Time and Tide - "The Brainstorm"

Mom looks at me, a worry in her eyes

“Do we have to do this?”

“Yes,” I reply. “The portage is here.”

There we are

Me, Mom, Dad, my brother, cousin

And plenty of aunts and uncles

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A portage in the forest

After six long hours of canoeing

This is just what we need

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I’m lost in the shade

Of the large trees

Knowing that this path will change everything

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The legend goes like this

Red Squirrel Lake is where he disappeared

Mom is nervous

But she is curious

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“Are we going to camp on Red Squirrel Lake?” I ask

“Indeed, indeed,” says Dad

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So we hike

An endless supply of cool and shade

As well as mosquitoes that want us dead

We can’t stop moving

Or else they will feast

“Why did I sign up for this?” Mom asks

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We make it to the end

There’s the lake

Foggy and dark

A perfect habitat for a ghost on a hunt

This is a brainstorm

Of what I want

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“Get to the lake! The mosquitoes will leave!” Dad shouts

We break into a run

Only those whom the mosquitoes like most

They spare my Uncle Bart

Who has put on Deet

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Out on the lake, the fog clears

But the loons sing

Uncle Dave whips out his camera

Aunt Anne looks like she is about to hurl

And Uncle Pete drags his fishing rod behind

They are unaware

Of what lies below

The broken halves of the ghost’s boat

Perfect

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8:00 pm

We’ve survived Red Squirrel Lake

Finally, I can start writing!

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What should he look like?

The ghost of legend?

Dad suggests a hermit, but I’m thinking more native

He helps me with my tent

And shoves brainstorm after brainstorm

Into my tiny head

How should she react, my protagonist?

Will she like him?

I guess that’s up to me

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The latrine goes behind our campground

The path there is dark

But filled with trees

That stare into your soul

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This is it

This is where my protagonist shall meet the ghost

Red Squirrel Lake

Ontario, Canada

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Dad and I stay up late

But the others sleep

For it was a long day

What else will we experience?

Dad speaks.

“We’ll just have to see.”

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From Red Squirrel Lake

We move to Temagami

A storm hits

And frightens my Aunt Anne

Therefore, we’re forced to retreat

To a little island just off the cove

Dad, Mom, my brother, aunts, and uncles swim

But I’m too busy brainstorming

What if my protagonist faces a storm?

The ghost could save her

Is he as evil as people think?

No, and that is what I must prove

He must join Camp Christie

Or in the case of her, Camp Juniper

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Scout Island is next

A hilly island

Filled with grass, trees, rocks, and mosquitoes

We see a double rainbow

And I fish with olives

Why?

My cousin says they’re the best bait

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Leaving the lake the next day

And everything is different

I’ve got my story

A girl meets a ghost while canoeing

And she must prove that he is indeed good

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My thanks go to them

My wonderful aunts, uncles, cousins, and family members

For giving me this brainstorm

What shall happen on the next trip?

As Dad says

“We’ll just have to see.”

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