THE SILENT FERRYMAN

By AI-ChatGPT- T.CHR. - Human Synthesis- 05 January 2025

On the misty waters of a nameless lake, a lone figure drifted silently in a decrepit boat. Shrouded in tattered, dark robes, the figure held a glowing lantern that pierced through the oppressive fog, casting eerie shadows that danced across the water’s surface. No one knew where the lake began or where it ended, but the locals had a name for it: the Veil of Silence.

Legends whispered of the Ferryman—a spectral being who roamed the lake under a perpetual gray sky. It was said that he was neither alive nor dead, a cursed soul bound to ferry the restless spirits of the drowned to a place they could never escape. But those who had crossed his path knew a darker truth: the Ferryman didn't just collect the dead—he hunted the living.

Jana had heard the stories but dismissed them as folklore, mere tales to keep children away from the dangerous waters. Yet, as her small canoe cut through the fog, an unnatural chill gripped her heart. The gentle ripples of the lake seemed to fall into an eerie stillness, and an ominous silence swallowed the air.

Suddenly, the faint glow of the Ferryman's lantern appeared on the horizon. It floated closer, growing brighter, as if the figure itself had been waiting for her. Panic set in, but when Jana tried to paddle away, her arms froze, her body paralyzed by an unseen force.

The Ferryman’s boat approached, the lantern's light revealing skeletal fingers clutching its frame.Jana's breath caught as the hooded figure lifted its gaze—or what should have been its gaze. Beneath the hood, there was only a void, a swirling darkness that seemed to pull at her very soul.

Then, in a voice that was not a voice but the echo of a thousand whispers, it spoke."Your debt is long overdue."Terror gripped her. She had never stepped foot on this lake before, never wronged this spectral entity—or so she thought.

But the Ferryman knew. He always knew. Beneath the murky depths, the lake held the secrets of countless lives, and Jana’s was one of them. She remembered the night she had stood on this lake's shore, pushing someone she once loved into its depths. She had tried to forget, but the lake never forgives.The Ferryman extended a skeletal hand, beckoning her into the boat. Jana tried to scream, but the fog devoured her cries.

The last thing she saw was the glow of the lantern, swallowing her whole as the boat drifted into the endless mist.By dawn, her canoe was found adrift, empty except for a single black coin resting on the seat. The villagers who found it turned pale, for they knew the coin's meaning—it was the toll paid to the Ferryman. No one dared touch it, and no one ever saw Jana again.

But on quiet nights, when the fog thickened over the Veil of Silence, some claimed they could see the faint glow of a lantern and hear the mournful creak of an oar cutting through the water.