AN: This story is for Derek, because as a general rule; he’s okay with me being my slightly insane, over-imaginative, highly morbid self.

And because he helped me look for the body.

--

“Come see! Come see! Come see!” I shouted, running ahead of John, running through the dark park at night like a little kid.

But I didn’t care, I had to show someone this and even if he wouldn’t appreciate it, I would show him.

I sat down on the little rock ledge and looked out over the water, I sighed dramatically, swinging my legs.

“What?” asked John, he’d caught up and was standing behind me.

“Look!” I said, pointing out over the water. The lights from the distance bridge gleamed over the surface of the water, casting long, shimmering reflections over the black water. There was no noise except for the water lapping at the rocks below my feet and the air was fresh.

“Isn’t it romantic?” I asked him, smiling at the sight.

I expected an exasperated sigh along with an eye roll, ending with him walking away, but he didn’t.

“I guess,” he said. I turned back to look at him, he was shrugging, one hand still covering his eye.

I grimaced.

“Eye still hurt?” I asked. He’d been hit in the face with a basketball a few minutes ago. Being the total klutz and spaz that I was in gym, I knew what it felt like.

He nodded muttering something.

“What?” I asked.

“I said; damn death perception goes down at night.”

“What?” I asked again.

“Death perception,” he said. “Your ability to avoid death.”

“What about it?” I asked.

“It goes down at night,” he repeated.

“Oh,” I said, still not entirely understanding what that had to do with anything.

He pointed to his eye.

“Wait, you’re blaming your blaming your injury on this death perception thing?” I asked skeptically.

He nodded.

“And the dark.”

“Excuses, excuses,” I said, smiling.

I looked back out over the water and enjoyed the view. I knew that John didn’t find it quite as breathtaking, so I wasn’t surprised when I heard the gravel crunch beneath his feet as he walked away.

“Fine,” I said out loud to no one. “I’ll be romantic by myself.”

“You do that,” John called back to me.

For a while I watched the water, its magic didn’t fade away, but voices from a bench dulled it a little. I looked over to the origin of the noise and saw John sitting with Kay and Judy, talking.

I could go over and sit with them... but I wouldn’t.

I went to look back over the water, but something caught my eye.

Hanging over the water was a kind of dock type thing with a hole in the side.

At first glance, when the light hit it a certain way, I could have sworn I saw a body in there.

I looked harder, but didn’t see it again.

I looked back to the water, dismissing what I saw, but found myself glancing back at the dock from time to time, hoping to catch a glimpse over the ghostly body again.

Then I did.

I was sure I saw it, so sure, in fact that I got up and ran to the dock. Trench coat trailing out behind me, I ran as fast as I could. I was pretty sure I felt someone’s eye on me, possibly John’s, but I didn’t care, or inform him of what I was doing. When I got there, I bent down and knocked on the dock.

“Hello?” I called softly. “Is anyone there?”

I was perfectly aware of how stupid this might have looked, but no one was around, and it was night. I would have done it in board daylight anyways; I wanted to know if there really was someone under there.

No one answered me.

I called again a little louder, but still, there was nothing. I tried to look through the cracks in the wood, but they were too tight together. I leaned over the railing, trying to see under the dock without getting into the freezing water, it was November after all. The railing was freezing cold, and I didn’t have gloves.

“What are you doing?” called a voice from a ways off, it echoed a little. I removed my half upside down body from the railed and looked over to see John calling out to me.

“Do you see a dead body under there?” I called back. I wasn’t really aware of how creepy and strange that sounded until the words actually left my mouth.

There was a pause before this answer.

“No...” he said slowly, like it was a trick question. “Why?”

“‘Cause I thought I saw one,” I said nonchalantly. “And I’m looking for it,” I added as an afterthought.

I leaned back over the edge and stared calling softly again. Still, I was left answerless. I debated jumping down onto the bit of land before the water to see if I could see then, I was about to when I heard a voice behind me.

“If there really is a dead body down there, they won’t answer you, you know...”

Usually, I would have jumped out of my skin at someone sneaking up behind me like that, but tonight I didn’t get scared. I turned around and saw John standing there looking at me like I was some over-imaginative little kid. But I didn’t mind. He still had one eye closed.

“Eye still hurt?” I asked him.

He nodded.

“Put your hand on the railing, then put it against your eye, it’s like ice,” I told him.

“Good idea,” he said, trying out my idea.

“You didn’t have to help me look, you know,” I told him.

He didn’t answer me; instead he leaned over the water.

“You wouldn’t be able to survive in that water without a wetsuit...” he commented.
“What if the point wasn’t to live?” I asked, cocking my head to one side. I couldn’t help it; I was always thinking morbid thoughts.

He ignored me and repeated himself.

“You’d need a wetsuit...” he said to himself more than anyone.

I got up and brushed off my hands.

“What about a dry suit?” I asked jokingly. “That would keep you dry.”

He shook his head.

“It wouldn’t keep you warm enough.”

I rolled my eyes at him not getting my joke.

I slipped between a space in the railing and hung over the water.

“I don’t see anything,” I said in frustration.

“If I were you,” John said to me. “I’m jump onto that rock, its right in front of the opening.”

I looked at the rock; it was a little too far away and a little too unstable looking for comfort’s sake. So I shook my head.

“No, you wouldn’t,” I said.

“What?” he asked.

“If you were me,” I explained. “You would know that if you jumped on that rock from here, you’d fall into the water, and therefore you wouldn’t.”

I looked back him, smiling. He rolled his eyes.

“Whatever.”

I jumped down onto the bit of dry land before the water and stuck my head around, but still I couldn’t quite see.

I knew that John didn’t really believe that there was someone under there, but I was happy he was humoring me like this.

“Hello?” I called stretching to try and see. “Anyone there?”

Still no answer.

I glanced at the rock that John had mentioned earlier, it wasn’t too far a leap from here, I would try.

I jumped onto the rock, but fell into the icy water.

Water flooded into my shoes and weighed down my trench coat. There must have been a steep slope before that point, because my feet couldn’t touch the bottom. I kicked and spluttered to the surface; teeth chattering and shivering.

“Lily!” Came John’s worried voice. “Lily, are you okay?”

But I didn’t answer him.

Because starring back at me were lifeless blue eyes. They were open wide in surprise with icicles along the lashes and her mouth hanging slightly open. Her skin was pale as marble and there was a deep cut that ran across her neck. There was still a little blood that hadn’t been washed away from the water.

Personally, I thought your death perception went up at night.

Because never before had I been able to perceived a dead body.