The car had drowned without much noise. It drowned silently, descended slowly in gracious steps - wheeling its contents downwards to the darkness at the bottom of the lake. The body of the girl was trapped inside, floating between the windows, drinking water and fishes eating bites - from its nose and eyes, that had entered through the open door. The bottom of the lake, in its depths, near the middle and at areas spotted throughout - had blackened pits, where elongated weeded moss weaved up towards the surface.

“You figure they drowned? It is a big lake. They would have to go plenty path around to reach the other side.” The man speaking was white. His brushed up hair shone in his partner’s light.

“These criminals know their ways around a getaway route. We will have to search in the trees to look for traces.”

Morris, as he was called, was the taller of the two. He spoke with urgency. His partner, the one with back-brushed hair, was fat and negligent of his affairs. He trudged around without care, looked for hints on the grass and between trees. There was little doubt in my mind that this policeman wanted out of his duty. I took my hat off, and put it on a branch - so it could dry. Then I took my clothes off, shivered in the night’s cold. Wind was chilled, but stagnant. It blew no more than the hair on my skin. My heart beat steadily, and warmed my body. Soon, I was overcome with worries over Malena. My wife had not spoken to me since I murdered the girl. I searched for her voice in the darkness of the forest. I looked in the trees, and stretched my ears. I whispered in my mind, called for the sake of Malena’s well being. I longed to hear her voice again. Her sister’s safety rested in my palms. I crouched down to concentrate on the current state of affairs. The policemen emerged threateningly. They still lived my stresses. Their cars lit up my presence. I characterized their fears, I hid in the darkness and waited their impatience. I waited for my turn to strike. To be in the offensive.

****

The police had not yet turned their backs on their quest at hand. They had searched for an entire hour, encompassed the perimeters of the lake. My breaths had slowed in their return to their cars. They searched about and passed my location in numerous occasions. Their flashlights brushed my presence frequently, narrowly missed my foot two times. Once Morris nearly approached my hiding place. I knew any movement would surrender my presence. I sat still, and desperately awaited the fateful encounter. He breathed in a fresh lungful of air. His hands hung loosely by his sides. His face, as I had seen it through the forest, was screwed up in frustration. He walked directly towards me. His searching eyes moved slowly along his feet. Then a gust of wind caught his attention. It came on his back, as if someone had swiftly trespassed his areas of investigation. It blew his hat with it. He turned swiftly in anticipation of a grave encounter. The flashlight in his hands signaled his partner with method. He pulled his gun out, and shouted -

“Who are you? Come out with your hands up.”

His partner had run to him from other parts of the forest. His gun was in his hands as well. His other arm was bent. It held his flashlight on his shoulder. They had raised a ruckus in the forest. Morris yelled again -

“We are in search of a man wanted for car theft and hijacking. If that is you, you may defend yourself in the court of law. We are here to take you in.”

The wind blew again. The cold wind had come forth from the lake, onto my back. I shivered in its noise. It blew into Morris’ back once more. This time he realized it truly as a gust. He rendered his partner the same knowledge. Yet they hung together. Their demeanor suggested more conviction of a unworthy presence in the woods. The wind kept blowing. The branches swayed with infrequent motion. Leaves scattered about. I curled further inward. In my cold I heard my wife’s voice. It traveled a distance and moved further still as it told me of her sister’s fate. She had left her home for Denver. As the voice spoke, her wind blew stronger. This news reassured me. I fidgeted for my clothes. But my wife’s voice grew stern. It commanded me into the lake. She spoke in a haunted voice. Her speech vibrated the sounds deeply, as if they had formed in a cavernous voice box. Her expression rooted fear into me. I weakly protested. Why she wanted me in the lake was not yet understandable. My muscles became weak from this. I gave up reaching for my clothes. My body laid itself down onto the forest, and quivered. I became unconscious.

***

 I awoke in a few minutes. The policemen had not found me lying. They had moved further away. Their lights shone dimly in the surrounding darkness. The cars were silent. I rose to my feet and put my clothes on. My feet slipped. I had finished putting on my pants. Only then, when I put my feet down in order to drag my pants up to my waist, both of my feet slipped from underneath me. They slid towards the lake. I was dragged half of a man’s length by the fall’s momentum. A vine twisted itself around my right foot, and dragged me further. The moment had been horrendous. I traveled on my chest. My drag into the lake was barely noticeable.

I had drowned for the second time in the evening. My arms wrapped around a stone near the surface. The earth loosened. Another vine wrapped around my other foot. I was soon dragged again, towards the middle of the lake, where the car and its fateful owner rested. My lung was full of air. My breathing was still regular. I had withstood the ghostly nature of my situation. I was soon dragged into a pit, into the car that I had left for this lake. An arm wrapped around my neck. It was the hand of the girl. Her glowing eyes had appeared in the rear view mirror, behind my head. Her other arm appeared next to her eyes. It was holding the knife I had killed her with. The depth of the lake allowed no light. Her dim yellow eyes were the only things I could see. Her brandishing knife shone like a devious trap. She shrieked. It filled the depths of my soul with fear. The outline of her gaping mouth appeared in my eyes. The liquid yellow in her eyes spread itself. Her morbid cry ended with a large intake of breath. Water caressed against my cheek and entered her nostrils. All I could see were her eyes. Down in the depths of that lake.