I turn around a few times very fast, trying to see if anyone else is around to share in my discovery. As I spin about, I feel my long blond hair whip about as I make full complete turns. I’m alone at the moment with no else is around. This is sort of bittersweet as it is a good thing no one is around to try and take my discovery but at the same time I feel like I need to tell someone.
I did it. Me. Emily. I found it. I found The Pond. No one is ever going to believe it either. Out of all of my classmates, I’m the last one everyone would think could find such an important place. A place that no one believed even existed.
Before me, glimmering in the midday sun, is the legendary Fool’s Pond. Yeah, I know most have never heard of it, but it is quite legendary. And more than that, it’s real. It’s really real. It’s a mythical location…and it’s real. It’s real and I found it.
Legend has it that Loki, the God of Mischief bathed in this very pond. He was out spying on us humans, planning his tricks like he normally did when he discovered that the humans could smell him and knew to keep away. So he found a small pond where he bathed and as he did, he left traces of his magic within it.
His magic changed the pond forever. When any human goes completely under the water, they are enriched by the magic. Only depending on the soul of the person who goes in it, the results can be very different. Some say it grants your greatest dream while other shave said it brings your worst nightmares. As the legend goes, it’s turn good men into criminals and changed the wicked into saints.
I found it. This changes everything. I’m currently a graduate student who’s major is mythology, with a focus on Nordic legends. You wouldn’t think so, but it is a crowded field. Very crowded. Crowded with very few good jobs to go into that isn’t some form of teaching high school.
I knew I needed to stand out to launch my career. To stand out, I needed to impress my professors. Therefore, I needed a big discovery. You know, something to set me apart. Now I have it. I finally have something to show for all the nights studying. I’ll write up a paper about it, take tons of photos and submit it to a journal. From there I’ll become a published author.
You would think the legendary Fool’s Pond would be in the middle of nowhere set in Ireland or something of the sort, but it’s not. In fact, it’s off of some random neighborhood’s hiking trail in America. Just out in the open where anyone could find it. Not that anyone would notice it normally as it’s off the trail and past a bunch of trees.
Plus there’s nothing special looking about it. It’s just a small pond, the size of a hot tub. There’s not even fish inside of it to make you want to look at it. It’s something you might find anywhere in any forest.
I know the first two questions I’m going to be asked over and over. One, how did I know to look for it here, and two, how do I know it’s the real Fool’s Pond. I knew to look here because of my studies. Loki is fond of a particular type of fungus. It’s said he eats it off wildlife much like someone eats peanut butter with their finger.
It just happened that the area where I live in and go to college is rich with that fungus. So I happened to go around checking a few places where it grows. That’s what led me here.
Now, how do I know it’s the legendary Fool’s Pond? Easy. 2 reasons. Number one, all the descriptions about the pond matches what is in front of me. From the ring of stones around it, to the depth of it, down to the nearby trees.
And Number two….Loki’s mark. I can clearly see Loki’s Mark. It’s said that wherever Loki rested while on this plane, his mark was burned into the earth. Sort of like when you use a memory-foam mattress and it keeps your shape. I clearly see his mark. It’s a crude stick face that has 2 horns. It’s not the normal looking mark he leaves, but it can’t be anyone else’s. That’s Loki’s mark.
This is the pond. This is the Fool’s Pond. And you know the best part? It seems only fitting that I found it today, of all days. That on April Fool’s Day, I found one of the treasures left here by the world’s most well-known Trickster.
I bite my lip as I stare at the pond, my excitement only growing. This is it. My claim to fame. Not only will I get my Master’s, I’ll be able to get published in any recognized academic journal. Not to mention that I’ll probably get a book tour from the book I plan to write. It’ll jump start my career. Everything starts now.
Now that the shock of finding it is over, another important question appears. The question being if The Pond really works. If there’s magic in it, or if it has faded away? I guess that would be the real question I’ll be asked.
I wonder what it’s like to go inside the pond. What would the magic do? Is there any magic left? What would it feel like? Would it tingle? Would it hurt? The legends say how great it feels. That it’s known for bringing people to sexual climax, especially females like myself. I guess it sort of makes sense as Loki was the greatest of all tricksters. There’s nothing as embarrassing or funny-looking as a person having an orgasm.
