"Wake up, Ihaan." The voice was faint but pulled Ihaan out of an everlasting dream.
He opened his deep, brown eyes, and the first thing he saw was the ceiling. He was in a cave of some sort. The slick walls shimmered in a few rays of sunshine that managed to reach his resting place. How did he get there? Ihaan did not know. His mind was a complete blur. He felt as though he had just risen from the dead.
Ihaan rose to his shaky legs and stumbled over to a small pond in the corner of the room. He stared at his reflection in awe. There he was–a young teenager who was a stranger to the world. He had long, scraggly brown hair, tan skin, and a scar on his upper, right arm. Red paint decorated his bare arms and torso. He wore brown gauntlets on his forearms, gray pants made out of animal skin, and furry brown boots.
"Step outside, Ihaan." The voice again. What was it? It was strange. The voice almost sounded familiar.
Ihaan listened to it. He limped toward a white light at the end of the cave. Halfway through his trek, he stopped and ran his long fingers down the length of his right leg. It pained him to walk, but why? There was so much going on, but Ihaan could not make sense of any of it. The bright light blinded him, but when his eyes adjusted, he realized what he was looking at–the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park.
It was a beautiful area. The tall trees cast shadows over Ihaan's shoulders, and he could barely make out the form of a lake in a cluster of brown trunks. He stood on a small path that stretched out and landed on a shrine. It sat on a stone platform and had hieroglyphics carved on its dome-shaped structure. White flowers surrounded it.
Ihaan carefully made his way over to the shrine. The second he reached it, he heard a screech in the sky.
An eagle stooped down from the early morning atmosphere and soared around his head. Puffing out her white neck feathers, she settled on the shrine and over a small cluster of hieroglyphics.
The mysterious voice spoke again: "Sweet child, I think you are finally ready. Somewhere in the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park is your past. My trial has officially begun, but whether you are successful or not is up to you. Ro will take you to Red Squirrel Lake. That is where you must start."
The eagle opened her wings at her name and gave them a few, quick flaps. She landed on Ihaan's left gauntlet, with an interested look on her face. The time had come. She had to make the Guardian of the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park proud, as well as the Ghost of Ontario himself.
***
"So, tell me again why you volunteered to participate in this year's 24-Hour Ghost of Ontario Challenge?" Twenty-four-year-old Ranger Amelia pulled her leather bag off her back and dropped it to her feet. She and her partner, Ranger Kate, just made it to their campsite for the next twenty-four hours.
"Oh, Amelia. What are you so worried about?" Kate wanted to know.
"Don't you know the legends?" Amelia asked. "The Ghost of Ontario drowns anyone who disturbs his home! He's going to turn us into the blue-plate special, Kate! What body part do you think he likes more: the arms, legs, or head?"
"I think you need to stop dilly-daggling and help me with the tent."
"Fine. Fine. The Pupil must listen to the Master. From now on, can I start calling you 'Sensei Kate'?"
Amelia didn't notice Kate trying to hold back a laugh. Instead, she headed over to the small motorboat they took to get to the site. Inside it were a few dry bags that held their food, water, tent, and sleeping bags. Amelia opted for her and Ranger Kate to take a few canoes, but Kate declined. For the past ten years, she had not been on one.
They were on Red Squirrel Lake, said to be the birthplace of the Ghost of Ontario. The campsite they were at could hold five tents. It had a sandy beach and a massive forest behind the tent sites. If one decided to head so far back, they would eventually find a path that led to a cliff.
Ranger Kate was thirty-seven. Like Ihaan, she had deep brown eyes, tan skin, and brown hair.
Ranger Amelia just started her job with the Lady Evelyn Smoothwater Provincial Park. It was random how she did. She just appeared at the ranger station the afternoon before and announced, "Here I am! Let's do this thing!"
Kate's boss asked Kate if she could train the newcomer since he had some family business to deal with. Ranger Amelia also just struck him as a little bit weird.
Coincidence or not, Ranger Amelia started right during the 24-Hour Ghost of Ontario Challenge, an annual festival held every Halloween season. During it, two lucky campers or rangers spent twenty-four hours on Red Squirrel Lake, the most haunted lake in the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park. If they survived, then Camp Wanapitei, a camp just off Lady Evelyn Lake, would honor them with a great feast and fireworks.
