The Kicking Tree

by Trevor Stubbs

  That night Shaun drifted into a deep sleep. A combination of exhaustion, organ failure and drugs.

  *

  Shaun died in his sleep the next day without regaining consciousness. In some ways it was a very special moment for Jack. Later he reflected that it was a privilege to be with someone when they died – but an even more special privilege to be with your own father. It wasn’t frightening at all. It was, as he told people later, “More of a ‘wow’ than a ‘yuk’ experience!” But after he had gone there was a huge emptiness. The focus of his attention, and even love, was no longer there. The body was empty. Shaun had gone. Jack felt a whole cocktail of emotions. He had both found and lost his father within twenty-four hours!

  Jalli said little – she just clung to Jack and Jack to her. They rang Matilda and she said she would travel to Leeds straight away. They also rang George. George came straight round to the hospital.

  While they were together in the visitors’ suite the social-worker reappeared. She was sensitive and kind and explained she would see that they got somewhere to stay.

  “That’s alright,” interjected George. “They’re staying in Middleton.”

  “I’m not sure if I can allow that.”

  “Why not?”

  “This girl is under eighteen and…”

  “I, we, would like to go with George,” said Jack decisively. “Mum’s on her way. I’ll ring her and she will say it’s OK.”

  He did so and, of course, she did. Jack gave her the Lovewell View address.

  The social-worker then talked about a funeral. As the next of kin, Jack was responsible she explained. She could arrange for an undertaker. Had he any ideas about where the funeral was to take place?

  “Take him back to Middleton,” said Jack, “and can we have that vicar who was here yesterday?”

  “A church?” mused George.

  “Yes. Why not. The local church.”

  “Never thought ‘e were religious.”

  “Well, he said his prayers. In his own way, he told me. I want him to have the best we can give him.”

  *

  They went back to George’s place and had a cup of tea. George’s wife Ann was most attentive. Jack’s mum rang to say she was pulling into Leeds City Station. George set off to fetch her and an hour later they were altogether.

  “He went peacefully,” explained Jack to his mother. “He wanted me to tell you he still loved you.”

  “So you told me. He was alright when he was sober,” she sighed.

  “He was rather rough even when he was sober in hospital,” volunteered Jack. “But seemed really genuine. I believe he meant what he said. He knew he was dying.”

  They told Matilda about the social-worker, and the problems with Jalli’s non-existent passport. Matilda was alarmed. If they took Jalli into custody things would become incredibly complicated – and her son could end up in serious trouble too.

  “Look,” she said. “We’ll have to get Jalli home before the authorities act.”

  “But I’m not leaving Jack. Not now!” protested Jalli.

  “Jalli,” said Jack, “Mum’s right. I want you here, too – very much – but we must get you out of Britain in case they put you in a detention centre. They’ll never understand about our white gates. I’ll be OK. I’ll get you back to Persham tomorrow.”

  “No, I will,” intervened Matilda. “Best you stay here and see the vicar and organise things for the funeral. If you’re not here that will only complicate things further.”

  “Well, I don’t understand all this completely of course,” said Ann, “but if I were you I’d get Jalli here out as quick as you can. They’re getting hot on illegals at the moment. It’s all over the news. There’s a lot of this people smuggling these days, and young women and children are being brought in to be exploited. I saw it on the telly, about the ‘Stop the Traffic’ thing. It’s awful what’s happening, and they may think that’s how you got here, Jalli.”

  “But I am just Jack’s friend,” protested Jalli, “he did not, how do you say it, smuggle me. I haven’t done anything wrong!”

  “But you have, according to the law,” mumbled Jack. “You didn’t come into the country with a passport and a proper visa. People coming from outside the EU have to have special permission if they want to come here.”

  “Outside the EU? What is that?”

  “The European Union. Your student card is clearly not European.”

  “But I want to stay here, Jack. I want to help with the funeral.”

