Page 88 of The Vanishing Place
What happened to the four bush children?
And now, the eldest of them was sitting in the shop eating ice cream. Not feral. Not covered in dirt. She was there, all grown up, sitting opposite a reflection of herself, of the child she’d once been. Red hair. Green eyes. With the bush, and its secrets, buried deep inside her.
Without making a sound, Anya stood up and took Effie’s hand, pulling her with her.
“If you don’t look at them,” she whispered, “they can’t hurt you. And if you’re quiet enough, you can be invisible. Watch.”
Effie looked down at the girl with secrets behind her eyes.
Who’s Hana?
Then Anya held a finger to her lips. “Quiet,” she mouthed, “like a mouse, Mum said.”
Then they walked out together, hand in hand, with Anya’s sticky fingers clutched in Effie’s. The girl didn’t let go until they reached the postbox at the end of June’s drive.
And as Anya pulled away, she took a fragile piece of Effie with her.
—
Morrow, Wilson and Lewis were in June’s living room when they arrived back. June had made them cups of tea, and there was a plate of Scotch Fingers on the coffee table.
“We need to head over to the station,” said Lewis.
Effie looked at Morrow.
“Just you and Lewis,” she said. “Not the child.”
“Has something happened?” asked Effie. “Did you find something?” She glanced at Lewis. “Is it Dad?”
“Let’s talk at the station, shall we?” said Morrow. “We can give you a lift.”
Lewis gave her a small supportive smile.
“What about Tia?” said Effie. “Did you find anything—”
“As I said,” Morrow interrupted, “it’s best if we have this conversation at the station. In private.”
Effie’s fingers tingled, and she looked down. Anya was there again, holding her hand. She tugged at Effie’s arm, signaling for her to kneel down, and Effie sunk to the floor. Then Anya pressed her lips to Effie’s ear.
“It’s his bush,” she whispered. “He wants them to leave.”
Then she drew her face away, but her fingers remained coiled around Effie’s hand, clinging to her.
“So,” said Morrow, “shall we head to the station?”
“Yes. Yes, of course.” Effie went to move, but Anya’s grip tightened.
“I won’t be long,” Effie said.
“Then you’ll come back?”
“Yes. Of course.” A lump caught in Effie’s throat. “I’ll come back.”
August 2005
“What’s wrong withhim?” cried Tia.
“I don’t know.” Effie touched a hand to Aiden’s forehead, his skin wet with sweat. “Aiden,” she whispered. “Aiden, can you hear me?”