Ranger Kate waited until Amelia was distracted, and then she made her way toward the path at the back of the site. She searched the area like a vulture and told herself, "I know he's out there somewhere."
Kate referred to her son. She lost him ten years ago on that very lake and, since then, had dedicated her life to finding him. That was why she became a ranger. Ranger Kate's motherly instincts told her her son was waiting for her that weekend, so she was the first to volunteer for the 24-Hour Challenge. She forced poor Amelia to come along, because of her boss's orders to train her, and she wasn't pleased to be there.
She even stopped Kate before she could get too far. "Where are you going? Don't leave me alone out here with the ghost!"
"Ugh." How did Kate wind up in such a situation again? She had a goal, and she intended to follow through with it, but it would be complicated with Amelia on the scene. She definitely was in for an interesting ride the next twenty-four hours.
***
Ro escorted Ihaan through the forest that held the shrine and took him to a small point at the end of it. It was overgrown with ferns but overlooked a beach and Lady Evelyn Lake. There were no houses in the area; just trees, but something waited for Ihaan on the beach. A canoe. It was white and had a brown paddle in it.
Like the voice he heard earlier, Ihaan could not help but feel like the canoe looked familiar. He watched Ro, who landed on the front thwart and folded her wings, but the voice returned just before he could join her.
"This canoe is a gift from the Spirits. You will not make it far on your injured ankle. You need to paddle."
Now that she mentioned it, she had a point. Ihaan's ankle hurt him, but he asked himself if he actually knew how to canoe. If so, where did he learn? He noticed Ro no longer rested on the thwart.
Instead, she was digging around for something in the canoe's bowels.
Curious, Ihaan approached it and looked over its side to her.
When Ro lifted her head, she held something in her bill. It was a green, oval-shaped leaf that served as the pendant of a leather necklace. The sight of it intrigued Ihaan. He felt as though the leaf was the most important thing on the lake.
The voice confirmed it for him: "Ihaan, this leaf is your past, present, and future. It needs to be in your possession if you're going to succeed. Hidden within it is 'Lucilla', or the 'Song of the Ghost'."
A thousand more questions found their way into Ihaan's brain, but he went ahead and took the leaf out of Ro's bill.
She did not hesitate or pull away.
Ihaan held the necklace in the palms of his hands and examined it for a few moments. He slipped it over his neck.
Ro hopped onto the canoe's outer edge, and he climbed into the stern. Resting next to his seat was the paddle.
Ihaan picked it up and stuck it into the beach's sand. Holding a paddle felt so natural to him. That itself told him that yes, he did know how to canoe. A crisp autumn breeze wisped through his hair. Ihaan pushed himself out to the body of the lake. His eyes caught a few minnows, who gracefully flitted around in the clear water. They looked so peaceful; even Ro didn't threaten to scoop them up in her bill.
Her mission was to guide Ihaan to his destiny, by order of the Guardian. She flapped her wings and lifted off the canoe. The tips of her feathers skimmed the surface of Lady Evelyn Lake.
Ihaan followed her. Nodding to himself, he rested his hand over the leaf. He could do it. Somewhere out there was his past and his future. After what felt like forever, it was time for him to return to Red Squirrel Lake.
***
"Don't tell me this is what we're supposed to do these next twenty-four hours." Not even an hour into the Challenge, Ranger Amelia was already bored out of her mind. She and Ranger Kate had just finished setting up their tent. They now sat around the fire pit in the heart of the campsite.
The tent could hold four people. Its fly was dark green, but the tent itself was light green.
"This is ridiculous!" Ranger Amelia lifted her hand. She waved a cloud of mosquitoes away from her face. "This place should not be called Red Squirrel Lake but Bug Paradise!"
"If you're so bored, why don't you get up off your butt and find us some firewood?" asked Ranger Kate. "Ghosts don't come out until nighttime, Amelia. We need to wait until the sun goes down."
"But this is Canada! It doesn't get dark until 10:00 pm!"
"Strange, I thought you would like that since you are not too peachy-keen about being here."
Ranger Amelia blushed. "Well, I–I'll go get some firewood." She got no more than halfway to her feet when a loud crack came from the woods. Yelping, she dove behind Ranger Kate and grabbed her shoulders. "What was that? The Ghost of Ontario? Is he going to drown us?"