When I started my search, I told myself that I wouldn’t go inside of it. After all, the legends say how not everyone enjoys what happens. That it can bring great fortune for some, but a lot of anguish for others. There’s no way to know which you will get either. So even if you are the world’s most moral person, it could mess with you, just like if you are the world’s worst person it could make you win the lottery.
But come on, it’s the Fool’s Pond! How could I not go inside it? How could I not experience just a tiny fraction of Loki’s magic? It’s the chance of a lifetime. Not to mention after I let everyone know where it is, people will be using it as a swimming pool and drain all the magic. This will probably be one of the last times it will be unmolested.
Unable to help it, I decide to go into it. To try the pond for myself. But, I decide on something of a compromise. I’m not going to bathe in it which would mean getting the full force of the magic. Instead I’ll just get a small taste of it. What I will do…is stick a foot in it. Surely I’ll feel a small piece of magic. A tingle, or tickle, or something. Just something to let me know it is real.
I quickly peel off my hiking boot and sock. Then, I stand at the edge of the pond, my breathing still fast from excitement. This is it. I’m about to do it. About to feel the magic.
My body trembles as I lower my bare foot towards the water. I do this slow too, savoring the moment and what it means. It makes me think of a scene from a movie, when the hero changes and becomes a superhero with powers.
What’s going to happen to me? Will I gain superpowers? Or maybe a lot of gold? Or will it curse me with a funny smell for the rest of my life.
“Oh shit!” I cry out as I lose my balance. My foot that’s on the ground slides a bit due to wet ground and grass, sending me off balance. It doesn’t help that I’ve leaned too far forward to lower my foot into the pond, making my entire body off balance.
In slow motion I find myself falling forward. My arms circle and windmill as I try to catch my balance but it’s too late. I’m falling over and headed right for the pond.
I splash face first into The Pond, my entire body falling in. I fall hard against the water too, the water stinging my face badly. Instantly I’m completely under water, feeling all of me, including my clothes get drenched.
Thankfully the pond isn’t deep at all, maybe three or four feet at most, so it’s easy to stand up. I’m very lucky that I didn’t hurt myself as it would be so easy to smack my head against one of the stones or even the floor of the pond. My entire body seems to make it out injury free, which I take as a good sign.
Standing up, I fling my wet hair out of my eyes and curse loudly. My freaking cell was in my pocket! It’s got to be destroyed by now, which means I’m not going to be able to take pictures. That means no video. Which means no proof at all. Not to mention I had my school notes on my cell. Damn it.
Hurriedly, I step out of The Pond. When I do, I get a shock. It’s a powerful shock, one that makes it feel like my stomach fell all the way to my feet like an anvil. It makes the world go upside down as what I’m seeing can’t be real.
I’m naked. Completely naked. Naked as the day I came into this world. Naked and wet with water dripping off me.
My clothes are gone. All of them. No jeans. No socks. Not even my hairband. Everything is gone. Everything. I’m seeing my bare breasts and shaved womanhood very clearly, watching drops of water fall down.
My first reaction is to spin and jump back in the pond. To hide under the water. After all, my clothes are probably there, right? Maybe they tore or something. I’ll be able reattach them. At the very least I’ll be able to use them to hold against my body to hide my nakedness.
I turn around and jump, meaning to leap back into The Pond. Only upon my leap, I step onto grass and not water. In disbelief, I look down knowing I should be inside The Pond, but it’s gone. Sure, the ring of stones is there like it was before, but there’s no pond, no water, just grass. No water, no hole in the ground, just overgrown grass that makes it look like it’s been this way for years.
The pond is gone. But more importantly, so are my clothes. And my backpack. And my shoes. And my cell. Shit. Everything is gone. EVERYTHING IS GONE. What sort of prank is this?!
My head swims and my body sways as I use my arms to hide my nakedness. Of all the feelings I thought I would feel in my life, I never thought feeling the weight of my own naked breasts in public would be one of them. Just like I’ve never had to cup my own little lady downstairs before, so doing so feels extremely weird.