Short Story: Sophia's Descent Into The Murky Water

A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before.

She slowly lifted her vision from the ground up towards the view of the forest. As she moved her head from side to side she looked in wonder at her surroundings. All she could see expanding right in front of her eyes was a beautiful crystal clear water hole with waterfalls rushing in from either side. Behind this amazing waterhole towards the right there was yet another exit out of the forest, although this one seemed different … it lead towards her street that she last remembered living on. Annabel seemed very relieved to see this exit but there was something that seemed to stop her walking out into her freedom. The thought of leaving the forest meant she would say goodbye to her parents for good. Annabel couldn’t bear to do this; she couldn’t live with herself if she knew there was something else she could do that might reunite her with her

She stands, gazing at her reflection in the mirror. She’s drowning so far under, the ocean drips from her eyes. She’s screaming, but staying as silent as the shadows in hopes to avoid brutal words. Analyzing her options, she walks away from the edge: she keeps trying as she whispers to herself: one more day.

A million thoughts running through her mind. “Get to the creek, get the bag”. The torches search the over grown field her body hot in the frosted blades that come up to her knees. Dropping to the ground chest flat to the earth her heart in her throat. “We know you’re out there” he says the panic in his voice worries her. The field suddenly becomes dark and the people are getting closer. Marching in rows like men going to war. Without another thought she is running feet stumbling one after the other. Aching knees and weak bones carry her to the edge. She reaches the wall of trees that she has forever longed to meet. She turns to see if anyone had seen her. The lights are back on and the torches are moving through the grass. She looks down at her thin pale wrist and removed a small band with ‘Renee Grace’

The water dragged and strapped her down from all possible sides. The more she struggled the more disorientated she became. Left, right, up, down she couldn’t make any sense of it all. She pushed with her arms and legs but she couldn’t find any leverage, for all she knew she was forcing herself further down. Her lungs craved for more air and even though she knew she wouldn’t receive enough, her body still took a final breath. Cold water filled her lungs, burning her throat as if hundreds of needles had pierced into it. Her muscles relaxed and she was oddly calm for a moment - then everything slowly faded too black.

As she walked slowly on it now just occurred that at this rate, she would die. The blood loss was too much and even if she tried to go back, she wouldn’t have enough energy to jump back over the fence. She sighed and stared at the blood trail again… it was streaming down towards the lake. Eliza cocked her head sideways, and she slowly stepped forward… and then another step. Entranced, she began to quicken her pace, ignoring the throbbing in her wounded leg. And then, at the edge of the water, as if she couldn’t even control her body, her legs stiffened and she wobbled there for an uncomfortably long moment. Then, as if an invisible hand had slammed onto her back, she fell in. She tried to swim to the surface, but the cold, hard grip of the hand was still there, and she still couldn’t move. At first it felt almost comforting, the inability to control the fact that she would probably drown, after all… nobody would care. And then all of a sudden, as if on command, she was flung downward. She squeezed her eyes shut to avoid the piercing sting of the water smacking her eyes, and then, as if out of a dream, she could breath

The darkness surrounded her; its pressure was oppressive like the depths of the deep sea. It engulfed her with the forfeiture of life; however it did not rip her soul from her body, instead it took theirs. She had lost people before, but never had their death been so profound as to diminish her own sense of self. Never before had the loss of someone been so close to her as to cause the quantity of grief she now felt. She couldn’t fathom how divers survived at the pressure of those oppressive depths or how some could even find beauty in the pitch black; there was nothing beautiful in their deaths. She didn’t know that the diver survives by slowly acclimating to the physical and mental strain; knowing that resurfacing

“Okay, I’m done. I can’t do this any more.” She finally surrendered, and with it she took her belongings and left, into the deluge. Not seen for days, weeks, months. Leaving her children in the hands of a monster. Left there in silence, still trembling with fright. I sat there alone, in the dark cold master closet. Behind the old red rain coat, never

Waves crashed into the small hull, her tiny voice being drowned out by the sound of it. Between the lighting flashes, she sees the two adults race along the boat, securing belongings that had come loose. Her brother sits near her, frightened and crying, yet somehow comforting as her tiny hands cling to his fur. The rain whipped around them, blown about by fierce winds, and she covered her head to protect against the stinging droplets. Another crack echoed in her ears, but this one was not accompanied by thunder. Water rushed over her feet as the hull bent into strange new shapes around her. Another crash of lightning revealed nothing but the now illuminated night sky, roiling with the dark clouds of the storm. Then the cold overwhelmed her, the current dragging her away from her sibling and under the water. Spinning recklessly, she flailed in the depths until the darkness set in, mercifully quieting

