****
Simon stepped inside the newsagency. Behind the counter stood a short, stocky bald man leaning heavily against the counter while reading the newspaper. The numbers on the clock that hung on the wall behind him flipped over to show the time was now 3.56, the large white numbers standing out clearly against a black background. The man looked up curiously over the frame of his reading glasses at Simon the minute he entered. There was no one else inside. Behind him a small radio was playing in the background.
Second thoughts began to enter his mind. If he got caught the whole day was just going to go from bad to worse. Remembering what Craig had told him, he made his way slowly along the rack of magazines, pretending to look at the titles, stopping occasionally to pick one up and appear interested. Popular Photography, Railway Digest, Gardening Australia, Today’s Bride and finally the strange choice he now held in his hands pretending to be reading.
The shopkeeper looked suspiciously across the room at him, a young boy on his own eagerly flipping through the pages of a knitting and needlework magazine as though he was considering purchasing it. Somewhat confused by the boys’ jittery behaviour, he considered asking him if there was anything in particular he could help him with when three customers entered his newsagency and his gaze was averted.
Simon seizing the opportunity to make his move put the magazine back on the rack and slowly made his way around to the other side of the long rack in the centre of the room. There just as Craig had told him was a large assortment of porn magazines, some sealed in clear plastic so that it was impossible to thumb through them. With eyes wide open he scanned the covers of the magazines lined neatly in rows. There seemed to be no end to the amount of titles that lined the rack, each cover adorned with a beautiful semi-naked girl posing seductively.
At the front counter one of the customers had just asked for a pack of smokes and the shopkeeper had turned around to search for the brand amongst the horde of cigarettes lined up in the display cabinet behind him. Simon quickly scanned his eyes around the interior of the newsagency. Everyone now had their backs turned toward him. Fear choked him, but he realised that this was the moment to act. Grabbing the magazine nearest to him he slipped it up under his shirt just as Craig had shown him earlier outside and stepped away from the adult section. No one saw him. ‘There, that was easy’, he thought to himself as he walked past the sports section heading back towards the front of the shop.
The three customers in the store were all keeping the man busy at the front counter, there was nobody between him and the front door which was now less than ten metres away. He was going to get away with it. All he had to do was walk out of the shop, get on his bike and ride away. The shopkeeper paid no attention to him as Simon stepped out from behind the magazine rack and into the open floor space inside the entrance to the shop. With eyes trained at the floor in front of him and his heart racing he tried to do exactly as Craig had said, ‘when you’ve got it, whatever you do don’t hurry out of the shop’. When he reached the doorway he couldn’t help but look across in the direction of the shopkeeper, and then suddenly, thump! He walked straight into Max Abbott Jnr.
The impact caused the two of them to lose their balance, sending the boys crashing to the carpeted floor of the newsagency. As Simon fell sideways the magazine slipped out from under his shirt, landing on the floor just in front of Max. Simon watched in horror as Max picked up the magazine with both hands in slow motion, still lying flat on his stomach, paralysed while his eyes scanned eagerly over the cover of the dirty magazine he now held only inches from his face. Max didn’t see one of the customers appear from the side of the counter and grab him firmly with both hands.
“Looks like I’ve caught a shoplifter red handed.” He called to the bald man behind the counter.
Simon scrambled to his feet, realising that in the briefest of moments the shopkeeper would appear and recognise the customer had caught the wrong person. Pushing Max’s brother Chris and the other two boys that were with him out of the way, Simon raced out of the doorway toward his bike that was leaning against a nearby rubbish bin and threw his leg over the frame of his shiny, chrome BMX. A quick look over his shoulder as he pushed down hard on the pedals was enough to reveal the chaos he had left in his wake. In the doorway of the newsagency Christopher Abbott stood totally confused, looking first at his younger brother Max being dragged to his feet by a fanatical customer and then in the direction of Simon fleeing the scene. By the time the bald shopkeeper appeared in the doorway, Simon was more than 50 metres away and in full flight, heading to where he could see Craig and Brian waiting on their bikes at the end of the row of shops.
“Did you get it?” Brian asked as Simon skidded to a stop behind one of the cars parked at the end of the shopping strip.
“I had it but I dropped it.” Simon said frantically. “Stupid Max Abbott showed up and knocked me over in the doorway, it fell out from under my shirt and then someone saw it.”
“So are they coming after you?” Craig asked.
“They will be, Max picked it up and one of the customers in the shop must have thought he had stolen it and grabbed him.” Simon explained hurriedly. “We can’t stay here, they’ve probably realised already that they got the wrong person and now I’m going to have Max and his brother after me too. C’mon, let’s get outa here.”
