The elders said that the town’s prosperity, and its doom, came from the lake. There was a spirit living there who blessed the town with endless clean water, but also drowned the unwary. They built a shrine to appease her and regularly held rites and festivals in her honor.
The spirit in the lake heard the commotion and was fascinated by the strange creatures living beyond the barrier she couldn’t pass.
She tried to make contact, but each attempt met with failure when the thrashing creatures stopped moving.
Someday she would get it right. She just had to keep trying.

“A Private Lake” by MSVG is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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Everyday Drabbles © 2025 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0