by Susan Pease
Jo was so relieved that they were not hurt and the thought of seeing her friends again made the day seem much brighter. Thank goodness she had kept her clothes on and hadn’t ventured into the creek. After a while, the two packed up their belongings and headed for home. Jo followed and waited for them to stop, clap their hands and bring back into view the village. As expected, it all happened and caused her to shiver with glee.
‘Come back to annoy us have you? Couldn’t stay away could you?’
The old Slurp-it-Downs had returned and happily guided the thrilled girl back into the village for round two. The old Slurp-it-Downs hurried along the dirt path, slid down the grassy embankment and bounced right into the village. Following with eyes as big as saucers, Jo imagined there would now be an opportunity to find out why they made glue and what their life was all about; her only other thought was that it would have been handy to have some paper and a pen.
‘Need paper and a pen do you? Think some bark from a paperbark tree will do? Have some charcoal from the fire right here,’ announced the Slurp-it-Downs.
Oh dear! Once again, Jo forgot that the creatures could hear what she was thinking. Thoughts, thoughts and more thoughts, what on earth could she do about it? After all, she was a big thinker. Remembering that she had to talk a new way of rudeness, she snapped, ‘What do you think you silly old Slurp-it-Downs?’
He smiled in approval, reached and pulled a large strip of bark from the nearest tree.
‘You will have to take lots of notes to fill up this large piece of paper, so don’t muck it up.’
He smiled and walked away mumbling lots of rude words.
Jo was now used to being talked to in rude tones and fortunately had the hang of the language herself.
‘Get out of my way you ugly whatever,’ she said to a group of Gulp-a-Waters. They moved away smiling and said, ‘Bite your bum.’
This is brilliant! Maybe I can write a great novel on the life and times of the unusually rude creatures of the Australian bush.
Sitting down and writing, watching and talking to the creatures made Jo sleepy. It had become humid after all the rain and she still had many questions to ask. The only problem was how to ask them in acceptably rude tones. She might be getting used to the way they talked but it was becoming exhausting trying to keep up with the change in language. What do they use the mystery glue for, and why do they seem to accept her presence? The time would come too soon for her to travel home, and all her questions never seemed to get answered. She felt that the creatures would only let her stay for a few hours at a time. It was almost as if they were checking her out, making sure she was trustworthy.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if I were allowed to stay overnight? My head is spinning with questions. It just isn’t fair that the time goes so fast!
Then it dawned on her that she did not know anybody’s name. She just called all of the creatures Gulp-a-Waters and Slurp-it-Downs. The elderly Slurp-it-Downs came across to the frustrated girl.
‘Time it is to travel, must go home now.’
Jo sighed, none of her questions had been answered and she would have to return home with millions of questions keeping her awake at night. Once again the seven Gulp-a-Waters and Slurp-it-Downs arranged themselves into a circle and the travelling song rang through the trees. Jo found herself this time at the bottom of the steps of her home.
Today had been very different and her head hurt because there was so much to take in. Walking through the front door she was stopped by her mother who was enquiring on where she had been.
Oh goodness, I wonder how long I’ve been away this time. Maybe my luck has run out and I’ve been away too long.
‘Joanne, it’s nearly time for morning tea. I’ve made some scones and if you would be so kind as to set the table in the garden we can enjoy them together.’
The last thing she wanted to do was to sit and have morning tea with her mum. There were too many things to think about and then it dawned on her that it was still morning. For heaven’s sake – it should be the end of the day! There was that time warp again.
Jo suffered small talk with her mum, shuffling side to side on her garden chair.
‘Jo, will you stop rocking on the chair and listen to me. It’s as if you are off with the pixies.’
Jo knew that the reason her mother had given her the day off was to get to the bottom of her tantrum and to find out what was wrong with her. The interrogation was too painful for words. Jo managed to tell her mother all the things she wanted to hear. Now she could go to her room, relax and focus on thinking about the funny little creatures.
I wonder what names they have, and I still need to know why they boil the snot. They said it was for glue, but why would you use snot glue?
‘This mystery has me beat,’ she told Bandaid.
