Boaters on a quiet lake report the water softly repeats things said weeks earlier, selecting remarks at random. Apologies are heard most often, usually out of context, drifting past like someone still working on personal growth.
Several paddlers noted a delayed echo arriving from open water with no matching voice on shore. The phrases come low and close to the surface, as if the lake prefers not to make a scene.
Tiny “proof” details have been logged by regulars who insist they are not the type to log anything. A forgotten tin can floating near the reeds was seen bobbing in place each time the phrase “sorry about that” returned, keeping tempo like a reluctant percussionist.
At the dock, a rope on a cleat reportedly tightened itself into an unusually neat fresh knot shortly after one echo faded. The knot held fast through a light breeze, then loosened just enough to look innocent.
The lake’s selection of lines appears inconsistent but oddly pointed. One pair of anglers heard “I should’ve phrased that better” drift by, followed minutes later by a gentle, solitary “anyway,” with no further explanation.
“It’s a delayed acoustic phenomenon with strong remorse clustering,” said Tamsin Greel of the Shoreline Auditory Anomalies Bureau. “We recommend speaking kindly, because the lake seems to be taking notes.”
Officials say the lake is calm, which is technically true. The water remains smooth at dusk, quietly rehearsing old sentences, and sending them out in ripples that arrive late but somehow still land.
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