Ranger Kate pulled her off like duct tape and set her down next to her. She didn't like it when people touched her. "Amelia, please. You're acting like a child. Let's go investigate."
"Why don't you go? I'll stick here and make sure the tent is all decorated. It's never too early for Christmas in the wilderness, right?"
Kate rolled her eyes. She reached out her hand, grabbed Amelia by the back of her uniform, and pulled her toward where the crack came from. For being a ranger, Amelia was quite cowardly. She reminded Kate of the Cowardly Lion.
On their way to the campsite's path, Ranger Kate called into the woods, "If you're in there, show yourself! We mean you no harm. We're just curious about the Afterlife."
The Afterlife? How did she know about the Afterlife? Who was this woman Ihaan found on Red Squirrel Lake? He and Ro got there only a short time ago. They hid the canoe in a small pond at the other end of the island and immediately took shelter in the trees.
Ihaan couldn't help but stare at Ranger Kate. Why did he find her so intriguing? Was it her neatly brushed hair or the fact that she looked annoyed by the young, curly-haired, blonde woman next to her? He wanted to play, for they were the first people he'd seen in his entire life. At least, that's what it felt like.
Ranger Kate and Amelia stepped onto the path cautiously. Well, Amelia's footsteps were more cowardly-like than Kate's.
"Please, Amelia. There's nothing to be scared of," she told her.
"Scared? I'm not scared. I'm just nervous."
"It means the same thing." Ranger Kate sighed. "Why don't we do this? I'll go deeper into the forest and look for the source of the crack. You stand guard duty right here."
"Perfect! That's a wonderful idea!" Right at her partner's words, Ranger Amelia calmed down. "Unlike you, ma'am, I'm scared of ghosts."
"Ya don't say?"
Ranger Kate waited until Ranger Amelia was in position before she trekked further into the forest. Her eyes wandered in the morning sunshine that wafted through the treetops. She reached into a fanny pack she wore on her back and pulled out a picture frame. Within it was a photograph of a five-year-old boy who looked just like her.
He wore a Native American costume and stood beside a canoe, with a husky pup in his arms. Behind him were the trees of the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park.
"Where are you? I know you're here somewhere," said Ranger Kate.
At the sight of the picture frame, Ihaan's curiosity went up a whole new level. He was very curious to see what exactly was in it. He moved toward the edge of the branch he and Ro rested on to get a better look. Right when he did, it broke under his hand. He hugged it with both arms to prevent himself from falling, but now he hung upside-down in front of Ranger Kate's face. Both he and she met eyes, and at the same time, they screamed.
"Ahh!"
"Ahh!"
"Ahh!" That scream came from Ranger Amelia. She took off at a full sprint and dove into hers and Kate's tent.
Crack! The rest of the branch broke, causing Ihaan to land in a heap at Ranger Kate's feet.
She, too, ran, but she remained in the forest and hid behind a large tree trunk. Who was that boy who just dropped out of the treetops? She was so surprised that she dropped her picture.
A sudden chill blew through the area. It was so cold, Kate could see her breath. Her eyes did not leave the sudden boy.
He jumped to his feet and limped over to the picture she dropped. It landed right in the middle of the path. The boy stopped over it and leaned down, picking it up.
One look at him, and Kate could tell he was very curious. Not only that, but she saw innocence in his deep brown eyes.
"Um, that's a picture of my son," she stuttered. Slowly and carefully, Ranger Kate exited her hiding place but stayed a fair distance from the mysterious stranger. She wanted to pull her radio off her belt and give a report, but something stopped her. Just peering into the boy's face, she couldn't help but feel he looked familiar.
Ihaan felt the same. Something about Ranger Kate was familiar, too, and it made him nervous. Was she the source of his lost memories? Why did the voice send him there unless something was meant to happen? Was that something his and Kate's meeting?
No longer did Ihaan want to play. He hugged Ranger Kate's picture close to his bare torso.
She started toward him, but he jumped. The picture fell from Ihaan's hand, as he dove into the forest to escape the woman.
All Ranger Kate could do was stare. She had no idea what just happened to her, and she wondered if she ever would.
***
"Why do you look like you just saw a horror movie?" Ranger Amelia asked when Kate returned to the campground. "And here I thought I was the only one scared of this lake."
