It makes you see things. You hear things, feel things, and it shakes your sanity. You hear stories, but you won’t believe it. You can’t. Because if you did, you would give in to your desire to know, you would have to know; is it real? Is there really a place called the Mystery Sink?
In the deep heart of the Florida marshes, where people forget to travel, there is a small pond of water. It’s not even five feet deep, and the water is as clear as a lagoon. It must be true then. If it was, you’d be able to look through that clear water and see it all.

They ventured past their neighborhood fences, clad in shorts and running shoes, brandishing flashlights. “Shh…” he said, the boy who had heard of the sink from his grandfather. “Just a little further...”
The moonlight had barely an affect on the dense treetops of the forest, and the thick jungle like-leaves kept the sound of the night animals protected. The boy stepped over the last patch of thicket, followed in close ranks by four others: Two twin brothers, the neighborhood rebel, and a small boy who had just moved in.
And then they saw it: Somehow, the moonlight had broken through all the trees, and rested itself on the small pool of water. It glowed in such a way, that you felt it was alive.
“I think there’s something in it.” said a twin, as he brushed a vine out of his path, and stood by the water’s edge. “Look at it.”
The five of them froze, and became just another part of the forest, as they watched. The ground vibrated, and a huge thump filled their bones, and rattled the roots of all the living things. Their eyes shifted as they felt the ground settle slowly.
“What was that?” said the younger boy. They had all turned their flashlights off, and carefully surrounded the pool. Then, the strangest thought crept into their minds. They felt as if all of civilization had disappeared, and all that existed was their own frightened breaths, and that mysterious, pulsing water. Was something going to come out of it? Why had they not seen anything yet?
The younger boy’s eyes widened, as he saw the top of the water change. If you ask him about what he saw that night, he will swear that footprints had appeared all along the surface of the water. Even more appeared, as he watched with his feet slowly backing away.
He wanted to run, and yet he felt that if he did, he would never find his home. Hadn’t all the roads and buildings faded away when the ground tickled their feet?
His fear finally got the better of him, and he lifted his foot from the mossy ground, taking off into the wild. The twins slowly eased away, following his path, and left only two; the rebel and the leader.
Maybe it was bravery that held them there, maybe it was the magic of the water. They saw the footsteps, and they saw the moonlight, but fear had not gripped their minds just yet.
“Do you still want to know?” asked the first boy. The rebel turned his head, every so slowly, and nodded.
“Yes…” he answered with a tiny sound.
The leader boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a rock with strange markings on it, and a dark, opaque surface. He tossed it at the pool of water, while the continuing footsteps circled its edges. As soon as the stone reached the water’s surface, it slowed down, and settled calmly into the depths with not a single splash. The second it was out of sight, a light appeared. Not like a spotlight, not at all. But a tiny sparkle in the air, like a fluorescent drop of water running along an invisible surface. It was about four feet above the top of the pool, and the tiny light moved slowly in the air, leaving a trail of glowing shapes. The boys watched, as the light slowly outlined a body-- they quickly discovered the source of the footsteps.
The figure was not clear enough to define, but they could make out the arms, as it reached down and slowly pulled the stone back out of the water. Was it a spirit? A ghost, or an angel..? How did it stand just above the water?
Its elegant arms held the stone for a moment, and then the figure threw it back to the boy. He caught it with shaking fingers, and looked back at the eyes that seemed to be a little more real than the rest of the body. The figure then started to fade away, putting a finger to its lips. And, as it let out a low breath, the sounds of all the animals got softer, and a silence rushed over the air.
And in a single moment, it disappeared. The footsteps, the trails of light, everything. The boys walked back to their lives, not passing a word between them.

From that night on, whenever the leader boy held the stone in his hand, the sounds of the night animals would fill his ears, and the glow of the moon would cover his eyes.