by Jane Keehn
- You’re naked.
Emily gave a confused laugh.
The only things the woman wore were, a scrimshaw tooth hanging on a chain around her neck and a tattoo wrapped around her torso like a deadly vine from a fairy tale.
- I have to go.
Kendra turned around to hide her body.
- No, I didn’t mean. You don’t have to go...
Emily propped herself onto one elbow, attempting to raise herself from the soggy ground.
- I have to go home.
- But you just saved my life!
Emily yelled after her.
- No, I don’t think I did.
Kendra rushed off, grabbing Emily’s red jacket from the ragged limestone, threw it over her shoulders and was gone.
- My name’s Emily.
She shouted at Kendra’s disappearing figure.
- I work at the Maritime Centre. Come by, so I can thank you properly!
With Emily’s voice disappearing into the breeze, Kendra vanished, half-naked into the twisted undergrowth of the “Green Wood”.
Emily - Chapter 10
Kendra’s retreating, naked body smouldered in Emily’s mind.
She’d never seen this strange new girl before.
Emily ran a finger over her lower lip; the girl’s strange cold lips had moved over hers, pushing air into her lungs, slipping over Emily’s mouth keeping it airtight.
Emily’s breath quickened as she decided to stop her exploration of the Catacombs – a naked stranger had just saved her from drowning.
Or was it Leo?
- Come on Leo – let’s get out of here.
Leo obediently followed Emily back along the shoreline wading through the risen tidal pools, to where the ute was parked.
Emily looked back to Green Wood and wondered where her naked saviour could have disappeared to.
- Where did she come from, Leo? Only you know.
She slammed the door, annoyed with herself for getting into trouble and for not finding the entrance to the cave that lay deeper inside. The anger and confusion pumped through Emily’s body as the cold afternoon air blew through the open windows across her wet clothes.
She shivered, pushing her foot hard onto the accelerator, taking a corner a little too fast. Dirt skidded from the track. Emily grabbed at the steering wheel to stop the van from spinning.
She roared along the straight road toward the ever-glowing lights of the Esplanade Fun Fair.
Suddenly ravenous she spun the van into a car park near the old aquarium and slammed on the brakes, ramming to a halt at the back of a fair food stall. Leo jumped out behind her and they hovered with the small crowd lining up for a bucket of chips.
Remembering the strange ash hair of the girl that saved her and her tattooed, scared naked body, Emily had a sudden thought of the karaoke purple-haired girl - her singing and their almost-kiss.
She reached inside her jean’s back pocket fishing out a soggy black gold business card.
“Solange – Tarot”.
Emily replaced the card into her shirt pocket and scanned the fair ground for Solange’s sign.
- Leo? How did you find me? You saved me, Leo!
The smell of waffles and sweet corn steamed the air as Emily smoothed Leo’s fur.
Circles of music followed Emily as she and Leo paced the circuit of the Fun Fair. Smudges of red light flashed from the rides but none as luminous as the opal-eyed girl who saved her and disappeared. Emily brushed her fingers over her lips tasting the remnant of the girl’s slippery kiss of life. The wet fabric of her summer pants clung to Emily’s thighs as she made her way through the holiday crowd, trying not to look like she had nearly just drowned.
She combed her hand through her hair to separate the wet clumps into some kind of order. Her hand moved down to the bridge of her nose as she wiped the drips of salt water from running into her eyes.
Through her half closed lids she saw the blurry outline of a painted caravan parked near the ice cream shop. Fairy lights glittered their way around the window ledges and a small neon sign hung outside claiming every second – “Fortunes Told”.
Emily felt comforted by the twinkling lights but when she got close to the van’s entrance a shadow moved into the doorway.
- Don’t be frightened of your fortune.
The shadow spoke.
Emily tilted her head backwards; the shadow was actually her karaoke partner, Solange, of the purple hair.
- No, I’m not frightened of my future.
Emily smiled, lit up by the twinkling lights.
Opening the screen door, Solange took Emily’s hand and helped her up the caravan’s stairs.
- I thought it looked like you. Sorry about my friends the other night. They’re a bit protective of me.
Solange noticed Emily’s damp clothes.
- Come in and sit down. What happened to you? Your cheek is cut. Have you been trying to drown yourself?
- I’m not sure what I’ve been trying to do…
Emily laughed at the absurdity of herself.
- Why don’t you let your cards tell me?
Leo stood guard at the foot of the caravan’s steps as Solange locked the door behind her. Her purple locks drifted over her face as she took a deck of brightly coloured cards from an emerald scarf and sat opposite Emily at a small folding table.
The cards had dolphins and other sea creatures painted on them with flecks of shimmering blue. She held them face down towards Emily.
Solange raised her black shapely eyebrow and asked a playful question.
- Do you always pick up girls at karaoke bars?
Emily smiled at the memory of a few girls she had met that way.
- Not all the time. It’s a small town, there’s not that many places to meet girls. Do you?
Solange shuffled the tarot deck.
- I do alright on the road, in fact.
She flashed a grinning smile at Emily and thrust the cards flat onto the table top.