"Amelia, I-I met a boy."
"Boy? What boy?"
***
Ihaan spied on the two rangers with Ro for the remainder of the morning. She and he grabbed his canoe and paddled to the island's point. Ihaan parked it in a cluster of plants and made his way to the campground. After ensuring Ranger Kate and Amelia weren't watching, he ducked under the picnic table.
"Sensei Kate, are you feeling all right?" he heard Amelia ask Kate. "There's no way you saw a boy. What proof do you have?"
Curious, Ihaan tilted his head to the left and continued to eavesdrop.
Next to him, Ro nodded to herself. That was good. The longer Ihaan stayed with Kate, the faster his memory would return.
A little bit later, Ranger Amelia slipped into the tent for a power nap because Ranger Kate's wild story gave her a headache.
To Ihaan's surprise, Kate knew he was watching her.
She waited until Amelia disappeared to give the announcement: "I know you're watching me." Sure enough, Kate's eyes landed on the boy hiding under the picnic table. She knew who he was, especially after seeing his interest in her picture. She also saw the leaf he wore around his neck. If only she could get him to come out. Then she could help him.
Kate fell to her knees and got down on the boy's level. They looked like animals stalking their prey by how they stared at each other.
"How did you get here? Did you canoe?" Kate questioned as she moved closer to the nervous stranger.
He saw her coming and crawled back a few feet, not blinking or saying a word. Honestly, he was a teeny bit creepy. A few shadows sheltered his face.
However, Ranger Kate did not run and hide. The boy needed her, and she needed him. "Are we in your turf? Is that why you're here?" she said.
Ranger Kate's voice calmed Ihaan, like when a mother sang their child a lullaby. It was so soothing, he edged a tiny bit closer to her. He wondered if, aside from him, she also saw Ro.
That question was quickly answered when she asked, "Who's your friend?"
For the first time that day, Ihaan spoke: "Ro." His voice was deep but not too deep. It sounded like it belonged to a teenager.
"Oh, so you can speak?" said Ranger Kate. "All right then, what's your name?"
"I am Ihaan."
"I-an or E-han?"
"I am Ihaan."
"Well, you certainly don't have a big vocabulary. Come on out. I don't bite."
Ihaan did. He felt like he could trust Ranger Kate. The shadows gradually left his face, as he crawled out from under the table.
Ro followed him, only because it was her duty to protect him, including the Ghost of Ontario. However, it wasn't Kate she was worried about, but Amelia. She didn't want to fail her. Through telepathy, she told her friends to prepare themselves.
A mystical sound engulfed all of Red Squirrel Lake. At the sight of a few clouds twirling unusually in the sky, Ranger Kate rose to her feet. A faded glow washed over the forest's treetops, and a trail of green leaves circled both her and the mysterious boy.
From the leaves, treetops, sky, and lake came Spirit Animals.
A few eagles and hawks dropped from the clouds while bears, moose, and wolves emerged from the forest.
Wolves and coyotes passed by Kate's arms while a moose herd rose from Red Squirrel Lake's surface.
Kate examined each Spirit Animal, with a look of pure wonder on her face. She lifted her arm and reached for a flock of sparrows and eagles who flew over her head. Wow, Spirit Animals were, by far, the most remarkable thing that had ever happened to her on those lakes.
The animals settled down in a circle behind her and the mysterious stranger. It was there Ranger Kate knew what they were doing.
"They're protecting you," she told the boy. "Please, we'll leave if you don't like us being here. It's just, ever since that awful tragedy ten years ago, we've always wanted to find the Ghost of Ontario. That's why we do this 24-Hour Challenge. We mean you no harm. I promise."
***
"It's time, Ihaan. You need to play 'Lucilla'. Then and only then will you understand why you feel so close to this woman." The voice. It turned out it belonged to Ro.
***
It took Ihaan a minute to understand what Ro wanted him to do. Eventually, it hit him—his leaf. Ro wanted him to play the leaf whistle. He pulled his necklace over his head, but just before he could bring the leaf to his lips, Ranger Amelia ruined the whole ritual.
