by DB Daglish
“Just to ensure no one gets the wrong idea?” she said.
The fire was for the purpose of cooking three wallabies that were on a spit. Many were sitting quietly watching the process, for few had seen this done on this scale. Bryce and Maddy split up as she joined the women to talk about women stuff. Harry motioned for Bryce to join him.
“I saw you two together...” he whispered.
“Where?”
“Back at the bach!” and he raised his eyebrows and smiled.
“Oh man, how embarrassing!”
“No, it’s alright mate, enjoy it. It’s not like I stayed to watch, I was just exploring and there you two were; going for it!” he laughed. “She is beautiful and what a killer body aye?”
“Look, it wasn’t my idea, she came on to me quite strong – what could I do?”
“Yeah, man. What a horrible predicament to be in?” and he laughed loudly as he slapped Bryce on the back got up and walked away. Looking around, and still a little embarrassed, he saw Maddy briefly look toward him and wink and offer a very slight smile. Bryce raised his eyebrows quickly and smiled back. It only then he caught Ryan smiling at him, his hand held to his chest in a thumbs up position. With his head now slightly bowed Bryce went a little red. Few noticed the exchange, but Faith and Gloria were fully aware. Being the newest to this family they would often watch while saying nothing, just to work out how this group ticked; for they worked very well together and they were both very pleased to be part of it.
That night they ate and sang and told stories while the fires burned on. From time to time various ones would come and go, in particular the known couples; but who knew what was really going on that place for everything seemed so perfect here. There was an intense energy in the air and even Bryce and Maddy were able to sneak off again, finding an old double mattress piled high with bedding and blankets that others had obviously used that night. There was a soft glow of embers of a small fire beside it. They were slower and more deliberate this time, there was no rush, and even a brief interruption where someone softly called, “Oops sorry, we’ll come back later,” and did not disturb them. For it seemed word had spread and there was now a queue of sorts forming back at the main fires.
As good as the sex was, Bryce became startled by a passionate turn of events as Maddy began to work more on his lips and run her hands over his body.
“Can I tell you something Bryce?” she whispered.
“Sure?”
She stopped and straddled his chest. His hands reached for her small ass but she told him to stop.
“I am very sexual. I don’t like too much commitment and I will admit I would have been happy to try every man in your group…” and she paused.
“But?”
“But…I feel something I have not since I was nineteen and fell in love for the first time. Derec died of an infection from a cut. I have hopped from bed to bed ever since, except I had two solid years with Jono…the one they found on the top balcony?”
Bryce nodded, recalling the discussion the day before.
“But…there was not much…”
She stopped, her hand caressed his face and then she ran her fingers through his chest hair for she seemed fascinated by it. She was silent for sometime while she looked into his eyes in the flickering firelight.
“I know it’s fast, but I think I’m falling in love with you?”
He smiled up at her. “I’m all ok with that Maddy,” and a tear dripped down the side of his face.
“Are you crying?” she asked. Her finger rubbed his temple feeling the wetness of a tear as it ran into his ear. “Why?”
“Because I haven’t heard those words in many, many years and it makes me very happy!”
“Tears of joy?”
“Yes!” he said, and at that she leaned down to kiss him passionately, and telling him to lie still, took him somewhere he hadn’t been in a long while.
“You’re back already?” Janie asked of Ho. She was fully aware of the subtle arrangement in where the other holiday homes were behind the trees.
“Oh man, someone is hogging it I think,” Ho said, wanting his time with Tia.
“Maddy and Bryce!”
“No, I haven’t seen them. Where are they?”
“No, I mean its Maddy and Bryce holding you two up. Give them time; they are forging something new between themselves.”
“Here?” she said handing them a windup torch. “Go and find another bach, pull out some stuff and build another fire, that way we all don’t have to wait so long.”
“We could go back to the boats I suppose,” he suggested.
“Really?” she asked. “Do you see a dingy on shore? You’ve been beaten to that by about half an hour my friends. Just go make your own bed to lie on!”
Ho then took the torch and taking Tia’s hand they disappeared into the bush for their own private time together.
Few were up early as the morning appeared. It was not until at least the middle of the day that the community was even close to being in one place.
The mood was both calm and electric all at the same time. It was as if everyone was satisfied with an unsatisfied satisfaction.
Chapter 14
Fallon climbed Mount Gower every day of the last four weeks to gaze out to sea, hoping to see some evidence of the return the yachts. Donny often came with her and occasionally even Eric tagged along, but usually only when Donny wasn’t around; something Fallon hadn’t noticed yet. Donny was aware of it and withdrew from his regular walks, choosing instead to sit at the beach.
“I tell you,” Eric said, puffing from the climb. I’m getting fitter every day but I still can’t match your strength. How old are you if you don’t mind me asking?”
Fallon turned to wait for Eric as he clambered over some rocks, extending her hand to help him up.
“Forty-three.”
“Really?”
