He stared at his reflection and was startled at what stared back. He examined the young man looking back at him in the rippling water. The hair was wild, like a tornado had passed through. The ends were wet from sweat, which continued to drip off of him, soaking his shirt. He moved to run his hands through his hair, but stopped when he caught the glance of crimson. His hands were covered in gore. He looked down at his shirt and saw the gore was blood, mixing with his sweat. The water of the lake lapped at the shore, as if it were mourning the sight of him. He looked out at the vast openness, and wished the lake would swallow him whole. He knew he had to get rid of the evidence.

He peeled his shirt off, and plunged it into the cool depths.  The crystal clear water became stained with his sin. The young man began to see crimson wherever he looked. In his mind, the water of the lake became the red sea, throwing his sin back into his face. He became agitated with the lake, and panicked at the need to rid his sin. Crying out, the man plunged himself in the frigid water, tossing and turning around. Digging sand up from the bottom, he scrubbed himself furiously all over.

In the water, his reflection disappeared and became the face of the dead. He threw rocks, until the image disappeared into soft ripples. Feeling an overpowering need to get away, the male took advantage of the lake’s vastness and swam furiously into the horizon. With each stroke a sob was heard, terrified, he swam faster until realizing the sobbing was coming from himself. He was too far out to stand, so he swam back to shore.

Night was quickly falling, bringing the sun to rest. Stars illuminated the sky, and the moon cast a spotlight on the lake. The male noted the change, and focused in on his surroundings. Trees towered along the shore, and mountains rose in the horizon. Even with the vastness of nature, the man remained paranoid, and could not feel alone. A lonely howl echoed through the trees, causing the man to jump. His paranoia became fear, causing him to cower along the shore.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. A wail broke out and he fell to his knees. "Why? Why did I do it, why didn't you stop me?" Sobbing filled the darkness.  

"Jasper, Jasper," His name whispered out through the trees. Jasper stopped sobbing. His eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"No! It can't be! I-I-I kill-" Jaspers voice broke off. The voice he heard was lost in the whispers of the pines.

Its my imagination, Jasper thought. This isn't real, it'll go away. He began to gather wood drifted up from the lake. He started a small fire, and sat staring into the flames.

As the flickering and fluttering grew higher and higher, Jasper's mind wandered. He went back in time to happier days. A smile grew on his face as he saw his sweetheart. Her smile and shine in her eyes the day he gave her the ring. Her sweet and innocent laugh as he said, "I do."

His face froze as he remembered his vows. The vows he failed to keep. Jasper's control began to slowly break apart. The flames began to take hold the face of his sweetheart, his wife. He latched on to the image. Her lips slowly moved. He tried to make out what she was saying, but suddenly her face contorted and melted with the heat of the flames and slowly dripped away like candle wax.

Jasper became terrified. "No!" he screamed. He picked up handfuls of sand and flung them into the fire. Frantically, his flinging grew in intensity, until his wet clothes were covered in wayward sand particles, and the fire was out. He broke out into sobs. Sinking to his knees, he hugged himself and rocked back and forth.

"Jasper, Jasper," his name whispered out of the darkness. The face to the whispers formed in the moonlight. The face of his sweetheart glaring at him. Jasper grew terrified, and backed away from the image, but it only came closer.

"Emily," Jasper whispered. He stilled, knowing he couldn't run. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He closed his eyes as tears slinked through. The scene he'd been running from came back, sharper than a knife. Emily's innocent brown eyes staring back at him as his hands pressed against her chest. The eyes turning cold and bleak as her heart took its last beat, and her breath fell short of her sweet lips. The blood, still warm from her body, slowing in flow, covering his hands. The hands that took her life.

His eyes opened, only to still see Emily. Her lips made the same movement as when Jasper had pictured her in the fire. The pale moonlight gave her a ghostly appearance. Jasper strained harder to make out her words.

"Why Jasper, why?" Emily hounded. Her words cut Jasper deeper than the actions that killed her.

"I didn't mean to, you got in the way," Jasper cried. "Forgive me." He pleaded. Emily stayed in the moonlight, her glow growing in intensity lighting up the entire shore. Jasper felt her eyes peering into his soul, picking apart every last shred.

"Forgive me, Emily. Forgive me, please. Please! Emily, forgive me," Jasper pleaded. He broke into sobbing. On his knees, he looked up, unable to break eye contact with his true love. Tears fell through, blurring his vision, but the eyes of Emily stayed glued to his, never wavering. Jasper became frantic with Emily's answer of silence. He howled in frustration, and hurtled sand and firewood across the shore.

"You must forgive me, you must!" Jasper insisted. He was met with silence. Jasper waited, only to have Emily's eyes continually transfixed to his. Her eyes bore further into his soul, transmitting the pain and betrayal she felt. Her emotions overwhelming him, Jasper was transported back in time to earlier that day.

Jasper thought against the memory, but it bore down into him. He was aiming a gun; a 9mm semi-automatic pistol. He had it pointing at his intended target, who was aiming a similar weapon at him. It was a standoff as to who would fire first. He shot, just as Emily launched herself between the two, effectively taking a bullet in her chest.

"I tried to save you, Emily," Jasper stammered. "I tried stopping the bleeding, but it kept coming. Coming. Coming. I cradled you after. Do you remember?"

Silence. Emily's eyes bored into him, drilling holes further. Jasper became enraged and chucked a nearby rock at her image. She stayed. He screamed and howled, as madmen do.

"Forgive me!" He shouted. "For-Give Me," He enunciated each siliple. "Forgive! Me!" He shouted each word separately. "Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me," Jasper implored.

Silence. His words continued to ring out on death ears. He paused. Waiting for anything. Anything at all. The screech of an owl. A tree falling. Anything would have satisfied his mind. He was met with silence. Silence so thick it cut like a knife. It covered like a down comforter, muffling everything to nothing. Making up his mind, he rose up off of his knees. He stood, never losing eye contact with Emily.

"If you can't forgive me Emily, I can't forgive myself." Jasper stated with utmost calmness. He walked to the edge of the shore. Slowly and methodically, Jasper picked his shirt up off the ground. He tied the bottom of his shirt together, and filled it with rocks. Dragging the weight behind him, he walked to the shore. Hefting the weight of the rocks up on his shoulder, Jasper used all of his strength and flung the mass out into the lake. It hit with a large plunge, and sank gracefully to the bottom.

"No one will know but us, Emily, no one," Jasper growled. He then undid the buttons to his pants. He slowly stripped down to his shorts. Bundelling his shoes with the rest of his clothing, he sank them to the bottom of the lake. Jasper stood along the shore, looking out across the horizon.

Emily's eyes continually followed his. Feeling calm and steady, Jasper sucked air in and out. Letting his last breath out, he looked down at the water. Emily beckoned his feet to move forward. He walked out, letting the water rise up to his chin, while standing flat foot. Knowing what needed to be done, Jasper let any air he was holding in blow out through his mouth, as he completed his last task.