel just like she was drowning.  Glancing over at him momentarily, she discovered him staring at her with an amused smile, and she felt as though he could read her mind.

     After that windy afternoon out on the jetty, she kept hoping to see him again but as was usually the case when she was expecting to see him, he failed to show.  Two weeks later, Katrin stepped out of her car in front of the building rented for the festive holiday occasion, adjusting her shawl against the crisp, cold air and glancing around at the people climbing the stairway leading inside. To her shock she suddenly spotted her apparition halfway up the stairs, waiting for her.
     “I’m here to rescue you,” he said as she approached, holding out his hand.
    She nodded, too surprised to reply.
     He stayed with her all evening, introducing himself simply as Tracy and attracting the attention of everyone in the room.  Katrin found herself secretly amused to discover her colleagues intrigued with something else besides work and their own importance. 
     Her supervisor moved in constantly for a better view.  “Who is that guy?”
     Hadrian cast sidelong glances their way, his expression deeply wounded somehow by his extraordinary replacement.  Charlene wanted answers.
     “Who is he?” she kept demanding of her friends.  Suddenly it no longer felt so victorious to be on the arm of the district attorney. 
     “I heard he’s one of those supermodels from Europe,” a bystander commented.
     “Well, I’ve never seen anyone that attractive in my life before,” another woman admitted.  “Whoever he is.”
     “Thanks so much for coming with me tonight,” Katrin thanked him, as the evening was drawing to a close.
     “I’ll get our coats, Katrin, but before we leave I’d like you to introduce yourself to a friend of mine,” he insisted, motioning to an older gentleman across the room. 
     She glanced over in surprise.  “You mean that man over there?”
     He nodded, leaving to gather their things.  “Yes.  I’ll be right back.”
     Katrin walked over and introduced herself.  The man seemed very pleased and shook her hand.  After chatting a bit he informed her he was an attorney who specialized in environmental law.
     “I live up on the lake,” he explained.  “I’m just here with a friend.”
     “You’re very fortunate,” Katrin informed him.  “I love the lake.”
     “Well, I couldn’t afford to pay you what you’re making here, but if you’d ever be interested in working for me, give me a call.”  He handed her his card.
     “Thanks.”  She tucked it in her purse, anxious to ask him something before it was too late.  “The man I came here with, he said you two were friends.”  She studied the attorney with interest.  “How did you meet?”
     He shook his head and smiled.  “I’m afraid he’s mistaken.  I’ve never seen him before tonight.  I wouldn’t forget his face.”

     She offered him a ride back to the Northshore after the party and he accepted.  On the long drive home he was silent.  As they rounded curve after curve in the gathering shadows, they eventually crested a hill and approached the lake.
     “Drop me here,” he instructed her, motioning to a deserted stretch of shoreline.
     Growing confused, she pulled over and switched off the ignition.  They got out of the car and walked over to the edge of the sand where he gazed out over the dark, moving water.
     “Don’t do it, Katrin,” he said at last.  “Move into the house yourself with Donovan.”
     She watched him closely in the fading light.  Her appointment to finalize the sale of the house was tomorrow morning.  “I’d… I’d have to quit my job.  Start all over again.”
     “You said you loved the lake.”
     “I do.”
     He turned to face her.  “I have to go now,” he acknowledged, and she immediately grew anxious.
     “Okay, I’ll move back into the house.  I guess I always knew I would.  Donavon can live with me, too.  We’ll start a new life together.”
     “I’m not from out there, Katrin.”  He pointed to the sky.
     She shook her head, bewildered.  “Well, who are you?”
     His hair was longer and his eyes dark, like the water behind him as he looked into hers.  “You won’t see me like this again.”
     She sensed he was leaving.  “Who are you?”
     His shirt faded away and she saw his chest, covered with wounds and scars, some fresh, others old.  Portions of his curls were caked with oil and trash.  He was transforming into a mist before her eyes.
     “I’m the lake, Katrin.”
     The mist floated over the water, still holding his form but then slowly descended below.  Katrin watched in astonishment as he settled on the surface, and a moment later she saw his face.  It was reflecting in the water and enormous, like the lake itself.  His image gradually vanished and she stood immobile, the reality of what had just happened slowly penetrating her mind.  A moment later a gentle wave of water washed up and touched her foot before rolling back again.