The Sentinels of Eden, Books 1-4

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

That week things got progressively worse. The sad melody of the river had become so addictive that it was starting to drift its way into my mind even when I was awake. It was an all-out struggle to focus on any sort of task properly and eventually I noticed my hands trembling as I was trying to cook dinner.

When we finished up our meal I carried my dishes to the dishwasher, watching my knife and fork jiggle about as I tried to keep them balanced on my plate.

‘It’s okay, Lainie, honey, I’ll do it,’ said Aunt Lily, catching my fork with her shoe as it fell.

I slumped back down at the table. ‘What’s wrong with me? Why am I always so exhausted?’ Our supply of ‘upstream’ river water had run out and I couldn’t help noticing that my tiredness had worsened significantly since then. There had to be a reason why, so I figured I might as well hear her explanation, if she had one.

She handed me a homegrown apple, and started filling the sink with hot water for the pots and pans. ‘You’re lacking an essential nutrient. Well, it’s essential for you, not for me. It’s a compound that’s only found in this river, as far as I know. The contaminants in the water are probably reacting with it and changing it into something else. Up until recently the locally grown fruit has had enough of whatever it is to sustain you, but not anymore.’

I thought it must be something like that. At least now I knew where my fruit gluttony came from. ‘Is that why all our fruit tastes weird these days?’

She nodded, looking defeated. ‘I’ll leave for Melbourne in the morning. The only thing I can think to do is to take the dregs of the water Harry brought back from the Eden boundary and have it analysed. Maybe if they compare it to a contaminated sample, we can find out what the compound is that you need and then maybe we can figure out a way to get it from another source. I have a contact that might be able to help but I’ll need to go in person to avoid a whole lot of unwelcome questions. I might as well check out the Gippsland sales while I’m down that way too. Can you manage here for a few days?’ She placed her arm around my shoulders.

I thought about all the work there was to do outside and how bone weary I was. And what if Kolsom came snooping around where they shouldn’t? What was I meant to do then? But she was doing this for me. How could I complain?

‘Of course, Aunt Lil, it’s me. I can do anything. I’m a Cherub, aren’t I?’

I lasted almost two whole days on my own before giving up and calling Noah. There wasn’t really any choice. A vicious windstorm had ripped through like a freight train during the night and a massive tree had come down on one of the fences. I managed ten minutes of chain-sawing before deciding it was just too dangerous in my pathetic state. Despite our recent awkwardness Noah came straight away, and after we repaired the fence I invited him to come in for a coffee.

‘Are you sure, Lainie? I mean, I’m happy to help but don’t feel you need to cross any boundaries you’ve made.’

I chuckled tiredly at his choice of phrase.

‘Just come in, Noah. I’m too tired to avoid you today.’ Stripping my leather gloves off, I slapped him playfully with them before chucking them in the shed with the rest of the tools.

We headed inside and I put the kettle on while he raided the pantry as he had always done. The fruit bowl was nearly empty but I found some bottled pears in the bottom of the cupboard. We polished them off along with a whole lot of Vegemite toast, which we shared with the cat.

‘Oh, mate, I’ve been so hungry lately! I ate an entire box of nectarines yesterday. It must be a post-exam thing,’ Noah said, catching the toast I dropped as I juggled the last two pieces from the toaster.

‘Nice to have them over with, though. And from what you said about the chemistry exam, I reckon you blitzed it.’

‘So long as I did enough to get into Ag Science, I’m happy.’

The thought returned that if what Harry had said was true then there was a very real possibility that I might not be going anywhere next year, and I wasn’t certain how I felt about that. I’d spent a long time preparing for the idea of leaving home and now I couldn’t work out if I felt relieved or disappointed. A bit of both really. Noah looked a little lost too as he spooned some Vegemite straight out of the jar. He didn’t seem comfortable with the idea of moving to the city either.

‘It’ll be great, Noah, you’ll love uni. You’re such a people person. City life will suit you. Then you can come back and make your millions revolutionising our farms.’ He smiled in rueful confirmation that I had guessed his anxious thoughts correctly.

Tossing my crusts to Inara, I headed for the door. As much as I wished he could stay longer, I didn’t want him to start asking me about my plans for next year. Had I just wasted all that effort on school? I had a thing or two to say to Aunt Lily if that was the case.

He picked up his car keys and started to leave, but stopped with his hand on the door handle and looked down self-consciously. ‘Mum said that you aren’t expecting Harry to come home for a while. I guess it’s about time he had a holiday.’ He cleared his throat uncomfortably. ‘When does your aunt get back? Do you … need a hand with anything else?’

Man, I had certainly made things awkward between us if he didn’t even know if he was welcome to offer to help.

