The lady must have noticed her nose wrinkling. Like a rabbit.

“Thanks. I was considering a move inside.”

The lady smiled as she placed a black baseball cap on her head. “Best to stay out in the world. Lovely blue ocean. Lovely blue sky.”

Ruby nodded. This lady was on the same wavelength as her.

“Even the moon is out.” The lady tilted her head towards the sky.

Ruby looked at the silvery sphere of the moon in the sky. 

“You a local or visiting?” the lady asked.

“Just visiting.” The lady’s eyes had a tinge of sadness in them. “And you?”

“Just visiting as well. Having a get together with some like-minded people. They call it the Blue Moon Festival.”

“Yes, that’s why I’m visiting.” Ruby smiled. “Some friends were worried about me because they thought I was going to the Blue Moon Festival in Bali. One of the friends had been there and said it was a wild and dangerous time.”

“Yes, there’s a big difference. This is more of a time of reflection than a time of craziness. What I’ve seen from media outlets on the full moon parties in Bali, it’s one crazy and scary time.”

The water vibrations had relaxed Ruby and lifted any inhibitions. “I think you’re right. I’m hoping for a time of peace and reflection.”

“I’m sure you’ll find that. They say the ocean helps give the moon a blue tinge. I’m not sure how much truth there is to that, but it has a nice ring to it, the ‘once in a blue moon’ thing. It’s a special time. A magical time.”

The bearded man moved in his seat to look more out into the bay.

“Is this the first time they’ve done this type of festival?” Ruby asked.

“Yes. But a group of us do meet regularly on the island. As I’m sure you’re aware of, the festive activities are all tuned in with nature. That’s what our group do. We normally meet around the time of the full moon because we believe it’s a powerful time to harness energy. In fact, our group is responsible for organising the Blue Moon Festival. I should introduce myself—I’m Jill Spencer.”

Jill put out her hand.

The man stood up, gave a shrug to indicate he was feeling the cold, and headed inside. Or maybe the conversation wasn’t manly enough for him. Ruby believed men didn’t explore their feelings or at least the men she’s dealt with. Rash thoughts, Ruby. Still more healing needed?

Ruby watched the man depart and then placed her hand in Jill’s. “Nice to meet you, Jill. I’m Ruby Fisher.” 

Jill placed her other hand over Ruby’s and looked into her eyes. “Lovely earthy eyes you have, like blue sapphire. And you have a lovely earthy name.”

“Thank you.”

“Could I ask if you’ve a middle name?”

She fought off feelings of unease. “That’s fine. I quite like my middle name. It’s Meridian.”

“Ah, you’re a ruby that encircles the earth.”

“That’s nice. My first name is obvious.” Ruby touched her head and noticed tension in her arm. “My parents told me they chose Meridian because they wanted me to be a person of accomplishment. You know, to reach the pinnacle. Maybe they wanted me to climb Mount Everest or something.”

Jill smiled and raised her eyebrows. “But I sense a disconnection there.”

She was intruding now. “No, not really. My mother died a couple of years ago. Dad, after a time of grieving, hooked up with another lady and they travel a lot. I don’t see much of him.”

“No siblings?”

And the questions kept coming. “Yep, a brother. He’s in the army. So we just connect occasionally. But we have a good relationship.” 

A shadow caught Ruby’s attention. Dolphins were surfacing for air and cruising along the surface at the rear of the boat, diving in and out of the water. She nodded in the direction for Jill to look. Perhaps the greyish-blue mammals would provide a distraction.

Jill turned and looked. “Yes . . . beautiful creatures. Our group use the dolphin as an icon. We see them as intelligent creatures with a metaphysical message—we can learn from them.”

Not only intrusive, but now getting too deep. Ruby was looking for a boost of energy and didn’t want to delve into this metaphysical world. Or maybe she did. She believed an outside force was leading her, guiding her, but she wanted to take things in small doses. This lady was into it all in a big way.