Posters of winged angels, unicorns and dragon in flames were posted around the caravan’s walls. Emily pushed a finger into her clammy jeans pocket.
- I didn’t think to bring any money with me...sorry.
- I think I owe you for that song and a drink the other night...it will be my pleasure.
Her eyes reflected the low lighting as Solange flipped the tarot deck to Emily’s side of the table.
- Shuffle the deck then take three cards from the top. Think of something important in your life while you select each card.
Their fingers touched lightly as Emily took the deck from Solange’s hand. Emily looked into the tarot reader’s eyes but her mind took her back to the strange moonstone eyes of the naked woman who had saved her from the high tide.
There were plenty of questions she needed answering. She cut the deck and scrambled a handful of cards together, repeating the action until she felt they were random enough.
- Place the first card on the table. This represents your Past.
The first card Emily placed on the table was, The Devil – his shining red eyes and flaming trident.
- Oh great! Just my luck!
Emily swept her hand over her eyes removing a slight dripping of water from her hair line.
Solange reached over to rub the water drop with her thumb.
- This card doesn’t necessarily mean anything bad. You are on the lookout for something; it may not be dangerous, but it could be a temptation. But remember, this was in your past.
Emily smiled at Solange’s mystic wisdom.
- He may mean a lack of success – in relation to the question you are asking yourself. Perhaps he’s just representing someone you want to love? Or The Devil could mean you’ve been through unexpected failure - violence, shock, fatality - self- punishment.
Melanie’s face flashed across Emily’s mind – always a temptation, but now Emily focussed on who was sitting across from her. She let her eyes explore Solange’s pale, spacious neck leading down to the low black
neckline of her blouse.
Her parents’ faces also shot through her consciousness when fatality and violence were mentioned. Emily pointed out some trivia to hide her emotion.
- You know it’s thought to be bad luck if you have playing cards on board a ship.
- They used to say that about women too. Next card, please.
Solange gestured to the deck lying dormant in Emily’s hand.
Emily turned over the next card on top of the deck.
- Ace of Coins.
Solange explained to Emily the meaning of the card that was filled with a star patterned with a rainbow, moon and comet, overlooked by the Sun.
- It’s not upside down, so you’re in luck. You could be within reach of great wealth or riches. This may be through the possession of a valuable artefact or treasure.
Emily raised an eyebrow.
- Is this ringing true for you?
Solange leaned over to touch Emily’s hand.
- You don’t have to tell me anything specific, just think about what has meaning in your life.
Emily held back a sceptical smile.
- Next…
She turned over the next card in the deck.
Solange was not happy with Emily’s subconscious choice – a round, green and blue flattened Globe floated in space.
A glum face peered up out of the ocean looking at Emily.
- The World – but upside down. Oh, dear. You may experience disappointment at not completing something you’ve started.
- Doesn’t everyone?
Emily stared into Solange's serious eyes and felt the heat of her fingertips outside her jeans.
She peeled off the fourth and last card of the reading. The Seven of Swords. A medieval maiden knelt on a Stoney path, her golden hair pointing to the gloomy sky in the form of seven curved swords. Her feet were winged.
- Swords are good.
Solange sat back clasping her hands together.
- They represent strength and ambition. The Seven shows Hope and Confidence. You might find yourself making new plans despite a reservation of slight uncertainty. The Seven of Swords means your Fantasies and Wishes may come to fruition.
Emily grinned slowly.
- I bet you say that to all the girls.
Solange nodded.
- I say this all the time, but it seems to be true, “those who have time to ask about their fortune, aren’t seeking it’’. Maybe you’d like to stay for a complimentary palm reading to find out more about your future?
Emily stood and took Solange’s palm into her hand.
- That’s okay, Solange, I believe we both know what happens next...
Her hip shoved the table as she rushed forward to Solange, tarot cards tumbled to the floor. Solange slid her free arm around Emily’s waist as she reclined on her lounge. Emily’s lips brushed against Solange’s pale neck and purple hair as her hand pushed against the back of the lounge for balance.
- You’re gorgeous, you know.
Emily whispered just under Solange’s ear lobe.
Solange shivered at Emily’s breath against her skin. Emily straddled Solange’s ample thigh so their lips could meet. Their arms went around each other’s waists and they gripped tight. While their lips slipped over one another, Solange took the opportunity to undo a few of the top buttons on her black blouse, showing a peek of the purple bra she wore beneath.
Their mouths slid hungrily over each other as though this might be their last encounter forever. Scented candles from the darkened room and body oil from Solange’s chest mixed in Emily’s senses.
The rhythm of the spinning Octopus Ride’s rotations ground in time to their hearts beating as their bodies slowly revealed their nakedness to one another.
Emily thought briefly of the naked woman who had dragged her from the water as she gripped Solange’s broad, wonderful shoulders and Solange kissed all along her neck and down to Emily’s neckline.
- Mmm. Your skin is wet…
Solange kissed Emily’s shoulder while her purple finger nails reached down to undo her jeans zipper.
Their bodies were steaming together, caressing by the tarot table.
