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.”
Churchie. He hadn’t heard that for some time. Christopher stood up and gave Wally a welcoming hug.
“Might sit down and take in this magnificent view with you.”
“Good move, Wally.” Christopher joined him on the bench. “How ya doing?”
“I’m good, Churchie.” He gave Christopher a soft punch on the lap. “It’s great to catch up again. I miss our talks outside the church and your company.”
“You still going to church?”
“Yep, the Rev is still looking after me. Has me and the missus on greeting duty. And making the coffee after the service, of course.”
“Did you bring your coffee machine?”
“Yep, it’s in the backpack.”
They laughed. “It’s okay. We can grab a coffee from the shops down near the ferry terminal.”
“I take it you don’t have a coffee machine yet?”
“Nope. Maybe a Christmas present from someone.” He patted Wally on the leg. “Did you have a good trip?”
“Yep, sat out the back of the ferry until the conversation of a couple of new agers got too much for me.”
“What were they talking about?”
“Some Blue Moon Festival thing.” Wally looked to the sky. “I’m sure there’s a full moon up there somewhere.”
“Oh yeah, I’ve seen a few posters floating around. Haven’t paid much attention to it, but you’re right it is a full moon.” Christopher gave a small chuckle. “When all the weirdos come out of their caves.”
“Arooooooo.” Wally’s attempt of a wolf howl didn’t disturb the leaves of the frangipani tree nor the bird perched on a branch of the tree.
“That was bad.”
Wally agreed and got back on to the subject of new agers. “A lady with long grey-blonde hair talked about how a group of them met regularly on the island. Something about tuning into nature. Said they normally meet at full moon to harness energy. Bit spooky—funny thing was the lady reminded me of a witch but I can’t explain why.”
“A group of them?” Christopher was troubled. “I think I know where they meet.”
“Really? Maybe we should go spy on them and see what they get up to.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”
6 – Odds and ends
AN OLD WOODEN BOAT and other odds and ends were encamped in the carport. A large rusted anchor sat against the house, and shells were sprinkled throughout the yard. The place had a carefree feel about it—not a worry in the world. Windows left open. Ruby liked the feel of the place. She watched a small lizard scamper into the shrubbery surrounding the elevated house.
Their feet crunched on the shells as they headed up the path to the balcony. The door creaked as Shoana opened it and ushered Ruby in. Zoe followed.
Ruby looked around the spacious room. She sneezed at the dust floating in the air, stirred up by Shoana brushing past some curtains. Stairs led up to another level. She guessed the bedrooms were up there.
Shoana was up at the other level already, and Ruby wondered if she had flown up there. She was getting into the spirit of things, and looked around to see if there were any broomsticks resting against the wall. Laughably, there was a straw broom but it was obviously a décor feature.
“Your room is up here, Ruby. The one on the right. The bathroom is next to your room,” Shoana said. “Be warned, the toilet leaks and sounds spooky during the night. It gives the occasional gurgle that draws you out of your deep sleep.”
“Yep. I thought the place was haunted when I first heard it,” Zoe said.
“Come up and have a look before we get settled. Throw your backpack on the bed.” Shoana waved her up and went into Ruby’s room.
Ruby did as she was told and headed up the stairs. There was an atmosphere surrounding the rooms. Ruby couldn’t describe it but felt it as soon as she got to the top of the stairs. Shoana stood at the entrance to Ruby’s room. A light flickered across the pendant Shoana wore around her neck—a cross with a loop at the top. Ruby smiled and walked inside, past her.
