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Once upon a time,
back in 1521. There was a young girl, around 10 years old with blonde hair and bright blue eyes, living in a small town called Shemei.

This town was popular for it's markets and people. Everybody was always happy and had a wonderfull time. Except the girl's mom.
Her husband had died three years before, and she had to take care of the girl all by herself. Women at that time, weren't aloud to work. The man had to work for money, the women had to take care of the house and children. Not being able to get money, her heart grew small and empty. Only her daughter could give her joy. Seeing her smile and grow, and play with other kids. Sometimes tripping, sometimes crying. But always kind, often a bit shy.

Next to Shemei, were big deep woods with no end. People around town told story's about a lake hiding in the deep darkness behind the trees. This wasn't just an ordinary lake. They believed it to be evil, and dangerous.

Some men, weren't scared for a little lake down that forest. But the men that dared to visit the lake, never came back. The girl her father was one of them. He was a brave man, not scared of anything.
But he didnt survive. He was gone, forever. But why?

One did survive, but this was a girl. A young women that went to find her husband. When she came back though, she was still alone, and her head was pale, her eyes frightened.
After a week, she told everyone what she had seen.

She said she had seen a girl. At first it looked innocent, sitting at a rock near the lake. Brushing her long hair with her small fingers.
When she came closer, though, this girl apeared to be soaked wet, as pale as a dead body, her eyes covered by a thin layer of translucent skin. She screamed, the creature jumped in the water and didnt come back up.

Why only the men? The old lady in town had the answer.
this is what she said:

Long long ago, there was a god and a godess that gave birth to several other gods. But when the godess gave birth to the god of fire, she died of burn wounds. The god himself went to the underworld to get his beloved back. But all he found was a body of maggots, he got scared, she got mad. She chased him, ashamed of her body, but when she got to the end of the underworld, he closed the opening with a huge rock. She curses saying "I'll kill thousands of your people every day "
and he answered "Then i'll make sure that a thousand and five hundred will be born every day. "
Her rage hasn't died, and on the spot of the lake there used to be an opening and a huge rock.
The lake got called Izanami cause it means 'She who invites'. She got herself an army of lost baby girls, drowned in that lake at a time that girls weren't aloud to live for they were useless. She wanted revenge, and even if she couldn't get a thousand of men to visit that lake each day, she'd 'invite' every man that ever passed by. That ever wanted to take a look.

She now assumed that the lost baby girls grew up to fine women, lake spirits. Or better called naiads, and that they hypnotize men by their looks and get them to come into the water and dive under to drown themselves.

The little young girl, that this story is really about, didnt believe these story's. Even though she was still such a young girl. All she wanted was her father back. And so, one day when her mother wasn't looking, she ran away to the woods. Once in the woods, she got lost, but she wasn't alone. A mad man grabbed her from behind, plling at her hair and held her in a tight embrace around her neck. When the girl got free, after kicking and biting and struggling, she turned around and stared at the man. Scared and alone, she stepped backwards, not looking where she was walking. The man was her own father, driven mad by something that sparkled in his eyes. She cried and stepped back more, and once she didnt feel ground under her little feet anymore it was already too late.

She fell back in the lake. Sinking deep in the water, her dad following. They sank like bricks falling down a tower, choking in the water that was filling their lungs. Her vision went black like his, but at least she knew that she'd never have to live without her dad ever again. She found him and they were going to die together. Forever.

Even though this was the end of her short life, she felt happy.

She didn't know what she was going to become, for all girls weren't aloud to die forever in that lake. But her counsciousness dissapeared with a happy and safe feeling.

The end.

by: OnelittleStoryteller