The lake was not always the idyllic scene of tranquility that one would have suspected, and often being far from serene. There was always a steady traffic of watercraft skimming along the surface of the lake. Motorized boats, jet skis, and wave runners largely ran unimpeded, for there was rarely much interest from those owning property by the lake to see any appropriate resolutions enforced. Throughout the summer, it seemed as if there was a constant party occurring around the lake, whose focal point simply shifted among the various houses.
Despite the frequent presence of rambunctious activity, a person could still find ample relaxation and repose at the lake. It was a place for those who wanted to get a sense of seclusion, without ever truly leaving the conveniences of the modern world.
Kent’s father, a fifty-six year old man named William McNeeley, was idly watching a soccer game on his satellite television when they arrived and entered the place. Derek was caught a little by surprise, as Kent had instructed Derek to just walk in the back door when they reached the lake house.
If a man could be the image of physical comfort, Derek found William McNeeley to be a likely candidate. Portly, and with a cherubic countenance to match, he greeted Derek and Janus warmly.
Mr. McNeeley was not far from taking an early retirement due to a rare arthritic condition. The condition had proven to be an arduous struggle for him during the summer, chaining him with frequent agony when the weather shifted to colder hues.
Derek had expected him to be away in the city, but the man seemed to have been anticipating them. Derek quickly surmised that Kent had explained the full situation to him. Mr. McNeeley also explained that Kent was running a little late from work, but would be arriving very shortly.
Derek knew that he did not have to convince Mr. McNeeley of Janus’ need for a change of locales, just as he had not had to say anything to convince his son. From what Derek knew of him, Kent’s father understood loss well enough. Just three years prior, he had lost his wife to cancer. She was his high-school sweetheart, and a woman that was inseparable from his own identity ever since they had married.
He had been by her side as she had wasted away and finally succumbed to the spreading, voracious cancer. It was not long after when he had purchased the lake house, selling his main house in the city and shifting over to an apartment for when he was in town for work.
After the initial greetings, Mr. McNeeley showed the two of them to guest bedrooms, located on the second level of the two-story structure.
He then informed them that he was going to travel back to town later that evening, to prepare early for the coming week, but that the three of them were welcome to stay for as long as they needed.
Derek recognized Mr. McNeeley’s unstated meaning, a sincere, generous expression of compassion for Janus. It was reflected in the look within the man’s tired eyes. It was humbling to witness, as Mr. McNeeley had not met Janus in person until that very day. Derek made a firm mental note to speak to Mr. McNeeley in private the next day, and thank him for the unconditional kindness.
William left shortly thereafter to go run some errands, leaving Derek and Janus to themselves with a full set of keys to the house. He had showed them where all of the fishing gear and other lake essentials were stored. He had also paused to show them that the refrigerator was fully stocked up with food, beer, and soft drinks, and stated that they were more than welcome to partake of whatever they wished.
About thirty minutes after William had departed, Kent arrived at last, still dressed in his work uniform. A younger, more athletic version of his father, he was about six feet in height. He had a slight paunch to his belly, but his squared shoulders and stout chest evidenced the presence of ample strength in him. With a round face and pug nose, he had an easy, charming smile. His dirty blonde hair was close cropped, and he had a trimmed goatee around his mouth.
With additional girth to his belly and a higher percentage of gray hairs, he could almost pass as a twin to his father. The sight of their physical similarities always amused Derek immensely, but from what he had learned about Kent’s father, being like William McNeeley in any way could not be a bad thing.
Kent quickly took leave to shed his uniform and change. He rejoined the others back out in the living room, now in shorts and a t-shirt.
“We are forgetting one thing,” he announced as he popped open a can of beer and sat down in a wide easy chair, setting two more unopened cans on the end table next to him. Without another word, he picked up a phone and proceeded to order three large pizzas, pausing only to get the others’ input on toppings.
“We had some earlier, but we can roll with it again, I guess,” Derek commented. “But I’m going to have to work out twice as hard tomorrow.”
“I plan on working out hard, as far as curling twelve ounce weights is concerned,” Kent said with a chuckle, grinning mischievously as he took a long draught of his beer for emphasis. He then said with a reassuring tone, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it all covered. Nobody is going without here. Got paid today!”
Tilting his head back, he slugged the can down in prodigious gulps, crumpling the empty can when he was finished and setting it on the end table. He then emitted a resounding belch of sheer contentment, immediately opening up a second can.
Noticing Derek’s bemused expression, he quipped, “Thirsty, you know.”
Kent’s loquacious, jovial mood provided a welcome levity that had been very absent in Derek’s life recently. Not always the most articulate of individuals, Kent’s good-hearted nature always tended to shine through brightly, and it was undeniably infectious.
Where Derek and Janus had to put some of their pizza back in the refrigerator, Kent ravenously finished his off completely. In the midst of downing the pizza, Kent was well into his third beer, accented by more sonorous belches. The latter were accompanied by dramatic facial expressions, as he tried to outdo each previous one in volume and resonance.
