His Paradise

As a fantasist navigator, I create my own storytelling cartography by brushing landscapes and sketching landmarks onto my parchment-papered imagination. I include the people I have met in my real-life travels and the imaginary people I hope to meet. My map is a source of confusion for many as names of monuments and cities are often forgotten. Instead, my map remembers things such as that splintered hut with its multi-grained wood colours and painted red fencing, the tattered and faded pillows that must have seated thousands of bums, and the people we met within that open hut. When I map out places, it always has to do with people I have encountered. Is there anything really greater than meeting people from all over the globe, from all walks of lives or even from your own province when you're on the other side of the world? Sharing these memories and being a part of someone else's? I'm writing this to tell a story about a young artist who, within mere minutes, captivated Bee and I with his kindness and smile. We sat in this aforementioned hut, bewildered by the circus amongst us, sipped the straws of our buckets and played fantastically hilarious games which he was almost always the loser. We exchanged stories of traveling, BC, the crazies and the wonderfuls. He talked about the quieter parts of the country and how travellers often take for granted that these places are someone's home and not just a vacation playground that we can vandalize. "Remember to tip," he advised. I had forgotten that until he had brought me back down to earth. He charmed us with his smile that I believe cannonballed straight from his soul. When I look back and see that I had a message from him just five days before his passing, it both saddens and enlightens me that we had met him when he (as Bee describes it) was at his pinnacle of "living life to the fullest". He was in his paradise. It teaches you to live your life in the same fashion so that someone else can feel the breadths of your own soul. It also teaches you to be open to all those you encounter. Go up to a stranger and say hi, especially when you're travelling. This life is a silly one; you don't know what role that person might end up playing in your life...

In dedication to MH: you radiated us with your positivity. I'm glad to have met and remembered you in this way. Much love.

Pam  xx