“I don’t know.” Craig stalled. “Look I don’t want to get messed up in any trouble with Max and his brother, I see them around the shops a lot more than you guys do.”
“But the whole thing was your idea in the first place.” Simon pleaded. “Can’t we go to your house or something before they see us?”
“I think it’s a bit late for that.” Craig said looking back in the direction of the newsagency. From the relative safety of the small car park at the end of the shopping strip the three of them could just make out the shape of Max, Chris and the other two boys in the distance getting on their bikes. “I’m going home. You’d better go Simon before they see you. Are you coming with me Brian?”
Brian shot a quick look at his panic stricken friend. There was no way he was going to leave Simon behind, and he couldn’t believe Craig was about to pike out on them. He looked quickly again in the direction of the newsagency. If Max and his brother saw the three of them now it would only be a matter of minutes until they caught up to them.
“Okay Simon, let’s go to the cemetery.” Brian said defiantly in spite of Craig’s cowardice. “Nobody knows we were going there. Craig, you see if you can stall them for us, if they ask where we went just give them some wrong directions. Otherwise they’re going to catch us because Chris has got a mountain bike with gears. We’ll never be able to outrun him. We’ll see you later Craig. C’mon Simon, let’s go.”
The two boys crouched low on their bikes and rode out through the car park leaving Craig behind as a decoy. The shops quickly disappeared from view as they left the car park and raced along the footpath following Brisbane Water Drive, heading in the direction of the Point Clare cemetery. At the speed the two boys were traveling, it was only a matter of minutes until they were turning into the road beside the ambulance station that would lead them to the gates of the cemetery.
Simon followed Brian under the huge wrought iron arch spanning the sealed drive that split the cemetery in two. Tombstones spread out on either side of them, covering acres of land in every direction they looked. They rode quickly up the long drive until they came to a small grassed area beside a car park roughly in the middle of the massive cemetery. Jumping over the kerbing on their bikes, they then let them fall gently to the ground before slumping down on the soft green lawn, lying back exhausted on the grass and panting heavily while gazing up into the blue sky.
Small white clouds, themselves like puffy balls of cotton rolled by slowly overhead and the world seemed quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of their heavy breathing, and then a laugh. Simon rolled his head sideways to see his friend laughing into the
sky. It made him laugh too. A huge rush of relief washed over the boys, all the panic, worry and stress of the last half an hour was released in a wave of laughter that had them rolling over the lush, green lawn until their sides hurt. They lay there for what seemed like an eternity, soaking up the moment under the brilliant late afternoon sky.
“Man, I wish I could have seen the look on Max’s face when he got busted with that magazine.” Brian finally composed himself. “What was it anyway?”
“I didn’t even get time to read what it was called.” Simon sighed as he wiped away the last few tears of laughter that trickled down his cheeks. “The cover just had some naked lady on it.”
“Well if getting him suspended back in grade six wasn’t enough, I think you’re finally got even with him now for wrecking your fifth birthday.”
“Do you still remember that?” Simon asked as he sat up. He hadn’t thought about that day in quite a while, Max had given him enough headaches in his life since then that the thought of him throwing his cowboy doll on the roof had slipped his mind. It was still probably up there for all he knew, out of mind, out of sight, rotting away in the guttering.
“I sure do, it’s the reason why I’ve never liked him either.” Brian replied, still watching the clouds pass by overhead. “I remember for days afterwards thinking just how unfair it was. I mean, why do bad things happen to good people? I guess every time I see you Simon I keep asking myself the same question. Remember all that stuff you told me about when you used to go to Sunday school? Well even though you taught me about God and all that, I’d see everything that would happen to you and it would only make me scared to even try to live that way. It just makes me wonder if God really cares. I know you believe in him, but you haven’t exactly got the best life in the world Simon.”
“Yeah, I see what you mean. You know sometimes I feel like just giving up on believing in God. I’m not even allowed to go to Sunday school right, so why should I even bother? Then I remember that it’s never been God who has hurt me, only people.” Simon thought for a moment before changing the subject altogether. “Hey, want to go and see if we can find the Braddley’s grave site?”
“Okay.” Brian replied, his mind still reflecting on his fiend’s profound statement as he stood to his feet and picked his bike up off the ground. Apart from the two of them, the cemetery was empty. They were the only living souls in what seemed like a sea of dead people. The thought alone had an eerie feel to it and immediately sent a chill up his spine.
