With the kitchen clean and orderly, no one seemed eager to rush.
The cabin felt too comfortable in the morning light—warm wood glowing softly, the quiet hum of the forest filtering in through open windows.
Laughter still lingered, settling into the space like an aftertaste.
"Alright," Lisa said, resting her hands on her hips. "If we're going to the lake, we're doing this properly."
Celine laughed and pulled a tote bag from under the table. "Okay, official checklist."
Dion leaned against the counter, thoughtful. "Water bottles. Sunscreen. Hats, if anyone brought them."
"Sunscreen," Lisa repeated pointedly, glancing at Jacob. "You burn."
"I tan," Jacob corrected confidently.
"You turn red," she replied.
Louise listened as he crouched to grab another backpack, this one slightly larger. He tested the straps, then nodded to himself. "I'll take this one too. We might as well bring extra towels."
"Extra shirts," Celine added. "And slippers. I don't trust lake ground."
Someone opened a drawer, the soft clink of metal revealing a small first-aid kit.
"Just in case," Dion said. "Band-aids, alcohol wipes."
Louise paused, then slipped it into the bag without comment. It felt practical. Sensible.
They moved around each other in practiced rhythm—bags being packed, zippers opening and closing, fabric folded and refolded.
A portable speaker was added at the last second, followed by a deck of cards and a small plastic container filled with snacks.
"Who brought chips?" Jacob asked.
Lisa raised a hand. "Me. And before you ask—no, you can't eat them all."
Louise smiled faintly as he secured the bags, adjusting the weight on his shoulders.
The simple preparation felt grounding, like building a buffer between them and the forest outside.
Each item packed made the day feel more planned, more controlled.
He glanced toward the window briefly. The trees stood still, sunlight filtering through their leaves in harmless patterns.
'It's just a lake,' he reminded himself. 'Nothing complicated.'
Shoes were slipped on, jackets grabbed, and final checks made—phones, keys, towels.
The door stood open now, letting in cool air and the distant sound of birds.
"Everyone ready?" Dion asked.
One by one, they nodded.
After a short walk along a narrow forest path, the trees slowly began to thin.
Louise was the first to notice the change. The air grew cooler, carrying a faint, clean scent of water.
Sunlight broke through the canopy ahead, brighter than before, reflecting off something unseen.
Then the path opened.
Louise slowed as the trees gradually pulled back, their dense shadows giving way to open light.
The air changed first—cooler, fresher, carrying the clean scent of water and stone.
Then the sound reached him: a faint, gentle lapping, so soft it barely registered as noise at all.
And then the lake came into full view.
The lake lay before them—wide and impossibly still, cradled by the forest like a secret it had kept for centuries.
The water was crystal clear, its surface smooth as glass, reflecting the sky and trees so perfectly that it felt like looking into another world.
Sunlight spilled across its surface, breaking into scattered shards of silver and pale blue that shimmered with every slight movement of air.
The water near the shore was transparent, revealing smooth pebbles and sand beneath, undisturbed as if no one had stepped there in years.
Louise stopped walking without realizing it.
The shoreline curved gently, smooth stones visible beneath the shallow water.
Farther out, the lake darkened into a deep, rich blue, hinting at depth without revealing how far it went.
Tall trees surrounded the water in a perfect ring, their reflections stretching downward, endless and undisturbed.
A light breeze brushed across Louise's face, sending small ripples across the lake's surface.
Each ripple distorted the reflections just enough to remind him that the water was real, not glass.
"Wow," Lisa breathed behind him.
No one laughed. No one rushed forward.
"It's… beautiful," Celine whispered.
Louise nodded slowly.
The lake was quiet, not empty—peaceful. The kind of place that made noise feel unnecessary.
Even the forest seemed to hold its breath here.
A light breeze brushed across the surface, barely enough to stir the water, sending soft ripples outward.
The sound was calming, almost hypnotic.
Louise felt something loosen in his chest.
The stress he carried—the overthinking, the tension—slipped away in the presence of something so untouched, so calm.
The silence broke all at once.
"This place is insane!" Jacob exclaimed, dropping his bag onto the grass.
Lisa laughed, spinning slightly as she took in the view. "I told you it was worth the walk."
Celine hurried closer to the water's edge, crouching to dip her fingers into the lake. "It's cold," she said, pulling back with a delighted gasp. "Perfect."
