The Lake house

RETURN

"I guess I must be on the right track", Kelvin said to himself, staring blankly at the corroded sign-post and looked at the map again to ascertain which turn to take next while stood at cross section of two paths. The map indicated the left path which ran deeper into the forest while tall crooked trees stood at either side of the path obscuring the narrow path from the sunlight which found it hard to reach the bottom coarse ground.

"I hope I'm not walking into my early demise", he thought to himself as he brushed aside his fears and ventured into the narrow path that appeared slightly darker than the other pathway he had taken earlier before arriving at this point. The tall trees that shrouded the narrow pathway had dried leaves which were thin and spiky enough to pierce through the skin of human being leaving a fatal wound while the leaves have stayed dried for a good number of years now and have never changed with the natural seasons. As he ventured fearlessly into the slightly dark forest, series of queer noises made by unknown creatures, begin to echo heavily at each side of the tress creating a noisy atmosphere Which resounded loudly among the forest trees but he still tread on the path undaunted by the scary voices made by some queer owls which perch on branches while two black squirrels crawled away from the path as he approached them with his hasty footsteps. The path seems endless as he stride through the narrow pathway which conveyed him to the other end of the valley that was separated by a small brook. A gleam of fading sunlight penetrate through the dense trees towards the forest floor at the end of the path, allowing him to notice some faded rose flowers that form a large parapet by the left side of road which raised high above the ground.

"So much for a scary road", he thought to himself as he passed the dry trees into a maze of dull roses which had fade off due to the great number of years it has been completely abandoned by the early settlers. The spiral maze duely obstructed the forest trees from encroaching further into the open field before a queer lake which was gilded by the fading sunlight. He instantly used the map which display grid points of the area, to find his way through the maze which completely enclosed him from both sides with its heightened parapets.

After luckily finding his way out of the maze that was completely obscured by the tall trees surrounding valleys , he came into an open field which stretches far into a lake encircled by vast trees which covered the whole valley as well as the lake which divided into two streams separating into the wild forests. He was awestruck by the serene environment which portrays the natural beauty of the valley and saw a wooden sign post in front of square fence, at the far end of the left corner of the lake slightly gleaming under the sunlight that was slowly sinking down beneath some red clouds in the pale sky. He hurriedly ventured towards the signpost treading past grey grasses as he went without looking back. Arriving at the spot, he saw an coarse inscription, scribbled with a knife which read "Moribar's Domain", while a bear's claw was boldly printed on the bottom of it leaving him lost in thought about what it meant. Snapping out of memory lane, Kelvin looked around to see if he could have a glimpse of the house behind the fence but saw nothing other than a large surface area clearly empty after he peered hard above the short fence.

"I think I have found the place and I better hurry back before the others notice that I'm gone but I do that...", He paused for a while and brought out a tracking device out from his right pocket of his black trouser and tied it to a rust nail on top of the wooden sign post. He often invented series of gadgets back at home as his usual hobby which made his dad often called him an anorak wizard who puts too much energy in doing things that people aren't really interested in doing.

"Okay, Alright. I'll come back later when it's midnight to see if it really does exist", he said gazing at his black wrist watch which indicates the occurring and headed back with haste to the campsite leaving the device blinking a tiny red light endlessly until he was clearly out of sight. The darkness had already fallen heavily on the campsite as well as the serene forest behind it before he had made it back to camp, which allowed night creatures to thrive loudly in their holes especially the shrill noise of the cricket that keeps resounding inside shrubs close to the electric fence of the encampment where a strange tall figure emerge from the dark forest and walked through the main gates into the silent camp. Kelvin stride towards his white frame tent on the opposite side of a storeroom made of dry bamboo sticks with electricity which had been repaired by the campers. The store room which was effectively utilized by the teenagers was present in the field before they had arrived to erect their camp and had luckily found it built there already but had been ruined by the erosive elements. After having a thorough bath from an exquisitely crafted bathroom skillfully made with a large white cloth, he quickly change his damp shirt drenched with sweat as well as his black pants into a red T-shirt and a fawn jean which reached down his knees. He decided to look for the others who have gone out before he returned back from his secret quest, for a night party and were having fun with themselves at the beach beside the calm ocean who seems oblivious to their noisy music. He went into the Stanley's tent hoping to find him there after searching unceasingly for Jake and Leo but found no one inside. He quickly decided to check out the beach area which he thought that the others might be as well and went outside but was stop in his tracks by a female voice which called to him drawing his attention towards it. "Kelvin, where the hell have you been?!" The voice inquired compelling him to turn around revealing a fair-skinned lady who wore a red jacket covering her inner shirt which ended at her abdomen exposing her small bellybutton and a short blue skirt fasten to her buttocks. "I.... went to have... some fresh air by.. the... by the rocky side of the ocean", he stuttered with a flimsy lie while gazing at her damp blonde hair.

"You stayed there until now appearing at this late hour of the evening and you expect me to believe your story!", Stacy replied vehemently with her hands inside the soft red pockets of the jacket while Kelvin was frightened by her sudden outburst.

"Yes...I suppose so", he replied looking at her totally under pressure of being exposed,

"What were you doing over there since dinner time?", She asked with her hands akimbo,

"Like I said I went there to.. get some fresh air that's all beside where's everyone else?", he asked trying to change the subject in order for her not to pry into his secret plans he had for the night.

"They have all gone for the party arranged by Stanley who was looking for you to assist him with the preparations and I believe you have something up your sleeves which you are hiding from us", she replied calmly and added angrily, "you remember what happened last winter, right?",

"Yes I clearly recall the incident", he answered calmly waiting to find out what she will say next.

"If that incident occur again, I won't spare you because I don't want anything to ruin this vacation for my boyfriend and I and if I find out that you are really unto something that would jeopardize this vacation, I will deal with you very hard that you would remember it for the rest of your life", she sneered at him and walked away out the camp, nudging his left arm very which pushed away from her track leaving him alone in the empty camp.

"Phew.. that was close, l think it's best to hide all the equipments meant to aid and protect me when I go back to the signpost, inside those bushes outside the camp while I attend the party until midnight in order to quell any suspicious thought the others might have about me", he said to himself and quickly went back to his tent took out some tracking devices, two torches and a red knapsack filled with queer equipments leaving out the map which he kept inside his baggage beside his bed. After putting things in order, he carried them outside his tents and after taking some necessary foodstuff from the store room, he went outside the camp and headed towards some tall trees that stood close to the front gate. Then he buried all of it with the aid of a flashlight under the thick shrubs which shrouded it completely together with the heavy darkness safely securing his tools from the others.

"Now all that's left is to attend the party which will be fun", he said after safely hiding it under the thick bush and leaving the flash light underneath as well plodding slowly towards the beach under the cover of darkness which envelopes him totally.