The thick white mist clung tightly to the surface of the small mountain lake, hanging over the cold water like a pillow, suffocating the land, snuffing out all noise in the area.

Then, from somewhere beyond the mist, a lone Harlequin Duck female came fluttering by. The small brown bird looked around, seeming lost and exhausted, its wings beating lazily to stay afloat.

Then, it spotted the lake. A relieved 'quack' escaped its beak, and it began to descend.

With a nearly inaudible splash, it touched down on the surface. The impact sent ripples out across the water, traveling from the center to the edges of the lake and back, until they finally faded away and everything was still again.

Too still. Even on a relatively cold and foggy summer night, a lake like this should be swarming with noise- the buzzing of insects over the water, the chirping of birds, the splashing of the occasional fish.

But there was nothing. The entire lake was quiet, as though frozen.

After a while, the duck seemed to notice it as well. It ruffled its feathers and let out a nervous quack.

No response.

The duck looked around, searching for some sign of another life form. Perhaps she was hoping to find her drake, who she had lost in the mist some while ago, or she simply wanted reassurance that this lake was inhabited at all.

But she received nothing. The lake remained silent. The only thing in sight was mist, thick and heavy, clinging to the water and the shore, blinding and suffocating, and so endlessly heavy.

Nothing could live on this water.

Another splash, another quack, then silence.

Once again, the ripples cascaded across the lake, to the shore and back.

And when they finally faded into nothing, the lake laid empty once more, like a freshly made bed.

Once more, nothing lived on the water.