“Be wary of the lake monster!” Kaihmen teased when they were finally fully submerged.
“What?” spluttered Jahrra, taking in a mouthful of water as she sank. She resurfaced to tread water next to her friends. She shot them a nervous glance and the two rolled their eyes.
“He says that every year, and he always thinks he’s going to trick us,” Gieaun said matter-of-factly, her hair spreading out like ink in the water around her. “Don’t worry, though. You’ve never been here before, so he figures he could try to scare you.”
Jahrra relaxed when she saw that her friends weren’t about to get out of the water anytime soon, but she still stayed rather close to the pilings of the low boardwalk. After several minutes of coaxing, Gieaun and Scede talked her into swimming out to a large matt of reeds towards the middle of the lake.
“Come on, Jahrra! Even if the lake monster does exist, it only comes out at night!” Scede yelled from the halfway point between the island and the boardwalk.
“Jahrra, you’re the one who wants to go hunting for the monster that lives in the Wreing Florenn, remember!” Gieaun shouted, already standing upon the dark mud of the islet, dripping dry from her swim. “Don’t be such a scaredy cat!”
Swallowing her fear and polishing her pride, Jahrra pushed away from the pier supports and swam vigorously towards her two friends, half frightened she would be eaten and half annoyed at herself for being such a coward. Once on the island the three of them laughed at their silliness and stretched out upon the damp soil, staring off into the deep blue sky. They watched clouds scudding by and listened for the soft crackling sound of dragonfly wings darting overhead, all the while becoming very sleepy.
Before they could drift off to sleep in the middle of the lake, however, Nuhra called to them from the dock, reminding them it would be dark in a few hours. Jahrra had completely forgotten about the lake monster, that is, until they got back into the water. Once again she swam as quickly as she could towards the shore.
The evening around the fire proved just as exciting as swimming in a potentially monster-infested lake. As the sky darkened and the firelight cast an orange glow upon everyone’s faces, Kaihmen began telling the ghost stories and local legends he’d promised. Jahrra listened in rapt horror as he told them of the terrible witch that lives in the Black Swamp, only a few miles from her house. It was a terrifying tale of a missing girl and her brave brother who went searching for her deep in the Wreing Florenn.
“It happened a long time ago,” Kaihmen began dramatically, the camp fire crackling with malice between them. “The young boy thought the Witch of the Wreing took his little sister, so he went into the forest to get her back. He wandered for many hours among the frightening trees, trying to ignore the sounds of the wildlings at night.”
Kaihmen paused for effect, and Jahrra, huddled safely under her blanket, coaxed up enough gumption to ask in a timid voice, “W-wildlings?”
“Yes, any unnatural creature living in the wilderness of the world, we call them wildlings,” Kaihmen explained.
Jahrra curled back up next to Gieaun and Scede, both equally as terrified as herself.
“Now, where was I?” Kaihmen said, rubbing his chin. “Ah! Yes!” he barked, causing all three children to yelp.
Nuhra rolled her eyes as she cleaned up the dinner dishes, thinking her husband was having far too much fun.
“The boy wandered far into the Black Swamp until he could go no farther. When dawn finally came, the boy’s friends told their parents and the village elders what had happened and a search party was organized. Only the boldest of the village men went into the swamp looking for the poor lad. After a day of tedious searching, all they found were his tattered boots and his torn red coat.
“From that day on, no child has ever gone into that forest and come back out again. Sometimes, even to this day, someone or something dressed in red is seen in the woods. Some believe it is the lost soul of that poor boy. Others think it is the witch, reminding people to stay out of her swamp.”
Kaihmen finished his story, giving the children a solemn look. Jahrra shivered from the thought of it and vowed she’d never again play in the orchard alone. She looked over at her two friends, eyes wide with terror, and said in a shaking voice, “I ch-changed my mind. I don’t want to go looking for a-anything in that forest!”
The next morning arrived in splendor, and to Jahrra’s great delight, they hadn’t been eaten in the night. After a quick breakfast and packing, the group ventured west to see the coast. Jahrra soaked in all the sights and sounds around her; the rumbling ocean and the pungent scent of sage, salt water and wild herbs. They stopped every now and again to locate a singing bird or to allow Jahrra to sketch a wildflower in her journal.
As soon as the high piled sand flattened out and met the churning shore, the group stopped for a break to admire the view. Jahrra gazed north up the beach that expanded as far as the eye could see, and south until the sandbank crawled into the Thorbet Foothills. The spray of the surf misted her skin, sending goose-bumps up and down her arms. She laughed when Gieaun pointed out the sand pipers scurrying away from the ever encroaching water, always managing to stay a few inches ahead. Scede encouraged the girls to help him build a sand castle, and so the day passed cheerfully as they built towers and moats and walls.
That night the family camped near another lake, Nuun Dein, and once again Kaihmen wove frightening tales of monsters and goblins. This time, he told them about the lake monster he tried to fool Jahrra with the day before.
“But it really does exist!” he exclaimed when Gieaun and Scede tried to assure Jahrra it was all made up. “It only feeds at night and only during a full moon when it can see its victims. During the day, the monster sleeps on the bottom of the lake, in the middle where the water is deepest.”
Jahrra quailed at the mere thought. Scede nudged her and whispered, “We’re sure he’s making it up, but if there really is a lake monster it doesn’t come out during the day, so I think we’re safe.”
Scede did his best to look unabashed but Jahrra noticed that both he and Gieaun weren’t ready to dismiss the legend completely.
The next day dawned as beautiful as ever, but Jahrra abhorred the fact that they’d be heading back home today. This trip had been so much fun and now it was all over. She sighed deeply as her friends stirred next to her.
“What’s the matter?” Gieaun asked.
“Oh,” Jahrra answered gloomily, “I just wish we could stay longer, that’s all.”
“Don’t worry,” Scede said, still lying down with the blanket pulled around him. “It’s only the very beginning of summer and we’ve got lots of time to come back.”
Later that day, after all had been packed and the climb up the Great Sloping Hill had passed, the horses and their riders reached the front of Jahrra’s drive. Jahrra jumped down and grabbed her bag and blanket, turning to thank Nuhra and Kaihmen for such a wonderful weekend.
“You’re welcome, Jahrra,” Nuhra answered with a smile. “Now, you’d better get inside, I’m sure your parents will be eager to hear all about it.”
Jahrra nodded sleepily and turned up the path, heading towards the tiny stone cabin she called home.
After that first weekend, the summer months passed by easily. Jahrra spent most of her days with her two friends and Phrym, but when she wasn’t out riding horses and catching lizards, she was at home helping her parents with the everyday chores of a country home.