“Wow! I found it!” I exclaim, excitement coursing through me. I’ve never felt as excited as I do now. I can’t believe it. I really found it. Wow! I didn’t think that of all people, I would be the one to find it.

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.

“It’s ok…it’s ok,” I tell myself out loud. Sure, it’s not ok, but I need to think. Now, my clothes are probably still on me. It’s more likely that the water was drugged so has some sort of funky mixture to make me see things. Yeah, that sounds right. I’m hallucinating. I just think I’m naked. In reality, I’m perfectly clothed.

As I stand in the open naked like this, I consider what will happen if I am naked and someone sees me. I consider myself an open person. Even open sexually. Well, let me rephrase that. I’m ok with other people being sexually open and doing crazy shit, but not me. I much rather watch and laugh than do it myself. So I’ve never exposed any part of me to anyone in a public setting. Not even so much as a quick flash to a boyfriend. To say that this is all extremely embarrassing, humiliating and uncomfortable is the understatement of the year.

“Hey baby! Doing a dare?!” I hear a man’s voice yell. This acts like fire to a firecracker’s fuse, making me start to run. I don’t even pick a direction but run, wanting to get away from whomever that may be. To get away from where people can see me like this. To run and hide where no one can see me.

Never have I felt so humiliated or embarrassed. This is like a bad frat prank during a drunken party. One that you do to the drunk slut, not to the graduate student that’s trying to make her way through life. I’ve never even like pranks, not to mention hate when they are done to me.

I’m running barefoot deeper into the forest now, away from the trail and whomever that was. The more I run, the more the area looks devoid of human life, which is what I want. I want to get to an area where I can think of what to do. To a place that’s safe and I can figure this all out.

“Ouch!” I yelp as a thin branch slaps me in the face as I run. I know I ran into it, but it felt almost like someone was holding it and waiting for me to get close to let it go. It hits and stings my face bad, making me bring my right hand up to my face to comfort the sting.

“What the fuck?!” I exclaim as my lifted hand gets grabbed. For a brief moment I’m sure that someone has grabbed me by the wrist to hold me, stopping me from running. But turning I see there’s no one here at all. No huge muscular person wanting to stop me. Instead…there’s a vine.

Having stopped running, I look at my right hand which is now raised close to eye level. There’s a vine wrapped around my wrist several times, like it was done on purpose. I know I just ran through a patch of branches and greenery, where I had my hands up, but how could this happen?

Finding I don’t really care, I pull on my right hand to break the vine. When I do, the nearby branches the vine is wrapped around pull downward, but the vine doesn’t break. So I pull harder, making the vine feel like it is digging into my skin as the trees wobble a bit as their branches are pulled.

“Come on!” I yell out as I use my entire body weight to pull, dragging multiple branches downward as I try to break the vine. I even take several steps backward to get as much leverage as I can. Yet the vine doesn’t break. It’s like the world’s strongest vine or something.

My left hand is over my right now, trying to use my center to pull. But I come to a point where the vine and myself are at a standstill. The vine has the trees and branches as leverage, while I just have my body weight. In short, there’s no way I can break the vine as it is too healthy and wrapped around the greenery too well.

“Oh fuck,” I grunt as my right foot sinks through the ground. Looking down I see that my foot was standing in some sort of patch of mud or maybe loose dirt. Me moving on top of it made it part and thus my foot has sunk into it. It sunk quite a bit too as now I can’t even see my ankle.

Frowning, I try to pull my right foot up and out of the thick, muddy goo. About to panic I feel that I can’t. It’s not the stuff has hardened, but it is, I dunno, gooey to the point it is sticking to my skin. When I try to lift my foot, I’m trying to lift all the dirt and whatever else that’s with it. Makes it feel like being stuck in a pot full of melted marshmallows.

“No, no, no, no, no, no,” I repeat as my right arm snaps and stretches out. I had stopped holding my right hand to look at my foot. The moment I did this and stopped pulling, the branches overpower me. My right hand is yanked forward as it is forced to go with the vine wrapped around it. With my foot stuck, I don’t have the leverage I once did because I can no longer move. This lets the vine pull back all the way, becoming tight as possible.

