lotus lake

Darkness

As I mentioned, a bitter darkness was climbing over the neighbourhood fences, like ivy.
Last winter, 1971. The start of the murders.
It was a cool evening and the only light around the meadows was the moon. Hidden in the tall grass was a lady wearing a sundress. She had a wooden boat tied to a willow tree and was concealing whatever was inside with a quilted blanket. I ran before I was seen by her, maybe it was a spirit- there are rumours about some visiting the town of Osaka. But it wasn't. She was real. For sure.
The next morning I woke up in a cold sweat turning my lamp on, frantically rolling out of my bed to see the lake and if the lady was still there. All that I could see was police tape surrounding the willow tree. The boat was no where to be seen. I climbed out of my window, my bedroom clock reading '5:37'. I reached for the nearest fir tree to fall into, hoping I wouldn't wake my parents. I pretended to walk to the nearest telephone box but instead I was going to investigate the police tape. There was a body in the lake. It was my neighbour, Mr Aibi. His heart was corrupted with lotus roots, as it floated on the water's surface and he had a large lilypad floating on top of his disfigured body. His hands were torn off from the lotus roots, as the flower had shot up with blood splattered on its rosy petals. I couldn't believe it. His veins had turned and olive green and were bulging out of his body. The lake turned a moss colour as Mr Aibi's limbs floated with the current. Before I could take a closer look I was stopped by a young police man with a clipboard. "Sorry" I said, and ran away before he could catch me and lead me back home.
The nights following the murder I couldn't stop staring out of my window. I would get home from school, sleep, and stay awake at the late hours of the night searching for the lady in the sundress. Every night she would appear. But there was not always a murder. She would return to the covert of the willow tree and hang her floral garments on its branches. She would sit there all night in her boat waiting for the wind to dry them. Some nights, she would hang dead people on the tree before putting them in lotus lake. She would drain them of blood before washing their clothes and leaving them dead in the lake. The police could never find out who this woman was, because nobody could see her but me. The murders were real, but how did they happen if only I could see her?
A week later.
Since the 'lady in the sundress' had made her first murder, I knew I had to act now. One night after hours, I creeped into the long grass and camped behind a large limestone boulder, which had a jade statue of a tiger on top of it. It was coated in thick, dense moss with fireflies surrounding it. I lit my magnolia scented candle and did my homework until she would appear. There she was, hanging her washing. I slowly approached the lady, but believed I would be next. I sprinted for the police station, only to find the young police man I saw at the lake last week. "Please sir, I need to make a report," I asked, shaking. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" He said, concerned. He had a soft face and was in his early twenties, with pale skin and dark almond eyes. "Please." He was my last hope of catching her. He picked up a torch and followed me to the lake. The lady was there, doing her laundry. The police man leaned over me to see her, but saw nothing. "What exactly did you want me to see?" He asked, looking around to see if anyone was there. I knew if I told him I could see her I would sound crazy, so I made up a story about someone running into the woods. "I'll do what I can," the man said, as he trudged back to the station. Luckily, he didn't tell my parents I was out this late, but I was hoping that he secretly did because I thought I was about to die. "Next time," i whispered to myself and sighed, as I picked up my things and went back to my house.
She didn't make another murder after that, so I decided to stop watching her, I was loosing sleep after all.
A month later.
I went to the library in the 'myth' section, trying to do some digging on the 'lady in the sundress' but found absolutely nothing until a year later.