Oracle in the Mist

by Linda Maree Malcolm

  “I know,” she answered, “but Daphne says there is no such thing as a coincidence. Everything happens for a reason. It’s just a matter of figuring out what it is. I’ve also heard my mother say that people come into your life for a reason, a season or for life. And she uses big words like synchronicity and serendipity all the time. I think I know what she means …” Now it was her turn to stare at him.

  “Yes … right, well, I hadn’t really actually thought of it that way … but it’s an unusual way of looking at things and, um …” David was stammering out his reply when right then they heard his mother call to him.

  Then Bobby heard the librarian say to David’s mother, in a shrill voice: “Please say hello to the doctor for me, Mrs Game.”

  “Shall do,” answered David’s mother and right at that moment Bobby realised that she had been talking to the local GP’s son. They stood up for David to leave.

  “May I?” he asked, holding his arms out towards her. For a moment Bobby thought he was going to hug her and she drew back. For some reason he had that offended look on his face again. She wasn’t sure what he had meant, or what to do, so she offered him her hand for a good strong hand shake and said, “Yes you may,” and then shook his hand vigorously. He looked disappointed.

  “Would you like to see the tree with me?” he asked, still whispering. “We could meet there tomorrow, say at about 9am?”

  “That should be all right,” she said, mentally going through her schedule for the following day before realising that unravelling this mystery was now her most important priority. As she waved David goodbye, Bobby wondered at her total lack of feeling toward him when they had touched just now. She wasn’t attracted to him in ‘that kind of way’, which she was always hearing about but he did seem like a great person to know and she did have a special feeling that she couldn’t work out just yet. Her instincts told her though that in one way or another she would probably know him for a very long time, if not for life.

  Bobby walked for ten minutes from the town to the Brewsters’ property and spotted David standing beside the enormous tree, waving to her. She resisted the urge to run to him, remembering that she was twelve now and that girls her age didn’t do that kind of thing, so she took giant steps to get there quickly instead. He held out his arms as if to hug her again but she avoided that by running up to the tree and touching it. The trunk of the oak tree was absolutely massive. Much to her surprise there was a long, vertical opening in the tree that could house an adult or a couple of little kids at any rate. She’d never seen a tree quite like this one before and could now understand how people came to feel so enchanted by it. Indeed, just standing under it made you feel very relaxed, as if you were under some kind of magical spell.

  David asked her to sit down with him on a picnic rug he had laid out on the ground. How very thoughtful, Bobby thought to herself and she noticed the flask of peppermint tea and plate of Anzac biscuits that he had made for her — such a delicious combination too. They spoke at length about everything they had learned recently and Bobby laid back to rest and soak up the beautiful spring day, basking in the shade of the magnificent oak and enjoying the company of her new friend. They stopped talking and Bobby felt David gazing at her. She noticed him smiling at her tenderly and that his movements had become dreamy and languid. She suddenly became very uncomfortable and sat up again. She smoothed out her skirt and continued talking.

  “Right, so where were we?” she got back on track. “Yes, that’s right; we’re still hoping for some kind of clue to that mysterious thing that happened right here, this time 80 years ago,” and she peered up into the endless branches. “Hmm, that’s right. We’re hoping for a miracle to come along and give us the answers we’re looking for.” He was still staring at her and smiling.

  “Anyway,” she said suddenly standing up, “there’s no point just sitting around here is there? We’re not really accomplishing anything. Thank you for showing me the tree and thank you so much for the lovely picnic but now I’d better be getting back home.”

  “Do you really have to go?” he asked, quickly packing all of the things into the hamper.

  “I thought we’d spend some time together this morning, you know, trying to get some more information.”

  “What did you have in mind?” she asked, curiosity getting the better of her. As far as she could see they were at a dead end.

  “Well, I did have an idea of what I wanted to do with you this morning but I wanted it to be a surprise. We need to head back into town though.”

