I stepped down the stones on the trail and walked right past the “Do Not Enter” sign, chuckling to myself to mock the police forces’ poor attempts to keep me away from my one and only happy place. It was the middle of the night and everything was still. Looking out at the great water from where I stood, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling like a fool. The water was the same as it had always been and the faint shadow of fish swimming around filled me with the joy of knowing that this lake held so much life. How could anything there cause any harm? My hand drifted through the shallow water, the icy feeling sending a chill through my fingers. Next to me, my camera sat on a rock, waiting to take photos of all the nature surrounding this place.

All of a sudden, in the middle of cloudy fog up ahead, a creature stared straight at me with bright, glowing eyes. It was the clear shape of a horse, with ears twitching for every small sound I made. Its hooves guided it through the water towards me. I froze in place.

“A kelpie?” I whispered to myself, unable to believe my eyes. After the words escaped from my mouth, the equestrian creature darted through the shallow water, ready to trample me. But I didn’t move. I was frozen where I stood, watching as the creature grew closer to me, making itself into a clear threat.

As if in a trance, all my body knew to do was take my camera and raise it in front of me, my finger resting on the button. Before I knew it, the creature towered over me, ready to take me.