MIKADEMUS's blog: "REFLECTIONS OF A LYCANTHROPE"

They had traveled many hundreds of miles to arrive in Banff, a family of five in a small car. There were two young ladies, a young man with their mother and father. Banff was shaking off the last signs of winter and the snow line had retreated far up the mountains where it would remain until late Fall. The Summer Tourist Season would begin soon and this relatively small town would be over run by people from all over the world. Banff was truly a world class destination. Most people that plan on staying over night book reservations months in advance as it was not uncommon for all the hotels to be fully booked at any time of year, but this group did not check in at any of them. The Gondola Ride at Sulphur Mountain had opened three days ago and would be operational until late Fall when the restaurant would close for the season. The Summit Restaurant as it was called sits atop of the mountain at 7486 feet offering a unique and spectacular view of the Western Rockies going into British Columbia as well as the picture postcard beauty of the town of Banff far below. It was to the gondola ride that they drove and within a few minutes they were all riding the tram which would take them to it's summit. When they arrived at the other end they proceeded to the restaurant, sat down at a table, ordered a meal and dined while viewing the beautiful panoramic provided. There were many people sitting in the surrounding tables engaged in conversations while this family remained strangely silent only talking in hushed tones when speaking at all but their behavior went unnoticed by the greater group present. Everyone seemed to be excited about being privileged to experience such a wonderous place while the little group seemed almost somber, detached from the others around them. At length one of the girls leaned over and quietly asked the father, " Will we go see her soon ? ". The father softly whispered back, " Soon my daughter ". After a while they moved outside to the observation deck located on top of the restaurant and watched the sun slowly setting in the west against a beautiful sky lit up fiery orange. Sometimes when you experience something it can be like a drug that intoxicates you with it's beauty. This was such a moment. Eventually a man came up stairs and informed the group that the last gondola ride was boarding and if they missed it they would either have to stay over night or walk down " The Switch Backs ", a series of trails that zig zag down the face of the mountain back down to ground level. There was only about an hour of day light left and the group departed from the restaurant and started walking off down the alpine slopes on the north west face. There were no trails but the group seemed to know exactly where they were going as they proceeded without hesitation. Eventually the group arrived at a place, a small clearing with a lonely gravestone set against the back drop of Cascade Mountain which rose majestically above all the surrounding mountains. The group slowly crowded around the stone marker which bore a name that translated to " Wind Walker ". Her name in the world of humans was Desiree and she was born in 1926, " The Roaring Twenties " and passed from this life in 2010. She had been daughter to the man and woman now sitting by her grave and was lost to them, cut down in her prime three years ago while jogging in a tragic, senseless accident at the hands of a drunk driver, she died in her fathers arms amidst his cries of anguish and now they had all returned on the third anniversary of her death. There was a beautiful bed of tiny purple and yellow flowers the mother had planted on top of her grave and they returned perennially without fail every year. Johnny Jump Ups, or Pansies as they are known are tough, resilient flowers and she chose them to mark Wind Walker's grave as they are a living monument to lost loved ones. " I Lived...... I Loved......I Was........ I Mattered ! " They also symbolized hope, like the grand daughter Wind Walker had given them before she was taken away. It would be many years before her baby would be old enough to visit her mother's grave and for now she was in the care of family. The sun had now set and in the east the yellow rim of the full moon was rising above the peaks turning to silver as it rose into the heavens, baring witness to the small group of wolves that now softly cried around the gravestone. Then without warning the group left the grave site, raced down the slopes of Sulphur Mountain and began to climb the face of Cascade Mountain racing towards the snow line where the snow lives eternal and glows silver in their goddesses brilliant light. Their howls echoed throughout the meandering alpine meadows and mountain passes and it was there in that bittersweet symphony that they celebrated the life of a lost daughter............ they celebrated life itself. www.youtube.com/watch - Mikademus