Sunset Lake

Emily sat in the weathered Muskoka chair, fuzzy blanket pulled tight around her as she watched the sunset over the lake. A small campfire kept her warm and the familiar scent of smoke filled her lungs as she sat in the quiet. The lake was always a good place to sit and think as she considered her life choices up until now. Her eyes taking in the calm waters and the orange glow, catching on a canoe someone had abandoned in the bushes nearby. She’d always been complimented for her courage in taking risks but lately it seemed her risks just weren’t paying off and now she was stuck. Kind of like the canoe. With no current to pull it away it just stayed in the reeds, bobbing gently. Yes, the lake was a good place to think but it wasn’t bringing her too many answers. How could she find her direction when life wasn’t offering her any currents?

With a sigh, Emily stood up and took care to put out the fire and pack up her things. Some snacks, a book she hadn’t touched. Her vacation was almost over, and she hadn’t found any clarity about her predicament. She wanted to achieve something with her life, but she wasn’t sure what that something was. She wasn’t being selected for any promotions, but she couldn’t find a better job anywhere else and was so absolutely stuck. It felt like her life needed a major change but in doing so she would risk any stability she had built up over the last couple years. Not to mention she wasn’t sure she could afford any major changes. Sure, it wasn’t fulfilling but her current job did manage to cover rent and food and a little extra. Could she really mess that up for the chance to find a greater meaning. Did a greater meaning even exist?

Lost in her thoughts, Emily didn’t notice the stranger on the trail until she bumped into him.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, readjusting her grip on the novel.

“It’s alright, you lost there?”

Emily shook her blonde head, taking in the tall man and his dark jacket. Considering the light fading around them maybe she wasn’t entirely to blame for not noticing him.

“No, I’m in Cabin 3 just up the trail. Have a good night,” she responded, making to move around him and keep going when he blocked her path again.

“Oh, I didn’t know anyone else was staying around here. You got a boyfriend with you?”

Emily was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the situation. She just wanted to go back to her cabin, maybe have a cup of tea and attempt to start her book again or reflect even more on her career before passing out under the faded quilt. She definitely did not want to continue this awkward conversation with the tall stranger who seemed to be taking up more and more of the path.

“Waiting for me in the cabin” she lied, once again stepping around him. “Good night”

“Wait a minute.”

Emily felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and felt the air grow even colder as the man grabbed the back of her arm. His hand was massive and almost her entire upper arm fit into his grip, his long fingers digging in.

“I could have sworn Cabin 3 was a one-person cabin” the man said, tugging Emily a step back and even closer to him.

“It’s a twin but we squish, let go of me” Emily replied, fighting to keep her voice calm as she fought to pull her arm out of the man’s grip. She succeeded after a moment and wondered if maybe she’d been imagining some ill intent. One too many horror stories, although she could never be too careful.

“Ah gotcha, well at least let me walk you over there. It’s getting dark out.”

Emily’s heart skipped a beat. He was being too pushy, she just wanted to be alone, why was he being so insistent, what would he do when there was no boyfriend waiting at the cabin for her? Her mind started spinning. She needed him to just drop it.

“I’m fine, please go enjoy your night” she responded as curtly as she could and started walking quickly up the trail, trying to project a confidence she didn’t feel. She wanted to run but she didn’t want to raise the man’s suspicions or seem rude, she remembered reading somewhere that it was important not to anger a possible assailant.

And yet, even when you do everything right things can still end up so different than how you had wanted them to. Emily had been a smart and hardworking student. She’d gotten good grades, attended university, gotten her degree and several letters of recommendation from professors. She’d landed an amazing job and then before she knew it, she’d gotten stuck and lost.

Like she was right now, her foot tripping over a branch she hadn’t noticed in the growing dark. Her blonde hair catching on some low branches. A man’s hand on her calf, trapping her. The darkness twisting the path into an unfamiliar forest as she felt her leg tugged back.

Emily screamed and kicked out in her panic, managing to rip her head away from the tree and focus on the hands grabbing her. She pushed at them but that made it easier for him to trap her hands, so large compared to hers as he yanked her up to unsteady feet and pulled her close.

“What’s wrong with you? I’m just trying to help” he said, pulling her into him, trapping her hands against his chest.

Emily screamed and fought as hard as she could, managing to step on his feet and bash her head upwards into his nose. This seemed to stun the man, and he let go but Emily still unsteady on her feet, suddenly lost his support and fell.

She fell further than she thought she would, rolling down the incline of the trail, mulch scraping at her cheeks and leaves rustling under her. She felt every bump of it as she tumbled until finally it was over.

She was at the bottom of the hill, the last of the sunlight was gone now and she was facing the lake. The still waters a darker shadow in the night. The only sound was the crunch of footsteps behind her.

She closed her eyes.