The speed of consumption continued to amaze Derek, and even Janus had a startled expression on his face.
“Hungry,” Kent said, noticing both of their expressions. “And didn’t I already mention thirsty?”
“Barbarian,” Derek chided him, chuckling.
“If I am a barbarian, then we should go on a river raid! Lots of lake houses that are soft and ripe for plundering!” Kent retorted with fervor, smiling broadly. “Think you can handle the navigation? I’ll take care of the raiding! Let me get my chain mail from the closet first!”
“Now there’s a suggestion,” Derek replied sarcastically, shaking his head as he chuckled. “But you might need me for tactics if the locals are prepared to resist.”
“With you going with us, I’m not worried. If my sword and axe fail, you can back me up with your rifle on full auto,” Kent said, laughing. He then added, with another copious swig of beer. “And you are driving.”
A river jaunt did sound like a good idea at the moment to Derek, and they had more than one option available regarding their mode of travel.
Mr. McNeeley had purchased a shiny new speedboat about six months prior, which had some real kick in its engine. There were also two canoes resting upon on the shore, tethered to posts.
It did not have to be discussed openly as to which of the boats they would choose.
After Kent had finished off a couple more beers, when full night had fallen, the trio made their way down to a short quay at the water’s edge. It ran alongside a small shed enclosure that sheltered the new speedboat within it.
Kent handed the speedboat’s keys over to Derek, holding a couple more unopened beers in his other hand. The three of them settled into the vessel and made themselves comfortable.
Derek eased into the driver’s seat and turned the key in the ignition. The engine growled to life, settling into a steady rumble. Slowly, he guided the boat out of the enclosure and out into the body of the lake.
In moments, they were cruising steadily along the water’s surface, the wind beating against their fa
ces. As they traveled, Derek again appreciated just how long the lake was. It seemed to go on forever, an endless panorama of houses, docks, and trees.
A number of lakeside residents were getting their nocturnal activities underway. They passed several houses exhibiting the beginnings of evening festivities. The thumping music and raucous chorus of voices coming from a couple of the ongoing parties indicated lake houses that would be very active well into the night.
Yet not every figure that came into sight was overly energetic or boisterous. At some points along the shore, Derek took notice of the nearly still forms of couples, young or older in age, enjoying the company of their significant other within the cool night’s ambience down by the water’s edge. Derek really liked such warm, peaceable sights, as he had seen quite enough of the other extremes in life.
As far as other watercraft, they only passed two other boats, both of which had their small engines off and were idly floating in the water. The silhouettes of fishermen were visible on both, still and silent as they waited for their bait to be taken.
Derek saw the fishermen turn their heads towards them as they passed. The night masked the likely glares on their faces. Derek knew that the fishermen were muttering low curses as he drove the boat by them, the water and their quarry momentarily disrupted.
Derek could only chuckle to himself and continue onward. The fishermen, after all, did not own exclusive rights to the lake. Engaged in an activity like fishing, they should be adept at patience anyway.
After some time, the trio finally drew close to the far end of the lake.
“Long… this is one long, long lake,” Derek remarked as the end of the water came into sight at last.
“Yes. Yes it is,” Kent said. “If you didn’t know better, you’d probably think that this whole thing was a river. With the fairly narrow width of it, and all of the twists and turns that it takes along its path, it does kind of look like one.”
“Just one of those rivers without a current,” Derek retorted, chuckling.
“Well, whatever it is, let’s head on back, and see what is happening at the other end,” Kent said, as Derek turned the boat around. He then added, a little more spiritedly, as he finished another beer, “No promising sites to raid at this end, but there’s another end to explore! Onward, sea raiders!”
“Sea raiders? So now this is an ocean?” Derek jested. Laughing, he shook his head, and set the boat forward on its course, simply glad that Kent was not driving.
JANUS
In the back of the speedboat, Janus just sat back and breathed slowly. He was content to simply let the cool breezes flow soothingly against the skin of his face as they resumed their trip back along the lake. The night sky was predominately clear, bestowing him with a beautiful view of the stars in the vast firmament above.
His mind, given the peace of the moment, and with such a tremendous vista of the heavens filling his eyes, wandered again towards thoughts of his father. He wondered whether somewhere, somehow, his father was even now watching over him. As was his new habit in such moments, Janus looked for any sign; in the stars, or on the gentle currents of air, or even on the few spare wisps of clouds that were drifting along in the sky.
The hardest part about death, he had surmised, apart from the abrupt and stark separation, was the state of the unknown, perhaps the worst element of it all by far. Janus knew that the separation would have been easier to bear with the comfort of knowing that his father still existed, and had reached a good destination.
Having been through the sorrows of deaths more than once before, he knew that the most sharply biting pains would eventually fade. Yet he also knew fully well that the hopes and worries would not, and nor would the sorrows.
Janus knew that life would go on, but with him there would be yet another scar on his spirit, and another weight on a heart grown far heavier over his brief years. Even worse, this newest scar was the largest that he had ever incurred.
