Page 5 of Wandering Souls

“I won’t fall,” Mavis insisted, “but maybe I should let you youngin’s do your thing. I’ll wait here in case Bruce comes back. I’ll fix some hot coffee for when you return.”

“I’d appreciate that, Mavis. Thank you.”

Ray glanced at his watch. He had two hours before his shift started. Watching Mavis and Queenie cross the arena back toward the small room hired for the puppy school, he glanced at those who’d gathered.

“You don’t need to help with the search,” he offered. “Bruce can be a little headstrong. Obviously, he was in the mood for a chase this morning.”

He hoped the humiliation didn’t show too much on his face. The others shook their heads and assured him it was no trouble. He didn’t have the heart to tell them he doubted his wayward pooch would heed his calls, let alone theirs, but he didn’t want to turn down their help. Despite this only being their third lesson, he found he’d made friends in this group. They’d welcomed him to their community and he enjoyed the connections he’d made so far.

“Come on,” Byron encouraged. “I’ve got an hour before I have to go to school. Hopefully DJ can help.”

Buoyed by their hopeful expressions, Ray struck out into the forest, calling for Bruce to come to him. While he headed north, the others went east and south, everyone clear that they needed to regroup at the showground in an hour. It was bad enough the dog was missing; Ray didn’t want a host of volunteers to get lost in their efforts to find his puppy.

Taking off at a jog, Ray covered a few hundred meters before the terrain grew steep and the dense forest slowed him to a walk. His breath plumed white in the cold morning air and as he traveled further, the sounds of others calling for Bruce grew distant. Alone in the wilderness, he felt desperation sink in. With no sign of the dog, he worried that Bruce had gotten himself lost, or worse, hurt, and the need to find the animal became so intense Ray’s stomach cramped.

After forty-five minutes without success, he wiped the sweat from his brow and turned south toward the showground. Hopefully, one of the others had had more luck and come across an unscathed Bruce.

Chapter Two

The river carved apath through the earth, meandering around boulders and exposing the roots of half a dozen trees. The watermarks showed regular changes to the level of the river, likely dropping through summer only to be replenished by winter rains and topped up to overflowing with snow-melt in spring. The track Abi followed rose and fell with the terrain, mostly staying above the highest visible waterline.

Towering eucalypts kept her in chilly shade, though the understory of low shrubs and grasses flourished in half a dozen shades of green. Flower buds signaled new growth about to burst to life and the strengthening sun overhead released the scents of the bush. Abi had grown up hiking through lush rainforest and the familiar smells woke the feelings from her childhood. Seeing nature alive and thriving despite the cold start to spring lifted her spirits.

Hollywood had been right about getting out here. She found herself smiling and feeling lighter. Her leg ached less and though her fingers were stiff with cold, she touched the trunks of trees. Where some trees had smooth bark, others were covered in papery skins that crumbled on contact. Others again wore armors of thick, rough black bark that almost looked charred, as if they had survived recent fire. The contrast of textures beneath her fingertips grounded her in the present and allowed her to tuck the recurring nightmare into a dark recess of her mind.

Fallen gum nuts crunched underfoot and spikey banksia cones stood stark against the foliage. So many sights unique to this country roused feelings of patriotism and a genuine sense of gratitude for seeing it all again. Lying in that fallen chopper, she’d wondered if she’d ever return home.

Forcibly shoving the rawness of the incident out of her immediate awareness helped but it wasn’t the answer. It was as much a part of her psyche as anything else.

Overhead, a kookaburra laughed. It was soon joined by others, the chorus of birdsong music to her ears. Somewhere nearby, she heard scratching in the dirt. Insects clicked and whirred as the sun’s warmth reached them. The rushing of the river at the bank on her right underpinned nature’s soundtrack and filled her with appreciation.

Abi needed to make a point of thanking Hollywood for sending her on the walk.

Glancing at her watch, it surprised her to see she’d already been out here half an hour. Her pace slowed as the desire to soak up the connection with nature took hold. In the quiet morning, Abi found a small boulder and sat down, captivated by the moment.

Her hand went to her throat where she located the silver chain given to her by her mother. Tugging on it, she retrieved the locket from under her sweater. Lifting the small pendant, she opened the hinged locket. It unfolded into three small circles, each containing a photograph.

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