N/N: Ahh….I know I ought to be continuing with those unfinished fan fiction titles of mine instead of writing new ones…gosh…forgive me for that…but I am trying to get my writing blocks unclogged. So do bear with me….thanks! Thank you all for reading my humble fictions! Thanks!
THE LAKE
Chapter 1
The Lake
"Finally…" Tsukushi muttered under her breath before letting out a tiny yawn. The announcing of her destination would mean that the long tedious hours in the confined compartment were about to come to an end. As she stepped out of the train, Tsukushi spotted a familiar face with a warming smile pinned on her wrinkled face.
"Obaasan!" Tsukushi cried as she ran over and gave her grandmother a big hug.
It was Tsukushi's first visit to Honshu ever since her grandmother had decided to spend the rest of her life by moving back to her hometown, during that time, Tsukushi was only five years old. "I miss you so much!" Tsukushi's eyes were already swelling with tears.
"Me too…" Tsukushi's grandmother said while she patted her head gently, happy to know that her family hadn't forgotten about her after all these years.
- - - - -
"That is such a beautiful pool of water over there." Tsukushi exclaimed and pointed at one lake situated at the far end of the mountain when they were on their way back to her grandmother's house.
"You must stay away from that place while you are here." Her grandmother quickly warned her in a whispering tone as though someone was eavesdropping on them.
"It's haunted."
"Haunted?" Tsukushi almost wanted to laugh out but she didn't because she did not want to sound too offensive towards her grandmother's statement.
"But it looks so…" Tsukushi paused and stared quietly at the pool of still water.
"Beautiful." That was the only word Tsukushi's mind could think of at that moment. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
Tsukushi swore she had heard something but she quickly dismissed the feeling thinking that it might due to the fatigue of the long train journey when her grandmother claimed she did not hear anything.
"Nothing…maybe it was just my imagination."
"Let's go, granny."
- - - - -
The lake was not very big but as according to her grandmother, the core of the lake was very deep. There were many trees growing around the sides of the lake, some were so old that the top part of those trees were bent and stretching all the way to the centre area, thus cover almost of the lake's surface area.
The morning sun ray was exceptionally comfortable, especially on a summer day's morning and Tsukushi found herself back inside the forbidden ground despite of her grandmother's constant warnings during the past few days.
Tsukushi quickly climbed up to one huge rock where she could have the best view of the lake while standing on top of it and started admiring the sceneries around her. It was already her third day at the lake and Tsukushi had this feeling that she had been here forever and as if the lake belonged to her and she, belonged to the lake.
On the other hand, she did notice that the villagers would rather walk a few extra miles to another river for their daily water consumption rather than coming to the lake even though the water here was clean and clear.
She tried asking her grandmother about the reason behind her 'haunted' theory, but it seemed like a taboo topic to be discussed in the village. Nobody was willing to go further into details, not even her grandmother.
How can it be haunted when it is so beautiful?
As Tsukushi was almost lost in her thoughts, a string a beautiful notes had somehow brought her back and it was then she realized she was not alone, after all.
To be continued…