The dog was still wondering why Jo had been so mean to him that morning, so he kept his distance. After a while, realising the poor dog was wary of her, she apologised to him and gave him a big cuddle. All had been forgotten until she heard a large rattle coming from her wardrobe.
Why would there be something rattling in my wardrobe?
Bandaid ran under the bed in fright.
‘Let me out you pain in the butt! Get here right away you smelly whatever.’
Jo opened the door carefully and to her surprise, there was a small Slurp-it-Downs clutching a tiny teddy bear.
‘My goodness me, what are you doing here?’ questioned Jo.
‘It’s your entire fault you smelly girl thing, you managed to whisk me here when the village council travelled you home.’
Jo was extremely concerned that the Slurp-it-Downs had been missed and wondered how long it would be before her bedroom was filled with angry creatures sparring for a fight. The little Slurp-it-Downs was obviously quite young and distressed. This was not a good situation to be in.
‘Gosh, I’ll have to get you home as soon as possible. I don’t think anybody has missed you yet so that gives me time to think of a plan,’ said Jo seriously.
The little creature quietened down as soon as she saw Jo’s cat and snuggled up to it on the end of Jo’s bed. Maybe the cat reminded her of mother Slurp-it-Downs.
Think, I should be able to find a way out of this mess; I just need to think clearly.
The only thing in her favour was the strange time warp, so maybe this little Slurp-it-Downs child could be rushed home without any trouble. Hurrying downstairs, she looked around for her mother.
Nowhere to be seen thank goodness. Great, it looks like the coast is clear. If I grab the child and put her in my school bag, maybe we can sneak out.
The only trouble was how to pry the child away from the cat. The Slurp-it-Downs had now found comfort and was quite happy to stay cuddled up to the fat cat. Moving the child and separating her from the cat was going to be a challenge. Jo just hoped the creature did not yell too much and alert all the neighbours.
THE RETURN OF EIKI
It was going to take a miracle to return this child to the village. After calming down, Jo watched the sleepy Slurp-it-Downs with Tim Tam. She was so cute and cuddly, her eyes shut tight and her tiny hands grabbing hold of the cat’s tail.
‘Wish we could keep her Bandaid. It would be fun to have her living with us.’
Bandaid was not impressed and made a terrible smell once again.
‘Bandaid, I don’t know what you eat but that’s terrible! Any time soon the paint will peel off the walls. Get out and don’t come back.’
Bandaid looked at her and made it clear he thought Jo was turning into a grump.
‘Damn and blast it and pig’s bottom,’ Jo exclaimed. Oh no! Here I go again! Must be the influence of the Slurp-it-Downs child, she thought.
After finding her bag, she lifted the child and carefully placed her in it. Jo was grateful she did not wake up. As the child moved, Jo noticed some writing on the toy bear’s leg. It said, This belongs to Eiki so don’t steal it.
That must be her name, ho
w unusual.
Running down the hall, she bumped into Geoffrey, home from school.
‘Where are you going, Sis? Mum says you have to help around the house. Aunt Pepper is coming this afternoon and wants to stay for about a month. Everything needs to be in place. You know what a crabby old bag she is.’
Jo laughed at Geoffrey’s description of their eccentric aunt. He sounded just like a Gulp-a-Waters or a Slurp-it-Downs.
‘Don’t worry Geoff, I’ll be back before I’m missed. Cover for me please as I’ve got to go out for a few hours or so.’
Geoffrey hated how his sister always got away with stuff.
‘Why should I? You never do anything for me!’
It looked like brother and sister were about to have a ding-dong fight when Ted, Geoffrey’s friend, poked his head over the back fence and yelled, ‘Come on Geoff, let’s swing on the clothesline and play football.’
Geoffrey was eager to get into mischief and dashed outside to join his friend.
As the disagreeable brother left, Jo used the opportunity to take off towards the creek. Nobody was going to disturb her important mission, not even a crabby aunt. Hurrying along the road, she tripped and grazed her knees but thankfully did not drop the small child. Hurting her knees was all she needed and they bled with vigour.
