People Just Vanish

As the sun was inching down in the valley, the reflection off Salmon Stream River was enchanting. It appeared as if thousands of diamonds were dancing on the surface. The evening was cooling off as Gracie, Ray, and Al each sat on a wicker chair on the porch. As folks walked by, Gracie or Ray greeted them and exchanged small pleasantries, mostly about the weather. Al picked the chair near the far end of the porch, somewhat hidden behind a mammoth spruce tree.

            Al asked, “So, what’s with the name of the paper? I never did get that figured out. I know enough of Latin to know it means something mysterious or weird, even freaky. Who in the world gave it that name?” Ray said to Gracie, “You give him the short answer and I’ll tell him later on.” At which time Ray lit another cigarette.

Gracie adjusted herself in her chair so she could look at Al a bit better and said, “Going back a couple of hundred years seems that this entire area has a history of strange events. Most of them connected to the river. The old timers tell stories of things they can’t explain. The library has local history books going back to the time of William Rogers. And, they tell stories that are pretty hard to understand.”

Al sat up in his chair a bit straighter as Gracie continued, “Some even say the Native Americans recorded strange things along the river.”  Al asked, “What do these stories all have in common? What ties them together, anything, or are they just different random events?” Gracie looked at Ray and he nodded, Gracie responded, “Seems that all the events have to do with people, young and old alike.” Al noticed that Gracie was obviously nervous about the conversation. He asked her, “So, what about people, and what is the rest of this about?” “People just vanish,” Gracie said.