Dion set the bags down more carefully, already scanning the area. "We can set up here. Plenty of shade, flat ground."
Louise smiled as the calm transformed into excitement, the lake no longer a quiet observer but a playground waiting to be used.
The air filled with movement—jackets coming off, towels being unfolded, shoes kicked aside.
Jacob rolled up his pants immediately. "I'm going in."
"At least wait a minute," Lisa called after him.
Laughter echoed across the water, rippling outward as if the lake itself responded.
Louise stood back for a moment, watching his friends claim the space, their reflections breaking apart with every step and gesture.
The beauty remained, but now it was alive—filled with sound, color, and motion.
Once everything was finally unpacked, the tension of waiting snapped.
"Alright," Jacob said, already tugging his shirt over his head. "No more delays."
Lisa laughed as she slipped off her shoes. "Race you to the water."
Shoes and bags were abandoned in a small pile as excitement took over.
Towels fluttered in the breeze, and clothes were hastily folded—or not folded at all—before being tossed aside.
The air buzzed with movement and voices.
Louise stood back for a moment, watching. Sunlight glinted off bare shoulders and wet grass as his friends rushed toward the shoreline.
Their laughter rang out, sharp and bright, echoing across the lake.
Jacob was the first to plunge in.
"Cold—COLD—" he shouted before disappearing beneath the surface with a splash.
Lisa followed with a squeal, water spraying outward as she jumped in feet first. Celine eased in more carefully, gasping as the chill wrapped around her legs.
Dion waded in last, steady and unhurried. "You get used to it," he said, though his breath hitched slightly.
Louise finally stepped forward.
The water lapped gently at his feet, clear and icy, sending a sharp chill up his legs.
He hesitated, then went in, the cold stealing his breath for a second before his body adjusted.
The lake embraced them.
Ripples spread outward, breaking the perfect reflection into fragments of sky and trees.
Sunlight danced on the moving surface, scattering light across their skin.
Laughter mixed with splashing as they swam farther out, floating, treading water, daring each other to go deeper.
Louise floated on his back for a moment, staring up at the blue sky framed by treetops. The sounds around him felt distant—muted by water, softened by space.
He turned his head slightly, eyes drifting toward the darker part of the lake where the water deepened, the blue shifting into something heavier, more opaque.
For a brief second, the surface there seemed untouched by their splashing—still, watching.
"Hey, Louise!" Celine called. "You spacing out?"
Louise blinked and smiled, pushing the thought away as he kicked forward.
"Just enjoying it."
The lake shimmered around them, alive with sound and motion, hiding its depth beneath laughter and sunlight.
The water gradually lost its bite as their bodies adjusted, the initial shock fading into something refreshing.
Louise swam closer to the others, the lake cool against his skin, each movement sending gentle waves outward.
Jacob splashed Dion deliberately.
"Oh, it's on."
Dion retaliated immediately, water spraying high into the air.
Lisa shrieked as she got caught in the middle, laughing as she wiped water from her face.
"Hey—watch it!" she protested, though she was already splashing back.
Celine floated nearby, arms spread, eyes half-closed. "This is nice," she said. "No noise. So relaxing."
Louise treaded water beside her, nodding.
The sounds of the forest felt distant here, softened by the water and the open sky.
Sunlight warmed his face while the lake cooled the rest of him, a strange but pleasant balance.
They drifted farther from the shore without really noticing.
The ground beneath Louise's feet disappeared, the water turning darker, colder.
He kicked gently, staying afloat, glancing down. The lake swallowed the light quickly here, the bottom invisible.
'It's deeper than it looks,' he thought.
Jacob dove under suddenly, disappearing beneath the surface. A second passed. Then another.
"Jacob?" Lisa called.
He burst back up, gasping dramatically. "Relax. I'm alive."
They laughed, but Louise felt a faint unease crawl up his spine.
The water around them had grown strangely still again, their splashing failing to disturb the deeper part of the lake.
Louise turned in a slow circle, scanning the surface.
For a moment, he thought he saw something beneath him—just a shift, a distortion in the darkness below—but when he blinked, there was nothing.
Only endless dark blue.
"Let's not go too far," Louise said casually, not wanting to sound alarmed.
Dion nodded. "Yeah. Stay where we can still see the shore."
They gradually drifted back, laughter returning as the tension eased.
Louise followed, though his eyes lingered on the deeper water for a second longer.