The first place I ended up while following Ro was Camp Wanapitei’s bridge. I got in so much trouble.
A young man stopped me from crossing the bridge and said, “Whoa, lass, take it easy. You can’t cross the bridge. There’s a camp going on.”
“That’s my bird!” I shouted, and I pushed by him. “I’m trying to find a young hermit, sir, so let me go!”
“A hermit?” asked the man. “There’s no on like that around here.”
“Kylie!” I heard Dad shout again behind me, but I ignored him.
“The bird’s telling me he needs help!” I yelled. “I’ve got to find him, sir! He’s my friend!”
“There’s not a hermit here!” the man told me.
“Yes, there is!” I shouted. “And his name is Ihaan!” With that, I jumped into a sprint and crossed the bridge.
Just as the man told me, I ran right into a camp. A group of kids and camp counselors were getting ready to go canoeing, and all their canoes and paddles rested on the ground. The counselors were giving a lecture about canoeing when I rudely interrupted them. Hey, I was only trying to help Ihaan.
Ro soared towards the forest behind some cabins, and I followed her. Unfortunately, I didn’t see where I was going because my eyes were so focused on her. I ended up tripping over a paddle, and I crashed into about four kids. Fortunately, none of us were hurt, but we fell on top of one another and became twisted in a pretzel. The crash was so loud that a few birds took off in flight, and the kids scattered.
One of the camp counselors rounded them up, and another one shouted, “Hey!” at me. “Just what do you think you’re doing?!”
“I’m so sorry!” I said. I knew I was in trouble. I crawled out of the kid pretzel and rose to my knees. The counselor who chewed me out stood directly in front of me with her hands on her hips, and she glared. “You see,” I added with, and I pulled the rest of the kids out of the pretzel, “I did not mean to cause any trouble. It’s just, I’m trying to find my friend. He’s a hermit, and he lives here in the forest.”
“Hermit?” asked the counselor. “What are you talking about? You are in so much trouble, young lady! How dare you put these children in danger!”
“I didn’t mean too!” I shouted again. “I was just following my friend’s eagle. She said that he needs my help.”
“Oh for the love of…!” shouted the counselor. She smacked her hands to her face and rubbed it down. “All right.” She lowered her voice a bit, but I could tell she was still angry, “where are your friend’s parents, lass, and why are they separated from each other?”
“He doesn’t remember.” I worriedly stated. “He has amnesia, ma’am. He’s also hurt. He said he was critically injured when he was little, and I don’t think his ankle ever healed properly. He walks with a limp!”
“There is nobody like that around here!” snapped the counselor. “No hermit lives here in the provincial park, lass! Last time a kid went missing was ten years ago in a canoe accident, and he succumbed to his injuries!”
“I’m not talking about the Ghost of Ontario!” I said, and I stood up. “I’m talking a young boy that I met, ma’am! His name is Ihaan!”
“There is no one like that around here,” stated the counselor. “Get that through your head, kid! You’re the one who’s hurt! Where are your parents?”
Suddenly, I heard the voice of Mom, “Kylie!” and I gasped.
“Uh oh.” The counselor, kids, and I turned in the direction where the voice came from. There stood Mom, and with her was Dad. Both of them glared, but Mom glared the hardest.
The camp counselor grabbed my arm and pulled me towards them, asking, “Is this one yours?”
“She is.” Dad said in a calm voice.
“You,” growled Mom. She pointed at me. “Saddle up. You’re in so much trouble.”
“No.” I refused, and I ripped my arm free from the counselor’s grip. “Not until I find Ihaan.”
“Ihaan does not exist!” Mom shouted.
“He does too, Mom!” I planted my feet and crossed my arms. “I’m staying right here! Try to make me move! You won’t succeed! Ro told me that Ihaan needs my help! When Ro’s here, Ihaan’s here!” Every word I spoke, I proved to be true at this point in my story. This is it. Ihaan will no longer be popping up out of nowhere. He’s staying once and for all.
I heard shuffling behind me and the sound of a paddle dropping. Gasping, I whirled around, and my eyes landed on a cabin closest to me, Mom, Dad, the camp kids, and camp counselor. I saw him. I saw Ihaan. “There he is!” I shouted, and I pointed at the cabin.
Mom, Dad, the camp kids, and camp counselors all looked with me.
Ihaan stood in the shadows. He jumped when he saw us.
“AHH!” shouted a few of the camp kids. “IT’S THE GHOST OF ONTARIO!” They quickly hid behind their counselor.
“He’s not the Ghost of Ontario!” I said, “He’s Ihaan! The Ghost of Ontario lives on Red Squirrel Lake! This is Lake Temagami!”
Ihaan tried to run away, but I made sure he didn’t get far. It was finally time for me to prove to the whole world that a mysterious hermit really did live in the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park. “Ihaan!” I shouted.
“Eee!” he yelled. His voice cracked. The only way how he could escape into the forest was if he stepped out of the shadows. He made it fast, but he didn’t get far. Not on his injured ankle, and not with me standing around. I think I scarred him for life.
Ihaan leaped out of the forest, with his bow and quiver of arrows on his bare back, and he stumbled towards the forest. Immediately, he tripped and fell. On the ground, he closed his eyes and clenched his teeth.
I could tell he was in pain. It was his ankle. There were times when it didn’t bother him that much and other times when the pain was excruciating. This was one of those excruciating pain moments, and that was why Ro sought me out. I do not know how Ihaan lived with himself on that ankle. If by any chance he did get medical treatment for it when it was first injured, the doctors most likely would have amputated his foot. This little event proved to me that yes, he once was critically injured.
He reached for his foot but slowly rose.
Narrowing my eyebrows to an angry position, I hurried towards him, and he yelled again. Mom later said I looked like Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens when she ran after Finn.
