Magic Within the Waves

Chapter Three - Mum is Everywhere

Chapter Three

Mum is Everywhere

Life after Mum’s funeral was a constant struggle. Of course, I kept my pain hidden behind a mask of false smiles, never crying, not even if I was alone. Dad had so much on his plate as it was and there was no need to worry him. The emotional anguish grew worse on the days I was left at home, even more so when I was alone during the school holidays, especially while Dad spent the time off from work visiting family and friends in town. We never went hungry, even though food was far from my mind. No matter where he went, someone would send home a plate of food, or sometimes an entire roast. Everywhere I went in the house I heard Mum’s voice, smelt her sweet perfume, or pictured her walking next to me – a book in her hands, and a smile on her face.

We had moved into this quaint beach house on Fifty-Two Welsh Street, Christie’s Harbour when Mum had first been diagnosed with her heart disease. Our new home was her pride and joy. When the doctors gave her the news – she had less than twelve months to live, she made a list of wishes to fulfil before it happened.

One – was to be a perfect mother. Two – was to spend a night at Point Castle on the very top of Lockout Peak, in the heart of Christie’s Harbour. Three – was to move from the bustle of city life and live close to the beach. Four – was to prove to me at least one of her mythical creatures were real. And last of all... Five – was to take a strand of unicorn hair and keep it for luck.

Three of her wishes had been granted. One – She had raised me well and taught me to be strong and think for myself. Just knowing she had loved me, filled me with pride. No one, I was sure, could have raised me better than my wonderful parents.

Two – Both Mum and Dad had spent a romantic night at Point Castle together. When they returned, they brought back a camera filled with photos. After we got them developed, I understood why Mum had wanted to go there. It was a gothic building filled with magical intrigue inside and out.

Three – Last but not least, because Dad loved Mum so much, he sold the old house in the city, changed jobs, and shipped us to this beach house, a five-minute walk from the picturesque crystal blue water at Harbour Beach.

Though I had left everyone I had ever grown up with behind … my childhood friends and a few family members, I didn’t complain. In the short time at my new school, I made new friends. I still kept in contact with my best friend Sarah Evans. In no time at all, I had grown to adore the beach and the fresh scent of the ocean air.

The very day we moved, trailing behind the removalist truck through the main street of the small town, Mum persuaded Dad to pull into the car park overlooking the beach. Taking my hand, she escorted me to the edge of a hanging rock formation and stood with me for a while, soaking in the magnificent view while tiny rocks plonked into the water below. Never had I seen such golden sand and smooth, naturally formed grey-brown rocks outside of photos and my own imagination.

Sadly, our visit was short-lived. Mum couldn’t catch her breath and collapsed to her knees in front of me.

Before Dad and I could carry her to the car, she held me close and whispered into my ear. ‘Mel, there is more magic in the waves than in any other place. It is where sailors have witnessed the beauty of mermaids and where twicorns roam, searching for the perfect place to lay their young. Magic is in every living thing, but the ocean is where the magic begins.’

Almost every day, I thought about Mum and heard her voice in the back of my mind, often retelling stories from my childhood over the phone to my three best friends, Sarah Evans, Carmen Cade, and Ruth Adel. Since Sarah had grown up with me, she already knew everything. But she enjoyed hearing them again.

Dad returned to working full-time with Josh and Luke Parker’s Paint and Plaster. It wasn’t much of a change for him. And he seemed to be fitting in well. When we were in the city, Dad worked for A & K Pipeline, a popular plumbing service. Every time he climbed into his car at five in the morning, he left me in a hollow house once again, with only whispers keeping me company.

Before bed, I sat amongst Mum’s fairytale books and flipped through the familiar pages. So far, I had read the first five on the top of the pile, Creatures in the Shadow ... How to Tell the Difference Between a Winged Unicorn and a Pegasus ... Water Nymphs Versus Earth, Fire and Air ... The Truth Behind the Myth of a Drop-Bear and, What a Hoopersnake Looks Like.

When I opened the book; How to Tell the Difference between a Winged Unicorn and a Pegasus, and glanced down at the magical creature on the page Mum had drawn so perfectly, her voice filled my thoughts. It was so clear, I had to look over my shoulder to see if she was behind me. ‘Unicorns are one of the most sought-after creatures. They have the ability to heal… and their horns, when ground into dust, can be used for spells. Not to mention they are the main emblem of Scotland. Because of their many uses, unicorns have learnt how to use camouflage and only approach people they trust.’

Her voice, her life and everything about who she was, had been entwined within these pages. In this book, with the help of a publishing friend, Mum designed the cover and some of the fascinating unicorn pictures inside. You could see how well her artistic hands handled the brush and the patience and knowledge she had burning inside to create the images. If only I too, could be like her. But drawing was never one of my strong suits. If I drew my idea of what a velvetini looked like, you would swear it was a crazy winged beast instead of a majestic butterfly-like creature.

