Drawn to the great outdoors, Patricia Corbett Bowman moved to the Almaguin Highlands about eight years ago, purchasing property on Lake Cecebe. Now retired from teaching in London, Bowman previously lived in Toronto, where she attended school.
Bowman and her husband continue to be captivated by the beauty of the rocks and lakes in the Highlands, and she is quite active in her community — when she’s not quilting, swimming, boating, or going for long walks with their dog, Jenny. A volunteer at the Burk’s Falls food bank, she also edits the newsletter for the Retired Teachers of East Parry Sound.
A freelance writer, Bowman also writes fi ction and her latest work is a young-adult historical time travel story. We at Sideroads are proud to present Bowman’s short story, Visions, which seems perfect for reading on a quiet, still fall evening.
Enjoy!

Visions
Pain tore up Paula Holmes’ ankle as she mis-stepped off the curb. Muttering, she glared at the stupid person in the gorilla costume in front of the Burk’s Falls post office. Dodging him was difficult as he danced around her, imitating her limp. Finally he gave up to pursue another pedestrian.
Hurrying to visit Mrs. Kelinsky, she had to find out how things would turn out with her daughter’s pending delivery. What if the baby was born with a defect?
The waitresses in the restaurant where Paula worked laughed at her for all her worrying. Mrs. Kelinsky would calm her. Her predictions were always right on. Look at the time her son was getting married and Paula couldn’t concentrate at work. Mrs. Kelinsky gave her a sign that everything would work out. And it did. Paula did fi nd her dream dress on sale and her new daughter-in-law relented and wore Paula’s original bridal veil.
Paula smiled through her ankle pain as the wind picked up ruffling her graying hair. October sure could be blustery. She tugged her jacket collar closer. It was so dark now at seven o’clock. Halloween was here and it would probably rain on the little darlings who traipsed out trick or treating. Paula thought of her first trip to see the psychic last May. One of her regulars had recommended her. Convinced it was a bunch of bunk, she had gone anyway.
Mrs. Kelinsky was a sight herself, with hair sticking out like she never combed it, wearing an old style house dress covered by a dirty apron. No cooking smells or housekeeping was obvious here. The tired looking living room apparently doubled as her reading parlour. What had Paula expected? Seated on the lumpy divan Paula had almost laughed out loud when Mrs. Kelinsky had closed her eyes, holding Paula’s right hand tighter than a strong man during a handshake. Seconds ticked by. “Huh! I see an igloo. No, maybe it’s a hut. You knowa thatched hut like in some of those warm countries.” Mrs. Kelinsky sighed but had still held on to Paula’s hand for another long minute and then had slowly opened her dark, tired eyes.
“I’m sorry. I usually get more images than this. All I see is this igloo picture. Nothing else, not even numbers. Usually I feel emotions very strongly. All I get is this one picture.” Mrs. Kelinsky reached for a pen and paper from the chipped coffee table in front of them and drew on it for Paula.
“That’s okay, Mrs. Kelinsky.” Paula accepted the simple drawing. She hadn’t really expected much. “What does it mean?” “That’s it. I’m not sure what it means. I’ve never seen it before. I only know that when you see it, you will know exactly what it means. It might be on t.v., on a fl yer, anywhere. You’ll know it when you see it. Sorry, that’s all I have for you today.” Paula had paid and trudged outside. Walking back to her apartment a black cloud had hovered over her. Hard earned money gone to a quack.
The next week at work she had fretted over the few wedding details she was privy to. She was cranky at work. During a morning lull, Adele bustled over to her station with a pencil and paper and an expression that said she meant business. “Paula, look here,” she said, as she drew on the paper, “this is a mountain. She drew a large arc. And this is a mole hill. She drew a small arc within the larger one. You always make a mountain out of a mole hill. Relax and you’ll enjoy the wedding.”
Adele stomped back behind the counter. “That’s it!” yelled Paula. Everyone in the restaurant turned to stare at her. “The psychic! You know. Mrs. Kelinsky. She drew this same picture for me after she had a vision of it.”
