Week 7 Story: Ghost on the Lake

Ghost on the Lake

By: Maria Dawson 

 

I love this picture of a lake by PXFeul this is what I picture for my story.

Nakula woke up in the wee hours of the morning, except, today felt a bit different than the rest. The air felt as if it was blowing in the opposite direction and with it brought the slight hint of.. moss..?

 

However, today is the day Nakula is traveling across the woods to travel into a new city. He packs up his horse with all of his belonging and starts the trip to his new life.

“To the North, Bessie” he states as they ride off towards new hopes and beginnings. Nakula had heard of this town from a good friend named Arjuna. Who will be meeting up with him at the foot of the woods around 20 miles away.

This is how I picture Nakula and his horse looked all packed up and ready to move. Picture from: Internet Archive Book Images

 “ARJUNA!!” yelled Nakula as he rode up on Bessie to the mouth of the woods. The two friends greeted each other with a simple wave and nod of hat. “After you” Arjuna said politely and the two friends rode carelessly into the forest.

“Man, I sure don’t remember these woods being this dark...” Nakula states. “Yeah me either I just got the chills” replied Arjuna. However, the two men continued on their path to the new city.

After the first patch of tree they reached a clearing in the middle was a lake. The two gues diced to stop and let the horses have a drink. “Hm.. I am having some weird déjà vu right now, Arjuna” says Nakula leaning over the water to look in. Just then a great wind blows the waters began to heave and foam. Within this wind he hears, “Before you take our water, that has fed our ancestors for years you must answer some questions.”

This is how I picture the foam on the water from the story: Picture by: Elena Campos Cea

“Hey, Arjuna, did you hear something?” askes Nakula? “Nope must just be your “vu” coming to haunt you!” replies Arjuna. Nakula agrees and shakes his head and continues to take a drink of water.  

SPLASH!

Arjuna whips his head around to see what the clatter was but nothing was there, not even a ripple. Curious he heads over to the lake to peak in, “NAKULA” he yells yet there is no answer. Suddenly the wind starts to appear again and with it the water begins to foam. In the distance he hears a voice say, “Before you take our water, that has fed our ancestors for years you must answer some questions”. Suddenly he realized his friend was right and jumps in the water to help find him.

Unfortunately, for these two friends, they never had the chance to see the new city and create a new life. In fact, they were never seen again. Another victim of the ghost on the lake.

Writers Note:

For this story I was inspired by two separate one that I thought would fit together quite nicely. I took the Story of the Voice in the Lake by R. K. Narayan and The Forest and its Ghosts by Donald A. Mackenzie. From the story of a voice in a lake I liked the part that stated, “Nakula finds a lake, but a voice tells him that, before drinking, he must answer some questions. Nakula ignores the voice, drinks, and dies.” I like the details given from the Forest and its Ghosts that explained hoe the waters from the lake began to heave and foam.

Bibliography: 

The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic Chapter: The voice in the lake by R. K. Narayan

Indian Myth and Legend: The Forest and its Ghosts by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913).