Duck Lake it heals and it haunts me.

The lake was quiet that morning, in spite of the vast number of waterfowl settled along its edges and skating across its surface. The sun was barely beginning to peek up at the world from over the horizon, setting aglow the fine mist that blanketed the land. As Yami stepped softly along the banks of the lake, she did so with no intention of interrupting the peace and serenity of the coming day, but to slip seamlessly into it and become part of the setting.

Her world had been tumultuous as of late. She had been a hurricane, equal parts rage and misery. She longed for the eye of the storm. She didn't try to fool herself into thinking she could find happiness there--that was something that felt so far out of reach, it may as well be as impossible as a fantasy. She just wanted contentment. She wanted nothing more than calm, at least for a time.

So, the Ostrega slipped into the water, smooth as a serpent gliding across the surface. She shut her eyes as she sank in up to her shoulders, breathing deep, trying to do nothing more, and nothing less, than exist.