"Sensei Kate, what are you doing?" she asked. Amelia crawled out of the tent, searching for a place to relieve herself, but her eyes landed on Kate staring into the blank unknown. Unlike her, she did not see Ihaan or the animals. She did feel like the temperature had dropped twenty degrees, though, and that meant one thing. "What are you doing?" she repeated.
"Amelia, we need to leave," Ranger Kate answered.
"Why?"
"Because we are invading His home."
"I knew it! I knew we should have never taken up the Challenge!" By then, Ranger Amelia knew the Ghost of Ontario was present, and she wasn't happy about it. She scooped up a tree branch next to the tent and held it like a sword. "Where is he? I'm ready to pulverize! He's the reason why the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park is haunted!"
"Amelia, please!" begged Ranger Kate. "He is really not as evil as he seems."
"How do you know? How can you be sure he isn't a murderer?"
Murderer? Did that crazy lady just call Ihaan a murderer? All he wanted was to meet Ranger Kate, and Amelia was ruining the moment. Was she trying to scare him away from the provincial park? Not on his watch. The Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park was his home.
It took a minute, but Ihaan soon realized his lost memories weren't the only reason Ro woke him. There was something else, something that would surely change Red Squirrel Lake forever.
He hurried to Ranger Kate and grabbed her hand. However, in Amelia's eyes, she just saw her partner's arm fly forward. Not only that, but she knew what the Ghost of Ontario's weakness was. Even though she couldn't see him, she felt him.
"I know what his weakness is," she half-told herself and Ranger Kate.
"What?" Ranger Kate asked.
Ihaan wanted to ask the same thing, but he couldn't because Ranger Amelia took aim at his feet and chucked her tree branch. It smashed him in his right ankle, the ankle that strangely hurt when he woke up. Yelling, he freed Ranger Kate's hand and grabbed it.
Ihaan fell onto his side and curled into a ball.
Ranger Kate gasped. "Ihaan! No!" She reached for her lips and glared at Ranger Amelia. "You hurt him!"
When Ihaan fell, he lost his leaf whistle. A gust of wind blew it into Ranger Amelia's hand. He couldn't play 'Lucilla' without it and protect the forest. Who was Ranger Amelia?
The Spirit Animals were not happy she attacked their protector. Ro knew it all along. Ranger Amelia was not human. Only a Spirit could hurt another Spirit. The whole reason why she didn't see Ihaan or her and her friends was because she had taken on a temporary form.
She backed away from the campsite when Ranger Kate fell to her knees next to the wounded ghost. From where she stood, Amelia waved the necklace to show off. "Thanks for the leaf whistle!"
"Why, you little–!" Ranger Kate jumped to her feet, her face red like lava, and sprinted toward her, but Amelia threw down her hand.
When she did, a blast of dirt exploded from the ground and swamped Ranger Kate. She also summoned storm clouds in the sky. A rumble of thunder came from them, but that was the last Kate saw of her for a little bit. Amelia had somewhere else to be.
***
Ranger Kate coughed through the dust, but it started settling when a rain sheet poured down. She felt like a complete, utter failure. What ranger got tricked by a Spirit on Red Squirrel Lake? The dumb ones, that's who. She should've known something was up. She guessed why Ranger Amelia decided to start work during the 24-Hour Ghost of Ontario Challenge. It was so she could find the ghost and chase him away from his homeland. She had to do something, and that something was to get Ihaan's leaf whistle back.
Ranger Kate pulled soggy hair out of her face and hurried to Ihaan, who struggled to sit up.
Ro ordered her friends to chase after Amelia while she and a moose Spirit, Dempsey, stayed behind. They wanted to make sure Ihaan was okay.
He was, but just barely. However, he found he could not sit up because his foot hurt so much. At the sight of Ranger Kate, he quickly crawled away, afraid she would hurt him, too.
"You can trust her, Ihaan," said Ro.
Ihaan wondered if Ranger Kate could hear her, too.
She sank to her knees in front of him and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Ihaan! I can't believe I allowed myself to get tricked like that! It's just, for ten years now, all I've wanted is to find my son again. I never paid attention to the people I worked with."
Her son? Who was he? Ihaan was so confused.
Ranger Kate must've noticed it because she explained in a shaky voice, "Ten years ago, a little boy went missing on Red Squirrel Lake after a horrific storm. Most people believe he died and became the Ghost of Ontario." She pulled out the picture Ihaan was interested in. "That boy was my son. Ever since the accident, I've dedicated my life to finding him again, and look where my clumsiness got me."
