I'd arrive at a cleared site, where the carpenters were just putting together the construction camp buildings we called dongas, and when I left it was almost ready for the mining crew to live in. We were creating civilisation where there had been nothing, just plants, animals and red dust. And when the mining crew left, we'd pull the camps apart like Lego and pack them up to be shifted somewhere else on the back of a truck. The plants and animals would move back in around and under the buildings while we were there and they'd reclaim it completely when we left. The red dust was ever-present. You never got rid of it, because it got everywhere and into everything.
The bad part was that the camps weren't inhabitable until we finished. So, while we worked, we lived rough. We were the last people who actually camped there. We slept in swags and cooked outside, in the beam of the spotlights on the top of the car, which was a ute. There was one ute to two men, and I shared mine with Dean the plumber. Dean was full of shit, so it seemed natural that he was a plumber. Still, he was a better cook than me and a good mate, too.
Our supplies were packed into the tray on the back of the ute and the trailer behind it. We had enough for the job and a bit over, but never enough water for much more than drinking and cooking. After a week, we were all dreaming about hot showers.
Like all the other mine construction crews, we had to go back to town eventually and we got to stay in a hotel for the night, before they flew us all home. It was a ritual by now. I checked into the hotel with all the other blokes who were covered in red dust. I got my room and I got to shut the door to everyone else. Then I took a shower.
After endless weeks of basic camps, where sometimes the best wash you got was a swim in the river, the hotel shower was heaven. I used up all the hot water and all the liquid soap, just to get the gritty feeling of red dust off every bit of my skin. Shit, it felt good. Almost better than sex.
Which I haven't had for longer than I've been without a hot shower. I tried not to think about it. Now I was going to have some holidays in civilisation, who knew what would happen?
I slept in silence and darkness. When I opened my eyes, the sun was up.
I got dressed quickly, my legs feeling bare in shorts after so long in site pants that kept out the sun and the snakes. Even a short-sleeved t-shirt felt weird. My feet felt like they'd been freed from prison in my rubber thongs, after weeks of thick socks and work boots.
I crossed the car park from my room to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. I wasn't the only one dressed this casual. Most of the guys were the same, toes wiggling in relief under every table. Anywhere else, this might be strange. In a mining town, it was normal.
"Hey, morning, Joe!" Dean the plumber called from a table by the window. After working on the same crew so long, I should have been sick of him, but I was in such a good mood I'd put up with him one more morning over breakfast.
"Morning," I responded. I went up to the breakfast buffet and grabbed a plate, loading it up with as much as I could. I dumped it on the table, in front of the seat across from Dean, and sat down.
"Coffee, sir?" A waitress came up behind me with an electronic order pad.
My mouth watered. I'm not sure if it was her or the thought of real coffee that did it. Probably the coffee, I decided. The waitress looked like she was sixteen and fresh off the farm, dark roots showing through her bleach-blonde hair. Too young for me – I'm more than ten years older than she is. Besides, she looks like my sister.
"I want a proper expresso, so thick the spoon almost stands up by itself, and after that, I want a latte," I told her.
"Two coffees, sir?" The little waitress looked confused, which made her slightly cross-eyed.
"Ohhh, yes," I replied. Definitely the coffee. Her boobs are too small. I like bigger boobs than that.
I started shovelling breakfast into my mouth, barely tasting it. What I did taste was good, though.
I'd finished my first plate and filled up a second by the time my expresso arrived, in a tiny cup. I savoured every sip until it was gone.
Dean was just as focused on his own breakfast, so it's not like I was being rude. Besides, what else did we have to say, after months of having no one else to talk to?
He laughed at my expression as I enjoyed the expresso. "So, now you've had your coffee, what do you plan to do with your two months off?"
"I'm not sure," I said slowly. I shoved the last half a croissant in my mouth.
"I'm going to go home, get drunk every night in a different pub and see how many hot chicks I can pull, before we're back in the middle of nowhere again." He looked dreamy. "How about you?"
He'll be lucky if he manages to talk even one of them into sleeping with him, I thought. And I'll be hearing about how hot she was for the whole of the next shift, and how she did everything in every porn movie he's ever watched, which she won't. When he gets sick of that, he'll tell me the plot of every porn film he's ever watched, in his own words. There's nothing worse than a badly told story with no plot and nothing but descriptions of imaginary sex no one could ever have.