“Let’s start looking in the new section and work our way back from there.” Simon suggested. “They died in 1986 so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
The two boys rode off slowly, threading their bikes between the rows of tombstones along one of the narrow concrete paths that spanned away from the main drive. Towers of carved marble and granite headstones flanked them on either side, some stood taller than the boys themselves, others were adorned with small statues of Angels standing guard over long lost loved ones. Sandstone monuments carved in the shape of crucifixes that once stood proud and unsoiled now loomed drab and grey, weathered by years of rain, the names carved on their bases barely legible. The rows of older, stone covered grave sites eventually gave way to fields of freshly mowed lawn and neater, more uniform rows of granite headstones. A strange mixture of both fresh and dead flowers adorned the sides of the headstones, which at least now were inscribed with years he could actually remember, but didn’t necessarily follow any particular order like he had imagined. 1980, 1978, 1985, 1983, 1987. Within 20 minutes they stumbled across the headstone they were looking for due to sheer luck more than any other reason.
The black and grey, speckled granite headstone was double the width of some of the other graves nearby but was inscribed with the names of two people. The two boys sat on their bikes beside the grave, each silently reading the carved inscription lined with gold paint that on Mrs Braddley’s side ended coldly with the words ‘died 17.07.1986’. Mr Braddley, they saw had died only five days later.
“I never got to say goodbye to them.” Simon finally broke the silence. “I remember coming back from spending the school holidays at my cousins’ house in Manly and finding out that they had died.”
“At least this way isn’t as bad as having to go to their funeral.” Brian suggested. “Instead of having to get dressed up to listen to everyone cry we can remember her in a happy way. Do you remember how we used to have afternoon tea at her house while we waited for your Mum to come home from work?”
“Yeah, she’d always bring us a glass of chocolate milk and let us have as many bickies as we wanted while we watched Get Smart on TV.” Simon smiled, remembering what life was like when she had been around. “Goodbye Mrs Braddley, you were a really nice old lady. Thank you for coming to visit me when I was in hospital and for taking care of me after school the time Max Abbott Jnr pushed me over on the bus. I hope they’ve got a TV for you up in heaven.”
“Do you think she heard you?” Brian asked.
“How would I know?” Simon answered. “But I’m sure she’d like knowing that we visited.”
“C’mon, let’s go do something else.” Brian said. “This place is starting to give me the creeps.”
The two boys turned their bikes around and started riding back along the path to the main drive. The surrounding mountain ridge had begun to cast long shadows over parts of the cemetery and the afternoon was starting to slip away. At least they had summer daylight savings time on their side to help keep the night away for a few hours more, this was hardly the place that either of them would want to be once it was dark.
“Hey Simon!” An angry shout shattered the surrounding silence. “Looks like you’re in the right place, ‘cause you’re a dead man when we catch you!”
Simon looked up in horror to see Max Abbott Jnr, back to his old self, less than 50 metres away and slowly closing in with his brother and two of his grade 10 thugs right behind him. He didn’t feel like hanging around long enough to find out just how furious he was after his brush with the owner of the newsagency. The only problem now Simon realised, was that between him and the gates of the cemetery were four kids hell-bent on giving him a beating. Behind and to the left there was only thick bushland. To the right, where they had just come from, the cemetery became more open. If they went that way they would surely be caught.
“There’s no way out.” Brian gasped. “They’ve cut us off.”
“Quick, follow this path all the way to the bushes on the far left.” Simon urged him. “They’ll have to weave between the headstones to find the same path we’re on. That should slow them down long enough for us to race down the side of the cemetery and hopefully get to the gates before them.”
“And if it doesn’t?” Brian asked, panic gripping him.
“Then it’ll give us more time to hide in the bushes and hope they don’t find us.” Simon said over his shoulder as his legs pumped madly to get his bike to full speed.
“Yeah that’s right you gutless chickens!” Max called faintly from a distance. “You can try to run away but there’s no escape this time.”
Simon raced along the narrow path with Brian in hot pursuit. There was no room for error as they retraced their way through the older section of the cemetery at breakneck speed. At some points there was barely enough room for their bikes to pass safely between the towering stone monuments and headstones that butted hard against the narrow concrete path. The main drive that split the cemetery in two loomed ahead. Beyond that on the other side the concrete path spanned away once more, disappearing from view in a sea of graves that continued for a couple of hundred metres until they ended abruptly against a wall of towering green trees.
Sensing what the two boys were doing, Max and his brother abandoned their clumsy attempt at weaving between the headstones and instead set off in pursuit along one of the countless paths that paralleled the one the boys had taken. By the time they reached the main drive in the middle of the cemetery, Simo
n and Brian were already a fair distance away on the other side. The four boys in pursuit fanned out, each taking a different path with Chris veering up the main drive of the cemetery, looking for the same path Simon and Brian had taken. By the time he found it they were already about 70 metres in front of him and almost half way toward the line of trees on the far side of the cemetery.