He looked at her for a while. Her face showed signs of the ageing wrinkles you would expect being outdoors so often, but her face shone with a youthful look and her short stumpy figure belied her fitness level.
“Well, you are fitter than some I know in their thirties, that’s for sure,” he said as he looked out to sea, startled by what he saw.
“Look!”
As Fallon turned to see a vessel far out to sea. With an excited expectation she took out her binoculars and examined the boat.
“It’s an old ketch,”
“How do you tell?” Eric asked.
“Two masts, but they are both broken, old sail remnants are hanging off her, but she’s too far away to go and check out. Besides, there’s no one on board…look at the state of her!” and she handed the binoculars over.
All Eric could see was sea birds on the deck and the untidy state of it and the thick growth of barnacles and weed on its sides. “Look like it’s listing a little too! Probably been floating out there for years.”
“It’s the one we saw when we first came this way I think?” she said. “Well, it’s not one of ours anyway,” and she let out a deep sigh.
Eric placed his hand on her shoulder.
“You miss them don’t you?”
“Of course I do, they are my family.”
“I have watched you climb up this mountain nearly every day for the last few weeks. Are you fretting for them?” he asked.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. But it would seem strange that all four yachts have not returned. A storm couldn’t wipe out all four!”
“An attack on the mainland perhaps?”
“I’d hate to think they were all murdered Eric,” she said sadly as she looked at him with a tear in her eye. Just as quickly she caught herself. “No, that would be stupid. Who would kill twenty five people? No…there has to be another explanation, something that would prevent them returning!”
“Another outbreak like the first?” Eric suggested.
“That would seem odd; I don’t think that would be possible. There are not enough people lef
t to create anything like that!”
They sat there in the stiff breeze for quite some time, the sun warming their faces.
“Damn!”
“What?” asked Eric.
“No. Just Damn! I have no idea why they haven’t returned and I miss them. There is this huge expanse of ocean between them and me and it feels heavy. I cannot explain it how it feels.”
“I used to find writing things down helped. Try that when we get back down?”
“Actually Eric. Can I just stay up here alone for a while? No offense, it’s not you…I just need time alone…”
At first he thought he had said the wrong thing. But commonsense prevailed as he realized she was grieving, knowing her friends would not be returning. As this thought hit him he left quietly, not getting twenty paces before she called to him.
“Eric!”
Expectantly he turned. She was smiling slightly.
“Thank you! - I’ll see you in a few hours,” she said as she turned out toward the sea once more.
Now he did not feel so rejected. And he waited at the bottom of the mountain beside the old tree until she returned. He saw her as she approached and she smiled at him. Saying nothing he joined her as they walked back to the houses. Finally he asked a question he could not contain.
“Finished?”
“Yes,” she said taking his hand as they walked. “I have let them go. I only hope Donny can do the same?”
That evening she pulled him aside.
“You know I have known you since you were born Donny. Along with Geo and Sam, I pledged to look after you. Now I feel like I have failed you all.”
“No, that’s not…” he began to say, but she put a finger to his lips.
“But I haven’t. Circumstances have occurred beyond our control. I do not believe they are coming back although I have no idea why. We will have to live out the rest of our lives here!”
“I know. I came to the same conclusion about two weeks ago when I realized Eric was interested in you, and would only go up the mountain with you when I was not around. So I stayed behind.”
She laughed.
“Well Donny, you were more aware of it than I was. But - back to this island. Are you ok with it?”
“I am happy to be here. If I cannot go home, this is the type of place I would choose to live!”
“Good. Because this is now our home. And that night she put her feelings into two sentences, wrote them out on some heavy paper, and nailed them to the wall of the main meeting house as a final act of release.
“I can feel the expanse of ocean between them and I. It’s weight seems to try to drag me off this mountain.”
Chapter 15
As the Southern Spirit left the bay ahead of everyone else, a whale surfaced before them, exuding a plume of fine spray that showered everyone as they laughed in delight.
“That must be why that sculpture was at the end of the road?” Karen exclaimed. “This must be a place they come to?”
“Well, did you not read the sign girl?” laughed Ricki.
“What sign?”
But that just made them all laugh harder. For the area was once a whale station where the southern right whales were hunted for their blubber oil. They still arrive here as they had for millennia, but now to calve and live, not to calve and die. The peace of the planet now meant all these creatures would once again thrive undisturbed.
Once into the open ocean they headed southeast, aiming for the lower southern island of their homeland. The voyage was, for all intents and purposes, uneventful. The weather was fair for that part of the world and the winds were always in their favor. The Taranaki suffered a rigging failure and for several hours running repairs were undertaken as they continued, although a little slower and closer together. A few more sea birds began to appear and then a small number of black ones flew by.
“Hey, I recognize those birds,” Don said. “They come from the Titi Islands. I think you’ll find we’ll see land soon but let’s keep it to portside as there are some nasty reefs in the straight.”
