Page 70 of Birds of a Feather

‘Well, I never,’ Elise exclaimed, having never seen one in the area before.

As she bent down for a better look, a stunning single deep-red orchid rising out of the ground caught her eye. Its petals were similar in colour to another species found commonly in the area – the blood red orchid – but they weren’t quite as long, were slightly more stout and curved upward, more like the ubiquitous fringed mantis orchid. The centre of the flower – the labellum – was bright green with touches of the rich, deep red. Roughly the size of a marble, the labellum had comb-like teeth along its edges, which were longer than Elise had seen before in any other species.

‘What have you found there?’ Gerry asked, coming in for a look.

‘I honestly don’t know,’ Elise replied. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen this species before. I’ll get Emily to have a squiz when she arrives. If anyone knows what it is, it’s her.’

The two women searched the area and found one other plant a few metres away. It had two flowers. Emily and Jack arrived as Elise was crouching awkwardly, trying to take photos of the flowers with Gerry’s phone so they could compare them with species registered on the online database. She’d only managed to take three pictures up her nose and one of her thumb.

‘Welcome back!’ Jack boomed as he exited the car and then strode towards Elise for a big hug.

‘Thanks, Jack. It’s good to see you. This …’ Elise stammered, momentarily forgetting how she’d planned to introduce Gerry to people, ‘is my Gerry.’

‘It’s beaut to meet you, Elise’s Gerry,’ Jack said warmly, shaking her hand. ‘Fantastic you could come along today.’

‘Hi Gerry, I’m Emily Lim,’ Emily said efficiently as she emerged from behind the car.

‘Emily, darling. Come and have a look at this, will you?’ Elise called, gesturing towards the orchid.

The group crowded around the orchid, almost knocking their heads together.

‘Ever seen this before?’ Elise asked.

Emily knelt down to examine the plant more closely. After a few moments, she sat back on her heels and looked up at Elise.

‘You know, I don’t think I have.’

Elise, Gerry and Jack hooted and whooped at the prospect they’d discovered a new species as Emily disappeared back to the car. She reappeared with a plastic folder, which contained everything needed to collect a specimen.

‘You do the honours,’ she said, handing Elise the equipment.

‘Thank you, darling,’ Elise said, appreciating the significance of the gesture. It would have been well within Emily’s remit as the officer in charge of the project to collect the specimen, but gathering the sample made Elise the undisputed discoverer of the species, if it was indeed new to science.

Elise used the secateurs to carefully remove one of the flowers from the double-headed plant. She gently lowered it into a clear plastic bag and added some water to keep it moist. Emily assisted as she measured the plants, and recorded notes about their habitat, composition, colour and plant neighbours.

The group searched the area again for more of the plants but, as the morning warmed, they agreed they’d focus on the warty swan orchids and return to survey for the new plant once they’d checked it against reference material at the herbarium.

The heat, combined with too much time spent leaning down and the excitement of her discovery, had given Elise a low-grade headache and made her feel lightheaded. As she made her way to a nearby tree to steady herself, she tried to recall if she’d remembered to take her blood pressure medication. The sun was breaking through the crown of the trees and soaking the bush in warm golden hues. Elise smiled as she watched Gerry help Jack and Emily unload the equipment they needed from the vehicle. She felt like there had been a divine merging of her worlds, like her life had come full circle in the most perfect, poignant way.

Her thoughts turned to John. She would always love him and be grateful for the life they’d shared. And Rosie and her babies had brought her so much joy, and she knew that if she hadn’t lost contact with Gerry all these those years ago, she would never have had them in her life.

But now she had Gerry again. Beautiful Gerry.

The warmth of the light seemed to intensify, and wisps of purple, magenta, teal and green danced around the edge of her peripheral vision. The vibrancy of the colours reminded Elise of the feathers of a Gouldian finch.

Elise heard Gerry calling her name, but her voice seemed distant and muffled, as if being transmitted through an old radio. The colours swirling in her periphery intensified and her field of vision narrowed. She tried to blink the colours away but, as each moment passed, she could see less and less of her surroundings. Unable to see, she felt disorientated. But she wasn’t afraid; she felt completely calm.

Elise could hear Gerry saying her name over and over. She remembered that, as a twenty-year-old, Gerry’s refined diction when saying her name – Elise – had made her sound more important than she felt. Elise hadn’t thought she would ever hear her name spoken that way again.

She felt Gerry’s lips kiss her forehead. She wanted to reach up and hold her, but her arms wouldn’t move. The hues of the colours in her mind’s eye began to lighten, and the brightness intensified. She felt a radiant heat, which warmed every cell in her body. She imagined it was how cats felt when they lay next to a window on a sunny winter’s day soaking in the warmth. Her body felt weightless, and she sensed she was floating towards the all-encompassing glow.

She closed her eyes.

Chapter 32

Beth

I reached into my back pocket to retrieve my ringing phone.

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