Day 78: Ghost at grey cabin

There were two kayakers about a mile up stream, a young couple. I think they were just taking a day trip out from Brandon, and were probably enjoying seeing Waggle Springs on their way. In that area they couldn't go more than a few feet before seeing another stream of water burbling out from the bank into the river. They were lovely people, and had matching yellow kayaks.

I, on the other hand, was exploring an abandoned house on the side of the river. There was not much left there; it had not been inhabited since 2000. The living room had a sofa torn up by wild animals. On the wall were planks with paper wasp nests on them, and it was not obvious if the nests had been put up as art or habitation.

I had climbed in through the back porch, which had large tubs of cleaning supplies, but I saw that a screen door was wide open at front; that explained the sofa. In the bed room there was no bed, but there was an envelope on the floor. It contained two pieces of paper, filled on both sides. One handwritten, the other typewritten. Both seemed to be pulled from the middle of longer letters, and I was having trouble picking up the narrative. The handwritten one said someone had called her a "NATURAL BORN WRITER", like that, the upper case giving emphasis. The typewritten one gave me an idea of the author's age. She said when she was married she was still a young bride, although she had teenagers. So, her marriage must have been in her thirties, and her age at writing must have been at least fifty.

Another section had her "singing and dancing at the grey cabin". That was where I was. I tried to imagine an older woman singing and dancing in this decrepid building, but the image I got was one of insanity, whether I placed her in the trashed living room or this barren bed room.

I heard a popping noise, and then a voice. The door in the living room was not at the angle I remembered it. "I don't believe in ghosts," I thought, "Is someone here?"

Two lovely kayakers paddled down the river and saw an old cabin on the left hand side. Suddenly, a man jumped off the back porch and ran towards the canoe that was parked nearby. The canoe had "CALGARY TO WINNEPEG?" written on the side in large letters, with "Winnipeg" misspelled just like that.

This apparition was a strange interruption to their day. The girl said "Hi" to the man, who replied "Hello". They paddled hard and the specter disappeared behind them.

Alone again, they slowed down. The river was peaceful and they had each other and their matching yellow kayaks.

Day 78 ended: 49*45.583N, 099*43.084W