Simon reached the end of the narrow concrete path and turned in the direction of the cemetery gates along a wide grassy shoulder that fell away steeply into a tree filled gully. Brian followed close behind, and it was obvious it was now a race to get past the other three boys who had fanned out on different paths. The faster the two boys travelled in the direction of the cemetery gates the faster the other three moved towards cutting them off. Simon looked nervously over his shoulder in time to see Christopher appear from one of the narrow paths behind him, there was no going back. Up ahead Max and the other two thugs were getting closer by the second, there was no escape.
“Dear God, please help me!” Simon cried out loud.
As if on cue, Simon spotted a small sign to his left pointing to what appeared to be a garden path leading down into the gully. With no choice but to take it and hope for the best, he swung his BMX to the left and gasped in horror as the metre wide gravel path quickly turned into a flight of 20 stairs descending into the gully below. Brian followed closely with barely enough time to read the words ‘walk of tranquillity’ on the faded sign before the path disappeared beneath him and he sailed aimlessly through the air behind Simon.
Simon gripped the handle bars of his BMX tightly and braced himself for the worst. In front of him was the trunk of a large gum tree, to either side of him there were rose bushes, beneath him there was nothing but five metres of air. He pressed his feet hard against the pedals and watched as the world rushed straight towards him. The bike glided through the air for what seemed like forever before dipping gracefully and falling back down to earth. The back tyre touched down first, softly reattaching itself with the ground before the front wheel thudded down hard! Simon fought briefly with the handlebars before slamming on the rear brakes and listening to the sound of his tyre chew through the loose gravel as his bike spun sideways. Brian somehow also managed to land his bike beside him on the metre wide strip of gravel path and as the two bikes came skidding to a stop the boys looked up, just in time to avoid hitting a man who was standing in the middle of the path!
The two boys gripped the handlebars of their BMX’s tightly, knuckles still white with terror from riding head first into the face of death. Without being able to speak a word, they looked up at the man who stood calmly between them. They had stopped their bikes on either side him, avoiding hitting the man by only a couple of inches. Slowly he raised his hands so that they both rested on each of their heads and gently caressed the ruffled hair of the two frightened boys, smiling quietly at them as they stood paralysed in his presence.
Staring at his face, it seemingly glowed with radiance unlike anyone or anything they had ever seen before. His long, soft brown hair fell gently past his shoulders, teeth as white as pearls smiling back at them from the middle of a matching soft, brown beard. Eyes that shone like the sky gazed deep into their own, causing them at first to look away in shame before a wash of emotions were unlocked within. A tide of forgiveness swept away any feelings of guilt, leaving them standing in awe in the recognition of who he was.
Simon found himself recalling the last time he had stood before him, on the rocks overlooking the beach at a time and place he had spent the last few years gradually believing was just a dream that had occurred while he had been in hospital. Only now, once again it had become all too apparent that it was indeed real.
They watched as he stepped forward and began ascending the steps on the gravel path that Simon and Brian had sailed over only moments before. The white robe he wore, as bright as a full moon on a clear night fell all the way to his feet, revealing only the brown sandals he wore beneath. He reached the top of the stairs and turned to face the boys one last time, with a slight wave of his hand and one last parting smile, he turned and disappeared from view over the top of the embankment.
Simon and Brian turned to face each other. Finally the feeling of being paralysed subsided and they were once again able to speak.
“Do you know who we just saw?” Brian exclaimed, still dumfounded by the whole experience.
“Of course I….” Simon didn’t finish the sentence. The boys’ eyes lit up as they both realised that by now surely Max, Chris and the others should have caught up to them. They quickly returned their focus to the top of the stairs. Only the fading afternoon light peered down over the edge of the embankment into the gully below.
They hopped off their bikes and let them drop to the ground in a mad scramble to get to the top of the stairs. Bounding up the stairs two at a time, Simon and Brian spilt out onto the wide, grassy shoulder at the top of the embankment. There was no man in a white robe to be seen anywhere, only the sight of Max, Chris and their two friends fleeing as fast as they could, down the middle of an otherwise deserted cemetery toward the huge wrought iron arch that spanned the main drive. The boys shot one last look of disbelief in each other’s direction and any lingering doubt over what had just occurred fell crashing to their feet.
Whatever had happened at the top of the path had been more than enough to keep Simon and Brian safe while sending the other boys fleeing in a state of fright. There was no doubt that Jesus had just rescued them from a certain beating at the hands of Max and his older brother Chris. When the two of them finally made their way back to collect their bikes, they stopped at the top of the path and looked down the flight of stairs in shock.
There was no way they should have been able to make that jump on their bikes!
The Long Way Home Page 82
