My father had always warned me to keep my distance and not meddle with the secrets of Chateaugay Lake, but I could not let the curiosity and uncertainty eat away at me. I would seek out the truth, no matter what dangers I may face.
“We should rest here for the night,” I announced after we had eaten our evening meal. “There is still plenty of daylight left.”
As the sun set on the western horizon and twilight began to take hold around us, I looked up at the stars shining brightly overhead. It amazed me how many there seemed to be; too many to count. Our campfire burned bright, sending sparks flying high into the sky. The warmth of the flames helped chase away some of the chill from earlier in the day.
I stared into the fire, watching the dancing flames spin and dance. My mind wandered back to the stories I had heard about the Native Americans’ use of hallucinogenic drugs to travel into other dimensions. If I had taken such an exotic substance, perhaps I could have discovered what really lay beneath the surface of Chateaugay Lake, and what it meant to those who dwelled within its depths.
But the idea was absurd. There were only a few plants used in traditional tribal ceremonies, and none of them included hallucinogenic compounds. I had grown up in this area, so the stories sounded like nothing more than tall tales. Still, something deep within me insisted that there was something more to this mystery. I needed to know.
“What are you thinking?” asked my father. He had come to stand next to me at the fire.
“Nothing much,” I replied. “Just wondering why there seems to be so many stars above us. Does anyone know where they all came from? They must be very far away.”
“That’s a good question,” he said. “No one knows for sure. Some say the stars are made of different chemicals, while others believe they are actually smaller versions of the Earth that float through space. Others think the stars are simply dust particles that drift in from outside our galaxy.”
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