2025 Star Festival Prompt
The Reservoir (4): The Destiny City Reservoir opened about two years ago and is an easy escape from the big city. It's a five minute drive outside of the Eastern side of town and features clear water and sandy beaches--although, the sand here is notorious for squeaking when you step on it. It's a hot spot for all fun summer activities, but it's been in the news for mysterious reports of some strange, aquatic monster. Some accounts say they've spotted a twenty foot long, snake like creature capable of rearing a long neck high above the water. It's hard to tell if the videos are doctored, but there are too many rumors to dismiss easily. Something strange might be lurking deep in the water. Or it's just a hoax to get people out to the Reservoir!

But…Sometimes, people feel like something is grabbing their ankle, even if they are just wading in the shallow end. In the deeper parts of the water, it gets a little more intense: something has been said to grab onto ankles and pull. People have been warned about dangerous pranks, but so far no one has been caught. In the shallow end, anyone unfortunate enough to be targeted may feel themselves being knocked off their feet and tugged into the water; anyone in deep water may feel a firm grip on their ankle, tugging them lower and lower. Somehow, anyone it targets is freed--either by wriggling and fighting, or because someone intervenes and pulls the would-be victim up. No one has drowned in the lake. Yet. It's impossible to see who, or what, is doing this, but it usually gives up after one failed attempt. Usually.

While you may find yourself harassed by the supposed cryptid, or see something visibly odd in the distance, you cannot take any pictures of the creature. Who knows if you're even being attacked by the cryptid–or just another youma?


One of Jackson's newest favorite places was the reservoir. It was so easy and convenient to grab his guitar in a notebook and find a place to practice and maybe try to write a few songs of his own. Sometimes, his creativity flowed like the waters he sat nearby, and sometimes it didn't, but he was satisfied with simply playing some of his favorite music and enjoying the day and usually the breeze that rolled over the water, causing the water to ripple in small waves and his hair to rustle across his forehead as it carried his notes away.

Jackson had also met a few students here, for art and for music. When it wasn't jam packed with people, or they could find a more quiet spot away from the crowd, it was a nice change of scenery to teach someone music there, rather than the various indoor spaces he usually met students for their lessons. Maybe when he had finished with university, Jackson would set up an actual office or shop space of some sort and hold lessons more consistently there. For now, he and his students could follow whimsy just a little and choose wherever they wanted to do their lessons. Although his students had a set time every week, Jackson was pretty and able to be pretty flexible with the schedule and location at the moment. He had two or three students a day around his classes and not a lot else to do during the rest of his spare time aside from practicing and pursuing his own musical and artistic skill.

The reservoir was also a beautiful place to teach art, especially if you went at different times of the day and were able to talk about shadows and shading and painting or drawing things that moved. They could focus of the people around them and discuss human anatomy or they could focus on the plants and animals. It was just as easy for Jackson to come alone with his paints or a sketch book and do his own study of the area. It also did a lot to help him complete art assignments for his university classes. While he had done well and had a good view of the city from his flat. It was much better to come here or to a park and do his required work.

This morning, Jackson had decided to spend some time with his guitar. All of his classes for the day had been cancelled for one reason or another and he had ended up with much more free time than he was used to. Why not pack a lunch and spend the day here? He had spent the better part of the morning people watching and just enjoying the water and the breeze and playing music.

Every once in a while, Jackson would look up from his guitar and look around at the people arriving to the beaches or playing in the water. One such time, he saw something far to large to be a fish come out of the water, into the air, and slip back into the water near a group of people. After the thing had fully disappeared, a couple of people from the group screeched and seemed to be dragged under the water, but before Jackson could react, they were back up again. From the reactions of those around them, it seemed to be treated like a cruel joke, so the musician relaxed but only a little. What was the thing he saw?

For a moment, he considered that he had spent too long in the heat and should probably get out of it and have his lunch, or maybe his one good eye just wasn't seeing things properly. Finally, Jackson shook his head and got back to what he was doing, which did involve putting his guitar down and with his emerald star charm and eating his lunch.

Later, he would see reports on the supposed sea monster in the reservoir and wonder once again if he had seen someone or if had just been a trick of his mind.

Word Count
677