‘Drowned Sorrows in Black Lake: Montenegro's Scenic Heartbreak Hideaway.’ Blinking away the ink of doubt, let us tread together onto the heart-wrenching yet picturesque canvas of the Black Lake. A spectacle of great melancholy, hidden amidst the chest of the Mount Durmitor of Montenegro, and a stone's throw from the bustling hive of humdrum, the town of Žabljak. The sable water, its name a proclamation to its nature, is the conventional poet's metaphor for drowned sorrows and unrequited love. Who can resist the magnetic allure of a solemnly stunning glacial lake? A lake that's undoubtedly the Mount Everest of all weeping hearts and tear ducts, and the Marianas Trench of all forgotten affections? At an elevation of 1,416 meters, this lake is the prime candidate for the heartache Olympics, should we ever have one. A hub of scenic heartbreak, where sad violins only play the blues, the Black Lake ushers its guests into a realm of rue, all while ensconced within the cradle of Mother Nature's gorgeous blues. In the somber recesses of its peat-black water, one can almost hear the whispered laments of the lost poets and forlorn lovers. Be wary, though! For it almost feels like the lake has a keen ear for the blues. It's an eerie counsel for the broken hearts, a repository for the stifled cries and, ironically a veritable lover's lane for those who are nursing a broken heart. An ingenious combination, is it not? A few kilometers from the vibrant life of Žabljak, this lake is a glum escape for those stuck on the other end of Cupid's arrow - the ones that didn't necessarily hit bulls eye. As jesters play the game of love in Montenegro's city of life, the jestees find an eerily welcoming comfort within the shadowy depths of this lake. Drown your sorrows, they beckon, in our understanding waters! With impeccable service, the Black Lake receives every year streams of heartbroken visitors, showing them a haven where they can free their tightly held tears into its understanding width. It warmly enfolds within its cold bosom the lamentations and sighs that no one deigns to hear. When Mother Nature was decking this natural beauty, she gave it a hue that corresponds with the dominant emotion of its frequent visitors. Perhaps it's the Montenegrin version of Edgar Allen Poe's infamous raven, constantly repeating, "Nevermore, nevermore." Though the lake may not have a notice board stating, ‘Depressed lovers population: numerous,’ it does make up with its attributable native avian, the 'sorrowful swan', which sings its forlorn songs for its heart-broken comrades. What more, it has its fair share of nightingales dipping their beaks to share their tributes in their melancholic strain. One can almost visualize the crude chart up on the lake's office, annually tracking the rising tears-per-square-inch rate. We could even hold an 'Annual Sorrows Symposium' by its banks, where tears would be the currency, and heartbreak, a prerequisite. All in all, this sable beauty is a living, breathing sculpture, both mourning and mocking the misery unleashed at its shores. It's an endless soliloquy of sorrow, an echo of odes to the heart-sick, a symptom of an ever-ailing world. Isn't it fascinating how out of something so forlorn, one can make a thriving business for pain and its affiliates? And so, the Drowned Sorrows in the Black Lake continues to be our Scenic Heartbreak Hideaway - an 'all-you-can-weep' buffet that won't judge, but only lend an understanding, watery shoulder. And all the while memorializing the universal truth - love is, indeed, a funny, heart-breaking sport.