by Chanel Harry
Now that they were almost to the lake, Tareeq was having some doubts. He had never done anything like this before much less with a girl.
The Springbrook Lake was calm. The sounds of the water was almost relaxing to Tareeq. In fact, in the distance, he could hear a lark singing in the nearest tree. He hadn’t seen much of it during the day time though, but seeing it now almost made his jaw drop. It was a light blue color with hints of oranges and reds in it from the setting sun. The lake looked vast and wide. From the looks of it, he hadn’t been on this side of the lake before because there was a long wooden dock with a boat tied to the end of it.
“You sure about this?” He asked Mia. He had a worried look on his face.
“Of course I am. Besides, it’s more fun this way.” She replied. Mia started to take off her clothes, and Tareeq turned around trying not to look. She shook her head and smiled as she stripped down to her bra and underwear. Tareeq followed suit as he heard Mia run down the dock and splash into the lake.
“Come on in!” Mia yelled. Now that he was in his boxers, Tareeq walked down the dock and sat rubbing his arms.
“It’s cold!” He said to Mia. All she did was giggle and swim up to his feet. Grabbing his ankles, she pulled him into the water making a big splash. He rose to the surface, opening his eyes. To his surprise, the water was relatively warm!
“What the?” He mustered. “Did you pee in the water?”
“No stupid!” Mia laughed. “That’s just how it is. This lake never gets cold in the winter.”
“How is that even possible?”
“It just is.” Mia paused for a second. “Drink some.”
“What?! No!” Tareeq replied. He was starting to get annoyed with Mia. She saw this and giggled. She had to get him some way or the other to at least taste the water.
“You told me that you were getting a cold right?” She asked.
“Yeah, so?”
“Well, this water can get rid of it. My mom uses it on my little brother whenever he is sick.”
“I don’t believe you.” Tareeq said. He started climbing back onto the dock.
“Don’t forget your promise to me!” Mia scoffed, stopping Tareeq in his tracks. He sighed and dropped back down into the warm waters. He glared at Mia who in turn was glaring at him with reassuring eyes.
“Just a little sip.” She smiled.
“Okay, okay.” He said, giving in. He scooped water up with his hand. Before bringing it to his lips, he could see the shimmering colors of the water. He slowly brought his hand up to his face and let the warm water flow into his mouth. As he swallowed the water, he noticed that it tasted faintly sweet.
“There, I did it.” He said. Mia smiled, swam over to him and kissed his cheek.
“You should feel better soon.” She said.
“I better or else you’re mine.” He replied, smiling back finally. Tareeq started to feel strange, but he paid it no mind. Mia splashed him and started to swim away from him, as if she wanted him to chase after her.
“You’ll never catch me!” She yelled. She started to swim toward the middle of the lake while Tareeq followed her. As he splashed and swam to catch her, he could feel himself getting warm inside; like he swallowed a fireball. The strange feeling he was getting also gave him a heightened sense. He continued to swim toward her though, trying his best to catch up. Mia turned around and started giggling. She then dove underneath the water disappearing. Tareeq smiled and through no fault of his own, held his breath and dove into the water after her. He opened his eyes and saw the blue waters. He was in awe of the colorful water bed that was underneath him. He couldn’t see Mia though, but for some reason, continued to swim like he was trying to find her. He waved his arms and kicked his feet as he swam deeper and deeper into the lake. His vision became clearer as he felt his toes touch the lake’s floor.
He wasn’t in control of his body, but his mind was telling him to swim up. However, he just couldn’t do the act. He looked around for Mia, but couldn’t find her. Through his peripheral vision, he noticed something that looked like odd shaped rocks. As the rocks became clearer in the blue water, he noticed that they took the shapes of skulls! He let out the breath that he held and screamed a mute scream. Just then, someone touch his arm. He turned around and what he saw, almost sent him into a tailspin. There was a large fish with a tail that was a sparkling blue-green color. This was no ordinary fish though, this fish had a human like body attached to it. The human part was a pale brown color with long curly hair that reached all the way down to its large blue tail fin. It had long webbed claw like fingers and black eyes. Its chest area was covered in blue-green fish scales as if it were a bra. Through his haze, the fish’s face was familiar and beautiful, but when it opened its mouth it revealed large piranha like teeth.
The fear was mounting into Tareeq. He swam up to the surface, trying desperately to hold on to the little bit of air that he held in his lungs. He could hear the screeching of the large fish as it too followed him to the surface. He felt like he was in a race for his life as he scrambled to get to the surface. He could see the light of the sun in his reach as he made it to the dry world. He took in huge gulps of air as he frantically swam to the lake’s shore. He could see Mia standing on the dock, waving her arms. His fingers squeezed the dirt of the shore as he dropped down onto the shore trying to catch his breath. Mia ran over to him and dropped down beside his tired body.
“What happened to you?!” She cried. “You never came up from the water…”
“I-I was following you!” Tareeq muttered. “Then you disappeared…then I seen skulls and…a-a…”
Tareeq drifted trying to remember who or what was beneath the lake. A cold feeling of terror began to take over him. He wasn’t sure what he saw much less sure that Mia herself wasn’t trying to scare him.
