Ruby looked up to see crystal blue waters, dolphins jumping, people walking and pausing at craft stalls.

“Yes, the marketing machine at work.”

“I’m going with Shoana. You should come along. We can get up to some mischief. And you may meet a dark stranger.”

“You worry me, Zoe.” The bearded man stopped scrolling and looked in their direction. Was it something they said? 

“Zoe.” A doctor materialised from the corridor leading down to the patient rooms.

Zoe gave the doctor a wave and stood up. “Won’t be long, Ruby.”

The doctor acknowledged Ruby—they’d known each other a long time and Ruby had recommended her to Zoe. 

“No probs.” Ruby watched as Zoe walked off. The bearded man watched as well. Then he looked at Ruby and held eye contact past the stare-by-date. Ruby turned away and looked towards the reception area. A lady in a light blue uniform stared at the bearded man and caught his attention. She gave him the what-are-you-up-to look and tilted her head towards Ruby. Why did she do that? He’d already given her enough unwanted attention.

Ruby looked back towards the man. He was looking back at her.

She needed some fresh air.

She stood outside. Her thoughts went to crystal blue waters and dolphins. 

2 – Reflection and ferries

JILL WINTER’S WORK WEEK WAS FLATLINE, but there was a highlight.

Her house was tucked away in a sleepy urban village on the outskirts of a bayside suburb. She was glad her work week was over. After removing her work uniform and donning her favourite robe, she strolled into her special room. She tilted her head upwards and took a peaceful, deep breath. Tingles of energy ran through her body as she escaped the anxiety filled world and transformed into the high priestess.

A large black mirror with a vintage frame rested above the dressing table. It was her magic mirror but others knew it as a scrying mirror—a window to the spiritual world. She would gaze into the mirror daily, looking for patterns, symbols, messages, or visions. Yesterday she’d experienced her first vision: a woman with glowing red hair. The woman had looked like the girl she saw at the clinic on Monday—the daughter of that man. 

She was grateful the gods had brought this girl into her life, and now she would do what she could to please them. At least, she hoped the vision was from the mirror and not her mind. The desire of revenge could do strange things to the mind.

Jill stroked her hair as she gazed into the mirror. Her long grey-blonde hair fitted with the image of a high priestess. A hairbrush with a gold-plated handle lay on the dressing table. She picked up the brush, parted her hair, and brushed. The bristles massaged and warmed her scalp, sending energy through her body—yes, she was happy, bubbly. A long way from the fearful person she once was.

A small red spider appeared and ventured from the wall onto the mirror and wandered across the glass—red and black. Such a contrast. She rested the brush on the dressing table and placed a finger near the spider. It hesitated, then scampered down her finger and onto her hand. 

Now, don’t you bite me. 

Which Egyptian goddess associated herself with spiders? The name eluded her. She released the spider on the dressing table, bid it farewell, and watched as it vanished over the edge. Then she offered up apologies to the gods for her memory lapse. 

But there was one Egyptian god she wanted to please—the spider, its colour, all connected. Warmth and peace surged through her as she thought of the coming trip to the island. In her mind’s eye, she stood in her robe with her arms raised to the sky. The god would be pleased. Tingles raced through her body.

She resumed brushing her hair. Her partner’s support motivated her—guided by his Great Architect. He understood the things that needed to be done and he encouraged her. Sometimes she wondered why but such thoughts came from her old insecurities trying to fight their way back into her life.

A dark thought. She frowned and tilted her head. Could her partner be trusted? 

Where did that come from?

Go away. She never wanted to return to those dark, depressed days and she hated the person that put her there, but someone would pay. The daughter of the man at fault and then maybe him.

She needed to focus on the task ahead, so whispered a goodbye to the mirror and disconnected from the spiritual world. She stood up and walked into her bedroom. The room was cold. Its warmth had departed through the uncovered window. She shivered and walked over to the window. How fitting—the full moon was climbing above the island. The water sparkled with glints of orange, adding joy to her heart. Reluctantly, she closed the curtains. Darkness also brought joy to her heart. 

She lay on her bed and thought of her partner. She pictured him in his favourite shirt, a Hawaiian design, palm trees, blue sunset—it needed updating. He would be tugging at his beard, wandering the island. He’d left earlier, taking their boat. She hoped he was behaving. Although he’d never done anything to hurt her, his wandering eyes and other peculiarities disturbed her at times. She’d learned to push them back as she still found him endearing. It must be her mothering gene. 

She would join him on the island tomorrow. 

Her partner convinced her that the girl would come to the island, would participate in the circle. He had befriended and manipulated the appropriate person. Jill didn’t want to explore that thought too far.

What should she pack? Not now. Her eyelids were heavy. She relented. The image of the robed high priestess returned, the shadow of the hood concealing the face in darkness. Her mind moved her closer to the shrouded face. Her body shuddered. The face was covered in tiny green blackish crawling creatures. The creatures tumbling from the eyelids as they opened to reveal yellow reptilian eyes. Jill opened her eyes for a moment before a heaviness returned her to the land of dark dreams.

<°))) ><

Saturdays brought with it a different world. Shopping, gardening, exercising, socialising, and enthusiasm. And Ruby had to get out of her rut. 

The man mowing her father’s lawn wasn’t the bronzed muscled man that housewives fell over. The mowing man must be in his sixties, but he looked fit and had muscle tone. She needed to give the man access to the property as her dad was still overseas, trudging through swamps seeking unusual bird encounters.

She sat on a bench under a large tree and tried to catch up on some reading while the man went about his tasks. Birds in the bird bath distracted her—Dad had passed his interest in nature on to her. She was convinced some of her friends didn’t know the difference between a tree and a bird. Harsh, but close to the truth.

The sound of the mower came closer.

The man removed his ear piece. “Won’t be much longer,” he yelled.

“That’s okay. I’m reading.” She pointed to the tablet device on her lap. “No rush.”

“What ya reading?” He turned off the mower.

“Just a healthy, nature-type book.”

“Good. Hope it’s not one of those new age books.” The man pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket.

“New age?” She hoped he wasn’t allergic to grass.

“Yeah, you know. Nature and spirit type stuff.” The man blew his nose. “Had a sister who got caught up in that stuff. Didn’t do her any good.” He paused, gave another blow, and had more to say. “Some call it a demonic deception.”

“I’m sure it’s harmless.” This man liked to express his views.

“Don’t be too sure.” The man started up the mower again. “Best get back to work. Just be careful.”

“I will. Thanks for your concern.” Ruby watched as he returned to attacking the grass. He gave her a smile and a wave.

Demonic deception? Strange. What did he mean by that? What she was reading could only be harmless. Her interest in nature often made her think all has not been revealed. She believed it was the spiritual side that needed exploring and that was why she’d decided to go to the spiritual event on the island with Zoe and Shoana. They’d convinced her it would change her life. 

She looked at the time. Mower man would be finished soon. Then she could lock up and head to the ferry terminal. She was off to one of the bay islands and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. The mowing man had planted a seed. A foreign seed. A negative seed. 

Ruby wanted to be positive. Now she sensed she needed to be careful . . . but of what? She wasn’t sure. The demon thing worried her.

3 – The island estuary

CHRISTOPHER LEWIS STOOD IN THE PARKLANDS staring up at the sky. The outline of an almost-full moon hung in the blue afternoon sky, working to claim its lofty and majestic position, not allowing any clouds to conceal it.