The Chosen: Chapter 6 - Reflections

The aluminum row boat glided slowly on top of the calm water barely producing a wake.  An electric trolling motor quietly propelled the boat forward towards an inlet that fed the small lake with cold mountain runoff. Surrounding the mouth of the stream was a little cove sheltered by trees.  

In a few weeks the shallow water would be choked with lily pads and milfoil. 

The abundant aquatic plants made it nearly impossible to cast a line without catching weeds instead of fish during the Summer months.  But it was still Spring, and the water was relatively weed-free.  Ella's father was hoping that this might provide them with an opportunity to catch something.

Ella's father sat in the rear of the boat, steering it with the trolling motor, guiding it towards the entrance of the cove.   Ryan sat towards the front of the boat securing a lure to his line, and Ella sat in the middle holding her Nikon Camera.  Ella rarely went anywhere without her camera, because she was afraid she would miss a perfect photo opportunity if she did.  She especially made sure she had it with her when she would be outdoors, surrounded by nature which was her favorite subject to shoot.

Their boat was the only one on the water that morning.  It was still early and they had the lake to themselves.  There was a crisp morning chill in the air; a reminder that it still wasn't quite summer.  Steam rose off of the surface of the flat water, shrouding the lake in an aura of mystery.   

 

Ella hadn't spoken a word to her brother or father about what had happened to her the night before.  She wouldn't have known where to even begin.  How do you tell someone about something that even you yourself don't understand?  After the episode was over, she had laid in bed most of the night staring up at the ceiling, praying that it wouldn't happen again.  She had been too afraid to fall asleep and had turned her bedside lamp on.  It stayed on the entire night. 

 

In the morning, the overwhelming terror that had consumed Ella during the night, dissipated some.   But the anxiety and fear remained.  They were still there nagging at her.  She still felt as if she was in danger, but because she had no idea why she felt this way, she tried to brush it off.  She tried to convince herself that it had just been a night terror like the ones she had experienced as a child.  But she wasn't very successful.  Her intuition fought off all of her attempts to dissuade herself.  It was as if a sixth sense deep inside of her was desperately struggling to escape and to take control of her thoughts.  She tried to keep it at bay, but in the end it was stronger than she was.

Although she remained anxious, Ella was determined to try and forget about it; at least for a little while.  She didn't want it to ruin her time with her family.  She had been looking forward to this trip for too long to let what was probably just a night terror spoil it all. She knew that if it happened again she would probably have to tell her family about it eventually.  But not today. Today was going to be perfect.

The scenery helped to take Ella's mind off of the night before.  Mist rose from the surface of the water in patches, obscuring some of the lakeshore, creating the illusion that the mountains in the background were floating among the clouds.  The water was so still, it was a mirror, reflecting an upside down image of the trees on the shoreline and the mountains above.   It was breathtaking. 

They slowly entered the cove, scaring a few turtles off of their logs who jumped into the water with a splash.  It didn't take the boat long to reach the far side of the small inlet where the water was slightly deeper.  

    

"Well, I think this is as good of a spot as any.", Ella's father said, shutting off the trolling motor, "There should be some pretty good size Bass in here."  

 

"Smallmouth or Largemouth?", Ryan asked.

 "Largemouth.", Ella answered, "Largemouth prefer the still waters of lakes and ponds with weeds, whereas Smallmouth prefer the moving water of streams and rivers with rocky bottoms."

"I thought I was going fishing, not on a nature tour.", Ryan said sarcastically, "It is way too early for a science lesson."  

"Well, she is right Ryan.", Ella's father defended her.

"Of course she is, she's a science Nerd.", Ryan laughed, his back towards Ella.

Ella reached into the cold water and used her cupped hand to splash some at Ryan.  The water spread out into a fan shaped spray and doused Ryan.  He jumped slightly in surprise and turned around to face Ella, who was laughing hysterically.

"Ha, very funny.", Ryan said, and reached into the still water, "Two can play at this game.", he added and a mischievous smirk formed on his face.

Ella held her hands up in front of her face, bracing herself for the splash she knew was coming.  The water hit her and she was shocked by how cold it was.  She let out a little squeal of surprise.