  “Okay then,” she answered frowning and wondering what on earth he could have planned. Once they were back in the town they went to the general store. Bobby noticed a figure slumped over by the side of the shop. He was wearing a long, wornout and dirty coat and he looked very dirty. His head was hanging down so it almost touched his knees. She couldn’t tell whether he was sleeping or not. Then she noticed that he was muttering away to himself, something about aliens.

  She could tell by the state of him that he was a homeless person and her heart immediately went out to him. How could this be possible? Right here, only streets from where she lived in her own grand house, was someone who had absolutely nothing, not even a warm bed to sleep in. How could this be allowed to happen? How could the powersthatbe just turn a blind eye to this complete injustice? Why wasn’t there some kind of service to provide for someone in this state? She made a vow to herself right then to go and volunteer at the soup kitchen this summer. She must have been wearing her emotions all over her face because David put his arm about her shoulder as if to steer her away from the old man.

  “Yes, I know, the decay of our civilisation; it’s awful isn’t it?” he said, rather coldheartedly. Bobby looked at David, not able to believe he could be so casual about this. She was absolutely speechless. She told herself that later when she had a chance she would talk to David about what he had just said. In the meantime though David had gone ahead and ordered them each a chocolate milk shake. Why did he assume that she couldn’t order and pay for her own drink or food? She took some coins out of her pocket and ordered a soya strawberry milkshake instead. This boy was really starting to annoy her. He stared at her, obviously not sure what he had done wrong.

  “Well,” she said angrily, feeling her temper prickling at her skin all over, “I don’t drink cow’s milk and I don’t like chocolate and I’m able to order my own milkshake.” She hoped that he didn’t do or say anything else annoying now because she was just about to blow her stack at him.

  “Sooorree,” he answered sarcastically. Bobby pictured herself punching him on the nose at that moment but she took a deep breath and turned away from him to regain control. Her eyes settled on the man behind the counter who was making their drinks. He was looking at her as well but when their eyes locked he would look away. She noticed that he was an unusual looking fellow. He was quite short and extremely thin and was dressed in ragged green clothes. He wore a red cap on his head and his hair and beard were ginger and quite long. Bobby had seen him before somewhere and it bothered her that she couldn’t quite remember where. The way he was looking at her, nodding his head and smiling, made her feel that he was just about to tell her something. But then he would look away and start humming to himself, a tune that Bobby had heard somewhere as well … but from where? It was just on the edge of her memory. It all felt very strange.

  “Why do you drink soya milk, Bobby?” David asked bringing her back to reality. He seemed to be sincerely interested in the answer and so she explained her reasoning.

  “I don’t like to drink the beverage that nature reserved for baby cows, that’s all. I think it’s inhumane to keep a cow pregnant and then take the calf from her so that humans can drink the milk, like she’s some kind of machine. I prefer to drink milk made from the soya bean. It has all the same goodness.” He frowned and started to blink heavily again. He thought about his answer very carefully. “Again, I had never quite thought of that in that way. You reall
y think things through, don’t you?”

  She was puzzled by his response. Was that an insult? Judging by the friendly look on his face she would have to say no. At that moment the man brought their milkshakes around to the other side of the counter.

  “So, what’s this surprise?” she asked.

  “Surprise? Oh yes, I’ll take you soon; there’s someone I want you to meet.”

  “Really? Is it anything to do with the tree and everything else we’ve been talking about?” Bobby couldn’t help feeling as though he was going off the subject again.

  “Kind of, I suppose,” was his answer.

  “I don’t mean to be difficult David but we’re supposed to be investigating the disappearance of eight children back in 1930s as well as the sighting of an alien space craft and the arrival of a baby from nowhere but instead we’re here ordering milk shakes. I just don’t get it and I guess I feel as if we’re wasting time.” Bobby wondered if David was taking this as seriously as she was. Right at that moment the man came around to the other side of the counter to give them the milkshakes.

