April 2015

By Allison New

It was their anniversary. He surprised her with a weekend trip to the lake house. He hoped a weekend away might help. He wanted her to forgive him.

They barely spoke in the car. The silence was painful. When she did speak, the only words she could say were, “I don’t know if this trip is enough.”

 

She woke up early the next morning. She brewed coffee and got the kayaks ready for a quiet paddle around the shore.

She tried to wake him. He was snoring. She stared into his sleeping face.

Did she love him? Did she hate him? It was too early to decide.

She let him sleep.

The lake was calm and clear. The paddle sliced through the lake like a knife in butter. A light breeze lifted her hair.

Thunk.

The kayak jerked with violent motion.  Panicked she began paddling to shore.

Thunk.

Something was under the boat. She was about to flip.

Suddenly the water was still and the motion of the kayak stopped.

She was twenty feet from the dock. She was almost there.

Thunk.

Splash.

Scream.

She flipped.

It pulled her down.