Both hers and Dad’s eyes widened when they saw Ihaan. They were in total shock. The camp counselor was too, but of course not the camp kids. They thought Ihaan was the coolest guy ever. The camp counselor, Mom, and Dad, showed off some pretty hilarious faces; faces that read Whaaat?
Ihaan turned on his heel and limped towards the forest.
Both angry and happy, I chased him. The chase went on for about two minutes. During it, Ihaan and I shared another conversation.
To me, he yelled, “Why are you being so irrational, Little Red?! Remember when you said we’re friends at the last portage?”
Since I was so tired that day, I ended up screaming angrily at him. “WHY ARE YOU STILL FOLLOWING ME?! JUST LET ME PROVE TO THE WORLD THAT YOU REALLY ARE REAL!! THAT’S ALL I’M ASKING!!”
“I still like you, Kylie,” Ihaan stated, “but this is way over the top! Please, other people scare me! I don’t want to have to do anything with them! Ro once told me that something called racism killed my original family and left me to die when I was little! Ro! Defend me! Please!”
Right after he yelled that, Ro swooped in from out of nowhere, and she got in my face. She screeched and ferociously flapped her wings.
“Get out of the way, Ro!” I shouted. I did not mean to do what I did next. I did not mean to hurt nature. Lifting my hand, I smacked Ro and knocked her out of the sky. Even worse, I did that right in front of Ihaan.
“Ro!” he shouted, and he reached his hand out to her.
Ro crashed into the ground and landed on her front with her wings outstretched. I accidentally knocked her out. Ihaan was beyond mad that I had hurt his “friend.”
Glaring, he hurried to Ro and scooped her up. Next, he sprinted towards a small hill. No way was he going to get away!
Without thinking, I yelled and leaped towards him. I grabbed Ihaan by the arms and knocked him to the ground. Both of us crashed into the hill.
We together started to roll down it, and Ihaan hugged Ro to his chest. “You’ll be okay, Ro!” he shouted. “I’m right here! Yikes!” Both Ihaan and I smashed into the river on the other side of the bridge, and immediately, the current picked up. The Ghost of Ontario was also upset that I had hurt nature.
The current dragged Ihaan and I away from Camp Wanapitei and out to Lake Temagami. This was the second time I got separated from my family. “Ihaan!” I yelled underwater. Hurrying to surface, my head burst out of the water, but a wave crashed down on it and pulled me under again. The current really started to pick up. I fell in the water again, yeah, but this time, I didn’t have a life vest.
Underwater, I opened my eyes and tried to see where I was. I looked for Ihaan. I saw him! The current pulled him away from me, but he fought it and tried to swim to me. Ro wasn’t with him. Where was she? Nervousness flowed through my body. I held my hand out to the hermit and hoped that he would try to grab it.
He did. He held out his own hand, but we weren’t able to grab each other because another wave crashed down on us, and the current pulled me away from Ihaan.
Again, I swam to surface. I saw that the current had pulled me all the way to the open water of Lake Temagami. Whoa, was it really that strong? All I could conclude was that the Ghost of Ontario was very mad. I shouted for Ihaan, “Ihaan! Ihaan!” but I didn’t see him. However, I did see another island with a fairly large beach not far from me. I swam towards it, but the current pulled me back.
When I surely thought I was done for, I felt somebody grab my hand. “Huh?” I asked, and I looked up. My feet hit shallow water, but the current still pushed me. Ihaan the Hermit was the one who grabbed me and saved me for a third time.
He sat in his canoe – I have no idea where it came from – and friendlily spoke, “Hang on, Little Red. I’ve got you. Up we go!” Here, he leaned over the side of his canoe and wrapped his arms around my body. He dragged me out of the water and into his canoe. It only rocked a bit. I couldn’t help but to feel like something helped him keep it stable. Something must have. Something, but what?
Once in the canoe, I fell into Ihaan’s arms and said, “Whoa!” Immediately after that happened, I next heard a splash in the water. Exhausted and arms aching, I tilted up my head and peered into Ihaan’s deep brown eyes.
He cracked a small grin and chuckled. “You knack for getting in trouble, Little Red,” he told me. He had such beautiful teeth. Even though he had been alone in the wilderness for ten years, I knew he took great care of them. OMG, I’m fangirling again! Why did Ihaan have to be so gorgeous?
Quickly pushing out of his arms, I pulled hair behind my ear and said, “Um, thank you, Ihaan.” I quickly crawled to the bow of the canoe and sat down. My entire face turned red.
“How about we head into shore?” were Ihaan’s next words. “It’s quite rough out here.”
“But what about my family?” I asked. I turned my head towards Ihaan. I didn’t even want to imagine what my parents currently were like. They probably were totally freaking out.
“Not to worry, Little Red.” Ihaan told me, and he took his bow off his back. “I sent Ro to get them and lead them here. I’m not going to separate you from your family. I promise.”
“Oh, Ihaan,” was all I could say. Perhaps I lucked out? Ihaan didn’t look too upset that I had smacked Ro out of the sky.
He tossed his bow into his canoe and next picked up his paddle. He stuck it in the water and started to paddle. His canoe headed towards the island I saw before, the island with the beach on it. It’s true that I was swept away from my family, but I guess it wasn’t all bad. Hey, at least I was with Ihaan. At least I was finally with another kid my age. To this very day, I still consider Ihaan a gift from the heavens. That’s how special he is, and that’s how much he meant to me.
I’ll just go ahead and say this... He’s not here anymore. Ihaan died when he was thirty-five, but I’ll always remember him as the free-spirited hermit that changed my life forever in the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park. When the end of the story comes, I’ll explain to all y’all out there tonight how Ihaan died, but for now, let’s not talk about death. Let’s talk about how much fun I had with my new friend.
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