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The Thirteenth Step

I was about ten or twelve when it happened. My parents had guests over from somewhere, and were eager to show them the charms of small town living.

One night after dinner, my parents offered to take our guests to the Mill Dam down at the end of our street to see the fish jumping. Everyone agreed this would be great fun and they set off.

For some reason that I can't recall, I didn't join the adults in their walk down the street. Instead, I was about 15 minutes behind and walked by myself.

I had seen the fish jump a million times, so the intrigue was not as strong for me.

At the entrance of the Mill Dam, you could either follow the winding road down to the parking lot, or take a short cut down 40 or so steps and end up at the same place. Needless to say, I took the steps.

I hopped down each one, counting out loud, "One, Two, Three", etc. I must have been in a pretty good mood.

However, when I hit the thirteenth step, something caught my attention. I screamed, ran back up all thirteen steps and back to my house at breakneck speed. I breathlessly told my brothers what I had seen on the doomed thirteenth step.

"It was a snake! Big and black with yellow and green stripes...it was huge."

My brothers just laughed. They explained that it probably was a Garter snake and likely no more than 14 inches long. But, when you're just a kid whose never seen a snake in real life, this is huge.

Catherine Thomson still counts the steps, "One, Two, Three," as she walks the streets of Toronto, Ontario.