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did. That’s where

my fascination with the lake all started. Every year as a kid, we’d come from

Toronto to spend two weeks camping on the sandbanks. The summer the first

winery opened on the island, my folks decided to check it out. We found the Lake

of the Mountain by accident. My mother loved it, and after that year, we came

at least once a summer just to look at the water. She was an artist. Her

painting of the lake is my most prized possession.”
    Tony didn’t want to

talk about the past. He wanted Joseph’s take on the present, but he knew the

old man couldn’t be hurried. He sipped the last of the bitter tea Maggie had

brought him, surprised to discover it had eased his headache.
    “This stuff works.

Thanks.”
    “The old ways are

still often the best. Tell me what happened when you fell into the lake as a

child.”
    “How did you know

about that?” Tony’s brow furrowed. He’d never told anyone about his frightening

encounter. Talking to Joseph was only slightly less confusing than everything

else happening to him.
    Joseph smiled. “I

told you. The spirits talk to me.”
    “The lake called to

me as much as it did to my mother.” Tony chuckled. “My dad wasn’t quite as

impressed with the place, but he’d do anything to make her happy. I’d heard the

stories about sea monsters, and I wanted to see one so badly. One day, I was

out canoeing with my cousin Joe, and we were fooling around. We decided to tip

the canoes and flip them the way we’d learned to do at summer camp. I swear I

felt something touch my leg when I went underwater. It wasn’t a fish. It almost

felt like hands trying to pull me down, and it scared the bejesus out of me. I

know now it was probably some water plant, but I got back in that canoe faster

than I would have thought possible. When we got back to shore, my mother

thought I had sunstroke. I was pale, wet, and clammy. I never took a canoe out

on the lake again, and I didn’t swim in it either, not even where I could touch

bottom. I’m not a strong swimmer. I had nightmares of drowning for weeks after.

Mom died that winter, and I didn’t come back to the island until the summer

before I left to start my graduate studies out west.”
    He ran his hand

through his hair, unable to keep his frustration at bay any longer.
    “What does any of

this have to do with what’s happening to me now?”
    “Patience,

my son. Before a doctor

diagnoses an illness, he needs to know all the symptoms. Indulge me.”
    There was kindness

and understanding in Joseph’s eyes, and Tony relaxed. Maybe he wasn’t crazy. It

didn’t seem as if Joseph thought so.
    Tony stood. He

couldn’t sit still any longer. He walked over to the window and watched the

rain pound against it. He turned back to the room. Joseph sat as he had all

through his story. The old man hadn’t moved and reminded Tony of a beautifully

carved statue he’d seen at the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa.
    “I’d decided to

study hydrology and came back to visit Uncle Pierce to say goodbye. I knew the

lake and I were connected somehow. I thought I’d either find the monster

located on the bottom, or discover the water’s source. I never thought I’d end

up with two dead students and my career in jeopardy. Despite everything, the

lake still calls to me as if it’s alive. Damn it, Joseph. I feel like I’m going

crazy, and this morning’s hallucination is the icing on the cake.”
    “You aren’t going

crazy. Everything is happening as it should. Tell me what happened this

morning.”
    Tony laughed

ruefully. “I guess I should since it’s the real reason I’m here.” He described

the vision he’d had. “She spoke to me. I’m sure she’s never said a word in any

of the dreams I’ve had.”
    Joseph was alert,

suddenly animated. “What did she say? Can you remember the words?”
    “I can. It’s as if

they’re seared on my mind. I have an ear for languages. I