May 26th, 1970

    I woke, feeling wide awake. A glance at the clock revealed it was just past one in the morning. I sighed and thought back on yesterday. After seeing Cameron off, I had gone to lay down and taken the envelope with me. I’d put it in my purse but not dared to look at it too long for fear of going back on my word and reading it.
    Now, alone in my room in the middle of the night, the temptation was growing. I stood and walked barefoot to my purse on the dresser, rifling through it until I found the envelope. My name was written on the front in an elegant script, and in the bottom left corner was his name.
    Cameron. What had this man done to me? I had come to Scotland to see what my grandmother missed about it so much, that she would dream about being back in the highlands. And here I was, leaving to go home too soon, my heart in the hands of a man I’d met after a shocking experience in the woods.
    I shuddered and put the envelope down. The woods. I never wanted to be in Garlogie again, let alone near that creek. I still couldn’t explain what had happened that day.

    There was something about the area calling me. I’d seen it on a map and decided to go there without much thought. Within an hour I was in the town square, and just meandered about in no particular direction.
    I don’t remember how long it took me to get to the clearing. I was walking in the forest between trees and shrubs until I wasn’t, suddenly in a large clearing with only small saplings protruding a few inches from the ground.
    My ears popped and I looked up from the ground I was navigating. There was a woman, standing by the creek, who I hadn’t even noticed. Something inside me told me to stay quiet, so I didn’t say a word.
    The woman opened her mouth and the pressure in my head grew. It subsided after a moment, completely gone, until I took a step forward.
    I felt slight fear, but more apprehension, as I kept walking towards her. The creek was shimmering but I could see no fish swimming within the water. I walked along the bank until I was no more than ten feet from her. She took two steps and entered the water; she was almost shining.
    I felt like I was dreaming very vividly, but this was real. I touched the water in a motion I don’t remember commanding myself to take. As soon as my fingers got wet, the woman held her hands out in front of her.
    It was almost like a trance. I had little control over what I was doing despite the strong voice in my head telling me to turn away. I reached out my hands and as we made contact, I saw she wasn’t made of flesh. My hands shone where we touched, and when I looked up at her, I was thrown backwards into the mossy ground.

    A soft knock at the door pulled me out of my reverie.
    “Emily? Can I come in?”
    “Sure,” I replied softly.
    My sister came into the room and quietly closed the door behind her.
    “Are you alright? I heard you crying…”
    I was taken aback when I touched my face and saw that I had indeed been crying without realizing it. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” was all I could think to say.
    Liliane came towards the bed and sat beside me. “Is everything okay?” she asked tentatively.
    I turned my head away and took a tissue from the nightstand to dry my eyes. “I didn’t realize I was crying.”
    “Is it Cameron? Did he do something?” She reached out a hand to touch mine and I flinched involuntarily. “Did he?” she repeated.
    “No, no it’s not Cameron,” I whispered. What could I tell her? She didn’t know of the incident by the creek, let alone why I had gone to Garlogie in the first place. Actually, I didn’t know either.
    “What’s wrong?”
    Her face was soft with concern and I remembered when we were young and she would protect me from our raging father.
    “I was just thinking. Remembering when we were kids and…”
    “Does Cameron know? About Dad?” she asked quietly.
    “No.” I shook my head. “No. I haven’t told him about him, not yet.”
    “Don’t think about the past too much.”
    “How am I supposed to process it if I don’t think about it?” I retorted. I hadn’t really been thinking about our father, but it was easier to pretend than to explain what had made me cry.
    Liliane looked down. She was tired, I could tell, and wanted to go home. At least one of us would be happy to be in Canada again.
    “I’m fine, Lil. I just had a dream and it affected me a little too much,” I falsely explained.
    “You’re sure you’re okay?”
    “Yes. Go back to sleep. I’ll be fine.”
    “Alright.” Liliane stood up and went to the door. She didn’t fully believe me, I knew, but sometimes lies were necessary when the truth was impossible to explain.
    When the door closed behind her, I fell back onto the pillow and sighed. I had gotten my sister worried, and the only thing I wanted to do would worry her more. I wanted to be with Cameron, surrounded by his warmth. I wanted to tell him about my past, open up to him and tell him everything. But I couldn’t just leave again to go see Cameron in the middle of the night.
    I resigned myself that I wasn’t going to be able to escape the stress in my mind tonight, and went to the bathroom to wash my face. The water was refreshing but didn’t wash away my mood as I had hoped, so I went back to bed feeling as emotionally raw as when Liliane had knocked on my door.