He radioed the Gloria but the equipment suddenly failed and they had to signal her manually. Indeed many sailing ships hundreds of years before had come to grief when exploring this land. At least Don was aware of the area having spent time fishing around the southern island with some mates several times. It wasn’t long before the clouds on the horizon parted just enough to see a dark mass to their left. It seemed that Tia had once again guided them almost to within a few miles of their target. The charts she used were accurate, but she had an uncanny ability to navigate as if by instinct. To be where they were so this early in the day, meant they could pass the southern tip of the island and take shelter in one of the eastern bays before continuing up the country.
Few had ever seen this part of the country and it seemed similar to Tasmania in look and feel; though a little colder. They noticed the wildlife was more prolific though, and eventually they found a wide bay where they could stay a day or two. The freshwater supplies were replenished, fish were caught, and a few crayfish joined them at the fire. A small seal was shot and spit roasted, and although it was a little too fatty for most, provided some much needed bulk after their ocean journey.
The Taranaki’s rigging was replaced with spares from the other yachts, and Don fashioned some parts in an old workshop ashore. Within two days they were happy enough to leave and head for Dunedin to see what had become of Ryan, Don and Karen’s home after ‘the event’. But unexpectedly the weather turned upon them and howling winds buffeted the yachts even in the comparative shelter of the bay. Had they been caught in winds this strong while still in the open ocean, it would have been disastrous. Therefore, none dared mention it as the temperature abruptly plummeted and an unseasonal snowfall blanketed the boats, something those from Australia, or the island, had never seen.
“Well, if we were on land and the snow fell gently enough you’d be out in it. It’s magical stuff,” Don defended. But few agreed with him because it felt too cold with the wind. In the minds of those who had never seen it before, snow meant freezing; and nothing else.
The storm only lasted a day. The yachts were covered with condensation inside from everyone’s breathing in a confined space while they shut the excessive cold out. With the skies beginning to clear and the winds subsiding, they set sail for the mainland and up the eastern coast with the winds behind them. Two days later they entered the harbor on an incoming tide. They had no motors and had to rely on the push of the tide to get far enough in for the night and managed as far as the old port. Here one of the huge container cranes had fallen, but no one took much interest. It took another day of tacking in the channel to reach the old wharves of the city proper.
Don ensured he was the first to step ashore, startling a few cats around the various port buildings as he did so.
“Well, at least there are cats here!” he said as he called back down below. Everyone seemed relieved. The lack of cats had always been an ill omen since Newcastle. Ryan now joined him. In some ways, this was home, and it’s seemed strange to be back in this place.
Twenty seven years had transformed the city as any other around the world. Faded paint on buildings - weeds and grass where roads once were once only covered in black bitumen. Trees grew out of unusual orifices in the buildings, and debris blew about like an old ghost town of the Wild West. Bits of concrete lay around across the street where the wharves ended. It seemed odd that buildings would have pieces falling off them so quickly. Even Pripyat, the old abandoned town near the leaking nuclear plant of Chernobyl in Russia did not have this much decay after twenty five years.
“It’s all clear guys. You can come up now,” he called as he lowered the rifle.
“Seem weird to you?” he asked of Ryan as the others climbed the ladders.
“Overgrowth is normal – but yeah!” he agreed.
“What about that?” he asked pointing to the distant buildings.
“Has there been an eart
hquake?”
“Seems like it,” agreed Don.
By now Karen stood with them. These three had lived here after the first death.
“Things look funny somehow,” she said.
“Earthquake. There must have been an earthquake! The glass building here I thought was just age, this must have been quite a shake!” Ryan confirmed.
By now everyone was gathered on the end of the wharf.
“A bit dull here isn’t it?” Dirk asked. There was nothing here that seemed interesting, and it was a bit cold for his liking.
“Well, it was no tropical paradise that’s for sure, but it was home for a while, and there are lots of memories here…so don’t knock it for our sakes ok?” Ryan pleaded.
“Sorry,” Dirk said.
“No, it’s ok, I’m not telling you off, because what you said is true. But treat this place with some reverence for our sakes because some special things happened in this town.”
“What do we do now then?” Dirk asked again; a little bored.
“Well, you can stay here and see if you can catch some fish for us, but Karen and I want to visit the esplanade, the tower block and Zingari up on the hill there. Are you up for it Don?”
“Actually, I might just quietly walk up to the old place and wait for you there in a few hours time. Gives me a good chance to reflect and rest. You guys go on.”
Several went with them toward the beach while the others stayed with the yachts. They planned to leave the next morning and decided to see what they could raid from the gardens of nearby houses for anything useful for eating. As Don wandered off on his own, Faith decided to follow to keep him company.
“As long as we don’t talk when we are there. I just want to sit and reflect, but you can explore around once we are there!”
“All good,” she said. “I can tell you though; this temperature at this time of year makes me miss home!”
”I’m sure it does,” laughed Don. “I’m sure it does,” and they talked for a while until climbing the hill left Don out of breath. He was sixty-four after all.
