Ghost Story

years ago I took the guy who owns the store in
Sprague River to my favorite fishing spot down
from my house here across from Council Butte
where they signed the peace treaty for the Modoc
War and I showed him the rocks like fingers that
go down to the shore and the foot deep grinding
bowl that is in one of them and I told him to imagine
when the Indian women would prepare meals there
so long ago and that blew his mind but right around
then I started smelling a heavy BenGay smell and I
asked him if he had any of it on an injured shoulder
or something and he said no and that he didn't smell
anything so I took him back to the store got some
beer and wine and went over to visit some friends at
the bottoms which was kind of a hobo jungle where
everyone lived in old dilapidated overhead campers
but all I could smell was BenGay and it was starting
to bother me so I asked them if they had any of it on
or could smell it and no no was all they would say so
we drank all afternoon and into the night and I was
getting to where I could hardly breathe from that
heavy menthol smell so anyway my friends started
asking me again about all the Indians I knew and
right then pow it motherfucking hit me with goose
bumps up the arms the whole shot it was Old Fella
shit Jesus he was an elder who I just recently had the
extreme honor of being pallbearer for because we
would party together and me and this other white
partner would kind of look after him a real character
who would only speak Paiute except every once in
awhile when your back was turned he'd say something
in English just to piss you off and he would always
smell of BenGay because he was so damned old now
exactly the moment I realized this the heavy odor
completely disappeared which was a relief but I got
real scared not knowing what it all meant so I said
goodbye to my friends and decided to drive over to
see Gow who was kind of an unofficial Chief who could
tell me something so I get over to Beatty about one
in the morning and wake his ass up and he comes
out and sits with me in the car and I tell him the whole
story and he says no no Old Fella was just giving you a
sign that he was ok and not to worry but I tell him I
don't know man it seemed like way more than that to
me but Gow just says don't worry don't worry and goes
back into his trailer and I just sit there for awhile and
begin to think that yeah he is probably right it was just
the old man touching bases so I drive on home to sleep
it off but now here is where the whole thing gets unreal
the very next day my Paiute old lady who I have been
arguing with for a week gets hit by a train and killed