    The next time I opened my eyes, it was late morning. I groaned and got out of bed slowly. My sister must have told Lily that I wasn’t feeling well to excuse me from breakfast, but I had still slept much later than I'd expected to. I stretched and got dressed, going downstairs to let Lily and my sister know I was okay.
    I heard a familiar laugh as I got to the bottom of the stairs, and stood still for a moment. It couldn’t be who I thought it was, so I went into the kitchen and was promptly proven wrong. Cameron was sitting at the kitchen table, chatting with Lily and Liliane. He turned towards me and smiled.
    “Hello, sleepy head!” He chuckled at my dishevelled look and offered me a cup of tea.
    “I didn’t know you lived here too,” I said jokingly. Whatever his reason for being here, I was happy to see him.
    “Cameron came by a few hours ago,” Lily chimed in. “He wanted to make sure what time to pick you two up tomorrow for the airport, and I invited him to stay for a cup.”
    “Very kind of you, Lily, I must thank you,” Cameron told her.
    I was still shocked. Only last night had I been pining for him next to me, and now he was here, in my great-aunt’s kitchen, chatting with them as I slept upstairs.
    “Lil, can I talk to you?” I beckoned for my sister to follow me into the living room and she did. Once we were out of earshot, I spoke in a whisper. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
    “He got here at eight, and I knew you were upset last night, so I didn’t.” She spoke as if it made complete sense. It might have, but not to me.
    “I want to spend some time with him before we leave. I’m going to pack and come back tomorrow with him to pick you up, say bye to Lily, and then we’ll go.”
    “Are you sure? With how you felt last night...”
    “I’m sure.”
    She sighed quietly. "What is it about this guy, Em?"
    "I don't know. But I can't ignore it."
    Liliane nodded. "Alright. I just don't want you to get hurt," she added. "Go pack, I'll tell Lily."
    With a quick thanks I excused myself and went upstairs. I packed, which wasn't so difficult as I hadn't really unpacked to begin with. I knew my sister would take care of any laundry that needed to be done, so I left them at the foot of the bed and bounded back downstairs once I was done.
    Cameron was just coming out of the washroom as I got to the hallway, and he motioned me over. I resisted the urge to ask why he'd come here and let him speak first.
    "I'm sorry if I've intruded. I wanted to spend the day with you. Give you a nice send off," he explained.
    "It's alright, Cameron. I'm happy you're here. I wanted to spend the day with you too, and I've already packed, so if you want to take me to Cairnie and come back tomorrow to pick up my sister and my luggage, we can."
    "You want to spend your last night in Scotland with me?" he asked.
    "Of course I do."
    "I hope I won't disappoint," he chuckled. "Does your aunt know?"
    "My sister was supposed to tell her, but I'll go make sure."
    Lily was aware of my plan, so we said goodbye for the day and Cameron and I went off to Cairnie.
    Once we were on the main road, I asked him how he'd known to come over today.
    "I had a dream about you," he said after a moment. "You were crying and alone."
    His words surprised me but I tried to keep my emotions in check.
    "It broke my heart to see you like that, even if it was just a dream. I woke up and came right over. Your sister told me you weren't feeling well and when Lily asked me to stay, I couldn't say no."
    My lips curved into a small smile and I looked at him. His eyes were glued on the road but I could feel he was being truthful.
    "You must be psychic," I told him. "I was crying last night."
    I saw that I'd caught him off guard with my confession.
    "You were?"
    I nodded. "Yes. I was thinking about... about the creek in Garlogie."
    "I see. Were you afraid? Last night?" he asked quietly.
    "No. I was just... Liliane heard me and I hadn't even realized I was crying. I wasn't scared, just, I still don't understand what happened."
    We were turning into the driveway of Cameron's house. He parked and turned off the engine, then looked at me.
    "It will take time for you to understand. But in the meantime, you need to trust that the reason you saw what you saw will come to light eventually."
    "Spoken like a true psychic," I said with a chuckle.
    Cameron smiled and leaned over to kiss me. "Let's get inside."