‘She’s not due back until Wednesday. I could use some help, I guess. That would be really awesome, Noah, thanks. But only if you aren’t needed elsewhere,’ I added quickly.

‘They don’t need me,’ he smiled, fiddling with his watch. ‘They have Nicole! She’s trying hard to prove she can manage the farm entirely on her own. I think she plans on ditching school altogether as soon as she’s allowed. Besides, Mum’s been acting a bit weird lately. I’d rather stay out of the way of both of them.’

‘What about Claudia? Shouldn’t you be spending time with her?’ I tried hard to keep the edge out of my voice.

‘Claudia’s out of the picture, Lainie. Mum kind of scared her off.’

I absolutely loved Mrs Ashbree sometimes. ‘Oh. Your mum can be a bit scary. I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you.’

He looked at me intently, his bright green eyes piercing. ‘Are you, Lainie? You didn’t seem all that enthusiastic about her.’

‘Well, maybe not her. Maybe pick someone with more common sense than a peanut next time. Did she really ask your mum’s opinion about the lingerie she bought?’

He looked pained. ‘Mum told her she loved it and already owned a set exactly the same. It put us both right off.’

I laughed so hard that Noah had to give in and see the funny side.

‘Anyway,’ he argued, ‘why would she need common sense when she’s such an adorable tiny pixie?’ he asked, batting his long blond eyelashes at me and flashing his dimples.

‘Urgh. Get out of here, before I chuck,’ I said, poking him in the ribs. He’d always teased me about my farm-muscled shoulders and height, so I knew we were reverting back to our normal friendly banter. But then he grabbed my hand mid-poke and held onto it. ‘I’ve missed you, Lain. It just hasn’t been the same without you around.’

For some reason, I couldn’t meet his eyes. ‘I know, Noah, and I’m sorry I yelled at you. I’ll try harder to be reasonable next time, I promise.’

He held my hand a moment longer, and took a short breath as if he wanted to say more, but then turned and walked out the door. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’

The moment Aunt Lily returned on Wednesday afternoon, I plonked myself onto the couch and lay there like a lizard in the sun. I never wanted to move again. My bones felt like they had been replaced with jelly crystals and my head hurt. Aunt Lily poured herself a glass of wine and joined me.

‘How did you go? Any miracle cures for me?’ Idly I plucked bits of fluff off the tired cushion I was cuddling and stared up at the ceiling. It had different cornices than the ceiling above my bed. I’d never noticed before. It was a reflection of the number of sleepless nights I’d spent staring up at it lately.

‘Not yet, still working on it. It’ll take a bit of chemical wizardry to find something unusual and then try to duplicate it without telling anyone why. My contact thinks I’m looking for mining contaminants. Luckily he’s very much against the coal seam extraction process so he’s genuinely enthusiastic about the opportunity to test the water. How did you manage here?’

‘I had to ask Noah to help.’

She put her glass down gently. ‘Oh. I understand. Is it still awkward between you?’

‘Yes,’ I said sulkily, ‘but it’s better now. I apologised.’

‘About time. It’s been weird not having him around.’

Something in my chest felt hot and swirly and unpleasant. ‘Well, you’ll have to get used to that. He’ll be off to the city in a couple of months, after all.’

‘And you too?’ she asked tentatively.

‘Me? How can I go anywhere? I’m stuck here, remember? Especially if I’m the only Cherub around to do whatever it is I’m supposed to be doing.’

‘You’ll still study, though. Most of the courses you applied for can be done by correspondence, with only a few trips into Melbourne each semester.’

‘So you knew this was coming?’

‘Lainie, even if Harry was still around I knew you would have some problems. Do you remember the last trip overseas we took?’

‘Not really, I spent most of it feeling dizzy and nauseated.’ Rotten homesickness. That had been a few years ago though, and I’d assumed it would pass as I got older. ‘Was that because of the nutrient I can only get from here?’

‘Possibly. I really will do everything I can to try to solve that issue, but I’m not confident that’s all it is. I think you’re meant to stay in Nalong.’

That was what Harry had implied, too. ‘So that’s it?’ I snapped. ‘I’m just supposed to settle down here and farm for the rest of my life?’

‘Would that be so bad?’

In an unusual moment of clarity I realised that she had done exactly that, for me. Somehow I’d never considered that she might have had another life planned. Did she ever have a different career? A relationship with someone special? Just what had she given up to look after me, knowing we had to stay in this town permanently? I cuddled the cushion again. ‘Sorry. I guess I just need some time to adjust to the idea. I don’t like having my choices taken away from me. I didn’t mean to sound so petulant.’

Her face softened. ‘It’s fine. Totally understandable. We’ll find a way, Lainie. I want you to study. I want you to have every opportunity that your parents didn’t. We’ll work something out.’

She left to unpack her bag as I stared dejectedly at the non-matching cornices.