The Lake: Fantasy

Standing on the edge of the shore, he tilted his face up, letting the cold wind blowing off the lake dry the tears from his cheeks. In the distance, on the other side of the lake, he saw the glowing beacons of the harbor. Behind him lay the dark woods. He thought of going back to the boat and rowing back across the lake to safety, to a pint of beer in a pub and a casual chat with the same old faces that he'd seen for so long. He thought of the expression on his wife-s face before she stepped into the lake, the strange peace that had suffused her in the weeks before her suicide, the way that all the men of the town had held him back to keep him from diving in after her. The moon had ridden high in the sky, making the surface of the lake look like black blood in the night.

Inspiration: "Once in a Lifetime" by Wolfsheim
Story Potential: High.
Notes: At first I thought this was going to be a present-world, present-time story. Now I don't. Close, though; one of those other-side-of-the-mirror style of stories. Neat.