Unsung Memory
October 1, 2025Like an unsung memory, for years, I had a recurring dream about the Montmorency Falls in Québec. I would drift in the rushing water towards the falls, not panicking, but just before going over the top, I would grab a branch that hung nearby.
They say that waterfall dreams can represent powerful emotions, cleansing, or feeling overwhelmed. Hanging by a branch suggests feeling unsure of your footing, while the rushing waters symbolize a chaotic or turbulent period. This seemed fitting, as we had just moved to Ontario to escape the political unrest in Québec City during the October Crisis.
As a child, we drove past these falls every Sunday on our way to my grandparents’ farmhouse for dinner, never stopping to admire their majestic beauty up close. Even when I returned years later with my son, my uncle dismissed them as unimportant and discouraged a visit. I later learned that my parents had spent the afternoon after their wedding posing for photos in front of the falls. “That was our honeymoon,” my mom would joke.
Years had passed before I finally visited my birthplace ‘alone’ for the first time. I booked an Auberge within walking distance of these damn falls as if I were on a mission. The Inn-Keeper was friendly but nosy, questioning the reasons for visiting alone as if I were on trial. Picture a small village of fewer than 9,000 people stuck in another era.
The dining room was dimly lit, and the staging was dated. There were framed pictures of the Montmorency Falls on the left of the entrance, which continued up the stairs.
“They are 30 meters taller than Niagara Falls,” I proclaimed, as if it were front-page news. She nodded like she didn’t care, brushing off my excitement about the local attraction while staring at the desserts I had picked up at the IGA grocery store.
I told her I was finally visiting the falls in the morning, for the first time after all these years. After an awkward silence, I began to tell her of my recurring dream for small talk, interjecting with laughter, but making sure I was telling my best narrative when she blurted out, all serious, “You’re not gonna jump, are you?”
