The Stones on the Shore
Something hides in the fog on the lake.
FYI: This tale began life as a flash fiction story. Have fun reading and comparing the two versions!
Tendrils of fog crept down the mountain, slid over the chill surface of Ipasha Lake, and penetrated the forest beyond. Sky, water, rock, and foliage grayed at its touch. Crouching on a slip of granite at the water’s edge, Shawna Givens tightened her coat against the fog’s clammy fingers. She peered across the lake, imagining shadows breaking its surface.
It was out there somewhere, lurking in the depths.
She’d seen it seven times before, dimly, rising within the vapors, stretching its jet black hide up, up, searching, probing, maybe hoping to catch a glimmer of sun before plunging back to its cold bed.
Before her, two small cairns marked her most recent sighting. A week before she had eased the river-smooth stones from her pocket and built the cairns to frame the dimly visible form protruding from the water, cloaked in cloud. If she focused one eye dead center between the piles, she could almost see its form once more, glistening just at the edge of vision.
Six more pairs of cairns dotted the shore, tombstones marking her memories. They bore no epitaphs, no names or dates or platitudes. Rather, each pair…