“If it’s not too personal, can I ask how your mother died?” Jill asked.

Did she really want to talk about that? Ruby tried not to think of her mother. She still missed her, but she’d allowed the memories to fade. Allowed other things to take up her time. But now, as she was forced to think of her mother, she felt a brief surge of energy inside her. Was something suppressed?

Ruby looked out to the bay and then returned her gaze to Jill. “It is a bit personal.”

Jill sat back. “I’m sorry to hear that. But maybe you will find healing at the festival.”

Healing? Is that why she’d come? Healing . . . was that her journey?

5 – The disembarked

CHRISTOPHER DISCOVERED THE PARK BENCH not long after moving to the island. It provided bay views people would kill for, and the opportunity for him to watch the comings and goings of vehicles from the ferry terminal with his favourite pair of binoculars. A plaque dedicated the bench to a young person who had committed suicide. Christopher felt a twinge of guilt with his insensitive thoughts about the view. He sighed and took in a breath of air. The fragrance of a frangipani tree planted close by cast a tropical spell over those seated on the bench at this time of the year. 

His binoculars opened up the world of the bay. He preferred the larger binoculars because they gave a clearer, crisper image, and he didn’t mind the extra weight because they never travelled far with him. He’d zoom in on activities in the calm bay waters, including dolphins leaping above the water surface and birds diving into the waters for fish. He once followed a dark shadow that turned out to be a dugong.

He zoomed in on a ferry shooting towards the terminal, watching as the ferry docked and people disembarked. His chest tightened as he saw an entity come off the ferry.

Binoculars made Christopher blink. And blinking switched his vision from the visible realm into the invisible realm—the unseen world. He acquired the ability from a technical mishap during the testing of scientifically advanced equipment—what people referred to as the vanishing episodes of some years back. They’d used him as an unwilling guinea pig and it had altered the wiring in his head, so he now saw things unseen. It had been frightening at first, but he now had it under control to the point where he could use his mind to control what he saw. 

He stayed in unseen mode while he watched the people coming off the ferry. A large green-skinned demon hovered beside a lady wearing a black cap. Other smaller demons floated around, checking out if any riff-raff were visiting the island. His neighbour’s friend, the wizard look alike, was meeting someone. 

Distracted by the dark entities, he almost forgot to check if Wally had disembarked. He scouted around with his binoculars and found a bearded Wally staring straight at him and waving. Wally had visited before and knew Christopher would be perched on his favourite hill. Wally started walking up the track towards Christopher. 

While Wally headed in his direction, Christopher did another scan. Some angels were watching over their assignments. A lightly built attractive redhead stood looking around—she neither had angels or demons near her—the demons were contemplating a move, but were hesitating. The girl raised her arm and waved. Christopher followed the path of the wave and saw a couple of girls walking towards the redhead. One girl had the company of a large demon. This girl looked towards the lady with the black cap. It looked to Christopher as if some kind of secret acknowledgement took place. 

Christopher watched the girls greet each other. He imagined the ‘hi’s’ and the ‘heys’. The demons weren’t so hesitant any more. Christopher lowered his binoculars and rubbed his eyes. His mouth was dry. Danger?

Christopher looked down the track towards Wally. Halfway here, and he wasn’t puffing too much. Good, he’d been looking after himself in the months since they’d last seen each other. Wally had shared the homeless city life with Christopher. They also shared the experience of being unwitting guinea pigs. But the experience was behind them now, and their lives had now gained order. Some had said they both looked younger not that they were that old anyway, but living on the streets does age one. 

Wally worked as a barista at a favourite city coffee hangout. His beard and personality had a reputation in the city, and had also attracted a nice lady into his life.

Christopher removed the binoculars from around his neck and placed them into his backpack. He sipped some water and took a quick glance over the bay. His eyes widened as he watched a white-bellied sea-eagle gliding over the crystal blue waters. So majestic, so powerful.

“G’day, Churchie.”