Hello beloved readers,

Before you dive in this new story of mine, I wanted to give a bit of an explanation, since I know some (most... okay like all) of you might prefer to see me uploading other stories.

A few months ago I had the chance of being approached by Wattpad and CBC Gem to have the awesome opportunity to participate in a contest to give a pitch for a digital series about something new and Canadian. Our pitches would be read and finalists would be picked to then produce a first chapter.

I was picked. So this is the first chapter of a story that might inspire a future digital series. *insert Kay freaking out*

Little bit more context while we're at it. I might have never mentioned this but my family used to own what has now become the Bic National Park. In the 80s we were expropriated so our beautiful land could be shared with more people. I wasn't born when what my family and I call Cap-à-l'Orignal was still ours. But my mother grew up spending her summer vacations there. And I grew up spending my own in the Park. Most of our houses are gone. My great uncle's old shack is still standing. There's still a concrete square where a house used to be, when you know where to look. And my great-grandmother's roses are everywhere. I mean, literally everywhere. You see, National Parks are protected. You don't touch the flora of a National Park. What they might not have realized is that those rose bushes, though wild didn't magically pop up there. They were planted. And now they're going crazy. I'd like to think it's Germaine's way of making a scene after death.

So, this story is for the Michaud and the other families that used to live in Cap-à-l'Orignal, for the windy summer days and the constant nights of thunderstorms, for simpler times and happier days.