“It was nothing.” Tareeq sat up and walked over to his clothes and back pack. Mia looked down at the ground, wondering what came over Tareeq.
“It had to have been something if you’re panicking like that.” She mumbled.
“I don’t know how to explain it.” Tareeq grumbled. “T-There is something underneath that lake; a monster or worse.”
“A monster, huh?” Mia replied. “Now do you believe me about this town?”
Tareeq looked over his shoulder, shooting her a cold look. He wasn’t the type to admit when he was wrong, but he always wasn’t the type to not believe what he was seeing. Mia shrugged her shoulders and started getting dressed as well. She wasn’t in the mood to coddle him. They were silent as they prepared their things to leave, although both had a lot to say to each other about the incident.
Without a word, Mia walked away from Tareeq, heading home while he headed home in the other direction. He was angry at Mia for talking him into something that he didn’t want to do in the first place. The more he thought about almost being eaten by a fish, the more he became agitated by her. The walk home was a long and maddening one for him and his breaking heart.
Derek checked his watch as he waited at a café and restaurant called “Minnie’s.” He hadn’t been waiting too long for Elise, but it was long enough.
He was elated when she obliged to go out with him for a second date. In his mind, it wasn’t a date but he figured that it would be a way for them to give it another go.
Derek eyed the patrons that were sipping coffee and eating while he sat at his own table. The waiter had brought him a cup of green tea and a menu to look over. He decided that he wouldn’t order anything until Elise showed up. After waiting, she sure enough did. He smiled at her as she headed toward him wearing jeans, a light green pea coat and brown boots. He noticed that she had took out her braid extensions and now wore her hair in a short, natural style which made her look even more pretty in his eyes.
“Hello, Elise.” He said, kissing her cheek.
“Hello to you, too.” She greeted back. “It’s been a while.”
“Yes, have a seat.” He said. Elise sat down,
taking off her coat. Derek noted that she wore a pink sweater that flattered her skin tone.
“So, how have you been?” She asked.
“I’ve been good; my newest book is on the shelves and is doing very well I might add.”
“Congratulations. I’ll definitely have to get that one. It’s been so long since I read a good book.”
“Well, mine is a page turner!”
“What’s it called?”
“It’s called Marked By Love”
“That title sounds so romantic.” Elise said holding onto her heart. She sighed as she looked off into the distance. The waiter came back taking their orders. Once that was finished, Derek dove back into his conversation with Elise.
“How are things going on your end?” He asked.
“It’s going as good as it gets. I am up to my neck in paperwork, especially working on this Hamlin case.”
“You’re working on that?” Derek gasped.
“Yes. I can tell you about some older cases that kind of mirror this one, but you have to swear you won’t tell a soul.”
“You have my word.” Derek replied putting his hand over his heart. The waiter came back with their food and drinks, placing them on the table carefully. After he left them, Elise started to sip on her coffee.
“Well, this isn’t the first time that this happened.” She whispered.
“It isn’t?” Derek whispered back.
“No. In fact, this is the fourth disappearance this year. Three other high school boys have disappeared in similar circumstances.”
“So, do you think this is the work of someone who is a serial kidnapper?”
“I have a hunch that it might be someone that the boys knew because each of them told their parent or someone in their family that they were meeting someone.”
“That sounds spooky.”
“It is! What makes it worse is that it wasn’t in these boys’ nature to not obey their curfew appointed by their parents. Now, we have to implement a curfew until we find out what happened to Josh and the rest of the missing boys.”
“That sounds like a safe thing to do.”
“Oh yeah. Let your son know that curfew will be nine o’clock at night for teens. This is a precaution.”
“Trust me I will. Since he’s been hanging out with his new girlfriend, he has been slacking a bit.”
“Really? Who’s the lucky lady?”
“Mia, but I forget her last name.”
“You mean Mia Wayne? Wanda Wayne’s daughter?”
When Derek heard that name, he could feel chills down his spine. He didn’t want to think of Mia’s mother standing there, staring at him with her dark eyes.
“Yes, her.”
“My girls tell me that she and her friends are a weird bunch. I remember I had to arrest one of them for truancy.”
“Oh really!”
“Don’t go riling yourself up, Derek. I haven’t heard much about Mia, but I would say to keep an eye on her and Tareeq. You never know the types of influences that kids have on each other.”
“You’re right but I can’t have my son falling behind.”
“That too, but nothing will come out of you pressing him about her. I learned this first hand.”
Derek thought about what Elise said for a moment. He sighed and took a sip of his own now cold coffee. Although he didn’t want to be an overbearing parent, he wanted the best for his son.
“I’ll do my best not to pry.” He said.
“Good.”
“Thanks, Elise. Having a woman’s perspective on parenting is refreshing to hear again.”
“Don’t mention it.” She smiled. She touched his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, which made Derek blush. She could feel herself blushing as well so she pulled her hand back.
“I really hope that you find these boys.”
“I hope so, too. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to Stasia and Keisha.”
