The mist hung over the lake, calm and beautiful in the dawn. The water looked blue and peaceful in the rising sun. It was the dawn of another perfect day.
Underneath the surface, in the ruins that had once been homes, towns, cemeteries, the dead waited in the black water.
The lake had been a valley, flooded to create a reservoir to feed the big city a few miles away. And of course, it served as a resort for the rich and powerful.
They didn’t think about the ghosts they’d made. But all things that sink will one day rise.

“Paulina Lake at Sunset, Oregon” by Bonnie Moreland (free images) is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

My very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!

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