Suddenly, as the darkness swarmed around him, he found that he needed the refuge of his mind.
He leaned his head back farther and closed his eyes, wondering what it would be like to have the surety of a healing end to life’s journey. Imagination took root, sprouted, and flowered.
In his mind, he envisioned a shining road, leading to a gateway as resplendent as the sun itself. Beyond that gate would be realms where death had no name or claim, where all scars would be fully erased, and where the burdens would be lifted and tossed away in their entirety.
Janus imagined walking towards that radiant entrance, and what he might first see. In his mind’s eye, he saw the outlines of many figures waiting for him before the gates, with one in the forefront of the gathering. In his inner vision, their details were obscured at first by the blinding light, but his heart knew who they were. He could feel the surging joy within him with each step that drew him closer to them, an electrifying thrill that infused the powerful emotions swirling within him.
As his eyes adjusted to the light, he beheld the face of his father, with an expression carefree and sparkling with life. Janus could feel the arms of his father wrapping around him in a welcoming embrace, even as he heard a chorus of human voices, as well as exuberant, excited barks, mixed with high pitched, chirruping sounds, all brimming with a boundless joy.
Such a glorious moment would only be the mere dawning of an eternal day, as he continued towards that gate with his heart rising and the jubilant throng of souls walking and padding along at his side. He knew that he could laugh, seeing familiar, beloved four-legged forms bounding along the edge of the pathway to the gate, imbued with the fullness of health and vitality.
His gaze would then focus in on the figure walking at his side, regarding that single face before he could even take in the endless, awesome beauty of the horizons spreading out to infinity beyond the great gates.
That moment would be the beginning of a reunion that would never be broken or tarnished by death or disease ever again; the beginning of a glorious and wonderful time that would never, ever end.
His heart ached thunderously with the burning desire for the realization of that luminous image, even as a few tears welled up in his eyes and began to trickle down his cheeks.
He wished that he could just know with reassurance that something like the vision in his mind could be real; that at the end of all things, his beloved family would all be there. For if a deity did love creation, and loved Janus, then his family was truly the expression, and face, of that love. With all of life’s sorrows and struggles, it seemed like such a small comfort to ask for.
But, he was undeniably trapped in the physical world, bereft of knowing what was or was not out there beyond the senses. There was no gateway or conduit to other worlds, no matter how hard he wished that it could be otherwise.
Janus would simply have to pick himself up, bandage his soul’s wounds that he knew would not heal in this lifetime, and trudge forward even if each ensuing step was harder to take. Only the passage of time itself would aid him.
“Man, that’s pretty odd… came in quick, it looks like,” Kent remarked, sharply breaking through the ambient noises of the boat’s engine and the breezes wafting across them. “I know I haven’t had that many beers.”
“Real weird,” Derek murmured. “There was nothing when we came down the lake.”
Janus could sense the absolute surprise reflected in the vocal tone of the others. He sighed and opened his eyes, to see what had so suddenly gripped their attentions. With the back of his right hand, we wiped the thin trails of wetness from his face.
The shoreline on both sides of the lake was still visible, but the headlights on the boat now formed solid beams. They could barely cut through the outskirts of a vapor that hovered over the water, rising up as a vast wall of fog about a hundred feet before them.
Janus shared the great puzzlement of the others. They had passed right through the area such a short time before. There had not been any fog or mist in the area whatsoever
.
Janus took a deep breath, and his first impression was that something far beyond normal was occurring. He battened the thought back down, knowing fully well that it was just a rising fog caused by water and temperature shifts. It had just emerged much faster than he had thought that a fog could.
“What do you think caused it?” Janus asked them.
Kent shook his head. “I can’t figure it out. Fog just doesn’t form like this. Not this fast, at least. I don’t know, maybe someone channeled a bunch of hot water into the lake or something, like their entire hot tub spilled over or something. Must be an amazing party going on nearby.”
He laughed nervously, and Janus could see the anxiety in Kent’s eyes.
“It would sure have to be a lot of hot water,” Derek added, his eyes fixated upon the thick vapors looming ahead of them. “Pretty big hot tub.”
“Maybe it is the mists of time, and we are going to end up on the shores of some ancient land,” Kent remarked. “Then we can be like barbarian invaders and pillage and plunder. Let’s stake our claims… I get the wenches and beer, you guys can have the rest!”
“Creative, Kent, but probably not gonna happen,” Derek said, a flicker of deep concern manifesting in his face.
Derek cut down the speed of the engine, until the boat was going at a slow crawl. The fog soon enveloped them entirely, shearing off any extended vision to any side of the boat.
“Lovely, just lovely,” Kent remarked sourly. “We’ll have to take it very slow, and very carefully.”
“Maybe we should just stop,” Derek suggested.
Janus concurred with Derek, as they were now unable to see more than a few feet ahead of them.
“We take it real slow, if we keep going. And we keep talking and listening, because if there are any other boats in this, they need to know we’re here,” Kent said, his lightheartedness dissipating rapidly, and his mood sobering up quickly.
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