A few moments later the bus pulled into a stop. She watched the messenger allow the stranger to head down the aisle before him. The messenger put his cap back on and gave Isabella a farewell smile. “You’ll be okay.”
She believed that. She knew he was an angel. She watched him walk off and noticed some writing on the back of his cap but couldn’t work out what it was. She yawned. Did he sprinkle some sleep dust on her? As always, her thoughts went to her parents as she dozed off.
13 – White horse, blue dog
A SIREN WOKE ISABELLA. Initially startled, she worked out her bearings. It was a police car hurrying to get somewhere, perhaps in pursuit. Slowly, the messenger’s words came back into her head. Medication, evil, journey. Had she been dreaming? She looked around the bus. The same passengers. The man with the long beard smiled at her. She returned a soft smile.
He did look like her granddad. She got out her phone and checked the time and location. Something white caught her attention and she turned and looked out the window. It was a statue of a white horse—she recognised it and knew she was in Box Hill.
Mum had told her the horse was the symbol for a hotel in the area that was shut down when the district banned the sale of liquor—an evil drug, in her mother’s eyes. But as if to balance her negative view her mother told her another story about a white horse, about how white was seen as a symbol of purity and victory—purity for the wedding and victory for our King. She told her Jesus was coming back on a white horse, He was going to make things right: all the wrong things fixed, all evil removed, and those drugs controlling the minds of people would be eliminated.
Isabella had found her mum’s comment about the drugs strange, considering she was involved in making such drugs. Maybe she’d meant illegal drugs.
Still sleepy, Isabella pictured Jesus riding the white horse, his eyes blazing and head crowned, with his mighty army following on more white horses. That brought peace to her heart. And then she saw white pills falling out of the sky exploding, making clouds in the sky.
Mum had loved Jesus. Dad had too, but not to the same extent as Mum. Could there be extents when it comes to loving the Lord? Mum wanted to spend more time with Jesus than Dad. Maybe it was a male thing, genetics, masculinity—Dad hadn’t liked singing aloud, clapping his hands, or praying in public. He preferred to be working in a shed than sitting on a pew, but he was getting better. And now they’d been taken away.
A few nights before the accident, Isabella was coughing and Mum came to check up on her. They had talked for a while. Mum asked if she thought about Madeleine—her close friend who took her own life some years back. Isabella just shook her head. There was something Isabella never spoke to her mum about—the teasing.
Mum told her that if anything was to happen to them, she was to go to granddad. Isabella replayed the conversation in her head. “But Mum, I’ve never been to his place. I can barely remember meeting him. What, was it fifteen years ago? Don’t get me wrong, I love the man and look forward to our regular online chats. Besides, nothing will ever happen to you. The Lord watches over you and you’re a brainy chick with pharmaceutical companies fighting over you.”
Her mum’s response was odd. “That’s the problem,” she had said.
On the day of the accident Isabella was in bed, sick. She battled the guilt feelings associated with this. Depression liked to dig those feelings up.
She wasn’t sure how long her thought processing went on for, but she decided the bus was on time and texted her granddad. Bus on time. Should be at Healesville at 5.10. Love Bella.
She returned to staring out the window. Who was that man? Was he really a messenger from God?
<°)))><
Sunset was not far away as the bus pulled into the bus stop at Healesville at 5.07 pm. Isabella came out from her seat and, as was her habit, looked back to check what she’d forgotten. This time it was her water bottle. Again she chastised herself and reached back to grab the bottle.
She stepped off the bus. As she waited for her luggage she took a deep breath. The wintery air smelt different in the countryside, almost like the smell of burnt toast. It was chilly. Had she left the dark clouds in Melbourne?
She shrugged up her shoulders and looked around for her granddad’s old jalopy, which he had showed her many images of in different states of repair. It was going to be parked near the hotel. A black Mazda parked, but no one got out. Her paranoia had been arrested so she gave no second thought to that car.
Her watch beeped. Choices: the phone or the watch. She used the watch to read the message. Walk down to Blue Dog Café. Down street on the left side. Will meet you there. Gramps.
She looked down the main street and started walking. Midway down the street she saw a blue timber statue of a dog out on the pavement and smiled. It was cute—someone had put a lot of work into. A man stood at the café entrance. His hair was light brown and short. His jeans looked too big for him and his brown wintery jumper made him look like a grizzly bear. Isabella was just about to pass him and walk into the café when she heard her name called. She turned. It was the grizzly at the entrance.
“Isabella . . . right? Your granddad sent me to get you. My name is Lucas.”
“You’re not an angel, are you?” This appeared to catch the man off guard.
“Umm . . . do you mean not a good person?”
Why was he looking down the street? He’s acting like she would. “No, sorry. It’s hard to explain.”
“It’s okay. I’ve parked the car out the back. Just need to go through the café.”
There was a message alert on Isabella’s watch. She looked at it. You can trust him.
It was her granddad’s car out the back. It wasn’t locked, so they both climbed in. The man started the car. Crunch. His gear changing was not good. Crunch. Out of the car park now, Isabella looked back—a man was hurrying out of the café, looking at their car and on the phone. Another man stood in the background—the man with a long beard from the bus.
“You haven’t stolen gramps’s car, have you? Or forgotten to pay a bill?”
“No, why?”
“There appears to be men wanting to catch up with you.” She watched as Lucas took a quick look behind them.
“Could be a number of things, Isabella. I think they’re after your gramps, most probably an outstanding fine or fines.”
“Nah, my gramps is a safe driver. Besides, this thing wouldn’t go very fast.”
“You’ll be surprised. Wait til we get out in the open road and I’ll show you.”
“Should we go back then?”
“Can’t do that. Gramps is dying to see you.”
14 – Old cars, new cars
STARKEY TRUSTED LUCAS TO NOT MAKE A GETAWAY. So Lucas repaid the trust by retrieving his granddaughter for him.
Lucas didn’t quite know what to think when he first saw the car. Starkey referred to it as the jalopy and Lucas could see why. It was a red Ford Fusion with some kind of paint disease. Almost like it was sunburnt and now peeling. Lucas had walked around the car when he first saw it to make sure it was all fitted together.
“Has this car been in a war zone or something?” Lucas had asked.
