nova scotia gothic
you’ve seen several signs welcoming you to a small town, but no houses, only overgrown driveways. there are people who live here, but you’re too busy avoiding the potholes to notice.
you’re driving across the causeway. sea spray hits your windshield. you activate your wipers, but you still can’t see anything. you didn’t think the causeway was this long.
there’s a man standing on the docks. his face is weathered, his hands rugged. he’s been there a long time. “nasty weather we’re having,” he tells you. it’s sunny.
you’re walking in the bay of fundy at low tide. the mud is pulling at your boots. water is pooling a few feet away. you forgot to check the tide schedule. a wave washes over your feet. the tide is coming in.
the government keeps putting up signs about upcoming highway construction, but they don’t seem to have hired a construction company. no one remembers the last time the roads were paved.
you thought the ocean was to your right, but now you see it to your left. no matter how far you drive, you can always see the ocean. you keep driving.
some of your friends have never left the province. you wonder if they ever will.