Solange lead Emily to the far, curtained corner of the caravan.
Far in the distance a sound like a screaming owl screeched above the sounds of the grinding rides. Their bodies stopped at the howl.
- What was that?
Emily had heard the sound before.
The sound of an animal crying for its lost family.
Solange nuzzled her nose into Emily’s neck.
- That’s the sound I’m going to make if you stop kissing me.
They continued exploring each other’s bodies in a hurried, strangely intimate way; the same way they could harmonise at the karaoke bar without knowing a thing about each other.
Each woman knew that their time was limited by the Carnival’s short stay.
Soon Solange would take her her caravan and her tarot deck to the next coastal town.
They only had a few hours tonight, so Emily intended to use her time well.
The metallic pounding of the fairground’s mechanical rides was now the soundtrack to their time together.
Kendra - Chapter 11
Kendra grabbed the bottle she’d taken from the hotel garden bed.
She had rinsed it and let it dry on the window ledge.
She rolled up the slip of paper she had written on.
- Acacia, Mothers.
I have met her. I think I saved her life.
She found the passageway to the safety cave but got trapped by the high tide.
I breathed for her and carried her to shore.
Did you guess that she is like you?
I might be like you too.
Come back and tell me what to do. Maybe she can help me find you?
Did her grandmother know anything?
Mothers, I wish you were here.
Come back and teach me everything I don’t know.
Kendra
She pushed the note into the bottle.
Candle wax sealed its fate.
Kendra didn’t want her body to go through its change on this night so she stood on the limestone boulder ledge overhanging the shoreline.
The thought of her message not reaching her Mothers made Kendra’s chest ache with sadness.
A wail of exhaustion and self-pity roared through Kendra’s mouth as she swung the bottle over her head pitching it into the receding tide.
Her weak legs buckled and she collapsed onto her knees. She sat on the rocks crying, allowing her tears to drop onto her curved feet, puckering the skin with mucous.
The bottle bobbed up, splitting the surface for moment then began floating towards the horizon.
Kendra never know where its journey would end.
Emily - Chapter 12
Emily pinched the photo between her fingers and took another look at the curved seamaid.
She jumped down from the platform and swung around towards the small sailor-shaped wooden stools on the main deck. As she passed each wooden sailor, she tapped them on their wooden heads.
Emily had carved each one of them, based on faces from a photo of the Mandalay’s crew.
From a gap between the masts beyond the viewing platform, she saw Melanie walk past the hallway, trailed by a class of school kids. An excursion from the local primary school had come to preview the new "Mandalay Shipwreck Gallery Experience" while Emily was preparing the installation for the official opening night.
Emily signalled to Melanie to let the children through into the gallery. Melanie smiled back, lined the children against the ship’s deck entrance then allowed them to step up the ladder onto the deck.
Galloping down the steps Emily turned to view the diorama. It needed the figurehead to complete the display - legend insisted that the fortunes of the ship relied on the supposed-mystic power of the wooden mermaid.
Emily paced over to the computer console at the side of the exhibition
deck and spoke into a microphone.
- Hi guys. My name is Emily. Welcome to the Wreck of the Mandalay. You are sitting exactly where the Mandalay sailors would have worked pulling the sails and looking out for land as they approached the Western Australian coastline.
As the kids settled themselves onto their wooden, sailor seats, Emily made her way to an audio visual desk on the rear deck of the replica ship.
- Notice that your stools have faces? They are painted in the likeness of the sailors of the Mandalay. It was thought that the wooden sailors would frighten any bad luck away from the ship. But, as you may already know, there was some bad luck on board that final day.
Here’s what happened.
Emily clicked a button on her laptop to commence the projection of her animated film.
- Make yourselves comfortable and please enjoy the first preview of our new exhibition. What you are about to see is a simulation of what it might have been like one hundred years ago when the Norwegian cargo ship, "The Mandalay", first sailed into the bay, now known as Meg’s Cove.
Some of the children raised their eyebrows and opened their mouths wide with anticipation as though they were waiting to go on the Ferris Wheel at the Fun Fair.
Emily was enjoying inspiring the expressions of wonder on her audience’s little faces.
She continued her narration, dramatically.
- Ravaged by a fierce storm "The Mandalay" was wrecked on the underwater limestone caves lining the coast.
The youngest survivor of the wreck was my grandmother, Meg, who made it to shore by grabbing onto the ship’s mermaid figurehead and floating to safety.
You’ll notice there’s a copy of the "Mandalay Mermaid" on this replica ship’s bow. I made this from local timber because we are still searching for the original figurehead that saved my grandmother’s life.
She ran her hand over the mermaid’s split tail and spun around to face the class.
- Please remain in your seats as the ship may move around a bit while you’re watching the animation.
I hope you enjoy it.
Melanie dimmed the lights.
As Emily faced the projection, she just missed seeing a shadowy figure sneaking in the side door.
The woman stood leaning against the wall balancing against her walking sticks, hiding from the light as she watched Emily’s face, illuminated by the gathering storm clouds projected over the ship.