"Please don't worry, Ranger Kate. We can fix this," said Ro. "All we need to do is get Ihaan's leaf whistle back. Luckily, Dempsey and I know where Amelia's going. Right, Dempsey?"
Next to her, Dempsey nodded.
Now it became clear Ranger Kate could hear Ro. She must've had a talent for talking with Spirits.
Ihaan wondered if she'd always had that talent. However, was he a ghost? Currently, he wasn't sure what to believe. That was why he needed to get his leaf whistle back.
Clenching his teeth, he struggled to his feet but put no weight on his right foot. He must've injured it a long time ago. Amelia didn't even hit him that hard, but it was enough to make him feel like his foot was about to fall off. He had to get to his canoe, but how would he in his condition? Luckily, Ranger Kate came to his rescue.
She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and nodded at Dempsey.
He nodded back.
Ro lifted into the sky, soaring beside him, as he and she led the boy and ranger to Ihaan's canoe. They could barely see through the rain but refused to give up.
***
"Wow, when did you get a canoe?" Ranger Kate questioned. "Have you always had one?" she asked while Ihaan pulled it from the plants and settled into the stern.
Ro landed on a thwart.
Dempsey waded in the shallow water.
Ihaan held his hand out to Ranger Kate, but she hesitated to take it. He wanted her to join him in the canoe, but just looking at it and the worsening storm, terrible memories flashed through her brain. For ten years, she had been scared of canoes. However, Ihaan couldn't succeed alone. She was the one who got him in the mess in the first place. It was time she did something right. Therefore, she took his hand.
He nodded and gently pulled her into the canoe's bow.
Ranger Kate shivered with fear. She thought about backing out and returning to dry land, but then she remembered why she was there in the first place. It was the 24-Hour Ghost of Ontario Challenge. She was also a ranger, and rangers protected their peers. Keeping that in mind, she took a deep breath and gestured for Ihaan to get a move on.
Dempsey jumped into the water and started to swim, for moose were powerful swimmers.
Ro remained in the canoe. Somebody had to keep Ihaan and Kate company.
The meat of Ro's trial was just around the corner, but would Ihaan and Kate win? Her work for them was over. Once they returned to the island where the shrine was, it was up to Ihaan and Kate to finish what she started.
Sure enough, Dempsey led Ihaan and Kate to the island Ihaan woke on. He, again, had no idea why canoeing came so naturally to him, but it was difficult with the storm's onslaught. Constantly, he and Kate bounced over waves. They prayed the lake wouldn't be struck by lightning. After all, electricity wasn't exactly kind to water.
Weird, why did the storm also feel familiar? Why did Ihaan fear it wasn't the first time he'd experienced something like it? He also wondered why Ranger Kate looked so scared to be on a canoe.
The whole journey across the lake, she hid behind her hands. She set the picture of her son next to her seat.
Every once in a while, Ihaan glanced at it. Like everything else that happened to him that day, he felt like it wasn't the first time he'd seen the son. What intrigued him most about him was his Native American-style outfit. Ihaan wore very similar clothes to him. He also couldn't help but notice that Ranger Kate and he looked alike. It was almost as if... No. That was impossible.
***
Even though the storm pushed them all over the place, somehow, Ihaan managed to make it to another island. Compared to the island on Red Squirrel Lake, it was much smaller, with fewer trees.
Ranger Kate could see a cave through them and a small light.
Dempsey came ashore. He shook out his fur and peered over his shoulder to Ihaan and Kate.
They joined him and were immediately confronted by Ranger Amelia. "Well, well, well. You finally made it." There she was, sitting on a small ledge in the pouring rain, with the leaf whistle over her own neck.
Ihaan and Kate crawled out of the canoe and hopped onto the beach.
The second Ihaan put pressure on his right foot, he collapsed to his knees.
Clenching her teeth, Ranger Kate glanced at him and told Amelia, "You're going to pay for what you did."
"What did I do? You do realize I hurt him for a reason, right?"
"Yeah! So you can scare him away from the provincial park!"
"Yes, and no."
"What are you talking about?"
