The Ghost of Ontario (Part 1) (10 Grade Draft)

Chapter 35: Lost Memories

        Ihaan and I soon pulled up to the island's beach, and Ihaan paddled us in. The hull of his canoe hit the sand, and smiling feebly, he said, "Okay," to me, a way how he told me I could get out now. I noticed that he was sweating, and he rubbed his forehead.

"Are you all right?" I asked him.

Ihaan nodded. "Yeah. It's just tough canoeing across a lake when a current is in play. Especially when there is only one person paddling. But hey, we made it, did we not?"

I nodded. "We did. Thank you, Ihaan." While Ihaan messed around with some things in his canoe, I hopped out and checked out the beach. It didn't take me long to realize that this was another campground. I saw lots of sites, a picnic table, and a fireplace. A beach. Yes, it was a beach! Praise the Lord for beaches!

The rays of the sun soon slithered through the clouds and scanned me. I wanted to check out the entire campground, but I ended up having to play nurse instead. As I mentioned before, this was one of few moments when Ihaan's ankle really hurt him.

I heard him yell, "OW!!" behind me, and next, I heard a thump. Ihaan basically took one step on the sand and collapsed from pain. I'm also sure the tumble we took at Camp Wanapitei also contributed to the excruciating pain he felt.

I gasped, "Ihaan!" and whirled around. Yep, Ihaan was on the ground, and sweat fountained down his face. He was sweating even more now. Again, I yelled, "Ihaan!" and I hurried to him.

"AHH!!" he shouted, and he clenched his fist. "Not again!"

"Again?" I asked. "You mean, this has happened before?"

Ihaan next grabbed his head and shouted, "I feel like my head is splitting in two!"

"Your head?" I asked. I gasped. Usually when an amnesia victim's head starts to hurt, it means a memory is coming to them. Was a memory coming to Ihaan? "Do you remember how you hurt your ankle?" I asked him, and I kneeled to him.

"I don't know!" Ihaan shouted, and he clutched his head harder. "I think I remember a storm, but I'm not sure!"

"A storm?" was my next question. The legend of the Ghost of Ontario replanted itself in my brain. Why did he have to be so mean? I placed my hand on Ihaan's bare shoulder and said, "Calm down, Ihaan. Please. Aside from your head, does your ankle also hurt?"

"Kylie please!" Ihaan shouted, and he turned on his back, still holding his head. "Make the pain go away!" His leg shook, and he tightened his grip on his head.

Now I knew why Ro sought me out. "All right, stay here, Ihaan." I said. "I've dealt with injures and sicknesses before in the wilderness, so I think I know what to do until Dad comes." What I said here is true. In all the times I've camped and canoed, I've had to deal with either a sickness or injury at least once. I first asked myself if Ihaan had a blanket in his canoe. I thought I saw one. Traversing over to his canoe, I peered into it and found that yes, he did have a blanket. What was cool was that it was made out of animal fur. Ihaan totally relied on animal pelts to survive the wilderness. He probably had so many cool things in his canoe, but I decided to check it out after I took care of him. Grabbing hold of the blanket, I pulled it out and returned to him.

        "I remember doing Zumba with an eagle and a moose!" Ihaan suddenly shouted out.

"Zumba?" I asked. "What on earth are you talking about, Ihaan? Do you even know what Zumba is?"

"This is all I remember." Ihaan continued.

I listened. I swear, Ihaan was so confused. This was his story: "Once, not so long ago, a little boy and his eagle friend Ro found themselves lost in the woods on their way home. It was so cold. With every passing minute, the little boy grew weaker and weaker until finally, he gave up. He collapsed in the snow, shivering, and told his eagle friend, 'Ro, please save yourself. I'm not going to make it. It is time for me to leave this cruel world and journey to a brighter, freer one. You have always been my good girl. I will miss you. Farewell, Ro.' That was the last thing poor little Ihaan told Ro. He departed from this world. The angels took him. Poor Ihaan. Poor little Ihaan. He's gone. I can't believe it. He was such a free-spirited, young man."