The Mysteries Of Corkuparipple Creek: Corkuparipple Creek Worlds Apart

by Susan Pease

  The wombat was naturally in a dreadful state. He was having trouble breathing and had become very weak. The Slurp-it-Downs took out some snot glue and rubbed it onto the wombat’s nose. He calmed down and it was not long before he waddled away feeling so much better.

  ‘See what humans can do to the animals! If we hadn’t come along, this innocent creature would have died. Sometimes I feel that all our work is in vain.’

  Eiki reminded the old Slurp-it-Downs that their work was never in vain and that one day their message would eventually get through to the humans.

  ‘Yes, when the entire planet has been destroyed!’ snarled the Slurp-it-Downs.

  ‘The stupid humans pollute the rivers but feel it’s their right to overfish in our oceans. Soon there’ll be no fish left and no clean waters either in the creeks or in the large oceans. I hear that now they are about to kill innocent whales, the most loving and spiritual mammal of them all; just don’t know what’s wrong with their thinking.’

  Jo decided to keep a very low profile, after all, she was a human and she felt that her very presence was causing tension.

  THE TUNNELS OF KNOWLEDGE

  As they reached the end of the bush track, Jo found a rope tethered to a fence.

  ‘We’re here at last. Everybody, gather together,’ ordered the old Slurp-it-Downs.

  He grabbed the rope and pulled with all his might. Two figures materialised from nowhere.

  ‘Edward, how nice of you to drop in,’ said one.

  ‘Oh yes, what a jolly, happy surprise,’ said the other.

  Jo stared. Her mouth nearly hit the ground. How wonderfully polite were these two fellows. They were gnome-like with strikingly handsome faces. The pair was dressed in green loincloths with precious stones around their necks. On their heads were Akubra hats with magpie feathers tucked in the sides. Jo was astonished that their manners did not offend the other creatures.

  The most startling thing of all was that they called the old Slurp-it-Downs, Edward.

  What an extraordinary, normal name, thought Jo.

  Everybody appeared happy to see the new arrivals. Edward asked them to chant their magic and before everybody’s eyes, a massive hole appeared but it had no solid sides and floated lightly in front of them. How can a hole appear from nothing?

  ‘Come on, let’s get going,’ ordered the Slurp-it-Downs.

  The new arrivals stepped into the hole, followed by Edward and the rest of the creatures. Jo swayed and felt dizzy, she was confused. Once again, Eiki came to the rescue and grabbed her hand to pull her towards the hole. A labyrinth of winding turns appeared – it was a sophisticated tunnel system beneath the earth! As they walked through the root systems of the vegetation above them, sparkles of bright white light illuminated their path. Everybody seemed relaxed and content to follow the new pair.

  ‘They are the gnomes of free spirits, everybody has a spirit. When we have a decision, we sit and meditate and they will give us the right answer,’ whispered Eiki. ‘My mum told me all about them because they are quite famous.’

  Jo thought this was all too confusing but accepted what she was being told.

  ‘What are their names, they must have names?’ asked Jo.

  ‘Oh yes, the taller of the two is called In and the smaller one is called Sight. When you put the two together it makes the word Insight.’

  As they walked through the tunnels the taller gnome, In, pointed out sick root structures.

  ‘The fire has burnt most of the bush but the bush needs fire to regenerate so ultimately it will be fine. Unfortunately, the living force of the trees and surrounding bushes are dying. The soul is disturbed with all the pollution and disregard for the earth’s treasures. People are sending negative, greedy vibes throughout the root systems of the world. We need to change the consciousness of the humans. They must appreciate and learn that love, acceptance and saving the environment is the key to a better life. They need to heal the earth.’

  Jo gazed intently; she had never thought much about the environment. She loved the freedom she gained by running through the bush. She took it all for granted and expected that it would always be there. Now she was beginning to appreciate her Aunt Pepper’s passion. She’d travelled the world, tried all sorts of spiritual journeys, and yet eventually found peace in her own backyard. She now understood why her Aunt prayed for help. The world was in an awful mess and it was getting sicker by the minute. Jo made the decision that it was about time she followed her aunt’s example and focused on saving the planet. Jo’s mum always laughed at her sister’s antics. Nevertheless, Jo was now more determined to become just like Aunt Pepper. It must be in the plan of her life because she too, like her aunt, had found out about the Gulp-a-Waters and the Slurp-it-Downs.

