The Waterlogged Heart: Tales of Tormented Spirits and Timeless Love

By J.N. Love

In the mysterious town of L'ombra, nestled beside a seemingly serene lake, lies a haunting legacy stretching back generations. While whispers of malevolent spirits and cursed souls have deterred many from its shores, for Giovani, a young man born into a notorious mob family, the lake holds a magnetic allure. As he navigates the perilous balance between his family's dark past and his aspirations, Giovani crosses paths with Elara, a spirited medical student with a voice that carries tales of both love and pain. Together, the pair venture into the heart of L'ombra's legends, discovering that the lake's waters hold more than just reflections of their world. Dive into a tale that blurs the boundaries between the ethereal and the real, as love challenges legacies, mends old wounds, and rewrites the tales whispered by the waters of L'ombra.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.N. Love
• Release date: Oct 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215949429

Book preview

The Waterlogged Heart:

Tales of Tormented Spirits and Timeless Love

J.N. Love

R.B. Publishers

Copyright © 2023 R.B. Publishers

All rights reserved

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

The Waterlogged Heart:

Tales of Tormented Spirits and Timeless Love

Chapter 1:

The Muted Echoes of the Past

In the sleepy town of Lago Vespera, secrets were currency and silence was power. It was a place where past sins echoed through generations and where the vast expanse of water, known simply as The Lake, served as both lifeblood and silent witness to the town’s hushed whispers.

Two decades had whirled by since that fateful night when Antonio's innocent laughter last resonated through the cobblestone streets. He was a boy of simple means, with ambitions larger than the sprawling horizon that stretched beyond the lake. His eyes, always glinting with mischief and wonder, would often look across the shimmering waters, dreaming of distant lands and brighter days.

Antonio, his mother used to say with a chuckle, shaking her head, Always with your head in the clouds, and your heart in some distant land.

But Antonio would just smile, his deep dimples betraying his youth. One day, Mama, I'll cross this lake and find our fortune.

What nobody in Lago Vespera could foresee, however, was how deeply intertwined Antonio's fate would be with the waters he so dearly loved.

The mafia's grip on the town was suffocating. They owned the streets, the businesses, the people. Every aspect of life was touched by their sinister reach, every decision influenced by their whispers. And when the mafia whispers, even the bravest souls learn to nod and bow.

But Antonio was different. His heart was untamed, and his spirit unbroken. When he overheard plans of a sinister deal between two mafia capos in the town's dimly lit tavern, his innate sense of justice compelled him to intervene. He couldn't stand the thought of these mobsters benefiting at the expense of his people.

Let the town be, he had pleaded to an informant, hoping his words would find their way to the right ears, There's enough pain here.

But in Lago Vespera, heroes weren’t celebrated; they were silenced.

A cloudy evening, drenched in melancholy, saw Antonio being dragged to the edge of The Lake. His pleas were poignant and desperate. I've done no wrong! he'd cried. But the mafioso, with eyes as cold as the waters below, had already made up their minds.

With chains wrapping his hands and feet, tethered to an anchor, Antonio was given one last look at his beloved town. As he was thrust into the water, the chilling depth quickly muffling his cries, his eyes locked onto