Suddenly, I heard a soft female voice, barely more than a whisper. It drifted like wind through leaves, a gentle hum that settled into my bones and drew me deeper into the woods.
“Hello?” I called out, hesitant.
An eerie voice echoed in whispers. My name floated toward me, carrying the weight of a forgotten memory, like a destiny I was being called too.
“How do you know my name?” I asked. The voice did not answer. Instead, it beckoned, and I chose to follow.
With each step, the forest thickened. Sunlight that once dappled the ground now struggled to break through the dense canopy. The air grew cool, heavy with the scent of damp earth. Luminous moss and phosphorescent mushrooms dotted the forest floor, casting an otherworldly glow that guided my path. I followed them. I followed the sound calling my name.
“Who are you?” I asked, but once again I was met only with the gentle rattle of wind through the leaves.
The pull grew stronger, a thrumming beat that quickened my pulse and filled my mind. I parted the vines of what looked like an ancient willow tree, revealing a clearing where a crystalline lake sat perfectly still.
My instincts were screaming don’t, but my feet kept moving like something was guiding them.
Was the lake calling to me? Its surface was a flawless mirror, reflecting the radiant blue canopy above. The water shimmered with an inner light that seemed to pulse with a life of its own. It was more beautiful than any painting and more real than anything I could dream.
The eerie voice that had guided me all this way fell silent. Somehow, I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be. I stood at the water’s edge, cool sand tickling my toes, my reflection staring back at me with awe and deep recognition. As outlandish as it sounded, I felt as though the lake knew me.
Driven by an urge far stronger than fear, I took a step forward. The water was shockingly cold against my skin. As my foot broke the surface, my reflection shattered, and the world seemed to hold its breath.
This is a terrible idea, Delilah. But then again, I’m probably already dead. So what the hell. Why not?
A tremor rippled outward from my foot, rolling through the forest like a small earthquake. A deep vibration traveled from the earth beneath me and surged through my entire body. The trees surrounding the lake quivered, their leaves rattling like shaken coins. The water bucked and rolled, as if something immense stirred beneath it. Then it stopped, and everything fell silent.
I knew the smart thing to do would be to avoid the strange water, but the pull was too strong. It had been an exceptionally long time since I was in any condition to swim, and now my body felt powerful and alive. I wanted to use it. I wanted to know what this new body could do. I waded into the water, and once it reached my waist and I adjusted to the chill, I dove straight in.
I had forgotten how much I loved to swim. A single tear of joy slipped from my cheek and became one with the lake. My laughter echoed between the mountains watching from afar. I swam in every way I could remember. Freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, until I finally settled into a backstroke so I could admire the sky.
It was a sunny day, and the sky was not just blue. It was a canvas of enchantment. A million shades blended like watercolors, resonating with the magic in the air. The air itself shimmered faintly, as if the sky were breathing. I swam and played like a child in the enchanted lake until the sun sank low on the horizon.
I must have worn myself out, because the next thing I knew, I was floating on my back in the center of the glassy water. A soft inner glow radiated from beneath the surface, becoming more apparent as the sun began to set. I had not meant to fall asleep. How long had I been out?
Without warning, the gentle current beneath me shifted. A low hum vibrated through the water, growing stronger as the surface began to spiral inward. Panic, sharp and cold, sliced through the calm. The hum rose into a roar, and the shimmering light twisted into a vortex of jade and amethyst. I was no longerfloating. I was being pulled under, dragged toward the heart of a rapidly forming whirlpool.
Suffocating terror seized me. “Help!” I screamed. What the fuck was happening!?
I thrashed, fighting the unnatural pull, but it felt like struggling against a river made of solid stone. The water spun me in tight circles, disorienting me until up and down lost all meaning. I was dragged under, starved for air. My heart raced as I fought the current, searching desperately for the surface. Just as my lungs began to burn, a massive, shadowy form surged up through the vortex.
It was some kind of sea serpent, something torn straight from a nightmare. Its body was as thick as an ancient oak and coated in slick, obsidian scales. The creature’s mouth was not a jaw at all, but a perfect circle lined with concentric rings of jagged, needle-like teeth. It lunged, the opening widening into an abyss framed by spines. I screamed, the sound swallowed by the churning water, and shoved away with everything I had.
I kicked wildly toward the surface. The creature was fast, its serpentine body slicing through the whirlpool with terrifying speed. A searing pain tore through my thigh as its teeth grazed me, ripping through flesh. Blood bloomed in the glowing water like dark ink, and my leg went numb, a useless weight dragging me down. The serpent began to coil around me, its thick body tightening, crushing the air from my lungs.
How could there be monsters in heaven? This had to be a nightmare, or the result of powerful drugs coursing through my system. Yet I had never felt pain this real in any dream before.
Panicked, I thought that if I died in this dream, I might wake up and it would all be over. I felt the chilling approach of its gapingmouth and considered holding still, letting the monster swallow me whole so I could escape the nightmare. I forced my body to go still and waited for its mouth, for the end of my delusion.
Suddenly, a flash of silver cut through the jade vortex. A long, slender fish appeared. No, it was a mermaid. Her powerful tail propelled her forward with incredible force. She carried a spear, not of metal, but of polished, pearlescent bone, long and wickedly sharp. With one fluid motion, she drove it deep into the serpent’s head, just behind its unblinking black eye. The monster thrashed, its coils unraveling and loosening their hold on me. Its circular mouth spasmed in silent agony. The water stilled, and as the serpent went limp, its massive body sank into the depths.
The mermaid, her silver tail glinting, swam toward me. She pulled me into an embrace, as if she knew me, her expression a blend of fierce resolve and gentle concern. Her eyes, which were the color of the deep, still lake, met mine. She slipped my arm around her shoulders and, with a powerful sweep of her tail, began pulling us both toward the calm surface above.
My injured leg throbbed, but I held on, my mind reeling with shock and gratitude. The mermaid pulled me through the last of the glittering water and guided me onto the sandy shore, laying me gently on solid ground.
There, I finally took in the beautiful creature who had saved me. She was nothing like the fairy tales I had read as a child. Armor fashioned from fishbones covered her chest, each piece strung together in intricate patterns. Her scales shimmered with iridescent hues that shifted with each breath. Her hair flowed freely, nearly reaching her tailfin, moving like ink through water, untouched by gravity.
Her eyes met mine, deep, ancient, and incredibly kind. Though her lips never moved, her voice echoed clearly inside my mind.
“You were not meant to drown today.”
