Memphrey's Appearance

A monologue from a girl who was dying inside and who was saved... by Memphrey.

I had never thought I would become who I am today, reader.

 

While it is true that I knew for sure that I would not remain who I was, I would have imagined a completely different scenario. A girl like me; shy, disinterested by her own kind, suffering in her heart, quick to judge, reserved, and grouchy in the worst way did not belong in this world like other normal human beings. I used to believe I was some kind of alien that came from another world, another planet, another universe... but in the end of it all, I knew I had to stick to the plain, dirty, disgusting old reality; I was human (I still am, reader, I still am)and I would be doomed to stay with humans for the rest of my life. No alien UFO was going to come pick me up one night to say "E.T., why didn't you phone home? Now that we found you again, you can be happy with your true parents!"

 

Yes, I was smart enough to know that wasn't going to happen.

 

Yet, there was still that gut feeling inside of me (you know, reader, that kind of feeling where you know something is going to happen that will completely change everything you know? You know, right? I know). That feeling told me to accompany my family on their summer trips instead of staying home and losing brain cells; alas! I could not. Fear of the world dug at my heart one way, while the curiosity pulled the other way, threatening to pull the poor member apart and kill me instantly.

Damn, who would care if I died anyway. The truth is that, back in that time of wretched solitude, no one would have cared.

It was at the summer of my 16th birthday that the whole family managed to drag me along with them on summer vacation. "We'll go to Magog! It's such a tranquil place. You'll love the shopping district there. Nothing dangerous at all except the cars!" Of course THAT'S what they told me, and the gut feeling begged me to believe them and follow them along.

 

Strangers. They were almost strangers to me. Oh, how I longed to know them! How I longed to burst out of the bubble I had imprisonned myself in for so many years! I wanted to go, and yet I feared! But there was nothing to fear, they said. And so I capitulated.

 

I never followed them usually for the simple reason that their trips were always perilous; a trip near the lions in Africa, a visit in the jungle of French and English Guyanna (poisonus bugs don't inspire me much), a one-week kayak camp near the rapids... The fearing part of my heart told me that there was a catch in all of this "danger-less" fuss, but the gut-feeling hid it from me.

Oh, reader, Magog was indeed such a beautiful place; not to speak of the enormous lake itself! Waters crystal clear; so clear that we can see our toes if we bathe in it. Mountains so beautiful and yet frightful; peaks visible from the borders of the United States. I hadn't known Magog was so near to the States, and I hadn't known much else either, but still, I longed to be safe at home when our sailboat began to sail this lake of pure beauty.

What else I didn't know was the origin of the lake's name; Memphreymagog...

 

On a lazy summer afternoon, when we were drifting above the deepest area of Memphreymagog lake, everyone had fallen asleep- me as an exception, for my fear kept me awake. I still thought of home, and my heart felt as if it would tear with longing; five days had gone by since I had left my home town of Amos. I wanted to go back, to let myself fall in a book, where I could at anytime close the cover if things got too dangerous. I wanted to take a piece of paper and write my feelings like I always did... But I couldn't, alas, reader! I was stuck in this sailboat, with dread crawling up my back like a poisonous spider.

And so I stared at the shining, calm waters, waiting for time go by so that we could sail back to the shore and go back to our hotel rooms; the water seemed to still, so impossibly still...

 

Reader, I tell you, the water was so still that it seemed to be moving.

 

I began to look more carefully; indeed, it did not just seem to be moving... it truly was moving in the first place! Ripples were spreading from a center spot just about ten meters from our sailboat; I backed away to the further end without taking my eyes away from the growing phenomenon. It gently grew larger and larger, and then it stopped completely.

That was the calm before the storm.

Something threw itself out of the water in a frightening splash of the waves, exactly where the ripples had been coming from; I froze in stupor and complete fear when a black snake, its head as large as a little car, stared at me with golden eyes. I opened my mouth to scream as loud as I could, but life seemed like a blurr, and I couldn't get a sound out of my throat.

 

Everything was blurry and slow. I seemed to melt in my surroundings. I looked at the gigantic snake, and he looked back at me, and his stare seemed to say, "Do not be afraid."

Reader, this phrase meant more than that.

It seemed to say, also, "Do not tell. It is a secret."

And suddenly, I felt drowsy, and sleep took me as easily as the snake could have eaten me alive.

 

I awakened with my family, feeling as alive as ever before; dazzed a little, I didn't say anything, nor try to do anything. I found this encounter perfectly normal, and as we sailed back, I heard my mother and my sister speak of a certain monster named Memphrey that they had so wished to see here.

I only found myself once we were back in Amos. And I will tell you, reader, i found another self. My fear was gone- evaporated. It seemed as if Memphrey had eaten the fear instead of eating me...

 

I must say, I do not completely understand what happened. I never told anyone, and never will, reader; you are my only witness. I only know that I am an able person with life under her sleeve, ready to go anywhere, ready to conquer any battle. I want to live, and will live.

 

And some days, when I feel the pang of loneliness, I go back to Magog and sail on the lake, dreaming of Memphrey coming back to me. And I will not lie; I actually believed he would come back to look at me with those eyes of gold once again. I would stare, hour upon hour, at the stillness of the clear waters, waiting, waiting...

But of course, he didn't come back. He already saved my life once, and I am grateful, but I still keep believing, reader...

Author's Note

Got this idea when I went to Magog myself a few weeks back. What I say about the lake's water is true... and Memphrey really exists. Don't worry, it never killed anyone; it only sticks its head out of the deep waters once in a while, but everyone who saw him only thought of escaping.

Reviews

[nostal]

Love the imagery.
Awesome write, well-written and captivating.