"Cold, isn't it?", Ryan giggled.

"Just a little.", Ella said wiping her dripping hair out of her face, and they both laughed loudly.

"Ok, that is enough of that.", Ella's father said.  He attempted to sound stern and to suppress a smile, but he was not very successful at either, "If you expect to catch any fish, you better stop that nonsense, or you will scare them all away."

They spent the morning fishing, talking and laughing together in the small cove.  It was just like old times when their dad would take them fishing as children. Ella took turns between fishing and taking pictures of the wildlife that surrounded her.  She saw turtles, frogs, songbirds, and even a Great Blue Heron, all of which she captured on film.  

They were all successful in catching some fish.  Ella's father caught three Largemouths, and Ryan caught two of his own, plus an enormous black catfish. Ella caught a few fish, and a giant snapping turtle, which surprised them all.  Ryan reeled the behemoth turtle in for Ella when her arms had grown tired, not knowing what was on the other end of the line.  He let out a little effeminate scream when it finally surfaced, and Ella laughed uncontrollably at him. 

Ella felt happier than she had felt in a long time; so happy that she almost forgot about last night's episode. Almost.

When the sun had burned off most of the morning's mist, they decided it was time to head back to the cabin and have some lunch.  

As they headed back across the lake towards the dock, Ella admired the view.  Now that the fog had lifted, more of the shoreline could be seen and it was beautiful.  Dark evergreens lined the shore, mixed with birch and maple trees adorned with fresh new leaves.  She took pictures of the shore, the trees and the mountains.  The shoreline and mountain's reflection on the water's surface was so perfect it almost looked as though another world existed beneath the surface; only an upside down one. 

  

Ella peered over the edge of the boat and into the water to look at her reflection.  Her mirror image stared back at her and was framed by the mountains in the distance behind her.  The reflection rippled some with the movement of the water, but was an almost perfect image.  Two mountains rose up in the reflection and were exact copies of the real mountains behind her.  Their softly rounded peaks and heavily forested slopes were majestic and stunning.

Ella turned around and held up her Nikon to snap a few pictures of the actual mountains.  She remembered the lake and surrounding mountains as being  pretty, but she had forgotten just how beautiful the spot really was.

Turning around, Ella looked back over the edge of the boat again and down at herself in the water.  She was extremely startled and confused by what she saw when she did.  She could see the look of surprise that appeared on her face within the reflection. The two gently rounded and lushly forested mountain peaks were gone.  There were still mountains in the reflection, only they weren't the mountains behind her.   

The mountain peaks that now appeared on the water's surface were not rounded or forested. The new peaks were rugged and made of jagged cliffs and weathered bare rock. Even the color of the foliage that covered the slopes seemed different.  Instead of the dark green color of the evergreens that covered the mountains behind her, these mountains were a lighter blue-green color.   And there were three peaks instead of two.  She stared at the image in complete amazement.

How was this possible?  

Ella turned around quickly to examine the two mountains behind her, as if they might have changed on her while her back was turned.  But they remained unchanged " two peaks, rounded, forested mountain tops, and dark green foliage.   

What was going on?  Was she seeing things?

It was a real possibility, Ella thought.  She hadn't slept much last night and perhaps her sleep deprived mind was playing tricks on her.  That had to be what was going on.  She turned to look at the reflection again, expecting the imposter mountains to be gone and the real mountains to be back.  But that is not what she saw.

The three craggy peaks remained.  The stately mountains in the reflection were clearly not the mountains behind her.  How were they in the image on the surface of the water then?    Ella blinked hard a couple of times, trying to clear her vision, but when she looked again they were still there.   She couldn't believe what she was seeing, but she knew that her eyes were not deceiving her.   As impossible as it was, she somehow knew that she was actually seeing the reflection of a real mountain range.  Only it wasn't the mountain range she should be seeing.  Regardless,  she knew that they existed somewhere just the same.  She just had no idea how she knew this.  

Ella studied the impossible reflection closely and the longer she stared at it, the more she felt like she recognized the mountains; like she had been there before.  The feeling was so powerful that it scared her slightly.  She couldn't remember having seen any mountains in the past that looked like the ones she was seeing now.  So why did she feel so strongly that she had?     

