City of Angels and Darkness (Contest Version)

Chapter 13

- The Faerie -

Everything was dark and cold and silent. He was standing on the shore of the lake, his gaze wandering across the water, which was shimmering with the glow of a thousand diamonds. The beauty that was spread out in front of him could not hide the fact that there was something beneath the surface. He knew it was something important, even though he could not see it clearly.

A cold wind arose from out of nowhere, making him shiver. Soft waves were rolling toward him, swirling around his feet, but he remained where he was. He did not know why, but something told him that he had to go into the water. The wind strengthened and the waves got bigger. He turned his head and narrowed his eyes. Suddenly there was a whisper in the air, strange voices that seemed to try to tell him something he could not understand. The voices were too distant; coming and going, just like the waves were coming and going.

Slowly he took a few steps into the ice-cold water, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. As soon as the cold water was surrounding his knees, he stopped, took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to focus on the voices. He could feel the water streaming around his legs, pulling his trousers, as if the waves were trying to pull him deeper into the water. He was not afraid. Somehow he knew that he was safe.

The current grew stronger and he had to work hard to keep the balance. The water had risen, so that it was now almost waist-high. He opened his eyes and held his breath. Suddenly the water in front of him was totally calm, making the surface almost like a mirror. But it was not his own reflection he saw, it was the face of a boy with curly brown hair. The sight touched something inside him, sending a strange warmth through his body. As quickly as it had appeared, the face was gone, replaced by the face of a girl with black hair and green eyes. Looking at her almost hurt physically. He did not know why, but he wanted to touch her so badly it made his heart ache with yearning.

Something told him that he should know the faces, but no matter how hard he tried, he just could not remember. The murmuring of the voices had stopped. There was just one left and he knew that it was the voice of the girl whose face he saw in the water in front of him. It was unbelievably soft and so quiet that he barely could hear it.

Mark.

Someone was calling his name. He knew it was his name, although it seemed to belong to an other life. Someone knew his name and was looking for him. He felt his heartbeat quicken and tried to step back, but he could not move. His feet seemed to be stuck in the mud, making it impossible to return to the shore.

Mark.

The tone of the voice was pleading, longing.

Mark. Come home.

Panic spread through his body. With all his strength he tried to break free. He wanted to go wherever the voice was coming from, but the mud did not let go of him. The winds grew stronger, making the waves higher and more powerful. His heart was pounding heavily inside his chest as he bent forward, reached his hands into the water and dragged his left leg out of the mud. Waves were breaking at his body, hitting his face, making him swallow the icy water. But he did not care. All he wanted was to be where the voice was. His clothes were soaking wet, drawing him under water, as if the lake wanted to keep him. He was panting heavily, now almost fighting to free himself from whatever was holding him.

Again, he heard his name and whispered breathlessly, "I'm coming. Wait for me. Please. Wait for me ..."

Mark. Come home. Mark.

"Here. I am here. I can hear you. Wait for me. I'll -"

The air was burning in his lungs, his body was shaking from the cold and his hands and fingers were numb. He let go of his legs and straightened up, desperately gasping for air. The water had almost reached his chest. Hectically he turned his head to find the girl's face in the water again, but it was gone. There was only water around him - dark, deep and threatening. How could he ever have felt safe here? Why had he left the shore? He would never be able to make it back - he would drown - right here, right now.