  “You know you shouldn’t be going around talking about all of that,” he whispered to the children, leaning over the bench and looking about to make sure no one else was listening. Bobby felt the presence of others at that moment and was quite sure she had seen many beings all around her and out of the corners of both of her eyes — but when she looked around, she realised that they were alone with the man in the store. She may have only seen them for a flash of a second but she was quite sure they were the same creatures she had seen in the attic in that dream. They both listened to what the man had to say. “I wouldn’t go around talking about that subject unless you were hoping to stir up some trouble. Folks around here don’t like people to talk about everything that happened back then.”

  “Yes, we’ve noticed that,” David said.

  “So where would we go if we wanted to get more information about all of that?” Bobby asked, ignoring the warning he had just given them. Something told her that this man could help her.

  “Well, just between you and me and if anyone asks you, you didn’t hear it from me, okay? That old man out there,” he pointed to where the homeless man was sitting outside, “he has a firsthand, or now let me think, I suppose it’s really a secondhand account of everything that happened on that night back in 1930 and it’s all very interesting I might add.”

  David had no intention of making conversation with a homeless man. “Well thank you very much for your help,” he said politely.

  “Yes, thank you,” said Bobby and without looking at David walked straight out of store to where the man was sitting.

  “Excuse me,” she said quite loudly, as he appeared to be in quite a deep slumber. “I’m sorry to disturb you but I heard you might be able to tell me more about the night of the alien ship sighting back in 1930.”

  “Wot’s dat yer sayin’?” came the answer in a hiss.

  “I said I’m sorry to have disturbed you but …”

  “Nah, nah, don’ be sorry, now lass,” he insisted, rousing himself “‘ey, it looks like yor in da right place at da right time acause me ol’ Da, God bless ‘im, Samuel Rankin, jus’ ‘appened to be de ol’ geezer ‘o saw dat alien spacecraft. You can mark my words, missy; dat is no word of a lie. ‘E was da one dat paper interviewed, like.” He looked up at Bobby and she was able to see him properly at last. Even though he was toothless and smelt of a vile mixture of whiskey and filth she had a feeling she should listen to what he had to say. David appeared at her side and announced he was going home.

  “Hang on, David,” she said and pulled at his arm, “we’d love to hear the story, if that’s okay,” she said to the old man and hoped to herself that she wouldn’t regret this.

  *

  “Or right den,” said the old man but then he began to cough and splutter as if there was a fur ball stuck in his throat. “Aw, would ya look a’ dat? Me ‘ealth isn’ wot it used to be, dats for sure.”

  “You don’t say,” said David sarcastically, but the old man seemed oblivious of him.

  “Jus’ when I goes ta tell me dory, me blasted t’roat goes an’ closes right up on me, like. Ya jus’ wouldn’ read ‘bout it would ya now?”

  “Can I get you a drink? Would you like a milkshake?” Bobby offered kindly.

  “I was tinkin’ a bottle o’ whiskey would be more me speed, lassie.”

  “Yes, of course it would be. Come on Bobby, we’re wasting our time here,” said David and he took Bobby’s hand to lead her away. “It’s okay,” said Bobby to the old man, glaring at David to get him to hush up. This was their only chance to get a little more information.

  “I’ll get you some whiskey. Is there anything else?” she offered, much to David’s total annoyance.

  “Aw, would ya lass? Der’s a good girl. An’ ol’ codger da likes a me gets a rumblin’ in ‘is tummy, ya know, bein’ breakie time an’ all. Dat would be grand, girlie. I’m tinkin’ a roast beef roll with extra lashin’s of gravy and can ya get me some more ciggies too luv? Marlboro is me fave.”

  “Certainly,” said Bobby and the old man continued to do the fur ball cough.

  “It’s the least we can do,” she whispered to David.

  As Bobby was walking back into the store she saw what she thought were many streams of light twisted around one another, floating out through the doorway of the store and flying away into the sky. But she only saw it for a second and then it was gone leaving her blinking and telling herself it was just a sunray reflecting off something nearby. She heard the sound of laughter which gave her an odd feeling of deja vu.

