The Loch Ness Promise

A group of pals have a strange visitor as they sail across Loch Ness

The water was too still, too dark—the kind of silence that feels like a held breath. Then the boat shuddered, and in that split second, I knew we’d made a mistake. Because in Loch Ness, there are no accidents… only things that don’t want to be found.

*****

We arrived in Inverness for a week of cruising and fun—six of us: me (Eric, the unlucky swimmer), Linda (the voice of reason), Edward (the overconfident "pilot"), Caroline (the Instagram fiend), Davy (the know-it-all), and Janice (the one who’d packed three bottles of wine "just in case.")

We laughed as we tossed bags of snacks into the cabin, Janice nearly dropping a bottle of wine before Edward caught it with a mock scowl. Even Hector, the boat owner, cracked a smile as he watched us fumble with the gear.

"If we see Nessie, I’m putting her on TikTok," Caroline announced, tossing her phone in the air and catching it with a grin.

"You’d need actual proof first," Davy said, adjusting his glasses. "And no, your blurry Cornwall ‘mermaid’ doesn’t count."

Hector designated Edward and me as pilots. He gave us a crash course in ‘not crashing’. “Just remember: the loch’s older than your excuses. Respect it.”

After completing the training and stashing the supplies onboard, we set off. “Fair winds and following seas!” Hector shouted as we departed.

“Translation: Try not to die,” Janice muttered, already uncorking the wine.

Davy adjusted his glasses with a smug grin. “No, Janice, it’s sailor-talk for good luck and safe journeys,” if you must know.

*****

The first stop was Fort Augustus. Edward "piloted" (sorry, white-knuckled the wheel) while the rest of us ate dinner and had some banter, below deck.

“This reminds me of the scene from Jaws, “ I commented, “You know, right before –.

THUD

The boat lurched, and Janice’s wine went airborne. “This happened in Jaws,” she whispered, clinging to Davy.

We scrambled topside. The loch was glassy and undisturbed, except for a single, spreading ripple.

“Over there!” Linda pointed. A shadow slithered beneath the surface, longer than the boat.

Edward fumbled with the engine, "Hold onto something—"

The boat shot forward. Caroline crashed into the table. I didn’t crash—I flew.

I landed with a splash in the cold, dark water of the loch. My life jacket kept me afloat, but panic clawed my throat. That’s when I heard the screams from the boat.

“Swim, Eric! Swim for your life! It’s after you!”

My arms flailed, slapping water uselessly. Each gasp sucked in more loch than air, and my legs tangled like anchors in the dark. The more I panicked, the less I swam.

Everyone on the boat was screaming instructions as Edward turned the boat around.

The hackles on the back of my neck raised, and I looked behind me. Huge ripples surged toward me through the water. All I thought about was the huge shark in Jaws. I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable to happen.

“Hello! Do you need any help?”

I opened one eye for a quick look. Two glowing green eyes, the size of dinner plates, blinked at me.

“Do you need a lift?

The head that rose from the water could’ve swallowed me whole. But the grin was pure goofball.

"Nessie?" I croaked.

"Aye, but don’t spread it around.” She nudged me with her snout. “Humans and their boats—always so wobbly. You’d think after a few hundred years, you’d have figured out how to stay in them. Sit on my head and I’ll get you back to your boat. Hold on tight!”

“WOW! This is fantastic.” I couldn’t believe I was doing it, sitting on Nessie's head, holding her ears for balance like I was on a jet ski.

“Sit still!” she said. “If you stick your feet in my eyes, I might bash your boat again.”

My friends’ faces were frozen in shock. Except Caroline, who was already filming.

"Anybody else want a go?" Nessie asked, wiggling her eyebrows (yes, eyebrows).

Edward went next, screaming like a big girl’s blouse. Caroline narrated the entire thing for Instagram. Davy demanded a scientific measurement of her neck length.

When we came to our senses, we told her about the Jaws scenario, and that’s how I fell out of the boat.

“Honestly, a shark? In freshwater? Don’t you watch David Attenborough?” she giggled. “Anyway, Jaws was a movie. I’m a legend. Big Difference.”

Caroline took selfies of us with Nessie. She was pulling faces and goofing around for the camera.

“Anybody else want to try head surfing?” she asked.

Caroline was videoing everyone surfing with Nessie. We spent ages messing around and having fun.

“You millennials and your phones. You’d be stuck without them. I’m sure the next generation born will have phones instead of hands.” Nessie muttered. “OH! And don’t post on social media. I’ve got a no paparazzi clause in my legend contract.”

As the sun dipped, Nessie towed us toward Fort Augustus, the boat skimming along as fast as a speedboat. We held on; otherwise, we’d have been in the water.

Near Fort Augustus, Nessie stopped and dropped the rope.. “Right, I’m off. Places to be and tourists to startle … you know how it is, and with a wink, she vanished.

Janice spoke. “That was a bit weird, eh? Do you think there was something wrong with those mushrooms we had?”

Edward moored the boat. “We need to have a look at the pics and decide what we’re going to do”.

We all clamoured around Caroline's screen, and sure enough, there was Nessie in her full glory—loads of selfies and head surfing videos.

“Bloody Hell!” Davy shrieked, “We’ll make a fortune from these.”

“The Daily Record would pay thousands,” Linda crowed, stabbing her finger at Caroline’s phone.

“Forget that—think viral!” Edward chipped in, “I see it now, a dancing Nessie on TikTok.”

“Don’t know about yous, but I need a drink after that excitement,” Linda whispered.

We agreed and headed in search of a pub.

****

We saw a pub, The Lock Inn. We stumbled inside, it was warm, and I ordered six double whiskies, which didn’t last long. Davie ordered six more.

We turned, looking for a table, and the only other customer was a hunched figure nursing a pint by the fire in the corner. His gnarled fingers curled around the glass. When the firelight caught his eyes, they gleamed like wet stones.

We sat by a table by the window and started babbling about what had happened. No one would believe us even if we showed them the photos and videos.

“We can’t tell anyone, or post on social media.” It was Linda, always the voice of reason. “We made a promise to Nessie,” but the photos burned in Caroline’s phone like a guilty secret.

We ordered more drinks, and our conversation grew louder.

Then the old man appeared.

Not walked over, appeared at our table. Resting his hand on the chair, he stared at each of us one by one. “Ye’ll be tawking aboot the beast?”

We looked at him, saying nothing, but shaking our heads.

"So! Ye’ll no’ be postin’ those pictures, aye?"

He moved suddenly and paused by the door. His parting words slithered into my ears and lodged there. “Remember yer promise to Nessie!” My skin prickled as the door swung shut behind him.

The barmaid cleared our empty glasses away. “Can you keep your voices down, please? There's folk through in the snug wanting a quiet night.”

“Who was the old guy by the fire when we came in?” I asked.

She looked around, shrugged her shoulders, “The bar was empty when you came in.”

We protested and explained that he had been sitting by the fire.

“No one was here when you came in. Now, you’ve had a wee bit to drink, and I think your minds have been playing tricks on you.”

Not even Davy spoke on the way back to the boat. The crunch of our footsteps on the dock sounded too loud, and the fog swallowed our shapes whole, one by one.

A voice whispered through the fog, curling around us.” Keep yer promise to Nessie.”