  “I know,” said Jack, “and I want you to stay. But they’re right. If you don’t get back through the gate they might arrest you. You have to go. I will come to the garden as soon as I get back to Persham. I promise.”

  After all the “fairytale” wonder of discovering one another, and the excitement of their joint adventures, Jack and Jalli were at this moment experiencing a real dose of reality. In all their exploits, they had not come up against the system of law – government rules that could simply deny them freedom to be together. Like Romeo and Juliet they were not the first in history to suffer this fate. Lovers believe that “Love should conquer all”, and that no-one has the right to part them, but the rules to prevent illegal immigration take no account of this. Jack and Jalli now found themselves in the same heart-rending situation that young sweethearts suffer all the time. Ann recollected a Hindu girl in Leeds who fell in love with a Muslim boy. His parents sent him to Pakistan.

  George intervened, “Let’s give the stories a rest before we make these young people even sadder. The fact is, Jalli must go. And soon. They know where they are of course. I suggest I take Jalli and Matilda down to the station at six o’clock tomorrow morning to catch an early train.”

  “As soon as that!” exclaimed Jack.

  “They’ll be round tomorrow for sure. Best get her home lad.”

  “You’re right George,” said Ann. And Matilda agreed.

  “OK,” said George, “We’d better get you back to your B & B. Are you all staying there?”

  “I don’t know,” said Matilda. “I haven’t booked anywhere. Will there be room?”

  “I doubt it,” said Ann, “if not, you can stay here.”

  There wasn’t room for all of them in Lovewell View and after she’d seen they were properly cared for, Matilda was happy to return with George.

  That night the young people sat huddled together in the B & B with Jack assuring Jalli he would be alright. “Best you go,” he sighed, “it’ll only be a week.” The cuddles were only matched by the tears.

  *

  By day break, everyone was up and ready and exchanging goodbye hugs. Matilda assured them she would be back before the day was out. Jack had to confess he was relieved to see Jalli go. A true lover puts the safety of the beloved before anything else. Jalli took little notice of the journey, she had had little sleep. They went to St Paul’s school directly from the station and Matilda saw her through the white gate. When she felt the blessing and the peace of the garden, Jalli realised her tiredness and confusion had prevented her from her normal natural freedom to pray.

  “Sorry,” she sighed to her Maker, “why was it when I most needed you I forgot you?”

  After half an hour Jalli was more herself. She washed and felt better. She set off for home and Grandma.

  *

  At nine o’clock the social-worker arrived at Lovewell View and wanted to know where Jalli was. “Gone home,” explained Jack. He told her exactly how he had met her and how she came to be in England. Jack assured her she would not see a white gate – unless the Creator intended her to travel between planets herself – but if she needed any proof she could be present when he disappeared through the wall! She wanted to know how she could put all that in her report. It was the truth, Jack assured her.

  Later that evening Matilda returned. She had taken a taxi from the station to Lovewell View and was only there for a minute before the police knocked on the door. A policeman and a policewoman as
ked if they could come in. Jack went through the same story again. They required to know exactly where Jalli was. George thought it best to be as polite and cooperative as possible. The landlady who felt really sorry for the way things had turned out offered to show them round the house. “If you don’t mind,” said the policewoman, that would be helpful. We have had a spate of cases where young girls have been brought into Leeds for the sex trade and we are obliged to make a full report. We do not think you are part of that, but Jack’s story is not believable – well, not without further evidence.”

  After the police had looked everywhere, including the loft, the garden shed and under the stairs with no sign of Jalli, Matilda said rather crossly, “Look, nothing bad is going on here. Jalli Rarga has gone back home to her own planet. She’s disappointed at the lack of welcome the British authorities have for aliens from outer space. She’s gone home and she’s not coming back!”

  “Don’t get upset Mum, they do mean well,” said Jack, “they have to stop the trafficking.”