  When she entered the store she noticed immediately that it felt completely different to before and couldn’t quite work out why. Then she noticed the man behind the counter. He was tall and heavily built, balding and wore a white apron.

  “Hello, I was talking to the man who was behind the counter before about the …” and she pointed toward the homeless man. His puzzled look made her stop and he shook his head.

  “There’s noone here but me, missy. This is my store and I’m the only one here,” he told her as he shuffled toward the back room. Bobby stood with her mouth open, unable to understand what she had just been told. She wanted to ask him more questions but realised it was pointless. Clearly he had no idea whom she was talking about.

  In the meantime the old man outside tried to strike up a conversation with David. “My word, ya got yaself a fine one der, lad. An’ she’s a nice looker too and wif dat peachy …”

  “Please …” David took a step away as if to leave.

  “She’s not my girl. She’s my friend and I haven’t ‘got her’ as you put …” He couldn’t tolerate the old man on any level and certainly would not put up with disgusting remarks regarding his newfound friend’s lovely anatomy. He couldn’t even think how to articulate to the man just how much he had offended him.

  Bobby returned with what the old man had requested. The children then had to stand by and witness the man eating as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks and then wash each mouthful down with the whiskey. As the man devoured the roll, gravy oozed into his moustache and beard and down his already filthy shirt front. David’s sensibilities were severely offended beyond return and he had to turn and face the other way.

  Every now and then the old man would look up at the children and mutter a food and whiskeysaturated “Yeah, an’” or an “I will tell ya, ‘ang on”. Bobby could see he was having great difficulty in eating the roll, chewing on his gums in his toothless mouth. He let out long exclamations of “Mmmmmmmmmm” periodically as well which also slowed down the whole process. At last the roll was devoured and he then proceeded to lick his fingers one at a time, thoroughly and over and over again until they were spotlessly clean.

  David’s face turned a light shade of green and he covered his mouth with his hand. Bobby giggled to herself. This was almost too much for poor old David to bear.

  “Orrighty den,” the
old man finally said, “now where were I?” He opened his new cigarettes and lit one up. “Aw dat’s right.” He stood up then and taking a long inhale of the cigarette he blew the smoke full blast into David’s face.

  “That’s disgusting,” David said furiously, finding it was his turn to cough and splutter.

  “Wot lad?” asked the old man

  “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

  “What’s dat lad?” the old man said and Bobby wondered if the old man had any sense at all of what others might think of him and his habits. Probably not, and he possibly wouldn’t care anyway.

  “Could we hear the story now?” she asked.

  “Or right, but only for you, lass. Dat kid is far too serious fa me likin’,” and turning to David he said, “You’re all uppity kid; wot’s eatin’ ya?”

  “Please, just tell us your story. We have kept up our end of the bargain,” Bobby pleaded.

  “Yes, I must say, dat is true lass, I’ll do it for you but not for ‘im,” he said pointing a backwards thumb to David.

  “Now, where were I?” he said yet again. “Ah yeah, I ‘members now, I do … me poor ol’ Da; dis strange occu’rence ‘appened to ‘im, ya see, an’ den ‘e wos neva da same again.”

  The old man looked thoughtfully up to the sky as if he could actually see his father there.

  “I’twern’t acause ‘e’d changed, aw anyting like dat. No i’twas dat all da peoples of dis town changed t’ward ‘im afta da inc’dent. All a sud’en like, no one, not one single person took ‘im seri’us anymore. I canna tink why e’ver. An it drove ‘im mad as ya’d ‘xpect. An’ not one livin’ soul in dis town, you mark my words now, b’lieved ‘im an’ then i’twas like dey kinda felt sorry for ‘im or some’in.

  But not e’nuff to give ‘im a job or a chance like or ta ‘elp ‘im when da chips were down, which dey were of’en ‘alieve me.”

  He stopped then and looked up to the sky again. He shook his head and wiped his eyes even though there were no tears there and then lit up another cigarette and blew smoke rings into the sky. He kept shaking his head as if in disbelief and then lit another cigarette from the one in his hand.