Alice Dhawan

Alice kicked a stone, watching it disappear into the tall, overgrown grass of the Landry farm. The air in New Brunswick was different from that of the city; it was heavier, laden with salt air and a silence that was almost deafening.

"It's for your own good, Alice," "We need a new beginning," she murmured to herself, mimicking her mother's tone of voice.

She adjusted her headphones, even though she wasn't listening to music. She just wanted to block out the sound of the wind. Suddenly, the path ended, and she found herself facing the pond. It didn't seem like much: just a circle of dark water surrounded by weeping willows. Yet she felt a chill that had nothing to do with the weather. It was as if the water were watching her.

She approached the shore, seeing her distorted reflection. Alice felt like a puzzle piece that someone had forced into the wrong box. Just as she was about to turn around and head back to the house before Del scolded her for "being lazy," something glittered on the surface of the water.

"What the hell...?" he whispered.

Alice leaned closer, momentarily forgetting her mother's warnings to stay away from the pond. The water seemed to stir, but there was no wind. An irrational urge to touch it, to know what lay beneath its silvery surface, began to grow in her chest.