searching Charlie’s cheerfully worn face, hoping
for even a mystical Dreamtime kind of reassurance – the sort of
thing that he wouldn’t really believe, but which would feel
comforting.
“ I have faith
… that this isn’t Nicholas’s fate.”
“ Faith?”
Dave sighed. Faith seemed like little more than blind belief to
him. “Do you know what a clumsy bugger he is? If anyone could –”
He forced himself not to imagine any more disastrous scenarios. “I
should never have let him talk me into it.”
“ Don’t be so
hard on yourself.”
“ Someone has
to be,” Dave said darkly.
Charlie considered him
silently for a time, in between mouthfuls of steak, spud and veg.
Eventually the man observed, “You care about him,
Davey.”
“ Course I do,”
he replied a bit scornfully. “I know he’s a bit – odd. Nothing like
what I expected. But he’s become a mate.”
“ Of course he
has,” Charlie quietly agreed. “He’ll be fine today. And I know
you’ll take good care of him. But you need to take better care of
yourself as well, Davey.”
“ Uh huh,” Dave
neutrally agreed around a mouthful of steak.
“ How goes the
quest for Nicholas’s butterflies?”
Dave rolled his eyes.
“Nothing. Well, just the sort of grubs and butterflies you’d expect
to find, apparently. Which he’s happy enough about, and he’s busy
gathering all the data he can. But no blue clouds, no mysterious
waterholes – nothing that’s never been seen before.”
Charlie nodded for a
moment, sagely. “The time has to be right.”
“ Right time in
the right place. I get that. The distances we’re covering each day,
we’re giving ourselves every chance to stumble into it.”
“ Mmm.” Charlie
sat back, and mused over his beer. “There’s … a strangeness down
around there. There’s a mystery.”
“ Right …” Dave
warily agreed, wondering if he dared prompt Charlie for more
information – or if Dave might even be better off not muddling his
head with half–hints of Dreamtime secrets.
“ It’s
reasonable to assume you’re not gonna find it the regular
way.”
“ Mmm
…”
“ Maybe –
you have to not want to find it.”
“ What?”
Charlie shrugged. “Maybe
you have to not be looking.”
“ How does that
work, then?”
Another shrug, and
Charlie’s gaze slid away.
Dave sighed. Sometimes he
reckoned he was just a bit too white and ordinary for the
Outback.
As Dave drove back to the
camp, the Cruiser’s satnav began doing that odd flickering and
resetting thing again. Which didn’t help his peace of mind, though
he had a good sense of direction, and reckoned he could almost
certainly find the camp again just on his own instincts. It was a
bit of a worry, though, and no doubt he should try to have someone
look at it before he and Nicholas really went off–road.
His thoughts were nothing
but fretful as the sun started westering. But soon enough he saw
the camp in the distance across the flat landscape, and at last he
could make out Nicholas standing there waiting for him, and
Nicholas appeared to be upright and in one piece, so maybe
everything had quite unexpectedly turned out fine. After long
moments Dave tore his gaze off that long tall figure in his Akubra
and sage green shirt and blue jeans – tore his gaze away to glance
across what he could see of the camp, which all seemed to be in
much the same state he’d left it that morning. So maybe everything
really was fine.
In those last moments
before he parked the Cruiser, Dave was abruptly swamped with fury –
the sort unleashed in a parent the moment after their child is safe
and the danger is past. What
did you think you were DOING?! How could you have been so
STUPID?! But then that ebbed away, too,
and Dave was left with a giddy sense of relief, and he knew he was
grinning like a loon as he finally turned off the ignition and
climbed out of the Cruiser. He approached Nicholas, his grin only
broadening even while he felt more
for even a mystical Dreamtime kind of reassurance – the sort of
thing that he wouldn’t really believe, but which would feel
comforting.
“ I have faith
… that this isn’t Nicholas’s fate.”
“ Faith?”
Dave sighed. Faith seemed like little more than blind belief to
him. “Do you know what a clumsy bugger he is? If anyone could –”
He forced himself not to imagine any more disastrous scenarios. “I
should never have let him talk me into it.”
“ Don’t be so
hard on yourself.”
“ Someone has
to be,” Dave said darkly.
Charlie considered him
silently for a time, in between mouthfuls of steak, spud and veg.
Eventually the man observed, “You care about him,
Davey.”
“ Course I do,”
he replied a bit scornfully. “I know he’s a bit – odd. Nothing like
what I expected. But he’s become a mate.”
“ Of course he
has,” Charlie quietly agreed. “He’ll be fine today. And I know
you’ll take good care of him. But you need to take better care of
yourself as well, Davey.”
“ Uh huh,” Dave
neutrally agreed around a mouthful of steak.
“ How goes the
quest for Nicholas’s butterflies?”
Dave rolled his eyes.
“Nothing. Well, just the sort of grubs and butterflies you’d expect
to find, apparently. Which he’s happy enough about, and he’s busy
gathering all the data he can. But no blue clouds, no mysterious
waterholes – nothing that’s never been seen before.”
Charlie nodded for a
moment, sagely. “The time has to be right.”
“ Right time in
the right place. I get that. The distances we’re covering each day,
we’re giving ourselves every chance to stumble into it.”
“ Mmm.” Charlie
sat back, and mused over his beer. “There’s … a strangeness down
around there. There’s a mystery.”
“ Right …” Dave
warily agreed, wondering if he dared prompt Charlie for more
information – or if Dave might even be better off not muddling his
head with half–hints of Dreamtime secrets.
“ It’s
reasonable to assume you’re not gonna find it the regular
way.”
“ Mmm
…”
“ Maybe –
you have to not want to find it.”
“ What?”
Charlie shrugged. “Maybe
you have to not be looking.”
“ How does that
work, then?”
Another shrug, and
Charlie’s gaze slid away.
Dave sighed. Sometimes he
reckoned he was just a bit too white and ordinary for the
Outback.
As Dave drove back to the
camp, the Cruiser’s satnav began doing that odd flickering and
resetting thing again. Which didn’t help his peace of mind, though
he had a good sense of direction, and reckoned he could almost
certainly find the camp again just on his own instincts. It was a
bit of a worry, though, and no doubt he should try to have someone
look at it before he and Nicholas really went off–road.
His thoughts were nothing
but fretful as the sun started westering. But soon enough he saw
the camp in the distance across the flat landscape, and at last he
could make out Nicholas standing there waiting for him, and
Nicholas appeared to be upright and in one piece, so maybe
everything had quite unexpectedly turned out fine. After long
moments Dave tore his gaze off that long tall figure in his Akubra
and sage green shirt and blue jeans – tore his gaze away to glance
across what he could see of the camp, which all seemed to be in
much the same state he’d left it that morning. So maybe everything
really was fine.
In those last moments
before he parked the Cruiser, Dave was abruptly swamped with fury –
the sort unleashed in a parent the moment after their child is safe
and the danger is past. What
did you think you were DOING?! How could you have been so
STUPID?! But then that ebbed away, too,
and Dave was left with a giddy sense of relief, and he knew he was
grinning like a loon as he finally turned off the ignition and
climbed out of the Cruiser. He approached Nicholas, his grin only
broadening even while he felt more
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