The City Beneath the Lake

No one could remember when Lake Vetra had first begun to glow at night. During the day, it looked perfectly normal: dark water, mountains reflected on the surface, and a few old boats tied to the dock. But as soon as midnight struck, small green lights appeared from the bottom, arranged like roads.

One evening, Tommaso decided to go for a swim.

He descended slowly until the sounds of the world faded away completely. At a depth of about twenty meters, he saw something that shouldn’t have existed: rooftops, towers, and lit windows.

There was an entire city beneath the lake.

The doors of the houses were open, and trees with transparent leaves grew in the squares. There were no people, but everything still seemed inhabited. On a large building in the center of the city was engraved a symbol identical to the one Tommaso had always worn on the old ring he had inherited from his grandfather.

When he brought his hand close to the entrance, the door opened.

A calm voice came from inside.

“You’re finally back.”

Tommaso stood motionless.

He had never been there before.

At least, that was what he remembered.