  “Well, I suppose so,” agreed Matilda less heatedly, “but Jalli’s been an inspiration for you – and for me. Without her you would never have done what you did in finding your father.”

  “But she’s safe now,” breathed Jack. Then the policeman bent down to the floor.

  “Hello, what’s this?” he said as he spied Jalli’s student card beside the leg of a chair.

  “It’s… it’s Jalli’s card. She must have dropped it. She’ll need it to get into the library in Wanulka.” He put out his hand to take it, but the policeman held him back. “What’s this language?” he asked but without touching the card.

  “It’s Wanulkish.” The card had Jalli’s picture and columns of Wanulkish script superimposed on a picture of the beach with the three suns in the sky. “This is the beach there. They have three suns above that planet. Jallaxanya is named after the biggest one.”

  “We’ll take this. It will help us identify where she comes from.” The policeman put on a pair of gloves and gingerly picked up the card and dropped it into a small bag.

  “She’ll need it back,” demanded Jack.

  “And how do you intend to get it to her?”

  “I’ll go to Wanulka!”

  “Well, make sure you do so legally. You can have this back after it has been properly examined by our experts. They’ll tell which country she comes from.”

  “Unlikely,” said Matilda, “if Jack is telling the truth.”

  The police officers took their leave. “You could try and get a lawyer to help. And your MP,” said the landlady.

  “No, there would be too much publicity,” sighed Jack, “and they would take her apart to find out about aliens! You know what they do on the films.” Jack shuddered. They would have to be very careful. It was a pity they had found that card, it might have been better if they hadn’t believed him. They would know for sure now that Jalli was not from anywhere on Earth.

  *

  The day of Shaun’s funeral came. Jack and the vicar had put together a short service, with Matilda’s help. The Middleton Arms was there in force, together with a few neighbours. “Dark horse, that Shaun. Never knew ‘e were religious!” said one of the men that propped up the bar there most days. Jack told them that his father was, “putting in a good word for the vicar”, and they all laughed. “That’s just like him,” said one. Jack had asked the choir to come and sing the song they had learned in the Newcastle chapel, “Be Not Afraid”, and they all joined in with “Amazing Grace” at the end.

  As they left the church Jack overheard George saying to Beth the barmaid, “I hope I have as good a send off when the time comes.”

  Then they all went on to the Middleton Arms where they sang a few other songs that were not in the hymn book!

  16

  Two weeks later Jack and Jalli were sitting together on the beach in Wanulka. Next to the cottage garden itself, this beach had a special attraction. Sometimes they liked to be together in a public place and “just watch the world go by” as Jack put it. They used the time to talk about their adventures and their lives up to that point.

  “You know,” reflected Jack, “a month ago I would never have believed it if you had told me I would find, and bury, my father within a week… By the way, I’ve got your student card back. The police made a big thing of it. It really caused a lot of debate. The card is apparently a type of plastic which, they say, is ‘interesting’, but which it would be possible to make anywhere in the universe. Of course, nobody could make anything of the script. It was an ingenious ‘invention’ they said. Oh, and the DNA on it was, apparently, all human. And George and Ann rang my mum and she said they said the police even came back looking for DNA samples at the B & B.”

  “But I am human. Like you. We’ve already decided that.”

  “Well, this confirms it. Jallaxanya Rarga is a human being with a sweet heart – and a fantastic body!” He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. They laughed. “Anyway, they have dismissed my story of your coming from a different planet, they have your DNA on their database, and mine, and I have received an official warning. If you come back to Britain you must do so through, ‘the proper channels’.”

  “How can I do that?”

  “You can’t. So we must just be careful.”

  “Do you reckon we’ve had all the unexpected adventures we’re going to have?”

  “Of course not. Life will always have its surprises right through. My father was surprised by finding me just before he died. Each of us might be equally surprised by some joy at the last minute, too.”

  “Well, I’m almost alarmed at going back into the garden and finding another white gate. I just like sitting in the shade on a sunny day with my handsome Jack Smitt and having everyone thinking what a lucky girl I am.”