Maybe I should go back home and fix my knees first.
Just as she was about to turn back a noise could be heard in the bush.
‘Got a problem do you? Need some help do you?’
Jo looked up and to her surprise, standing at the side of the road, was the grumpy elder Slurp-it-Downs.
‘How did you know I was in trouble? My knees are sore because I grazed them.’
‘Know all about it, I do. Come to help you. I have. You need some of our glue you do.’ The Slurp-it-Downs always talked in strange riddle-type language. Jo was starting to get the hang of it.
‘I need some help. I do. Use your glue will you? What can that do, tell me?’
The Slurp-it-Downs looked at the girl with such delight; the thought of her talking the same language seemed to please the old fellow. Jo remembered the day at school when everything started to go wrong yet surprisingly something kept saving her. Maybe this little fellow was her guardian angel.
‘You use the glue to heal people, do you?’ repeated Jo.
The Slurp-it-Downs was about to tell Jo all about the powers of the snot glue and rub it on her knees when a loud wail came from her school bag.
‘Hell, damn and blast it, I forgot all about Eiki!’ exclaimed the frustrated Jo.
The old Slurp-it-Downs looked scared and ran to the school bag, untied the buckle and turned a pale shade of Slurp-it-Downs grey.
‘Eiki Slurp-it-Downs what are you up to? You should be at home with your mum and dad!’
The little child started to yell at the old fellow and jumped up and down.
She eventually calmed down and the Slurp-it-Downs elder laughed at the child. He then reminded Eiki of the rule to not get too close when the council travelled somebody away.
‘This will teach you a lesson. You know that you have to do as we tell you because it’s for your own good. We don’t make rules for the sake of it my dear girl. I’d better take you home as soon as possible.’
With that, he clapped his hands and they were gone. Jo was left at the roadside, alone, with her knees still in a horrible mess.
‘Damn, blast it and bum,’ raved Jo.
This was just typical. Jo’s plans to take the child back to the village and to see all her new friends had just gone down the toilet. Going home was all she could do but it didn’t seem fair. What was left of the afternoon would be spent helping Mum clean around the house. Hobbling towards home and feeling very sorry for herself, Jo remembered what the old Slurp-it-Downs had said to her. It seemed that the glue was used for some kind of healing medicine. However, he had called it glue, not ointment; this riddle was going to drive her crazy. When at last she managed to get herself home, she found her mother in the kitchen very stressed and busy. The thought of Aunt Pepper arriving had turned the household upside down.
‘Jo! What on earth has happened to you? Let me have a closer look.’
‘It’s okay Mum. I just fell over and I’m sure it doesn’t need stitches.’
The day was not turning out the way it was supposed to and Jo’s mother looked agitated.
‘I’m afraid you will have to have stitches under your left knee; the cut is too deep and the bleeding just won’t stop. It looks like a trip to the doctors and it’s nearly closing time for the surgery. We’d better hurry.’
All Jo could think of was the frustrating Slurp-it-Downs child. She’d mucked up things, so the elder Slurp-it-Downs could not fix her with the magic glue. Now she would have to have a needle and stitches at the doctors! Jo wanted to strangle Eiki for waking up and screaming and Aunt Pepper was due any moment and there was so much to do.
Geoffrey came through the front door and turned pale at the sight of blood.
‘What happened to you Sis? Looks like you’ve been in the wars! Think I’m going to be sick. I’d better get out of here.’
Typical, that brother of mine is yellow inside, thought Jo rolling her eyes.
Geoffrey was left at home to hold the fort in case Aunt Pepper happened to turn up. All the way to the doctors, Jo wondered what she might have discovered if Eiki had not caused so much trouble.
The glue must be very powerful and important. What could they possibly use it for in the bush?
What really intrigued Jo was that the creature had known she was in trouble, even though after he had travelled to help her, he left and forgot to fix her knee. Jo felt that this kind of bad luck could only happen to her. As if the visit to the doctor wasn’t painful enough, the car got a flat tyre on the way home. Then Jo’s mum forgot to go to the supermarket and had to turn back, just when the rain started to bucket down. Aunt Pepper was running late so everybody still had enough time to clean up and prepare the guest room. Jo, on the other hand, was not able to walk and had to sit and watch.
