Story-A-Day #426: Where the Silver Ferns Grow

WHERE THE SILVER FERNS GROW

I'd always believed it was a myth, a place that existed in the darkest, most fanciful corners of legend.  I figured it was no different than El Dorado, Atlantis, or Shangri-La...  As it turns out, I was wrong.

I grew up hearing the legends of the great lost treasure that was hidden in the depths of the wilds where the silver ferns grow.  Hell, it was right here in my backyard according to those legends of my childhood, so how could I not have heard of it?

When I was younger, I grew to figure that it was probably something like Oak Island, a huge lost treasure that remained forever lost in time, and disclaimed by the doubters and scientists.

It was cool to think that there could be some weird treasure out there, some weird treasure located in a long-lost Mayan temple in the depths of Northern Ontario.  It seemed unlikely that a Mayan temple could exist in Northern Ontario, impossible really, so it was not entirely impossible to write the whole thing off as a big fabrication; like our very own Klondike, only without the actual gold to sustain the rush.

Northern Ontario has a wealth of resources, but the conundrum with this particular one, was that the stories and murmurings always promised wealth that was somewhat ... obscure.  Some tales talked of gold, others of silver and gems.  There were other whisperings as well, secret sighs that spoke of something bigger; and at times, something darker.

When I finally found the place that the silver ferns grow, I realized that all of the stories contained at the very least, a grain of truth.  Unfortunately for you, the only truth I can communicate was that the ferns do in fact grow with a silver hue.

It was almost an accident that I found the place at all, but it was no accident that I forget where it was...

If you had seen the things I saw, you would want no recollection either.  That kind of beauty and terror can only co-exist in the strongest of minds.  Mine is not that type of mind; it is one of curiosity, and dreams, and hope.  It is one that requires mystery in life in order to maintain function.