  “I’m not sure anyone even notices!”

  “Oh, they do! You watch them!”

  “Well. I’ll take your word for it. If they’re all looking at us, I certainly don’t want to look at them! I don’t know about you but I’m hungry. Let’s go back to the cottage and get something to eat.”

  As soon as they got back to the cottage garden there was another small shed and a new white gate.

  “What a surprise!” declared Jack.

  “We must see it as a compliment, I suppose,” suggested Jalli, “we must have done the other tasks with some success or else we wouldn’t be moved on to a new one.”

  “If you put it like that, it does sound rather good: ‘Congratulations! You have successfully completed level three. Press “enter” to continue to the next level’! Anyway. Do you think it could wait until we’ve had our lunch?”

  “Most definitely!” Jalli was feeling quite hungry.

  Lunch, however, wasn’t very relaxed and they were soon finished.

  “It’s tropical again!” shouted Jack from inside the little shed. “We’ve both got sun hats made out of coconut palm leaves. Look!” He produced two wide brimmed hats woven out of strips of the palm when green. They were now quite a dull brown so they were by no means new, and, unlike the time when they were at the beach resort with Tod and Kakko and the others, there were no exciting new clothes either, just pairs of tatty trousers, and equally tatty long-sleeve shirts. There were some old plastic sandals but nothing else.

  “You look like a scarecrow!” declared Jack as Jalli emerged with her shirt sleeves halfway down her hands.

  “Thank you kind sir! You look appropriately dressed for your personality too!”

  They stood there and laughed because, in the soft green garden, it all looked rather ridiculous. Jalli rolled up the shirt sleeves. “That better?” she asked.

  “A bit,” laughed Jack. “I expect that we’ll blend in well where we’re going though. There’s no pack or anything. We must go just as we are I suppose.”

  “We’ll be looked after no doubt. As we always are,” volunteered Jalli.

  They opened the new white gate and stepped thr
ough. They were immediately up to their shins in water – sea-water – sloshing and surging inside a dark cave with a view of the open ocean at an entrance some ten metres in front of them. The salty air smelt strongly of seaweed. They felt its slimy fronds mixed with gritty sand around their toes.

  “Wow! We’re in a cave!” exclaimed Jack. His voice boomed in the small space above the roar of the sea outside.

  “Let’s get out!” shouted Jalli and pushed past Jack towards the opening.

  “Why the hurry?”

  “I spent too long cooped up in a hole last time round,” reminded Jalli.

  They emerged at the base of a cliff onto a small beach of black sand.

  “The tide’s out at the moment,” observed Jack, “so we’ll have to get off this beach before long.” He scanned the cliff behind them and plotted a route upwards. “It shouldn’t be too difficult.”

  Jack led the way carefully up smooth wet black rocks at first, then onto grey dry ones which were less smooth and not so kind to feet. Before long they had reached some grass.

  Jack looked back to note the way they had taken. “One thing is for certain. We’ll have to find our way back down again,” he remarked. By the time they had got nearly to the top of the cliff they had dried out, but they were pretty salty. Jalli had even torn an extra hole in the leg of her trousers. They reached the top and stood and stared. They were on an island, and they could see sea in every direction, various shades of blue depending on what lay beneath or the cloud shadows above. In front of them the land dipped more gently leading to a wide open bay curtained by a coral reef. There was a concave strand with sand ranging from deep grey at one end to almost white at the other. The beach was lined with coconut palms.

  “Wow!” said Jack.

  “Fantastic!” added Jalli, “A real fantasy island! It looks like we have it all to ourselves!”

  She put her arms round Jack and gave him a huge hug. “I’ve only ever seen pictures of these in books. Is this real?”

  “Sure is! My left foot is telling me I am standing on a thistle or something!” He sat down and tried to look at the sole of his foot.