Nandana Rekha Binu.

(Nandana Rekha Binu. Father- Binu Gopinathan, Mother -Rekha Rajamma, Sister -Avani Binu. I
am studying Speech Pathology at Flinders University, Adelaide. I wrote this story when I was in 10 th year at the high school.)


Yearning Lake

The soft rustling of leaves accompanied her footsteps as she walked along the winding street of Yearning Lake. Yearning Lake was not a mere location, nor part of her existence. It was a forgotten book alone with its secrets. This town used to have a life of its own, the vivid houses used to gleam under the morning sunlight and the harmonious laughter of the town folks lit up the streets.

However, the houses lost their colour and were hued in grey, and only the soft whispers of the ghosts that used to reside could be heard within the wind. The wind twirled around her, breaching her jacket and chilling her bones. She trembled, and plunged her head into the scarf that surrounded her neck, in an attempt to halt the surge of corrupt memories from clouding her mind. This town used to be filled with its own enchanting stories, comforting dreams and nurturing souls. However, after the tragic drowning incident, the town changed forever and lost its previous captivating charm.

She didn’t want to know about her misdeeds, no…she didn’t need to know. But some unforeseen force was propelling her forward, forcing her to take each painful step closer and closer towards the truth. Her instinct informed her that there was something dark lurking within the dwindling soul of the town. She silently walked down the street, only her footsteps could be heard breaking the tense and ominous atmosphere. She had no idea where she was walking towards, but she had the feeling that `the place was of high importance. She quickly spotted a desolate playground and seated herself on a bench directly across from the swings. The swings swayed in the wind, depicting the times when it was used by children. The playground was in rough condition, it was derelict and had ivy vines weeping along its edges. As she stared deeper into the playground, she pondered about what she did which sucked the life out of Yearning Lake. Whatever occurred, she was not eager to discover.

Suddenly, she got a splitting headache that became painstakingly unbearable. She tightly clutched her head and she forcefully shook her head to clear out the pain, but to no avail the pain still remained. A soft touch on her forehead diminished her pain, eager to identify the person she quickly opened her eyes. A little boy stood in front of her; his soft golden locks were parted and his large blue eyes curiously observed the woman. He was the epitome of innocence, the complete opposite of the woman. The little boy ran away, peered back and beckoned her to follow.

“Follow me Ember”, he gently chanted, “I have something to show you”.

Ember felt like a bucket of freezing water splashed upon her. She quickly shot up and ran after the young boy. The little boy was nowhere in sight, and Ember was desperate to catch a glimpse of him.
She recognised the child, and his name was on the tip of her tongue. However, no matter how hard Ember tried she could not shout the boy’s name out. Whilst sprinting across the street, Ember observed the town in a different light. The preceding notion of precariousness was replaced with intimacy, Ember finally realised that she was familiar with the town. This town was the place of her childhood, how could she simply forget it. She heard the distant boy’s voice, who was screaming to her in a loud, panicked tone. Ember broke out into a sprint and followed her instinct towards the boy’s screams, her legs were familiar with the location and she was able to effortlessly dip and dodge her way around the abandoned town. She walked onto a jetty overlooking a glassy, transparent lake. This lake was the icon of the town; it was the Yearning Lake. Ember couldn’t help but admire its glory, despite its abandoned and murky state. The lake seemed to contain deep poignancy that mmediately paralysed her. She forcefully took a step towards the edge of the jetty;
her whole body was discouraging her, but Ember knew that she had to. She gazed into the rippling waves, imaging that familiar figure slowly fading into the abyss…
His whole body went limp as the freezing water submerged him. His legs had grown tired after he struggled to bring himself up towards the moon-speckled surface. His ears were filled with water, his hair shaped like seaweed, and his mouth gurgled out carbon dioxide. He was quickly sinking into the depths of darkness, and his heart hammered at a disturbingly quick rate after discerning his immobility. A silhouette peered over the surface, and hope filled his mind. ‘Someone is going to save me,’ he thought, ‘I am going to survive.’ However, the person was motionless like a stack of bricks.
No hand came to his rescue, the water flowed into his lungs and he gazed at the surface for one last time.
Wheezing and sputtering, Ember’s legs gave away and she stumbled down gasping for air. Her headache developed into heartache, and tears filled her eyes as she peered over the jetty. The subdued memories instantly flooded her head as she leered into the water. The tragic incident had whizzed throughout the town like a tornado, and the once bustling, cheerful town transmuted into a ghost town as the inhabitants bolted off to escape the despair. Ember remembered the exact date Yearning Lake had lost its spirit and she understood the reason why she was brought back here. She subconsciously realised that this lake was the key in unlocking her horrifying past. This lake was so distressing that she was mentally forced to repress her memories associated with it. Tears streamed down Ember’s face and she continuously replayed the event over and over again in her head. She could not dive in and rescue the little boy for her fate would have been the same. She was a selfish wimp, that forgot about the most important person in her life. She peered down and stared into the soulless eyes of her forgotten twin brother sinking and mouthed;
“Forgive me”.