    The house was warm and inviting. I wondered how many people he had brought here, but pushed the thought away when he took my hand and led me to the couch. This, I realized, was the last moment I had to tell him the truth about my trip to Scotland.
    He lay half sitting on the couch, and beckoned me to lay with him. He wrapped his arms around me and I felt safe. Safe enough to open myself up.
    "Cameron..." I began, but froze despite the warmth surrounding me.
    "Yes?" He kissed the top of my head and looked into my eyes.
    I glanced away for a moment, only to look back at his muddy brown eyes and see the emotion in them. "I have to tell you something. Something that happened to me."
    "Alright. What happened?"
    I put my head on his chest and spoke. "I guess I'll just say it all."
    "Say however much you want to share."
    "I want to share everything with you," I whispered. I didn't know if he heard me or not but I began my story. "My father, he abused my mother. Out in the open, but it was worse when he did it to her in secret,” I began, taking my time between phrases. “She died when I was fifteen, and he left one morning not long after. No note, nothing to say he'd be back."
    "Oh, Emily," he said softly.
    "We moved in with my mom's mom, who hated him as much as me and my sister did. Gran was Lily's sister. I went to therapy for a long while and that's when my sister told me that he beat her, too. She'd taken my beatings for me. I never knew."
    I was almost crying now, but I kept talking.
    "My grandmother died just after her birthday, in April. My father showed up to the funeral. As soon as I saw him, I went into a rage and attacked him. I think I would have killed him if I hadn't been pulled off of him." I paused for a moment to figure out what to say next.
    "That's why I'm here. Liliane bought the tickets the next day so I could forget about it all. But I don't think I can ever forget."
    Cameron tightened his grip on me and spoke softly. "My father died when I was seven. I never really got to know him, as a man. I think it's better to know your father was a monster than to never have known him in the first place."
    "Cameron, I'm so sorry," I said, looking up at him.
    "Don't be. I've come to terms with it. I see him in my dreams, and we talk. It's alright, Emily."
    I'd begun to cry and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. After a moment, Cameron spoke.
    "Did you feel you were lying to me, by not telling me this?"
    "Yes," I confessed.
    "You weren't lying to me," he told me. "You were protecting yourself. We hide things to protect ourselves."


    I woke a while later, laying on the couch alone. I lifted my head and immediately put it back down. I felt like my brain was going to explode.
    ‘That’s what you get for crying before you sleep,’ I told myself as I sat up slowly. I wondered where Cameron was, until I saw the note on the coffee table.
    I stood and walked to the studio, wishing I hadn’t fallen asleep. Any time I spent asleep was less time spent with Cameron.
    He was sitting at his keyboard, staring intently at a paper. I knocked softly on the door and he looked up.
    “Hello again,” he said with a smile.
    “I fell asleep?” I asked as I walked into the room and sat down on the chair beside him.
    “You were comatose,” he chuckled. “I tried to wake you but you told me to fuck off.”
    I laughed. “I don’t even remember that.”
    “You wouldn’t, you were barely conscious at that point.”
    I chuckled and he put his arm around me.
    “Regardless, I’m glad you’re awake now. I’ve something to show you.”
    Without another word, Cameron looked down at the keyboard and began to play a soft tune. It was the love song he’d written, and written for me, no less. I recognized it immediately, but when he got to the end, it continued into a beautiful and pained expression.
    My heart warmed and when he finished playing, I took his hand in mine and pulled him closer. I kissed him with all the passion and love I could muster. “You finished it.”
    “The song might be done,” Cameron shyly smiled, “but my feelings for you certainly aren't.”
    A tear welled up in my eyes and he saw it, brushing it away with his fingertip.
    “Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he spoke softly.
    “I don’t know how I’m going to leave you tomorrow.”
    “Wait here. There’s something I want to give you.”
    “Another gift?” I smiled regardless of my words. Anything he gave me, I would keep forever.
    Cameron smiled back at me and left the room for a moment. I heard a drawer open in the distance and his footsteps coming back towards the studio. In his hand he held a small item that I couldn’t quite see clearly. He sat back down beside me and looked right into my eyes.
    “I’ve told you that I love you, and that I won’t forget you once you’re gone. But I want you to have something that will make you know in your heart that it’s the truth.”
    He opened his hand and held his palm out to me. In the center of his hand was a small pendant on a gold chain. A closer look revealed the pendant to be a single but large pearl set in a golden clasp.
    “Cameron, I... this...”
    He placed it in my hand and closed his hand around mine. “I want you to have this.”
    I looked up at him, once again on the verge of tears. “Cameron,” I repeated, seemingly unable to say anything else.
    His hands were still around mine. He must have seen the questions on my face because he answered them. “It was my mother’s. She never wore it. She gave it to me on her... when she died. Told me to give it to the woman to whom my heart belonged. So it’s yours, now. And always.”
    “Cameron, this is... You should keep this.”
    “I am,” he said. “I’m keeping it with you.”
    “But I haven’t given you anything.”
    “Nonsense,” he told me. “You’ve given me everything, Emily.”
    We kissed then, a soft and longing touch of lips that made my head spin. When we separated, he clasped the chain around my neck and kissed me gently. The hairs on my neck stood on end and I shivered.
    “God, you’re beautiful,” he told me as he pulled me towards him in an embrace.
    “Look who’s talking,” I answered cheekily.