The Fog Has Lifted
“The fog…, the wet, thick, bone chilling fog lingers for
yet another night.” Jenny shivered inside her parent’s house on the lake. She
returned every year on this exact night, climbed the stairs to her childhood
room, and sat at her desk to write her thoughts in her diary. The desk lamp
reflected in the window, making it more difficult to see through the dense
cloud. “What’s out there lurking and staring back at me?”
The tree trunks disappeared, the ground became awash in
mist, and not a sound reverberated through its vapor. Jenny wrapped the blanket
tighter around her shoulders. A picture of her mother and father smiled at her
from their golden frame.
She’d sat in this chair ten years ago, waiting for them
to return from a birthday party. They’d gone to the lake for a day of sun and
fun along with her best friend's parents and never came home. The strange part
was Susan’s parents returned five years ago tonight. Their age and attire was the same
as the day they disappeared. Susan’s parents shed no light on what had transpired
that afternoon to the beach goers. In addition, the fog had returned every
night since that fateful day.
The clock chimed twelve o’clock, startling Jenny from
her reverie, and indicating the witching hour had passed again this year with
no sign of her mom and dad. She sighed, turned out the light, and climbed into
bed. “Maybe next year,” Jenny whispered with a heaviness in her heart.
Two hours later, shoes scuffed on the wooden bridge, the
aroma of wine, perfume, and sunscreen filled the air, and laughter wafted in
the breeze. But Jenny was breathing deeply in sleep when the fog lifted and the
key slid into the lock of the front door.
