DEAD MAN'S LAKE by Valerie Eitzen
Deep in thought and angry because her father purchased an old nag from a horse trader at the end of its life as a brood mare, Lailah rode north on her Palomino, Nugget. Clopping down the logging road that stretched ten miles between the black sand beach and white dunes, jealousy seeped through Lailah’s mind. All her friends had fine horses, but she was forced to stay on the paved road because the mare became lame when she walked on sand.
Last night, she heard her father and his friends talking about Dead Man’s Lake in the dunes. A diver had plunged into its depths and never resurfaced. He wasn’t the only one. No one had ever survived a swim in that lake, they said. It was too deep and mysterious. The men had been drinking all evening, and Lailah wondered if they exaggerated. There was only one way to find out.
In the distance, Lailah noticed a dark area forming in the mirage hovering between the sand hills. She rode the mare on the asphalt road until cattails appeared and then guided her through the dunes and around the lake to a break in the sandy edge of the oily, black water. Lailah reined up, looking down at the quiet surface. There were no sounds, not even a bird in sight. She wondered how deep the water was.
Lailah reined the horse away from Dead Man’s Lake. Nugget began limping, and Lailah decided to find a short way back to the road. She saw they needed to cross a four-foot-wide stream running from the lake through the dunes. It appeared to be crystal clear, flowing over a shallow sandy bottom.
As soon as Nugget stepped into the apparently shallow stream, she began to sink rapidly up to her belly in quicksand. Lailah shouted encouragement, slapped the reins on Nugget’s neck, and drummed her feet on the mare’s sides. Nugget thrashed harder and caught her front feet on the opposite bank. Lailah jumped to dry land and tugged on the reins to help the horse free herself from the sucking liquid. With a final heave, Nugget emerged half-covered with dripping sand. While the mare shook with fright, blew, and caught her breath, Lailah wriggled on her belly to the edge of the little stream. She put her hand in the water.
The appearance of the stream bottom was deceptive. White and gray sand grains, speckled with black, were tumbling, thickly suspended in the water to an impossible depth. She could not touch the bottom despite leaning in as far as her arm would reach. She scooted back and found a cattail stem to plunge down into the steam. It had no bottom. If they had been sucked under, no one would have ever found them in that desolate place.
Lailah stroked the mare until she calmed down. Maybe I’ll walk and lead Nugget home. She’s earned it.
