In a small city in the heartland of America, there was an old pond that had been around since anyone could remember. It was an unassuming spot, but it had a reputation of being haunted.
The locals stayed away, but that didn’t stop the occasional hiker or backpacker from stumbling upon it and being curious enough to take a look. But those who did never stayed very long.
One particular late summer evening, a young woman was walking through the woods near the pond when she saw something strange. Sitting on the edge of the pond was an old man in tattered clothes, hunched over in deep thought. She approached him cautiously, not wanting to startle him.
But as she drew closer, the man suddenly looked up at her with a piercing gaze and began to speak in a raspy voice. He told her tales of creatures living in the depths of the pond, cursed souls that had been trapped there for centuries.
He warned her to stay away from the pond, but she was too curious and before she knew it, she had stepped onto the shore. Suddenly, the water began to churn and seethe with an unnatural life of its own.
She screamed in terror as ghostly hands emerged from the depths, pulling her under the surface. She thought she was doomed, until she heard the old man’s voice again, this time instructing her to reach out and grab one of the cursed souls.
She did as he said, and felt a strange energy course through her body as she touched one of them. In an instant, all of the creatures vanished and the water returned to its normal state.
The old man explained that she had saved herself from the cursed souls and that he had been watching over the pond for centuries, waiting for someone brave enough to save it.
From then on, no one ever bothered the pond again and it remains a mysterious and haunted place to this day. Those who have ventured near it have reported strange sounds coming from its depths, but no one has ever seen or heard from anyone who has stepped into its waters since that fateful night.
Author: Opney. Illustrator: Staby. Publisher: Cyber.