What was she talking about? Ihaan's head started to hurt. He wanted to remember something, but he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried. The storm continued to rage, and it only made his headache worse.
"See? He wants to remember," he heard Amelia say to Kate. "You know who he is, but you're too shy to say it out loud. This leaf whistle is mine until you two remember who you are."
"Who are you?" Ranger Kate yelled.
With every passing second, Ihaan's headache worsened. He felt like his head was splitting in two, and he grabbed it to stop that from happening.
A clap of thunder overtook the sky.
Ihaan's deep brown eyes rolled over to one of the thwarts in his canoe.
The Spirit Animals joined him. During their short time apart, they seemed to switch sides with him and Amelia. Although, it seemed a few of them were still with him. While many animals were with Amelia, a few more joined him and Kate on the beach.
They nodded at him and said at the same time, "Please, Ihaan. You need to remember how you died."
How he died? Did that mean Ihaan was, indeed, a ghost?
Ranger Kate hated to see him in so much pain. Not only was Amelia torturing him physically, but also psychologically. She wanted to hurt her so badly, but that was impossible. Only a Spirit could hurt another Spirit. However, something happened there that forever changed her perspective of Ihaan and Amelia.
Amelia asked, "Sensei Kate, do you remember how your son died?"
"Why are you asking me this?"
"Because you know something he doesn't."
"Fine. He died in a canoe accident on Red Squirrel Lake ten years ago."
"What from?"
"He broke his ankle after it got caught in a thwart. Because of it, he couldn't swim."
"Why did you not try to save him?"
"Because he told me to." A few tears ran down Kate's cheeks, as the memory entered her brain. She wanted to save her son, especially after hearing his pained screams when he broke his foot, but then she remembered what she had told him the day before:
"Mommy, the provincial park is my home. I want to play my music to the animals. That is the only way I will make the park a better place."
***
Ranger Kate's words triggered Ihaan's memory. He saw the storm and a lone canoe with two figures sitting in it: a boy and his mom. A great wave crashed down on it and caused his right ankle to become twisted in the front thwart. The boy splashed into Red Squirrel Lake's chilly water but struggled to stay afloat with his injured ankle.
His mom paddled toward him, but he yelled, "No!" at her.
"Ihaan, please! I can't let you die!" she cried out. "You're all I have left."
"It's okay. This is where I belong. One of these days, we will find each other again," her son told her.
"But, Ihaan–"
"I love you, Mommy."
And that was it. The current pulled Kate's son underwater, and he was never seen nor heard from again.
***
Ihaan gasped as the realization sank in. So, it was he who chose to die after that accident? Now he knew why Ro wanted him to head to Red Squirrel Lake. It was so he could find his destiny at the place where he became the Ghost of Ontario. His destiny was to reunite with his mom as an older, wiser individual.
At the same time, Ranger Kate understood why Amelia hurt him. She wanted her to see that Ihaan was indeed her son who went missing years ago. The only way to do that was to give proof of the injury that killed him. Unfortunately, that still did not answer the question of who she was.
She hopped down from the ledge and slowly approached Ihaan and Kate.
The Spirit Animals moved aside to let her through. Each one bowed to her as if she were a queen.
Ihaan and Kate came within reach of each other. All around them, the storm started to subside. A faint ray of sunshine broke through the clouds and covered them in a mystical, white light. Mother and son took each other by the hands and let the message sink in that they were indeed family.
Amelia, who stood next to Ihaan's left arm, pulled the necklace off her neck and offered him back the leaf whistle.
Ihaan took it, and a grin stretched across his face.
Before he could play it, Amelia rested her hand on Ranger Kate's shoulder. "Kate, you understand if you leave this forest, you may never see him again, right? Therefore, you have a choice. Do you want to return to Camp Wanapitei or become one of us?"
"Who-Who are you?" Ranger Kate asked one more time.
"Ah, I should probably tell you. I think you are ready now." Ranger Amelia backed away from Kate and Ihaan. Her body started to give off a faint shimmer. "My real name is Johniela. I am the Guardian of the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park and have been one for as long as I can remember. As Guardian, I protect the Spirits and animals who reside here."
"Then why did you take on that temporary form?" Kate asked.
"It's the same reason why Ro sought out your Ihaan. The time has come for you two to be together once again," was Amelia's answer. "I've got to say, I think I pulled it off pretty well, pretending to be a woman scared of the Ghost of Ontario. What do you think?"