You must return.

The sudden thought filled Ella's ear like a soft whisper carried by the breeze.  It sent an ominous chill down her spine.   In that moment, she knew that the mountains were real, and that she had been there before; and that she needed to go to them again.  She felt that it was extremely important that she did.  She couldn't say why she felt that way, but she did.

"Ella?", Ryan repeated for a second time, trying to get her attention.

"Hmmm?", Ella replied and she sounded like she had just woken up from a nap. She turned to face Ryan.

"Everything ok?, Ryan asked.

"Ya, why?", Ella tried to hide the anxiety in her voice.

"You've been staring over the edge of the boat for the past five minutes.", Ryan said, "Was there something interesting in the water?  Did you find a new species?", he joked.

"No.", Ella let out a small nervous laugh, "Just admiring my reflection.", she said jokingly, giving Ryan a thin smile. Ryan laughed and didn't seem to notice her unease.

Turning to look back down at the water again, Ella noticed that the fraudulent mountains were gone.  All that could be seen now in the water was a true reflection of the scenery behind her.  She stared in utter disbelief at the reflection as it gently undulated  and rippled.   

What the hell?  I seriously need to get some sleep tonight.  

Her inner voice spoke to her, and calmed her nerves some, but another little voice inside of her, one that she would have liked to ignore, spoke up as well.  

You know what you saw.

The little voice made her shiver slightly despite the warmth of the mid-day sun. Goosebumps formed on her arms and legs and she hugged herself protectively.  Fear gripped her firmly with menacing hands.

Ella had a sudden intense desire to jump into the freezing water and swim to shore as fast as she could. Although she had truly enjoyed fishing with her family, and found the lake absolutely stunning, she couldn't wait to get out of the boat, on to dry land, and as far away from the reflections as possible.  When they docked the boat she moved to get out of the boat and on to the dock as quickly as she could without appearing too eager.  She didn't want to draw attention to herself or have to explain her actions to anyone.

During their short drive back to the Cabin, Ella  calmed down some.  Her inner voice of reason had become victorious. It won the battle that it had waged with the nagging little voice that had attempted to sway her.  Convinced that a lack of sleep had caused her to see things that weren't there, she decided that she would take a nap after lunch.

Back at the Cabin, they fixed cold-cut sandwiches and took them out on to the large front porch to eat their lunch sitting in the rocking chairs.  The bright sun was directly overhead now and it warmed the early afternoon with the promise of summer.  They rocked lazily, eating their sandwiches, and drinking lemonade, shaded from the sun by the massive porch roof.  It was the perfect ending to an almost perfect morning.  

It would have been a perfect morning if it hadn't been for those mountains.     

The pesky little voice had managed to return. It seemed that Ella couldn't shoo the darned thing away no matter how hard she tried.  

Look at the pictures...

The voice whispered gently, and it sounded like the soft murmurings of a small child;  timid, yet full of vitality.  She was so stunned by the unexpected and somewhat involuntary thought that she had to choke down the bite she had just taken from her sandwich.   In that moment she knew that her pictures held the answer.  She would find pictures of the real mountains on her camera and this would help her to chase the annoying little voice away for good.  Her nap would have to wait.

              

After Ella finished her lunch, she went inside the Cabin, leaving her father and brother on the porch. She sat on the Futon with her camera.  She started scanning through the digital images she had captured while they were on the lake.  She scrolled through the pictures that appeared on the camera's display screen one at a time.  There was an amazing shot of a colorful dragonfly who's wings were covered with morning dew, one of a painted turtle, her father holding up a fish he caught, and then a picture of the huge snapping turtle which had made Ryan scream like a little girl.  Ella giggled quietly to herself at the memory.   

She kept scrolling quickly through the rest of the photos, her muscles tense with anticipation.  There were images of birds, the shoreline and it's reflection in the water, and then finally came a picture of the mountains. Her muscles relaxed and she felt the tension drain from her body.  The mountains were a dark green color, and the peaks " two of them " were covered with dense foliage.  No bare exposed rock or jagged cliffs.  She let out a long sigh of relief and realized she had actually been holding her breath. 

