I’ve done more exploring around the lost neighborhood at Old Graveyard Lake and found the stump of the second biggest cottonwood tree I’ve ever seen. How did I not know about that either? When it was alive it must have held a spell over the still empty rolling undeveloped field behind it and down over Old Graveyard Lake. They tucked those ranch houses all around the only-slightly swampy lake and then time forgot. Taking that tree down must have broken the veil.

I just discovered a lake I never knew existed. It's back behind the abandoned elementary school two blocks after the Dairy Queen. You can't see the lake from the road because only the houses that are on the lake can see it. But it's more than that, because it's an extra turn in an old suburban neighborhood from the 1970s you'd never think to take, and if you ever try and think about it it's suddenly not there. The only reason I could find it is because I had to go to visit my grandma's friend, which allowed me to break through the spell of illusionment. It's called Old Graveyard Lake because it's behind the part of the graveyard nobody goes to anymore. All the houses have docks and pontoon boats but it's also kind of neglected since it's in the middle of an invisible zone.