Edward Lee: Monster Lake

The footsteps, she recalled. I heard footsteps in the back yard. I’m sure I did. And they sounded like they were coming up from the lake…

Terri strained her vision then, focusing her eyes through the window screen, toward the rear corner of the yard.

crunch, crunch

She was right. There was the sound again, and they were footsteps.

crunch, crunch

There could be no denying it. Someone was indeed walking up the gravel path from the lake to the house.

And the sound was much louder now, which meant that whoever was walking—they were getting closer.

Terri bit her lower lip as she stared on, gripping the window sill. Only a moment later, a figure appeared at the entrance to the trail.

Who could it be?

She glanced warily at the lighted, digital clock on her nightstand—

It was almost 4:30 in the morning!

Terri’s breath grew thin. Her heart beat faster as the figure came out of the crisp shadows thrown by the trees and—

crunch, crunch

—stepped into the moonlight, fully into view.

It’s…my mother, Terri realized in shock. She’s been down at the boathouse all night…

««—»»

All night, Terri thought again the next morning at breakfast. What could her mother be working on that was so important she had to stay up till past 4:30 a.m.? And Terri could tell. Right now, coming into the kitchen, her mother looked exhausted, with drooping shoulders and dark circles under her eyes.

“Good morning, dear,” she said groggily.

“Hi, Mom,” Terri said. “You sure look tired.”

“I am, I was up late. Working.”

You’re not kidding you were up late! Terri agreed in her own thoughts. Late as in 4:30 in the morning!

But Terri declined to actually comment on what she’d seen last night. By now, she wasn’t even sure what she’d seen. The whole thing was so visually unreal—maybe she really had dreamed a lot of it. After all, she thought she’d seen a giant toad try to eat a rabbit! And she knew that was impossible. Maybe she’d only dreamed seeing her mother coming up from the trail to the lake so late…

But then her mother commented:

“God, I’m so tired. I could fall asleep right here at the table…”

Terri looked at her, and that set her to thinking. If she’d only dreamed seeing her mother coming up from the lake, why would she be so tired?

I must not have dreamed it , Terri concluded. And if I didn’t dream that, then I must not have dreamed about the toad either. The toad…with teeth…

“Breakfast is ready!” Uncle Chuck announced, placing a large tray down on the kitchen table. Toast, marmalade, assorted jellies. Terri was grateful for the distraction; she felt so confused about things right now that she didn’t want to think about them.

She nibbled at her toast, remembering times not so long ago when breakfast had been a big, happy family affair full of conversation and laughter. Back when Dad was still here, she thought. Now, things were so different. Breakfast, like most meals they had together, were fast, thrown together at the last minute, and over before anyone really had a chance to talk. Her mother was so busy now, always in a rush to go to work, and even when she was home, most of her time was spent—

In the boathouse, Terri thought.

“Well, we’ve got to go now, Terri,” her uncle said after only eating one piece of toast. “I’ve got to take your Mom to work.”

“Have a good day, honey,” her mother said, and leaned over to give Terri a kiss.

“’Bye,” Terri said.

Her mother and Uncle Chuck left, as usual, in a rush. Terri glumly washed the few dishes they’d used, and put them away. She knew she shouldn’t be selfish—after all, the reason her mother had to work so much was because she had to pay the bills. At least Uncle Chuck was helping her out. But—

Things were so much better when Dad was here, she thought. There just didn’t seem to be anything to look forward to anymore.

squeak

Terri glanced over her shoulder. She swore she’d heard a sound, a faint squeak. Like…

Like someone standing in the foyer, she realized just then, because the foyer’s hardwood floor always squeaked the same way. But she’d heard her mother and Uncle Chuck leave the house and close the door behind them, and she’d heard the car engine start and the car drive off, so she knew they hadn’t come back in to get something they’d forgotten.

squeak

There it was again!

Terri’s eyes widened in the kitchen. She could feel her heart racing. It’s nothing, she tried to tell herself. It’s just a house noise. Stop acting like a baby!

So, to prove to herself that no one was there, she boldly left the kitchen and marched right into the foyer, and—

Screamed!

Because the second she’d stepped into the foyer, someone grabbed her from behind—

««—»»

“Pa tri cia!” Terri yelled after spinning around.

Patricia laughed hysterically, standing in the open coat closet in the foyer. “Did I scare you?”

“Yes!” Terri was outraged. “What, you just walked right in the house without even knocking?”

“I was coming up the sidewalk when your Mom and Uncle Chuck were leaving,” Patricia told her, still laughing. “They said I could come in.”

“Well, don’t ever do that again!”

“Chill out, will you, Terri?” Patricia said. “Jeeze, it was just a joke. Can’t you take a joke?”

“Yes, Patricia,” Terri sternly replied. “I can take a joke. But I don’t like to be scared half to death!”

“All right, already.”

But as the scare wore off, Terri realized she was over-reacting, and she knew why. She was still tense from last night, from the restless sleep and the dream she’d had, and, of course, seeing her mother coming up from the lake at 4:30 in the morning. And again she felt immediately confused. She knew she hadn’t dreamed the part about her mother coming up from the lake, but what about the rest? The giant bump-skinned toad with the sharp, pointed teeth…

I must have dreamed that, she decided.

“Well?” Patricia said.

“Well what?”

“Are we going or not?”

Terri’s mind felt in a fog. “Going where?” she asked.

Patricia rolled her eyes. “Don’t you remember what we planned yesterday? We’re supposed to go down to the lake.”

««—»»

That’s right, Terri recalled. In all her anxiety over the dream—or whatever it had been—she’d completely forgotten. Yesterday, they’d planned to sneak down to the lake while Uncle Chuck was driving her mother to work. She still didn’t feel good about it—she knew she’d be in big trouble if she got caught—but, still…

She really wanted to go.

“All right, let’s go,” she said. “But we have to be quick. We can’t hang around down there for too long.”

They went out the back sliding door and crossed the back yard, both in sneakers, shorts, and colorful day-glo T-shirts. The morning was sunny and bright. Sunlight shined on the back yard grass, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

“How long does it take your uncle to drive your Mom to work?” Patricia asked mindfully.

“It’s about fifteen minutes each way.”

“So that gives us a half hour.”

“Yeah, but we better make it twenty minutes, just to be safe,” Terri suggested. She didn’t want to take any chances; if her mother or Uncle Chuck knew she’d disobeyed them, and gone down to the lake, she’d be grounded for a month! No TV, no badminton, no nothing!