There are no monsters here

“Beware of the monsters in the lake!” the adults in the village say. And he nods. He has of course never seen a lake monster. No one has. But he knows what they are. Horrible, hideous, monstrous beasts in the depths of the lake. Hiding where the water turns dark and you can no longer see the bottom, waiting for any unwary swimmer or fisherman, pulling them down into the dark so they can tear the flesh off their bones. He listens and he nods and he knows to stay away from anything monstrous that might look up at him from the waters.

His friends, the little water lights, blue and white and sparklingly beautiful racing back and forth under the surface, tells him other stories.“There’s no such thing as lake monsters!” they say. “We’d know if there was, after all, we’ve lived here our entire lives, and we’re far older than any of the humans you know.” And he nods. His parents has always taught him respect the words of his elders, and the lights knows things only someone really old could know. He listens to their stories. They tell him where the largest fish can be caught, where the lake grass grows the sweetest, and where old king’s gold lies, at the darkest part of the lake, where no man dares dive.

A year comes when the new king’s tax collectors collect a bit more than the village can handle, the fishing is bad, and a sudden coldsnap during the summer kills their grain. Hunger growls in his belly and he knows the rest of the village feels its bite as well. The old king’s gold could keep them fed through the winter, it’s not like light the lights need coin, and it is not doing anyone any good down there in the lake. So he rows his father’s boat out on the lake, to where it’s as dark as it gets, and you can no longer see the bottom. “Those who go swimming in the dark never return” the elders say. So it is good for him that he has his little light friends, shining and guiding his way.

He dives down into the murky waters, following his guides to where he knows the treasure waits for him. He can see it sparkle, as the light of his guides hits the riches waiting for him. Oh how proud won’t his parents be when he brings it to the surface? How jealous won’t the other boys be when he is called a hero by the elders for daring to go where no one else will? He can see the sparkles clearer now, white bones reflecting light back at him. So many bones. Grinning skulls smile at him and something cold and clammy slithers around his bare legs. He tries to kick, to get up, but it is too late now. The lights move close and as his breath leaves his lungs he can hear them in his head. “There are no monsters here, we would know.”