Paula rummaged in her purse and pulled out the folded paper with an identical picture. “See. Mrs. Kelinsky predicted that this would happen. I’ve got to try and relax and enjoy the wedding. Thanks, Adele. It’s all clear now.” Paula couldn’t get over it. Mrs. Kelinsky was really good. She’d call her after work and tell her about the drawing.
Now, here was Paula limping up to Mrs. Kelinsky’s house for another visit. What vision would the seer have today about her soon to be grandchild? Paula couldn’t help worrying especially since her daughter was ordered to bed with legs swollen to the size of tree trunks.
Mrs. Kelinsky met Paula at the door for their appointment. “Come in. Tea?” she said.
“No. Please, may we get started right away? I’m so worried about my daughter’s pregnancy,” said Paula. “Then let’s begin.” Mrs. Kelinsky settled herself on the couch and patted the spot beside her for Paula. She placed her gnarled hands over Paula’s right hand as before. A full minute went by with the only sound the ticking of the cuckoo clock on the wall. Paula closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. Something landed in her lap. She sneezed. Opening her eyes Paula saw it was a big black cat. Where did it come from? Paula sneezed again. Allergies were such a pain. None too gently she nudged the cat to the fl oor. “Paula, I see you.” Mrs. Kelinsky fi nally spoke. “You’re lying down. I’m not sure where you are. Maybe it’s a chaise lounge you’re lying on. This must be a trip you’re on. I feel this great peace. It is such a strong feeling. Yes, you are so relaxed, so at peace with yourself.” Mrs. Kelinsky’s eyes fl uttered open. “So, where are you going, on this trip?”
“I wish. My son and his wife are going to the Carribean next week. Not me, I’m afraid. I’m just awaiting the birth of my fi rst grandchild.” “Then that must be it. You will be at peace with the baby’s birth. So relaxed.” The wrinkles around Mrs. Kelinsky’s eyes spread out like her cat’s whiskers as she smiled. Paula thanked Mrs. Kelinsky for the reading, paid and left. It was worth the fi fty dollars the psychic charged. Her ankle still throbbed but she could bear it now knowing her anxieties were unwarranted. Peace would soon be with her.
Mrs. Kelinsky peered behind her lace curtains and watched Paula as she limped down the street. It wasn’t a very good reading. What was the meaning of the vision? She did feel a great peace when she saw it. Sometimes her visions morphed into other shapes or other pictures. Not this time. Nothing else. If only her grandmother had lived long enough to teach her the symbols. Now, here she was older than her grandmother when she died and not much wiser. She saw visions all right, but only guessed at their meaning. Oh well. She only dabbled in fortune telling. The extra income was a nice addition to her Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan after working as a house cleaner all those years in Muskoka cottages after Mr. Kelinsky passed.
Mrs. Kelinsky settled herself on the old divan with her new cat and t.v. remote. The local cable news was on and she liked to watch that good looking, blonde news reader. The anchor touched his earpiece and glanced down at his desk, then steadily stared into the camera looking right at Mrs. Kelinsky. “Just in, a bus and SUV just crashed in downtown Burk’s Falls. A report is coming in… a deadly crash occurred. No one was hurt on the bus or in the SUV. It seems a pedestrian was crossing the street and didn’t see the SUV. We have live coverage with Ted Borden at the scene.”
“Hello, Neil. Apparently a lady standing at a curb was sneezing and coughing and she just stumbled right in front of the SUV. She must have been killed on impact when the bus hit the SUV and threw her several metres in the air.”
“Thank you, Ted. That was Ted Borden reporting live in Burk’s Falls at Yonge and Ontario streets.”
“Neil, before you go, I see the paramedics taking the woman away now.”
The camera moved away from the reporter and showed a local ambulance with fl ashing lights, a female O.P.P. offi cer marking the road with chalk in front of a bus and a badly damaged SUV. In the dark, lit by a line of waiting car headlights, two paramedics could be seen carrying a body on a stretcher. As leaves danced around them in little tornadoes they trotted with bent heads, to the waiting ambulance as if they too might be swept away. The brisk wind loosened the sheet covering the victim, exposing the deceased’s head. Mrs. Kelinsky’s hand went to her mouth as she smothered her scream. “Paula Holmes, may you rest in peace.”