All in all the coming year seemed to be fairly set which is why Marisa had allowed herself to have a mini staycation just before her final quarter was set to begin for some much-needed rest and relaxation. Despite it being peak season, she had found a reasonably priced deal on Airbnb for a rather secluded home that had a sizeable property next to a beautiful lake. The driveway itself was about two miles long, far enough to not be seen from the main road but close enough, that should something happen, she could still walk to the nearest gas station or town that was about 20 minutes away.
The exterior of the house was built like a rustic cabin but the interior was thankfully modern with an actual bathroom inside; unlike the one her Aunt owned in North Dakota that had an outhouse that made one honestly consider going behind a bush rather than going inside that spider-infested place. The only drawback was that this place didn’t have a working HVAC unit to keep the place warm, though the owners were gracious enough to have it well stocked with firewood which actually made the place feel more homely if anything. In all honesty that was probably the reason she got such a good deal. Normally a place this size would require her to go halfsies with someone else but since it was just her in the large place, it didn’t make sense to heat the entire place when she would likely spent the majority of her time in the living room anyway.
Alas, like most good things in life, this too was not meant to last. And so, with only two days left, Marisa brewed a hot cup of coffee while she put on some warm clothes to go outside and just simply enjoy the scenery before she had to head back to civilization. The fire in the hearth cracked and with a popping sound, one of the logs shifted then settled at the base of the fireplace.
“It should be fine to leave it going, I’ll only be outside for a few minutes at most.” Marissa reasoned while wrapping the blue wool scarf around her neck for added warmth.
Snow crunched beneath her winter boots as she walked down the wooden staircase, along the gravel path and down the length of the dock. The sun had set about an hour prior, yet this was the first evening since arriving that the night sky had been so clear. It was amazing how she could be so close to Destiny City yet still feel so removed from civilization.
Looking out over the treeline she noted a faint yellow and green glow, and though Marisa knew that she was too far south for it to be either the Northern or Southern Borealis, it was still fun to imagine that what she was seeing was a rare phenomenon as opposed to the reality of it being from the town lights no more than eight miles away.
Steam from her coffee rose in soft white coils. “It’s so beautiful.” Marisa mused. “I wish I could stay out here longer.” Although there was nobody around to share in the sentiment, she spoke aloud as if she were in the company of her parents for a friend.
The still lake before her had been completely frozen since her arrival, though it wasn’t hard to imagine how serene it would look once it had all melted come spring and lively it would become summer. Perhaps she would have to book another stay later this year. It would give her the opportunity to bring either her kayak out or the paddleboard so she could go out on the water and maybe even see how deep this lake was.
Sometimes it was nice to bring her scuba gear to remote locations like this where she didn’t have to worry about sea life other than maybe some trout. Every so often she found a few nice treasures at the bottom of rivers and lakes; cell phones that were put into plastic bags that, while dead, are still functional. Twice now she did find a go-pro that likely fell off someone's helmet while river rafting and was able to pull the photos off the device which helped her in locating the owners in at least one of the cases.
From time to time she found jewelry such as rings or bracelets which were harder to locate their owner. But after a month of not being claimed at the precinct, she was able to return and claim them as her own. Kind of made her feel like a pirate at times, treasure diving for trinkets and gold; but at least she was honest about her findings.
Steam rose from her cup in what looked like a white will-o-wisp hovering above the freshly brewed coffee.
It was a wonder how she could be relatively close to town and yet feel so very far away. Marissa leaned her head back and admired the little twinkling lights up above and for the first time in a long while she felt peace. There was no stress or anxiety about upcoming exams, or worry about what she was going to do after graduating this next semester. The place where she was doing her internship had offered her a full-time position come summer assuming she passed her classes and completed the certifications necessary for the position she was going to be filling.
All seemed well as she gingerly sipped the hot beverage, not wanting to scald her throat in an eagerness to stay warm. That was until she heard a sound behind her, a hot breath against her ear whispering something she didn’t not comprehend. But, before she could turn around there was a surprisingly sharp intense pain in her chest.
The grip on her mug became weak and soon it was falling. What remained of the hot drink instantly melted the snow as the cup itself shattered into two on the dock she stood upon.
Stress and anxiety were a familiar friend but this feeling, this pain, was something entirely new. That in and of itself was terrifying and caused both her heart and mind to spiral into a panic. Most of her life she had been a healthy active woman who exercised regularly and didn’t eat a ton of junk food, yet this felt an awful lot like what people described as a heart attack but without the symptoms that usually lead up to one.
It was as if someone was using her heart as a stress ball but with so much pent up anger and frustration they had no intention of letting go. Going as far as curling their sharp pointed nails into it as an anchor, threatening to rend it to shreds if she tried to pull free.
One hand pressed firmly against her chest in a feeble attempt to make her heart calm down as the world tilted heavily to one side.
It was not a soft pile of snow that welcomed her in its lovingly embrace, for it was not sand nor ground she fell upon, but rather something much more fragile fractured beneath her weight as her shoulder and side of her head slammed into a decently thick sheet of ice. What air was in her lungs was forced out upon impact as pain radiated from her shoulder, her vision blurred when she tried to move, to breath to do anything.
Her head turned upward to where she had been standing and there, at the end of the dock looking down at her was a faceless nameless shadow.
Unfortunately, the ice was not so thick that she could remain on top of the frozen shell until the pain subsided long enough for her to crawl back to the edge of the lake or back up onto the dock. Without warning, before she could so much as blink a second time, her weight upon the webbed cracks was enough to cause the fractures to bow and splinter in a symphony of crackling sounds before breaking into chunks and plunging her into the water beneath it.
It was a complete shock to her system and despite knowing that she needed to move, to swim to struggle to survive, Marissa’s body simply refused to move. I don’t want to die… Not here... Not where nobody would find her.
Her lungs burned like wildfire as she sunk to the bottom of the lake until finally, she could hold her breath no longer and drew in a lung full of water. The darkness that had clouded the edge of her vision consumed her sight completely as her body settled on the sandy lakebed
All she had wanted was to spend some time to decompress before jumping back into another rotation of classes and work and pretending she was an adult by paying her bills. But now it seemed like her plans had become obsolete as Destiny’s hand decided it was time to move her in another direction.
Backlog to earlier this year. Total words 1565.
