She owned a bottomless lake of lies

I told her not to worry until I came back. I left the city hastily and was on my way to the town called Aliwood, which seemed to be the source of that insensitive rumor. Tiffany was trembling when the rumor threw her marriage off the course, Tiffany is a very sensitive girl and she did not take it well. She had already spiralled down to the worst cases that could have happened with her marriage when she came to me for help. I had always been her saviour ever since she got into trouble for sneaking in her boyfriend's vape refills to school in tenth grade. She is sweet and selfless which is the main concern of my life.

The stop sign, on the road brought my thoughts to a halt and my heart back to its natural rhythm. I had believed that I would find the source of that statement, I trusted myself the most when it came to caring about Tiffany.

Aliwood had the biggest national park in our state. It was also a very popular hang-out spot for the young people of this generation.

"I swear to god, these young people think that they are very good at social media, but I fear that sometimes they either lack the right amount of wisdom or go overboard to an extent that could potentially ruin a little person's life like this." I thought.

I reached Aliwood by mid-day, just as I had assumed. I was looking forward to seeing the lake again as it brings peace to my mind instantly and it had been my favourite spot to write too. Aliwood had the most mesmerising lake I had ever seen and I couldn't wait to brainstorm about the rumor by it's side.

I was alarmed by the sound of my phone that is usually dead, it was first thing in the morning and I couldn't help but moan all the way to the kitchen counter where I had left it the night before.

"Bella, did you find anything? Please tell me you did, David left and wouldn't talk to me! I don't know what to do. My life is ruined, it's ruined and I don't know how to fix it...please say something."

"What is wrong with that guy? Cant he trust you. I am sorry, but I really think he is being unreasonable with his trust issues, Tiff. You guys have been together for a good few years now, he must know you enough by now to realise that this rumor cant be true at all. I don't understand what has got into him."

"Bella, I have tried everything in my power to stop him from overreacting. I am tired, babe, please find the person quick, I want to put an end to this."

"Just have faith in me, Tiff and stop being dramatic. I will sort this for you."

The sunlight peeked through the kitchen window as soon as I hung up the phone, as I followed it out of the cottage I was welcomed by the landlady.

"Hello Bella. You're back so soon, did the story not end up well?"

"Oh, no Laila, the story is going great I just had to put it aside for now...I am trying to hunt the person who tweeted about my best friend. It has been a stressful couple days, honestly, the tweet is destroying my friend's marriage. It said that 'she betrayed her husband because she had her baby using a sperm donor as her husband is infertile.' We know that the the statement is not true because her husband is absolutely fine. But the rumor is creating unnecessary doubts in her marriage. And the person who tweeted it, claimed to be her university roommate."

"Mad world we live in. So I am guessing the person lives somewhere nearby?"

"Yes, Gary tracked it down for me, I just need to look for a familiar face."

"Let me know if you need my help." Laila winked as she walked away toward her cottage, right next to mine, which she normally rented out to visitors of the national park.

As I began walking around the area of the civilisation, it struck me how tired I was that day after the swim in the lake, the night before. But I had to do this for my friend.

It was a toasty day, but Aliwood was known to be sunny and warm most of the year anyway. I had no luck by the end of that day and I was beginning to think that maybe the person had left the area before I started looking.

"Laila, do you want to go for a short walk?"

"Yes, let me feed my cat quickly before I leave."

The evening breeze was colder than the one during the day, and it was also a bit refreshing. I almost forgot about my anxiety as it blew right on my face.

"I am losing hope" I looked over at Laila with anxious eyes as wide as an elf's. "I am starting to think that the person has left the area."

"You have not yet looked on the other side of the lake, Bella. Don't lose hope until you have tried everything."

After a lap around the lake which was located in the centre of the park, we decided to get some rest before the both of us met again the next morning to look around the west side of Aliwood together.

We parted ways into opposite directions. As soon as I turned over to my side, I saw a face that I didn't know was printed deep in my mind, until then. Laila didn't turn around until she heard a thud. I had fallen to my face a mile away from our cottages.

"Bella what happened?"

"I saw her. I can never forget her face. I wanted to catch her Laila, but I am not used to running."

"Who was it? Do you think she could be the mean person who tweeted?"

"I think I am positive Laila" I said, getting off the road, I had bruised my knees but the rumor was more important, "She was indeed Tiffany's roommate in university. I hated her, she tried to ruin mine and Tiff's friendship every chance she got."

We walked quicker by the minute until we had reached the main entrance of the park. We began to move our bobble-heads in every direction, hoping to find a nook or cranny we might have missed while walking in the air.

"Bella, I think we should trace our path again."

"Laila, lets call it a day. We will find her tomorrow."

"But we are so close, come on!"

"I am a bit tired and I really do think that we lost her already."

"But...we were so close" Laila whispered, as she turned toward her cottage. I knew she was getting suspicious when I noticed her glancing at my as she was turning away from me.

Laila did not meet me at our spot the next morning so I headed my way, by myself; it was meant to be this way from the start, I thought to myself as I walked on feeling determined.

I felt a pleasant feeling forming in my chest as I read Tiffany's name on my phone while it rang for a good few seconds before I said 'hello'.

"How is it going, Bella?"

"I am glad you called babe, I found her. I found Julie in Aliwood."

"Oh my god, was it really Julie from uni?"

"Yeah, I always knew she hated the pair of us. I think she hated you less and just hated me more for being closer to you than she ever was."

"I cant believe she would do something so selfish and petty. Maybe that is why she never really had any friends around. She took it too far...Thanks Bella for going through this trouble for me. So, what did she say?"

"She said that she was jealous of the announcement of your daughter's birth and she was envious of your perfect little family. She just tweeted it 'out of spite', she said. But she didn't expect for it to blow up like this."

"Oh god! Thanks Bella, let me call David, I will talk to you later." she said before hanging up on me.

I didn't feel very guilty often, but I had always hated Julie and I couldn't help myself from hacking into her account, when I saw her a week ago in Aliwood, looking happy, after all that she had done during university to try and break my friendship with Tiff.

As the stop sign put my thoughts to an end, I turned on the radio and and decided to flip the page on this chapter, like I had determined to do.