Ranger Kate chuckled. "You did more than enough. You brought my son home, and that's all that matters." She and Ihaan closed their eyes and bumped their foreheads.
"So, I'm assuming you're choosing not to join him?" said Amelia.
"Not today. The Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park is his home. It's not mine."
"Well, let's at least send you off with a bang."
"What are you going to do?"
***
Amelia, Ro, Dempsey, and the rest of the Spirit Animals led the way to the shrine Ihaan saw when he woke up that morning. They crowded around it, giving Ihaan and Kate the stage.
Ranger Kate rested on the path leading to it, while Ihaan stood before it.
The Spirit Animals gave him his cue by nodding their heads.
Ro and Dempsey stood on either side of his arms and glanced at the leaf whistle in his hand.
"Ihaan, it's time to play 'Lucilla'," Ro told him.
Ihaan followed through with her request. He brought the leaf to his lips and blew into it. A melodic tune escaped it.
Just hearing it, Ranger Kate's jaw dropped. "Lucilla". She remembered she taught her son that same melody all those years ago. "The Song of the Ghost" was also the Song of "Ranger Kate and Ihaan".
Ro and Dempsey closed their eyes and swayed back and forth to the music, as did the other Spirit Animals. Behind Ihaan, the shrine shimmered.
Before Kate knew it, a faint, white light outlined her son. It picked him up off the ground and gave him a gentle push. Before long, he floated in front of Ranger Kate. Dropping his leaf whistle, he and she hugged each other.
Ranger Kate cried, but not out of sadness. She was happy, happy to know her son was where he belonged. "I love you, Ihaan," she whispered.
"I love you, too, Mom," he whispered back.
The Spirit Animals reared and cheered at the sight of the final hug.
Ro soared into the atmosphere and flew in excited circles.
Dempsey started to buck playfully.
Only a little bit later, a gust of wind picked up the Spirit Animals and Ihaan and took them up toward the clearing sky.
Ro offered Ihaan her wing, and he gently took it. No longer did his right ankle hurt. He found his destiny, and that was his reward. "Lucilla's" melody played in the back of his head the higher he floated. With his free hand, he waved goodbye to Ranger Kate.
She waved back and called, "Bye, Ihaan! Stay safe!"
"Love you, Mom! Bye! Thank you!"
In a blast of light given off by the shrine, he disappeared.
Right when he did, Ranger Amelia, or Johniela, called for a trail of leaves to circle Ranger Kate. They engulfed her like the flames of a fire and caused her to slip into a much-needed rest.
***
The chirps of birds and a feeling of warmth on her back were Kate's alarm clocks. Lifting her head, dirt fell from her cheek. She was back at the campsite on Red Squirrel Lake. It was late afternoon. Everything was right where she left it. The tent and motorboat were there, but something else waited for her in the water. It was Ihaan's canoe. Soon after he returned to the Afterlife, he decided to pay the favor of the Spirits forward, by giving her a gift of her own.
Ranger Kate circled the canoe a few times under the late afternoon sun and ran her palm across its smooth, white bark. She wanted to try it out but was still a little nervous. She thought back to all the times she canoed before the accident. She always had so much fun. Should she try it again? Wouldn't it be rude not to use a gift the Spirits of the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park gave her themselves?
After a few minutes, Kate decided to muster up all her courage and love for canoeing she had been holding onto for ten years. Ihaan was where he belonged. She finally had the opportunity to see him again, all grown up. That was all that mattered. To thank him for a wonderful 24-Hour Challenge, she had to give canoeing a go.
Ranger Kate picked up the paddle and pushed it into Red Squirrel Lake's still water. It was so beautiful, she found it hard to believe she and Ihaan had gone up against a storm earlier.
Kate settled down in the canoe's stern. She put the paddle in the water and steered the canoe forward. For five minutes, she shivered like a madman, but then she started to get used to the feeling of canoeing again. Was that weird? Kate enjoyed herself. The further she paddled, the more she found herself laughing.
When they heard her, a few loons took off in flight, but Kate was having too much fun to notice them. She was not just a ranger but a mother.
She was the mother of the Ghost of Ontario.
Final Word Count: 7,100
