May 11th, 1970

    I staggered towards the trail as I held my arm; I had fallen on it when I hit the ground only minutes earlier. I didn’t dare look back at the creek and surrounding wood, much preferring to get away from the area at a rapid pace.
    I could see someone on the trail a few hundred feet ahead, but didn’t pay much attention to them. My chest was aching from the adrenaline of what had just happened— though what exactly happened I couldn’t say, all I knew was that it frightened me.
    The person I’d seen approached me when I was within thirty feet of them, and I saw it was a man dressed like many others I’d seen since coming to Aberdeen. Butting his cigarette out under his shoe, he noted my ragged appearance.
    “I fell,” I explained.
    “Down a hill?”
    I didn’t care for his quip and felt too much residual confusion to humour him. I walked past him, retracing the path I’d taken into the woods.
    Seemingly unaware of my disinterest, the man caught up to me and matched my pace. “What’s your name?”
    “Who’s asking?”
    “A concerned citizen,” he decided after a slight hesitation.
    “If you’re that concerned, you could get me the hell out of these woods!” I retorted angrily. “I need to get a taxi and get out of here.”
    “There’s an old pub down the road. You can use the phone there,” he offered. “There’s no punters, just the band and me. My name’s Willie.”


    I wasn’t wearing a watch, but it must’ve taken only five minutes to get out of the woods and walk down the road to the pub Willie had mentioned. It certainly didn’t look up to standards for serving customers, but the two lone vehicles in the parking lot made me think he’d been truthful.
    Walking in behind Willie, I was greeted with a joyful shout from one of three men seated at a nearby table.
    “Who’d you bring back for us this time, Willie?” the man laughed.
    “I’m nothing for you!” I’d shouted back at him before giving myself a moment to calm down; I felt like a champagne bottle ready to push its cork into the ceiling.
    As soon as I saw the array of seats and how comfortable they looked, I realized my legs ached and my arm hurt more than I thought it would. I spotted another man behind the bar but ignored him in favour of a table along the far wall.
    “Be nice,” I heard Willie say. “This is Emily.”
    I put my head in my hands and thanked God I had a chair to sit on, as I didn’t trust my legs to keep me upright. Still, I could hear them talking about me.
    “Who is she?”
    “I found her at the creek.”
    A moment later, another whispered comment. “She’s quite ragged.”
    ‘Just ignore them. Get your bearings together and use their phone, then you’ll be fine.’ Regardless of my own reassurance, I didn’t know why I was so wound up. I’d only been at the creek and—
    “Tea?”
    It was the man from behind the bar, now standing across the table from me.
    “Sure,” I thanked him, taking the cup from his outstretched hands.
    “May I?” he added, motioning to the empty chair.
    ‘God, please, I don’t want to talk.’ I nodded anyway and he sat down, asking what had happened to me. “I don’t know.” I wanted to scream but just looked down at my hands and took a sip from the cup.
    “My name’s Cameron,” the man offered, after a minute of silence.
    “I’m Emily.”
    “It’s nice to meet you, Emily,” Cameron replied with a small grin. “I hope Willie wasn’t too brute with you.”
    I shook my head and felt a smile tugging at my face. He asked if I was enjoying the tea, so I looked at him and let the smile come. “Yes, it’s really good. Soothing. Thank you.”
    He gave a small nod, briefly rubbing his cheek with the palm of his hand. Even with the hint of stubble on his face and my subdued mood, I had to admit that he was handsome. And right now he looked like he wanted to speak, so I urged him to say whatever was on his mind.
    “You look familiar,” he said, “and like you’ve seen a ghost.”
    “Who knows.” I shrugged a little, honestly not sure of the answer myself. Had I seen a ghost?
    “Did you see something, in the woods by the creek?” he pressed, though his expression was concerned.
    When I looked into his face I saw it: he was worried, and wanted to know what had happened. ‘Why’s he worried?’ I scoffed internally. ‘He doesn’t even know me. What’s it to him?’ But meeting his eyes again, I noticed something else. Recognition; which he immediately confirmed.
    “I’ve seen things here too.” He was almost whispering.
    Had he seen the same thing as I just did? A shiver ran through me as I recalled what had happened— the eerie silence, the confusing urge to touch the water’s surface, the way I’d fallen. I felt my eyes sting as I wondered what I’d tell Lily. She’d been expecting me to be gone for an hour and it had surely been longer than that.
    “What time is it?” I blurted, opening my eyes to the unchanged room around me.
    Cameron glanced at the wall behind me. “It’s nearly noon. Why?”
    I cursed under my breath and shook my head. “I’m supposed to be back in town by now.”
    “Which town? Aberdeen?”
    “Yeah,” I sighed. “I’ll call—”
    “I’ll get you there, just sit.” Cameron stood up and walked toward Willie and the three other men, without giving me a chance to say anything.
    I ignored their quiet conversation and drank the rest of my tea in several large gulps. ‘I don’t need his charity to drive me into the city, I just need his phone.’ Despite my silent complaint, I had to admit it might be better to have him chat with me on the way, rather than being stuck with a silent cabbie and my own thoughts. My stomach was churning and I could feel a headache coming on, but it was only when Cameron returned to the table and beckoned me to follow him outside that I realized I enjoyed his company. Maybe the other men’s prying eyes had worn me thin— a good portion of my tension evaporated as soon as the pub’s door closed behind us.
    “What’s the deal here?” I demanded, walking faster to match Cameron’s pace.
    “They’re not bothered but I think you could use some help. And I’m happy to do so,” he explained simply.
    ‘He’s being honest,’ I realized, and got into the passenger seat when he opened the door for me. I kept my eyes on Cameron as he walked around the front of the van— which he’d explained was his own— and only looked away when he got behind the wheel and started the engine.
    “Where to?” he cheerily asked me, pulling into the street to begin our drive.
    “Polmuir Road, if you know it,” I answered. “I’m staying with my great-aunt.”
    “I know it. It’s around ten miles from here, should take twenty-five minutes or so,” he told me with a nod. “How long have you been in Scotland?”
    “Easy to tell I’m not a local?” I joked. “Three weeks or so. We got here on April twenty-first.”
    “Who did you come with?”
    “My sister, for a getaway of sorts.” I couldn’t quite call it a vacation, after all.
    “A getaway’s usually earned, so I hope you’re enjoying yourself so far?” Cameron flashed me a smile and I returned it with my own, assuring him that I’d very much enjoyed Scotland so far.
    We talked for most of the ride. Cameron told me that he played keyboards and was in a band; the three other men and Willie rounded out the group. He explained why he knew Lily’s area: he was born and raised in Aberdeen and still spent most of his time there, when he wasn’t playing shows in other cities.
    I couldn’t pinpoint why I felt so comfortable with him, but the jittery feeling I’d had at the pub was completely gone. Like he had guessed, it took less than a half hour to arrive at Polmuir Road and I fought the urge to frown. Why was I bothered to leave his company, when I barely knew him?
    “How long are you in Scotland for?” Cameron asked once he’d parked across the street from the house.
    “Two more weeks.”
    He nodded, taking a scrap of paper from the console and writing something down. “You’ll be alright?”
    “I think so,” I replied with a smile, finding his thinly-veiled concern funny.
    “This is Geoff’s number, he’s our manager.” Cameron handed me the paper and smiled shyly. “If you need anything while you’re here, just call and ask for me. I’ll be glad to help.”
    “That’s really nice of you,” I mumbled in surprise. Was he being serious?
    As if he’d read my mind, Cameron spoke firmly, just as I got out of the van. “I mean it, Emily. Anything at all.”
    “Thank you, Cameron. And for the ride, too.”