‘I miss you, Mum.’ I clung to the book, Winged Creatures, inhaling the shelved book scent and stroking her name on the back cover. ‘I miss your magic, your stories ... I miss you.’

Eventually, after a few weeks of mourning, I returned to school. People looked at me differently when I approached them, acting like losing a parent was an infectious disease. Thoughts of Mum encouraged me to take that first step into the homegroup classroom, but it wasn’t easy. I sat down at the only available desk, to be instantly confronted by evil Gabby Ink. Usually, she found a way of humiliating me in front of the entire class, and today she was happy to do so again. Whatever it was she didn’t like about me, Gabby had no fear of voicing her taunting thoughts.

‘I hear Melinda has been seen talking to herself,’ she teased, perching on my desk, her perfect blonde hair cascading in ringlets down her back. She fluttered her pink-tinted eyelashes and faced the entire class. ‘It is like she thinks she’s talking to her dead mother. If you ask me, I think she’s a little crazy.’ She twirled her finger in a circle beside her head and managed to get a laugh out of her group of dyed blonde plastic-fantastics, Steph Middleton, Jess Prichard, and Susan Haynes.

When I didn’t reply or acknowledge the fact she had spoken, she leaned in closer and whispered so only I could hear her. ‘I see you talking to yourself almost every day, Melinda. Oh, poor dear innocent Melinda, with no mother and a father who’s too busy working to pay her any attention.’

Now she had pushed me too far. ‘Leave me alone,’ I hissed through clenched teeth, my hands clutching the desk, fighting against the urge to slap her across the face.

‘Why, when annoying you is just so much fun?’ She straightened up on my desk, swinging her legs in front of her. ‘Nothing better than knowing I’m so much… better than you.’ With a know-it-all smirk, Gabby leapt off my desk, knocking my books to the floor with an echoing thud.

‘Don’t worry about her,’ I heard Mum say, her voice rising above Gabby’s in my mind. ‘That girl has the face of a nymph but the personality of a hobgoblin. Just wait, one day soon, karma will bite her in the arse....’

Thankfully, Mr March, our Science and homegroup teacher, skipped energetically into the room and interrupted.

‘Ah, Miss Brown,’ he scooped up my books and slipped them onto the desk. ‘Looks like your books prefer the floor again today … A little bit of a scalding should teach them to behave… don’t you think?’

‘Thanks, Mr March.’ I smiled up at him, concealing my anger towards Gabby.

With a wink, he returned to the front of the class. Mr March was one of the few teachers whose lessons I enjoyed. He was a fit man, who looked years younger than he was. Most of the time I imagined he would have better been suited in a fitness teacher’s role or even as a dance teacher. He lunged from one side of the blackboard to the other in straight strides, never once faltering or dropping his chalk as he explained the roster for today.

All through homegroup, I could feel the heat from Gabby’s blue eyes on my back and hear her taunting whispers purposely aimed in my direction. I looked forward to recess where I could confide in Carmen and Ruth. I hated the fact I had been absent the day they had offered to give our principal, Mrs Kincaid, a hand with early morning announcements for the week. Ruth was always one to lend a hand and since the usual helpers were away sick, she couldn’t race out of the room quick enough, dragging an unenthusiastic Carmen along with her. Without both girls, I was defenceless around the plastics.

The recess bell rang, and I was the first out of the door, searching for Carmen and Ruth in the cafeteria. Carmen waved her slender arms in the air and summoned me over to a table closest to the exit door. Ruth joined me at the same time, her petite body once again covered by an ill-fitting large white shirt.

I fell into the seat beside them and slid my lunch onto the table. ‘You won’t believe the morning I have already had … Can we call it a day and go home early?’

‘Let me guess,’ Carmen tapped her bright orange nails against the table. ‘Gabby’s harassing you again?’

‘Yes,’ I sighed. ‘All homegroup and morning study she sat there just glaring at me. I wanted to slap her, but as usual, I would be the one to suffer the consequences. So, I focused on something Mum told me before she died.’

‘What was that?’ Ruth asked, grinning at me. ‘I bet she called Gabby a two-faced, pompous banshee or something.’

‘Close, she called her a hobgoblin… She believed that one day karma will bite her in the backside. I can’t wait for that to happen.’

‘Your Mum was the best judge of character.’ Carmen laughed, twirling her yellow-blonde fringe across her cheek. ‘Karma will definitely get her back.’

‘I agree,’ Ruth chirped with a brief nod, making her eyelids blink fast over her hazel eyes. ‘Ooh, it’s no long Gabby the plastic … she’s now dubbed The Hobgoblin ... oh no, Hobby is way better.’

‘Hobby,’ Carmen and I chuckled. ‘That’s perfect.’

The rest of that day, when we caught sight of Gabby and her group of plastic followers, we came up with a chant – ‘Make way for Hobby and her cronies, her ugliness hidden under her mask. Evil and spiteful with a nasty bite, watch out world, you don’t want to see what she’s like.’