Before turning her camera off, she decided to take a quick look at the remaining pictures to see if any of them were frame worthy.   Using the camera's arrow button, she flipped through the pictures giving each of them only a cursory glance.  An image of a Baltimore Oriole and then a Bullfrog appeared on the screen, followed by several more pictures of the mountains. As they quickly flashed from one image to the next, the additional pictures of the mountains all appeared to be similar to the first one. But as she continued to rapidly click through them, she caught a momentary glimpse of a picture that stole her attention as she passed it by.  She had to click the back arrow through two pictures to find it and when she did her mind refused to believe what her eyes were seeing.   A strange feeling of disconnect slowed her thoughts, like they were moving through thick mud rather than the synapses of her brain.    

It was not possible. It simply couldn't be.

And yet, there it was, the impossible on the viewing screen of her Nikon.  Apparently the impossible was somehow plausible.  Because cameras don’t lie. They can only show you a captured moment in time of reality.  They aren't capable of telling lies.  They can only show you the truth.

The screen displayed a picture of a mountain range consisting of three weathered peaks of exposed rock and sharp edged cliffs. The red time-date stamp overlaying the digital image was the final nail in the coffin's lid. The stamp read:  May 24, 2015  11 : 13 : 24 a.m. It reflected the exact date and time of the moment she had been taking pictures of the mountain range earlier that morning.

Ella felt like she was being pulled apart at the seams. Her mind was being stretched beyond its breaking point.  She was coming unhinged, like an old worn out door let loose from its frame, no longer able to cling to the rotted casing.  She felt her grip on reality slipping.  If the vivid night terrors weren't enough to send her over the edge, now a picture existed to document her fall down the rabbit hole. She wasn't sure which was worse. 

The fear she felt was so strong and so complete that it made her feel almost numb inside.  As if she had completely bypassed being afraid and gone straight into shock. She knew that it was time to tell her father and brother about what she was experiencing. But would they believe her?

Then it hit her.  She had a picture.  There was proof of what she had seen on the lake; actual proof that she could show her father and Ryan.  

But it will be gone when you do...

The little voice mocked her, and she desperately wanted to silence it. But she also had a strong suspicion that the voice was right; that the image would be gone from her camera if she attempted to show it to anyone.  She felt that even if she herself looked for the picture again later, that it would be mysteriously wiped from the camera’s memory, as if it never existed.  And if that happened, it could only mean one thing.  That it was never really there in the first place. 

She put her camera down on the coffee table in front of her and pushed it away from where she sat as if it was contaminated.  She was too afraid to even check for the picture again.  She feared that she would only prove the little voice right.  Ella felt herself falling deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole, and it was a very dark place filled  with despair.  She was Alice about to have tea with the mad hatter, while the Cheshire Cat looked on, wearing an insane grin.

There was no avoiding it now.  She had to tell her father and brother tonight, even if she had no proof of what she had seen. Picture or no picture, it didn’t matter.  She knew if she told them that they would help her through whatever was happening to her.  They would throw her a lifeline, down into her rabbit hole and they would help her to climb out.

 

Ella feared if she didn’t tell them tonight, that it might be too late; that she might never escape from the hole.

Author's Note

Please provide feedback!! I will add chapters as they are written, so stay tuned...

Reviews

[matrixmark]

It started with an almost picture perfect lake, being gently broked by the stroking of the oar. (It really is like a proper adventure this book of yours - very moviesque) All these little details like the lilly pads and aquatic plants all bring so much into the readers mind - setting strong foundations is crucial for a piece to believable and you do this really well.(Even by adding the motor, that in itself brings more to the table) I for one really do appreciate all these little details.
Funny - ella being splashed in the face.
And then came the confusion of the mountain peaks - I like it when you do this. You build the setting up so well and then comes the tension building - I REALLY, REALLY like the voices in the head, you do it with most chapters and I hope it continues. It gives the piece a real sense of danger to to.
'You know what you saw' - Great line - almost haunting, but perfectly placed. Then you go into your descriptive writing again, painting another vivid picture into the readers mind and also planting the piece about the mountains again along the way.

Brilliant piece, I am so into this story.

Mark.