  ‘Unacceptable, outrageous, not good enough!’ exclaimed Edward as the group walked through the tunnel system.

  In and Sight pointed out to everybody the messages they were receiving from all the roots hanging under the earth.

  ‘You can get messages from all the living things through their roots. We are notified when there will be an earthquake in Indonesia or a tsunami in the ocean. Everything is exposed down here; the trouble is, the people above don’t take the time to watch nature. They miss the signs that are put in front of them, not seeing past their noses. If ants run around and change their habits, sure enough the weather is about to change. If the birds disappear, there will be a storm or disaster. If animals race up to higher ground, you can be sure there will be a flood. It is all a matter of logical thoughts; insight, which unfortunately is what people today seem to be missing. All they think about is how they can get the next big television or that red sports car; both of which drain the earth of its energy and pollute our beautiful world. Soon there will be no planet.’

  Jo was happy now; she was receiving lessons that were useful. Not like the boring lessons Mr Heathmont threw down their throats.

  The journey then stopped and In and Sight clapped their hands and the group arrived in the middle of the village. In and Sight begged their departure and disappeared. As soon as Eiki saw her parents, she was off. The Mother Slurp-it-Downs didn’t seem worried at all that Eiki had been gone for a while.

  Jo sighed; Wish my mum didn’t panic.

  Aunt Pepper came out of one of the treehouses; her face was hot and flustered as she had been boiling snot all day.

  ‘Jo my darling girl, how are you? Are your mum and brother okay? Is your house safe after all the fires, and how is your leg?’

  Jo smiled at her aunt, there were so many questions.

  ‘When are you coming home? Life is so boring without you!’ answered Jo pleadingly.

  ‘Never let life be boring my girl, just go with the flow. That’s unless some idiot wants to destroy rainforests; then fight and chain yourself to a tree!’

  The enthusiasm of Aunt Pepper made Jo laugh. Time bothered Jo; she was worried that it may be time to travel home. All day she had been underground with the gnomes.

  ‘Worried about the time? Don’t worry my girl. By my calculations you have only been away from home for about thirty minutes. It’s probably only ten am,’ commented Pepi.

  What luck, now she didn’t have to stress. Jo suddenly felt ashamed for being cross with her aunt on the last visit. Aunt Pepper knew what she was doing; the townspeople didn’t really forget about Jo. They were just pleased to see their Pepi back. Feeling foolish and embarrassed, she decided to go “with the flow” as her Aunt had just advised. Aunt Pepper felt sorry for Jo; it must have been torture being stopped at every point; not knowing about the mystery of Corkuparipple Creek, so close yet so far.

  ‘Today you will find out who we are and what our work is, I promise. Firstly let’s prepare refreshments, everybody looks famished.’

  Cheese of all types, home-baked bread; wine and olives, meat and salads were all laid out. Jo was amazed how wonderful the food was, there were even cooked yabbies from the creek. This was the best time of Jo’s life. Th
e light in the bush village started to darken. Shadows danced across the ground, thrown by the huge gum trees. The sun sank slowly before disappearing for the day. Aunt Pepper reminded Jo that she would never let her be late for her mother.

  ‘Relax and have fun.’

  Music played and the creatures danced. A beautiful white owl sat nearby in a gum tree, wise and full of hope for new beginnings. ‘You know Jo, when a white owl sits close by it usually means good luck, maybe your luck is about to change,’ said Aunt Pepper.

