(TW) What are YOU afraid of?- Fantasy story

What are YOU afraid of?

May 15, 2014

My sister Lily, and I, have a tradition of going fishing when we were going through a tough time. Our father was in a boating accident a couple of years ago, so we've been hesitant to be near the water ever since. Today was the first day back into fishing. We needed to catch something to eat for dinner with our mom’s salary right now.

“Emily, it’s been hours. We still haven't caught anything.” Lily complained, looking defeated.. “Don't get frustrated- the fish can sense your anger,” I said in a sarcastic tone. I smiled at her. She has dad's eyes. “Do you still think about the day he taught us to fish? Well, the reason I ask is that you clearly don't remember the proper way to hold the rod.” She glared back at me. The “bait” is almost gone. Neither one of us liked worms, so we used our leftover ham from our lunches. “Hey Em, can you go ask the man on the boat for some bait?” Lily wasn't very out there, so,being older, , I always had to talk to people...but I love her. I gave her my rod and walked closer to the water. The man saw me walking closer to the water, looking at him. He (thankfully) called out to me first. “Catch anything?” I shook my head, yelling, has scared lily since our father passed. The man bent down and picked up a largemouth bass. “All of the fish are deeper in the lake! Would you and your family like to come along? I can bring you to where the fish are.” I told him it was just my sister and me. He pulled the boat to the dock. I looked at Lily to get confirmation; she looked hesitant but stumbled on the man’s boat.

“It’s nice to meet you; my name is Roger. What are your names?” he said with a warm, inviting smile, holding his hand out to help me on the boat. “ My name Emily, and this is my little sister Lily. Thank you for your generosity.” I saw Lily looking around. I asked her why. She said to the man, “where are the life jackets? I have a fear of drowning, and I need one.”

He looked at me, then back at Lily. “I don’t have any, but one of you can also use the seat cushions as floatation devices.” Lily started to get worried, I assured her, and we sat down. Holding very tightly onto the handles. We began to accelerate into the deepest part of the lake because that's where the fish were.

Lily was getting scared because the water got deep. Roger suggested he tie a rope around her ankle so if she did fall in, he could pull her out quickly. He recommended we both did. I talked to Lily about it, and we agreed hesitantly. It would be better than drowning; we never learned how to swim. I took control of the boat while he tied her ankle with the rope, then he did mine. Roger took back control of the boat. We started to see shiny reflections of the fish in the water. He asked us we were okay with this spot.. “Yes! It looks perfect. There are so many large fish that we could take home and cook.” Lily gets excited quickly, so she said it with a smile. “Here, you can use some of my bait,” he said with a smile that made me think of what mother said when I was little. “Don’t ever trust a stranger.” I shook my strange feeling off by asking if he could bait my hook, then explaining to him why I didn’t like worms.

He drove back to the spot with the big beautiful fish and asked for Lily and me to hand him the anchor so he could place it properly. He tossed it far, which confused me, but only for an instant until I saw the rope snaking out of the boat. “LILY!” I lunged to grab her, and we were jerked out by our ankles. She hit her head on the side of the boat on the way out.

Knocking her unconscious.

I don’t know how my head wasn’t hit. I screamed, the water filling my lungs until I felt my ankle slip loose. My fight or flight instincts kicked in. I can’t believe what just happened.

I MUST GET HELP FAST. I hear a faint dog barking in the distance. A dog?... A DOG! I can find the dog and maybe someone! As I’m swimming, I begin to feel the cold water on my body as the initial shock is wearing off. As I finally reach the side of the lake, I follow the sound of the dog. I’m cold, soaking wet, then I see her.

A HIKER AND HER DOG! As I’m running to her, I feel each of the grass blades against my pruned feet. She let me use her phone to call the police. I can’t get the words out, SISTER! MAN! BOAT! MURDER! HELP!

I feel so cold… Lightheaded...can’t breathe...everything going dark.

The last of my breath cause bubbles to form on the surface.

May 19, 2014

The two bodies have been found and identified at the bottom of Lake Owl Creek,

As Emily and Lily Bierce.

Suspected homicide.