“Father!” she called loudly as she neared the village. “Father, come quick.”
Father met Alma’s panicked calls at the edge of the village, and between heaving breaths she quickly explained what she had found. But Father just nodded gravely. “It’s fine, Alma. Just forget it—I will deal with her.”
He turned away from Alma and marched towards their hut.
“Forget it?” said Alma in shock, hurrying to keep up with him. “No! Father, why was there a body in the river? Who is she?”
At the door of their hut, Father turned angrily towards her. “Why do you have to be so curious,” he asked sternly. “Why? Everyone else is content, except for you.”
Alma stuck her chin out in stubbornness, and her father rubbed one hand over his face. “I’m sorry. But if you didn’t go exploring you would never have . . . Look . . . it’s no major concern and you may as well know.”
Alma stood silently, feeling excited despite the disturbing turn of events. She was going to get some answers. And then her belly clenched in fear, and she wondered if she really wanted to know. Father ushered her inside the hut, where he began rummaging through their belongings, looking for warm clothes and a blanket.
“The way that girl arrived? From River? That is also how you first arrived at Island. In fact, it’s how we all came here. We arrive from River, then we stay on Island until we get the call. And then we leave.”
Alma gaped, but there was no time to ask questions—Father had a pile of clothes in his arms and was already running upstream towards the girl.
Alma sat on the floor of the hut and thought about what he had said. She reached into the recesses of her mind, and realised that she had no recollection of being born. She couldn’t remember being smaller or younger—it was as though she had always been this way.
But she couldn’t remember arriving at Island either. How long had she been here? It seemed as though she had just opened her eyes one day and this was her existence. Was there something before Island? Were they birthed by the land?
There were too many unknowns, she decided. She needed to know the truth.
Without waiting for her father to come back, Alma sprinted down to the shore and dragged one of the canoes into the ocean. She knew that if she didn’t do it now she would lose all resolve and probably never leave Island. Ziel, who was on the rocks fishing, saw what she was doing and raised his hand, palm open. Alma wasn’t sure if he was telling her to stop or waving goodbye. She leapt into the small canoe, then raised one hand back at him in a fearful farewell.
As she plunged her paddle into the choppy seas, Alma glanced back over her shoulder. Some of the villagers were watching her leave, but many were simply continuing with their tasks. She knew that in a few minutes her father would arrive back at the village with the newcomer. Her eyes prickled with tears. Would the girl become his new daughter now that Alma had left? Was she making a terrible mistake?
But no, Edge was calling. She loved her community, and she did appreciate the safety that Island provided for her, but she refused to live in darkness any longer. She had to find out what lay beyond.
Alma focused all of her energy into digging her paddle deep into the water and pulling the canoe along. As she got closer and closer to Edge, Alma braced herself for the storm she was sure would unleash its fury upon her, like in her dreams. But it never came. The sea was calm, and slowly Island grew smaller and smaller, until the people on the beach merged with the sand and palm trees.
After a while, Alma didn’t need to paddle so hard anymore—the current dragged her swiftly along and away from Island. She felt a moment of panic in her chest—there was no turning back now.
She wondered if she would plunge off Edge like the waterfall crashing into the rocks on Island. Would she land amongst the stars? Or would her boat collide with an enormous wall and she would be pinned against it by the current until she starved to death or drowned?
One minute she was paddling along, and the next, Edge was right in front of her. To her wonder, no waterfall appeared at all, and no solid barrier either. Instead, there was just a wall of pure white light.
Alma didn’t feel scared anymore. As the light embraced her body, she closed her eyes, certain that this was what she was destined to do.
“JUST ONE MORE PUSH,” said the woman dressed in white, and with a cry the newborn baby entered the world.
The nurse scooped the child up in her arms and checked her over. “You’re an old soul,” she murmured, placing the tiny child onto her mother’s chest.
The baby’s pale blue eyes looked around in astonishment. A mark the colour of sunset stretched across her face, from her forehead to her right cheek. The baby yawned widely and snuggled into her mother’s embrace. As she fell into a blissful sleep, all memories of islands and edges faded, dissolved by the fluorescent glow of the hospital lights.
First published in Beginnings by Deadset Press (2018).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ALANAH Andrews, like most humans, dislikes writing about herself in the third person. She shares regular snippets of random thoughts on http://www.facebook.com/alanahandrewsauthor and also has a website which occasionally gets updated: http://www.alanahandrews.com. She regularly has arguments with herself about whether 1984, Brave New World, or The Handmaid’s Tale are most reminiscent of reality. You can download Alanah’s YA dystopian novella about a future where emotions are forbidden, ‘The Harvest’ for free from all retailers.
Thank you
THANK YOU FOR PURCHASING this book and supporting the Australian bushfire relief effort. All proceeds are going to WWF's Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund, and Red Cross Disaster Relief & Recovery. If you enjoyed Stories of Hope, please consider leaving a review so that others can find this collection.
ALSO BY DEADSET PRESS
Annual Anthologies
Beginnings: Australian Speculative Fiction Vol. 1
Journeys: Australian Speculative Fiction Vol. 2
Zodiac Series
Capricorn: Speculative Fiction Inspired by the Zodiac
Aquarius: Speculative Fiction Inspired by the Zodiac
Pisces: Speculative Fiction Inspired by the Zodiac
Drowned Earth Novellas
Prequel short story: Shards of Silver by Alanah Andrews (FREE GIFT)
The Rise by Sue-Ellen Pashley
Fire Over Troubled Water by Nick Marone
Submerged City by Austin P. Sheehan
Tides of War by Marcus Turner
The Jindabyne Secret by Jo Hart
River of Diamonds by S. M. Isaac
Salvaged by C.A. Clark
Emoto's Promise by Shel Calopa
All books can be found on the Aussie Speculative Fiction website or through regular sales channels.
www.aussiespeculativefiction.com
Stories of Hope Page 37
