Murder Recall

Ghosts of the Past

Maya and Gwen were talking together, sitting on a long, wide, sun-bleached, gray driftwood trunk, bare roots spreading out at one end and barren branches at the other. They were looking at the lake, near Maya's cabin. The wind was still, the sun warm, sparse snowflakes the size of coins were falling, disappearing into the water and covering everything on the rocky shore in a polka dot pattern.

Maya spoke, "Tara's gone in search of her kids. Last she knew before the flooding, they were in Crawford Mills and she's worried that whole area is under water now. Doug is with her and so is Raya. He has a canoe and wants to map out the flood lands. We have no idea of the extent of the water."

Gwen spoke, "Roger is exploring with a canoe as well. I was with him for some days before returning here. We went out in his canoe so far that we couldn't see the shore anymore and we came to a series of islands, quite suddenly. One minute we saw nothing but the vastness of the water before us and the next we were heading right into an island and had to veer the bow sideways. Turns out that island and possibly others are Merlin Islands. On the way back a breeze had picked up and the water surface became choppy. Roger got his hand wet and it was so painful as though he had a bad electrical shock. As he fainted and slumped unconscious in the canoe, his hand withdrew from the water. He came to a moment later. He was deathly white and shaky but he was recovering."

Maya spoke, "That would definitely be a Merlin's Island. As you know you can't touch the waters surrounding and creating them. Very mysterious phenomena. I wonder if this lake and the flood waters connect? An extensive map will eventually reveal that. None know what caused the flood either. It's guessed it could have been a sudden and massive melt of Arctic ice. That's happened before during human memory."

Gwen spoke, "True. It would be good to know about such a thing in advance. Hopefully Tara's kids survived."

Maya spoke, "Rita, Hilda and Harriet too."

Gwen spoke, "After all, Michi survived thanks to a series of miracles so there is always a chance. When Roger and I landed and secured the canoe, we walked around the island. It was covered in blueberry bushes and pine trees, some amazingly tall. We met a woman there. Her name is Clarity and she was very happy to see us. She said that she hadn't seen any humans since the flood. She was dressed differently from people these days, in fabrics I never saw before. She said that she was a ghost and had been a ghost since the days of the Vikings. They actually travelled across Canada as far as here and farther beyond she said, though that is not known in recent times. She picked up a stick and passed it through her wrist and then through her neck. Roger and I were shocked and amazed but she was so nice and friendly, it would be impossible to be afraid of her."

Gwen continued, "She explained that she had survived the flooding she believes because she is a ghost. She didn't see how anyone could survive the force the water arrived with. She was in Crawford Mills when there was a roar of deafening sound and vibration. She saw a wall of water reaching nearly to the sun. In an instance it buried everything under deep, tumultuous, ice-cold water. All sorts of debris, rocks and ice formations came with the current. Clarity could feel the terrifying power of it. She could feel it passing through her and she was carried with it until it calmed and she found herself on an island. She thought that could have been the end of her time as a ghost but that didn't happen. When she died so many years ago, her baby died with her in her arms, but when she awakened to her life as a ghost, her baby was not with her. Her baby had passed on to the next life for the pure of heart, but she had not. She thinks it's because she has not forgiven all those she needs to."

Maya responded, "Being Viking, she wouldn't have been Christian, so it's interesting that she believes she is a ghost because of forgiveness."

Gwen replied, "Actually I knew her when I was a very young girl, though I hardly remember her and I did not know she was a ghost back then. It was after we were sent away, Hilda would say 'expropriated', and we were searching for a new place to live that I met her."