  Jo wondered when she would hear about the secret and she tingled in anticipation.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The Greatest Shock Of Jo’s Life

  After some time, the village council went indoors for a meeting; they had to find a solution to the firebug. Everything was getting out of hand and the creatures had to devise a plan. The elders filed into the meeting room and Jo was left outside wondering what was going to be decided. They had to find the person responsible so they could prevent further fires. Jo sat around the dying fire poking a stick into the hot coals. The flames danced around the logs, reminding her of how important fire was to everybody. She also recognised how dangerous it could be. Jo went up to the treehouse door; they had been in a meeting for ages. With her ear glued to the door, she tried to hear anything of interest. When she peeked through a hole in the bark, Jo got the greatest shock of her life. Her headmaster Mr Dill, the greengrocer Mr Page and numerous other towns-people were sitting in a circle around a large wooden table. What was going on? She had only seen the Gulp-a-Waters and Slurp-it-Downs go in there? For a moment she froze, had she lost her mind? Her overactive imagination may have caused her to see the strange vision. One of the topics they were discussing was about the precautions that had been put in place for Jo’s protection.

  Jo panicked and ran towards the creek, her heart pounding in her chest.

  I have to get out of here, something is seriously wrong.

  While running from the village Jo tripped and fell and lost consciousness. The moon drifted in and out of sight behind the shifting evening clouds. Birds started their nightcalls and a mist floated hauntingly through the gums. When Jo awoke; she put her face to her knees, her hands gripping her ankles. She started rocking backwards and forwards, as if she were having a fit. There was stunned silence and pain began to move in. Back at the village, the meeting had finished and the Gulp-a-Waters and Slurp-it-Downs ambled out of the treehouse. Aunt Pepper was reasonably happy with the outcome of the meeting and looked around the village for Jo. After searching in all possible places she enquired as to where her niece was. Nobody seemed to know and she was taken aback when she noticed a piece of Jo’s clothing hanging on the lower branches of a tree.

  ‘Did something upset her while I was in the meeting? I thought you would have looked after her well enough,’ said Aunt Pepper to a group of young creatures.

  Aunt Pepper’s face was expressionless; she wiped her face with a cloth. Darkness had fallen thickly around them. They had to find her; it was dangerous for her to be wandering around alone. A search party took off; all terrified that something may happen to the girl.

  Meanwhile, Jo was in a real mess and all she could think about was getting home.

  Try to travel home, must get home, why can’t I travel?

  She felt so alone in the middle of a circle of thick imposing trees. The thought that there could be a million eyes watching her gave her the creeps. Every sound was accentuated and a chill was whipping through and around her body. She tried to stand up, her head hurt, she swayed, confused. Then Jo remembered what she thought she had seen; townspeople in the treehouse instead of the Gulp-a-Waters and Slurp-it-Downs. Impossible, she must have imagined it.

  Jo seemed to be walking forever, her ears ringing and her head throbbing from the bang inflicted when she fell. Something went whooshing past her ear. Suddenly she felt peaceful, her breathing started to slow down. A white light hovered over Jo and gently settled down beside her.

  ‘Jo, don’t be afraid, I am your will to continue, and the strength you have within.’

  Boy, that was some hit on the head, thought Jo.

  She followed the guiding light right to the edge of the bush. Jo had made slow progress along the track, and finally recognised the clearing.

  Nearly home, thank goodness.

  It had just been one of those days.

  When Jo reached the verandah of her house, her brother was sitting on the step playing with his toy cars.

  ‘What’s happened to you Sis, there’s blood running down your face.’

  Jo put up her hand and froze when blood dripped through her fingers.

  ‘By the way, Aunt Pepper’s back, she’s in the kitchen with Mum. Never seen her in such a state! Mum’s trying to calm her down. Out of character for her, don’t you think?’

  Stumbling through the door Jo entered the kitchen; expressions of disbelief and horror on the faces of Jo’s mother and Aunt Pepper. Blood was everywhere and Jo looked pale and was obviously very weak.

  ‘She looks as if she’s in shock, get the brandy out!’ yelled her mother.

  Aunt Pepper glared at her sister and politely said, ‘Get a glass out for your mother Geoffrey; Jo will only need some Rescue Remedy, not a swig of brandy for heaven’s sake Call an ambulance and everybody needs to calm down. We should keep Jo quiet and get that damn dog from under my feet!’ suggested Aunt Pepper as she tripped over Bandaid. Jo’s mother grabbed some wet cloths and pressed them to Jo’s head.