She was standing atop the ridge of one of the many cliffs in the distance. The woman, if you could call her that, had blended into the darkness too well that the mountains weren’t even able to distinguish her. She was too faded away, even with all her outstanding and distinctive features. It was never guessed that she would turn out this way, wrapped around the gloom of her life. Her jet-black hair was flaying right across the ashen colour of her face; her figure barely seen as the ragged scraps of her black gown covered it wholly. The air was crispy, so bitter that she had to wrap her tremendous wings around her just to keep from transforming into an ice block. She was enclosed in so much dusk, and it wasn’t only meant metaphorically. Her

Alex clung on to the piece of driftwood, praying to see land as daylight began to creep over the waves of the pacific ocean. She was exhausted from hanging on, it seems like it had been hours since the cruise ship she and her family had been on to celebrate her graduating high school got caught in a terrible storm, and the ship sank. She had no idea what had happened to anyone in her family, where they had ended up, if they were even alive. She didn’t even know where she was or how she ended up here, all she could remember was falling into the water, and scrambling around until she found the piece of driftwood she was still clinging to for life.

Anguish suffocated her. Her mouth felt like cotton as she gasped for air. Groans of deep longing escaped as one who mourns the loss of a loved one taken from this earth too soon. Gut-wrenching emotional pain percolated deep within her. She stared at her disfigured body. Screaming to the reflection in her bathroom mirror, she reached out and smashed the ghastly reflection with her fist, shards of glass flying in every direction, “WHY ME?! What have I done to deserve this?! IT’S NOT FAIR!!!” She lay prostrate on the floor sobbing uncontrollably, blood dripping from her cut hand. “Dear God, HELP ME! I CANNOT DO THIS ANYMORE! I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!” Her body shook violently, then, like ripples of water slowly dissipating into a calm body of water, stillness washed over her. Peace fell on her like none she had ever known. Hanna sat up. Her tear-stained face and swollen eyes held a glimmer of

It was the beginning of yet another cold night. The sun was descending into the great unknown, allowing for the moon to take its place until the morning. Mayella stood and watched this phenomena, something she had never paid much attention to before. She stood silently before the filth and chaos of the junkyard, admiring the beauty of something so simple, something so full of wonder. It had now been a mere two weeks since her father’s death, though it felt like an eternity. Mayella was torn between two mentalities. On one hand, she loathed her father and what he did to her family; but on the other, she loved him. He was the only person she could ever turn to, even though he would always let her down. She had spent the past two weeks wondering why she couldn’t just hate him and move on. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice call out, interrupting her thoughts.

She begged and pleaded, Fell to her knees. “Please my love.” She cried in anguish “It is not too late! We can still flee!” She begged him to run away, to forget that dangerous plot. But he wouldn’t listen. He only looked at her with eyes that had seen so much pain and sorrow. Somehow she knew that there was no way that she could convince him to abandon his plans. She had already lost the battle. “Promise me you will be safe,” she whispered with tears in her eyes. He smiled softly, wiping a tear from her cheek that she didn’t know had fallen. “Maria,” he whispered, looking at her again with his sad eyes “You know that is not up to me, but I will try.” It was with that final word that Maria Pulleyn turned and left the room where her husband hid, silently weeping, not knowing that this would be the last time she would see her husband for months to come.

I stretch my arms above, reaching for the fading light streaming through with a strong desire. Cool strength engulfing me completely. It withholds me from the strength of the wind and the sun. A persistent, but rather dull roaring pulsed in my ears. My hair glides, following my movements, but moreso those of the cool strength. The muscles in my thighs tense as I strain to reach the light. All around tiny slippery figures dart over and momentarily press against my body: as if they are inquiring my presence, as if they know I do not belong. My fingertips are so close, they strain to reach the top and feel the breeze. My feet push against the water strenuously in a desperate attempt to help me escape from this dark constrictive prison. Nothing worked though; my lungs burned with a fire and my head stung immensely, I couldn’t escape.