Stunned as I stand here, I try not to think of just how much trouble I am in. You see, my right arm is stretched out up and to the side thanks to the vine. It’s pulling hard, making my entire body want to follow. Problem is that my right foot is still stuck. In short, my right foot and arm are trapped, making it almost look like I’m trying to do some sort of half-spread eagle pose.

Shit. What do I do? If someone comes I guess I could use my Free hand to cover my breasts and then move my left leg to try and cover my lady parts. It’s the only thing I can think because there’s no way I’m getting my foot Free at the moment. I’ve repeatedly tries to step out, but no luck. I’ve even tried to use my Free hand to help, but there’s nothing to hold on to in an attempt to get leverage. And there’s no way I’ll be able to pull those branches without my entire body.

“No, I refuse to accept this!” I announce out loud, even if I’m the only one that will hear it. With all my might, I pull my trapped arm and lean to the side in a desperate attempt to break Free. As I do this, I let out a screaming grunt as I expend a great deal of energy.

I’m able to pull my hand all the way to my chest. This gives me hope as I bet if I pull it enough, the vine will snap. Then I’ll be able to use both hands to get my foot Free. This hope makes me pull even harder.

“Oh,” I say as I hear a very bad sound. It’s the sound of wood cracking/snapping. Very much like the sound of an overhead branch starting to break. Since I am in the middle of a bunch of trees, that’s a very scary sound.

The sound is so troubling that I stop moving. I keep my muscles tense as I stand still, not wanting to find what the noise means. But even as I stand still, the cracking sound keeps going. It actually gets louder and faster.

“Oh, come on!” I cry out as I look up right in time to see a rather large branch snap. The branch snaps off where it swings at the broken point for just a moment. The branch is very large, being much longer than my entire body even if I laid down. Plus, it looks heavy as at the base the branch is half the size of my waist.

I let out a scream as it breaks off completely and heads downward, right for me. My Free hand goes up and over my head in an attempt to protect me from the branch, which is laughable. But it’s the only thing I can do as I’m trapped. My body tenses and I even bend in hopes that it will make the large thing miss me.

It falls down, where I’m smacked all over with small thin branches which has tons of leaves. Repeatedly these smack and run down my body as it crashes. This makes me scream again where I’m sure I’m a goner. That the branch is going to crush me at any moment.

But it doesn’t. I hear the heavy branch hit the ground, but it barely touches me. In fact none of the actually wood part touches me, just the small thin branches. It’s a miracle. The small branches whipped against me but nothing hit my head nor did anything pierce/impale me. The huge thing missed me.

Opening my eyes, I look to my side. When I do, I see the huge branch to my side, where one end is touching me. Well, more like engulfing me as half of my body is engulfed with all the small branches and leaves.

“Oh, thank goodness,” I say as I’m filled with relief. I thought for sure my life was over. That the end was here for me, and I was going to die naked. What a break!

I then move my left hand to wipe the terrified sweat off my brow…to find I can’t move that hand. Confused, I look at my left hand to see something that my brain can’t seem to handle. Much like when I found that I was naked, my brain seems unable to comprehend what I’m seeing.

My left arm is extended out and downward. And I see that my wrist is wedged at a Y intersection of one of the branches that sticks off the fallen branch. This smaller branch goes upward where my wrist looks to be resting tightly in the Y part. Only a couple of inches down my arm, there’s another Y intersection but this one above my arm coming down.

I pull on my left hand but it’s stuck. Stuck between those two smaller branches. I keep on pulling my hand, mainly because I don’t see how in the world this could have happened. It doesn’t seem possible in a physical sense. If anything, my arm should have been ripped off by this, not perfectly trapped. In fact, I don’t see anyway for this to have physically happened at all.

“The Pond,” I groan, realizing what is happening. With this knowledge, I stare forward as I should have known. I’m completely naked and now helpless to stop people from looking at me. Some may say this is some horrid punishment, but I know tons of my fellow college students would call this a hilarious prank. A great trick, or so they would say.

And as if I needed any more proof, I look down at my left foot to see that it’s trapped too. The fallen branch has wrapped around my ankle, like magic. It too looks like it couldn’t have happened as it breaks the laws of physics, but it doesn’t change my situation. I don’t even try to lift or slide my foot out of the near “O” shaped section of branch because I know I won’t be able to. I’m trapped.