CHAPTER THREE
Aunt Pepper Arrives
There was a knock at the front door. Aunt Pepper had arrived. Bags were stacked at the front step and everyone stared in astonishment at the amount.
‘Decided to stay for longer than a month, knew you wouldn’t mind,’ announced their aunt.
Jo’s mother lost colour and all she could do was wonder how long was “longer”. Aunt Pepper was a sort of bohemian gipsy, hippy type. Never settling down to have a family, she had travelled the world her whole life. Jo was looking forward to hearing all sorts of stories about Tibet and the Highlands in Scotland. Aunt Pepper loved to stay in the most amazing and spiritual places. The stories of ashrams in India and travelling down the Nile enchanted Jo’s sense of adventure most of all.
The day had been full of disasters and Jo found herself sore and tired. After dinner, her mum helped Jo upstairs. It wasn’t fair because it would take days before she could go back to the bush and see her friends. To make matters worse, she hadn’t been down to see Charity for such a long time. For all she knew the boat had fallen apart without her tender loving care. What if Simon had not looked after her? It’s strange that Simon hadn’t come around wanting to play. She was stressed and confused with everything in her life. The only comfort she felt was that Eiki would now be a long way from her.
No more problems for me, peace and quiet at last, she thought.
Jo turned the light out and snuggled into her doona. As she slept, guilt crept into her dreams. Eiki wasn’t really a pain, just a lost and frightened little Slurp-it-Downs. Jo felt ashamed that she had been angry with her.
The next morning brought a few challenges. First Jo had to get out of bed and negotiate the stairs. Hobbling down each step, she wished her knees were healed. The thought of being stuck in the house all day frustrated her. How boring would that be? This problem was fixed when she met Aunt Pepper in the kitchen.
‘Got yourself in a bit of strife? What if I made you some cool crutches out of scraps of gum branches? There are lots around the backyard since the big rain storm.’
Jo stared at the eccentric aunt. She was wearing brightly coloured cotton pants and a loose kaftan top, not to mention loads of beads, bangles and dangly earrings. She looked like somebody who had been dipped into a paint palate. Aunt Pepper was always keen to experiment with all sorts of artistic projects.
‘Do you really think crutches made out of sticks can work?’ asked Jo.
‘Why not? Bought ones would be so plain and boring. You need to make a statement. Let’s get creative!’ answered Aunt Pepper.
The pair went into the backyard and managed to find just the right pieces of wood to tie together with twine. After a while Jo had some very strange but original crutches.
‘Just needs some coloured string around the top and maybe a bell or two,’ announced Aunt Pepper gaily.
Jo felt better already; the crutches were an artist’s inspiration. Not to mention she was now mobile. It didn’t take long before Jo had the hang of her new crutches and exclaimed that they were her new best friends. After all, they would enable her to get around. Did she have the nerve to go into the bush? The thought did cross her mind. The best she could do; however, was to get to know Aunt Pepper.
After fruit smoothies, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, chocolate muffins and green tea, Jo was starting to actually admire her kooky aunt. All she wanted to do was listen to the tales of her travels. Hanging on to every word and laughing at all the sticky situations her Aunt had experienced, made her appreciate that she was very much the same.
Four days passed and Aunt Pepper and Jo became close friends. Aunt Pepper had a cheeky personality and that made Jo feel quite comfortable. Maybe I could confide in her and explain about the mystery of Corkuparipple Creek. If I ask her, maybe she could help me down to the end of the yard so I could visit Charity. Simon still hasn’t called around. I wonder why that is, in fact, I haven’t seen him in class, wonder what’s going on. I don’t imagine Aunt Pepper would think I’m crazy. There’s no way I could tell Mum about the creatures and goodness knows what would happen if Geoffrey found out. Charity is a member of the family, so Aunt Pepper would probably like to see her. Yes, I think tomorrow will be the right day to tell her about my secret and ask if we can visit the old boat.
