I
love when my family takes me to the cottage. I immediately
head for the shoreline and jump right into the lake.
I love to swim in lake water, it's clean and there aren't
any sharks to be aware of. But, I found out the hard
way one summer, that sharks aren't the only predators,
and there are monsters in the lakes. Follow me now and
we'll take a little trip together through time and visit
myself on that fateful summer day when I learned about
the legend of the lake waters.
It was a summer, no different from any other
at first. We parked the car at the cottage and I bounded
for the lake lickety split. Splash, splash, splash,
I went, as I leapfrogged into the lake water. As innocent
as a newborn puppy, I started swimming without a care.
The rest of the family were particularly jubilant that
day and joined me in the water just seconds later. That's
where everything started going downhill faster than
the floods from a breaking dam. With all that splashing
and thrashing around in the water, I guess it was only
inevitable. Why did it happen to me? Was I just an easy
target? I personally can't answer that question, but
I do know I barely survived.
Picture yourself dog paddling around in
a lake with no care in the world and all of a sudden
one of your family members goes under, and stays under
longer than normal. I started to get very worried and
swam over to the spot I saw him last. Then all of a
sudden I felt the most horrifying sensation anyone can
ever experience in any water. Something started pulling
at my leg, a nibble at first it seemed and then released.
I panicked, I was confused, and I headed for the beach
as fast as I could. But, whatever it was, grabbed my
leg again, this time a better grip, this time I went
under too. Was this how I was going to die? Being eaten
by some lake water creature that had never been seen
before? I struggled for my life, kicking and screaming
underwater. Finally I broke the surface, I was free
again, if only for a breath of air. This time the creature
was slower to react, maybe because my kicking hurt it,
maybe because it was going after the rest of my family.
Even when I was frantically flailing for the shoreline,
I still had to look back to see if anyone else was being
attacked. I couldn't believe my eyes, my whole family
was swimming around and playing in the water like nothing
happened. Couldn't they see any blood in the water?
Didn't they see all the carnage? Why weren't they rushing
to safety? I couldn't stop to find out, for some reason
it was after me and me only.
I turned around to face the shoreline again
and it was almost in reach. I could almost feel the
sand under me, maybe I was going to make it, maybe I
was going to be okay. Then in the blink of an eye, I
was tasting lake water again. This time it had both
of my legs and I couldn't kick at all, I was going under
for the third time. Yes, it really does happen that
way. I was so close, I wanted to live so bad and I wouldn't
let it end this way. I'd fight it with my very last
breath, I'll bite it and I'll scratch it, whatever it
takes. So, I turned around to face it as best as I could
and just then it abruptly released me. I don't know
why, and I never did see it, but I didn't care, I was
free. I broke the water hard this time, like a missile
leaving a submerged submarine. One more breath and one
more lunge is all I would need to reach safety. I had
to try, I had to warn the world about this creature
of the lake waters.
I did it, I reached the beach, in one piece.
So what gives? I was sure a limb would be missing. Where's
all the blood? Looking to the water, I searched for
my family. They could all be dead, or they could be
screaming in terror. No, they were laughing, laughing
at me. After all that, they were actually laughing at
me. Confused once again, I twisted my head to one side
and then noticed one of them saying something. Of course
I couldn't understand a word, but I understood what
happened. For some reason my family thought it would
be funny if one of them grabbed my legs from under the
water. The creature in the lake water was the monster
I love the most and this indescribable horror was brought
on by, by, a sense of humor. A sense of humor I'm glad
I don't have.
People don't realize how wrong a practical
joke can be. Most people don't put themselves in our
shoes. For me, it was a life changing traumatic experience,
because I only know how to dog paddle. No, a simple
animal like me, will never make the Olympics. I won't
ever be able to return to the water again because of
it. I'm a scaredy cat by nature and I will never be
able to forget what my family did. I will hold a grudge
forever. No more protection, no more alarming them to
fires, and definitely no more of that man's best friend
crap. This was serious, and it was an unforgivable thing
to do to a loving dog like me. It's over, I'm outta'
here.
Hey, someone threw a stick in the water! Splash,
splash, splash! |