“I hear ya; loud and clear.”
Their night continued with chatter about other things that they never knew that they had in common. Derek became more at ease with Elise and he couldn’t help but feel like she could rekindle the spark of romance that was blown out when his wife died.
Chapter 14.
Camping was something that Tareeq always wanted to do since he had moved to Springbrook. After much begging, Derek finally agreed to go on a camping excursion with his only son. Now, with much excitement, Tareeq was loading up the tent, sleeping bags, food, coolers, backpacks, and everything else one would need for a night in the wilderness.
“Dad! Will you hurry up?” Tareeq shouted from the front door. He didn’t want to waste any ounce of daylight that they had left.
“I’m coming, hold your horses!” He chuckled. He held his laptop and a bag full of bug spray and blankets. “I have to make sure that I will survive this trip, y’know?”
“Just don’t want to waste this sunlight!” Tareeq replied. He got into the car and buckled himself in as he waited for his father to enter the car. Derek loaded his back into the trunk, closed it and got in the driver’s side.
“I can’t wait!” Tareeq said excitedly as they backed out of the driveway. They were on their way to the town memorial park. Tareeq had gotten the brochure from his school and was enamored with the amenities of the park. He was told by one of his teachers that the park was dedicated to the students who died in the 1994 massacre. There, townsfolk would go on camping trips, hiking trips and it even held summer camps for children during the summer.
Tareeq figured that he would talk his father into going. He wanted a peaceful outing without thoughts of Mia and the terrible incident at the lake. He was still shaken up from it causing him to shun Mia. She had sent him texts with apologies, but he just couldn’t answer her. Not only was he still hurt by it, but the incident caused him great embarrassment. He didn’t think he could face her.
“To spend manly time together is always fun.” Derek chimed. “So, what’s been up with you lately? You’ve been moping around.”
Tareeq was glad that his father actually asked him about Mia. He couldn’t go to his friends in regards to his relationship.
“I’ll be honest; something happened between her and me.”
“What?”
“Well, we were on our date and then something happened. Now I’m too embarrassed to talk to her.”
“Okay. Is this embarrassment something that wasn’t your fault?”
“Sort of.”
“Son, women will see you the same way no matter what clumsy thing you do.”
“Think so?”
“Oh yeah! I remember I laughed so hard at a joke that I farted right in front of your mom on our first date. Just a big ‘ol truck driver one!”
“That’s funny, but nasty.” Tareeq chuckled.
“Tell me about it. I was so mortified that I couldn’t even talk to her in school the next day. I literally avoided her for two weeks.”
“Dang! What did she do?”
“Well, she finally cornered me in the hallway after school and asked me why I was avoiding her. I told her that I felt like she wouldn’t find me suitable anymore because of what I did.”
“That’s how I feel.”
“You know what she said?”
“What?”
“She said, ‘boy stop! You’re gonna be the father of my kids one day. I had to hear you fart one day.’”
Both Derek and Tareeq laughed hard! To Tareeq, this was the right thing that he needed to hear. After laughing until their stomachs’ became tight, Tareeq had a question to ask his father.
“Dad?”
“What really happened to Mom?”
Derek could feel himself tense when Tareeq asked that question. It was as if the words were like bullets coming out of a gun, hitting him in his heart. Since Felicia passed, Derek never talked much about how she passed away with his son. Shielding Tareeq from the particulars of how she died was something that he was forced to do.
However, now that Tareeq was becoming a man in right before his eyes, it was best for him to know what happened to his mother.
Derek let out a sigh of anxiety as he gripped the steering wheel. He started ahead watching as the town turned into greenery; they were beginning to near the memorial park.
“Your mother, uh—she died.” Derek stammered. Tareeq didn’t say a word; he just listened tentatively. Derek brought his hand up to wipe the impending tear that was about to fall from his eye. “She drowned during a trip we were on.”
He waited for any type of response from Tareeq; anything that would make him feel terrible for letting his mother die. Instead Tareeq just stared ahead at the road, trying to find the words to say how he felt.
On the continuing drive to their camping trip. Tareeq had a lingering feeling that his beloved father wasn’t telling him the whole truth.
Chapter 15.
The new school week started which meant that the school dance was approaching. Tareeq was getting nervous as he didn’t know if Mia was going to go with him after the way he’d been treating her. During the camping trip with his father, he had a lot of time to think about his next game plan when it came to getting her to talk to him again. He hadn’t sent Mia a text in a couple of days either. He just knew that she wasn’t going to be inviting. But, the angel on his shoulder told him to at least try and make amends with his girlfriend.
While on the walk to school, he kept looking over his shoulder to see if Mia was behind him, plotting to tap him on the shoulder profusely like she always did. Nothing. With his head down he walked all the way to school by himself.
“Yo!” A familiar voice said behind him. Tareeq picked up his head and noticed that it was King, Jamir and Gary running up to him.
“What’s going on, fellas?” Tareeq asked with a faint smile. He wasn’t expecting his friends to talk to him since they’ve been avoiding him ever since he started dating Mia.