  Aunt Pepper’s voice all of a sudden broke with relief. She dashed outside, probably to call off the search; thankfully the ambulance took no time at all to appear.

  When Jo was lifted onto the stretcher, she looked up.

  Oh no the ambulance people look a lot like the Gulp-a-Waters and Slurp-it-Downs. Here I go again. Looks like I have lost the plot, whimpered Jo.

  Frozen on the trolley she closed her eyes, it was too much for her to bear. Every time she looked there seemed to be creatures doing human things in the hospital. What on earth was going on, she decided that the hallucinations would probably disappear in the morning. Unfortunately for Jo she had to stay in hospital overnight, which was the beginning of another strange adventure.

  WHAT’S REAL, AND WHAT’S THE DEAL

  In the middle of the night, Jo heard a loud crash; bedpans went flying in all directions. The medication she had been given made her very sleepy, the crash jolted her to attention. Eiki climbed onto Jo’s bed. Unsure if it was still an illusion, Jo ignored her.

  ‘Wake up, wake up! It’s me, Eiki!’

  Jo’s eyes opened and finally she acknowledged that it really was her little friend. Eiki pulled out a green bottle with some snot glue. She started to pat it on Jo’s head and sung to her in beautiful tones. The girl’s face began to change different colours and before long, she was as good as new. Eiki lay beside her and held her hand; it was not long before she too was fast asleep. In the morning Jo woke and felt fantastic, there was no pain and the scar had completely disappeared. How was she going to explain this to the doctors? Something told her that they would not be surprised at all. Jo was still worried that her mind was playing tricks on her. When she looked at the Gulp-a-Waters and Slurp-it-Downs they appeared human, when she looked at humans, they transformed into creatures. Scared that at any moment somebody would come to check on her, she lay low in bed with the covers up to her eyes. There was a knock at the door, in came the tea lady. Jo peeked over the top of the sheets, was she going to be a creature or a human? Slowly peeping, she let out her breath when the visitor looked just like, a tea lady.

  Maybe I’ve got back to normal, she thought.

  She had always been worried about Eiki being exposed; hiding her from her mother and brother but the tea lady didn’t seem to notice her. After the tea lady left, Jo asked Eiki how come she couldn’t see her.

  ‘She can’t see me because she has not grown in awareness. People can only see me if they are open to believe.�
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  Jo thought for a moment, things were starting to become clear. Jo, having the greatest imagination, could accept something different. She was always open to fantasy and science fiction.

  Her mum and aunt arrived at the hospital to take her home. With a look of urgency on her face, Aunt Pepper seemed to dance back and forth on her feet. When Jo’s mother left the room to fill out paperwork, Aunt Pepper, keen to sort things out, explained that only half the glue was ready. They needed much more to heal the burnt creatures and mend the bush. The firebug had continued lighting small fires and the need to catch him or her was sending all the creatures into a spin.

  That afternoon when everybody was home, Jo’s mother and aunt had a chat about Jo. They decided that she should not venture into the bush alone.

  ‘I’m worried that next time she could be seriously hurt,’ voiced her mum.

  Aunt Pepper agreed, so Jo was banned from the bush unless she had someone with her. An expression of shock and dismay appeared on Jo’s face. Was she hearing clearly? It didn’t seem right, Aunt Pepper agreeing with her sister, it just was not fair!

  It was the school holidays and all Jo wanted to do was to spend time with the creatures. All day, the conversation Jo had heard between her mother and aunt haunted her and she just had to approach Aunt Pepper for answers. She’d never, in her short life, known the two sisters to agree on anything, it all seemed peculiar. Eventually Jo managed to pin her aunt down away from her mother.

  ‘Your mother’s got a lot of influence, you know. We don’t need you wandering around the bush when there could be danger in your path. Don’t worry Jo; I didn’t say you couldn’t come into the bush with me, did I?’

  Aunt Pepper winked at her niece with a cheeky expression. Looks like she had plans and everything would be okay. Jo could only think that once again, her aunt had hoodwinked her sister. Aunt Pepper always managed to get her own way; however, Jo’s mum never suspected the trickery her sister was a master to. Jo thought that she could take a few lessons from her aunt on human manipulation.