I swallowed the last of my croissant. "Nah, I want to go on a fishing charter, one of those boats that just go out and fish for a week. Then I guess I'll see if I can pick up a bit more work, rewiring people's houses and stuff to get some more money, until we head out to the next hole in the ground to set up camp."
"You work too hard. You have no fun at all, mate. Still living at home, what are you saving your money for?"
"When I've got enough, I'm going to buy a house outright. Then I'll look at settling down, maybe finding someone to spend the rest of my life with. Maybe even have a family." Two years and I'll have enough money to buy a house. Then I can finally move out of my parents' place and start living. I'll never have to spend another night listening to other men snoring, or share breakfast with fuckwits like Dean.
"You need to enjoy life, brother. Have a good time." Dean winked.
"You're not my brother." Thank God for that. "And I am going to enjoy my time off. I'm going to spend at least a week fishing, once I work out how to arrange a charter," I reminded him.
"I got a cousin who does some charter fishing out at the Abrolhos. Best fishing of your life, off the coast of Geraldton. I'll give him a call, see if I can set you up," he promised.
Yeah, and pigs will fly.
"Well, you know my number, mate. Give me a call if your cousin has room for one more on a fishing charter."
I finished off the last bite of bacon, then slurped up a big mouthful of latte. After the expresso, it tasted like a warm coffee milkshake. I should have ordered two expressos instead.
"See you at the next site, mate," I told him, getting up. Only two more years of this and I won't have to say that. In the meantime, I had a plane to catch back home to Perth.
3. SIRENA
"We have sisters across the Indian Ocean. We are collecting as much information as we can beneath the surface." It was Elder Darma who'd spoken, but the members of the Elder Council looked to me.
I replied in our language of sounds and gestures that differed so much from human languages. Even translated, the meaning lost its depth in the humans' words. "This will not be enough. We must discover what the humans know of the subsea disturbances, the changes in flows. They have technology we do not and their information is valuable."
Elder Cantrella was abrupt as she broke in. "Elder Sirena, you are our liaison between our people and the humans. What action do you recommend with regard to gathering information from humans?"
I drew a deep breath of cool water before I responded, for even my recommendations would hold the force of law. "I would send three parties, small groups who have experience living on land with humans. One to the western coasts, one to the northern and one to the eastern coasts. I recommend we target the countries of South Africa, Singapore and Australia, in each of these regions. Each party may be required to remain for some time on land and give the humans the impression that they are human, too. Throughout, t
he existence of our people must remain hidden from the humans. Each party must take care to hide the ocean's gift from humans."
"A difficult task. Whom do you suggest we send?" Elder Darma murmured.
My reply was immediate, for I had considered the matter carefully in the days prior to this meeting. "For South Africa, I would send Nafula. She has knowledge of the western coasts. For the northern coasts, I would send Indah. I will choose the eastern coasts and Australia for myself, for that is where I suspect the greatest information will be available and that is where I have ties to the human world. Each should choose perhaps one or two to accompany them; I recommend younger sisters who are not yet elders. I shall be accompanied by Maria and Apalala."
Elder Darma was the facilitator of the Elder Council, though I was its undisputed leader. Custom decreed that she made the final decisions. "Then it shall be so. You must leave soon, for time is of the essence. I fear great changes are happening in our ocean and the ocean's gift alone may not ensure our survival. We need greater knowledge than we yet have. Without this knowledge, how do we prepare for the worst?"
The purpose of a leader is both to lead and reassure. I knew my role, for it had been mine for many years now. "Such knowledge will be obtained and then put to use. We will ensure the survival of our people and of the ocean's gift."
4. JOE
As soon as people found out I was back in Perth, I was subcontracting for another electrician I'd apprenticed with, installing air conditioning units, new lights and safety switches. I thought about the fishing charter I wanted to do, but couldn't decide which one. Especially if I could get enough work in that week to get my house sooner. Fishing can wait, if it means one less shift listening to Dean's fantasies. He always claims they really happened, but if he's telling the truth, he's had more sex than a porn star.
My phone rang. "Hello, this is Joe," I answered automatically. I pulled a notepad out of the glove box of my ute, clicking a pen in readiness.
"Mate, it's Dean."
Speak of the devil.
"I finally heard from my cousin, the one with the charter boat." He sounded excited.
Please, don't let him want to come with me.
"One of his crew got injured, so he's a man short during the fishing season. He won't be doing charters for a few months, until he gets a new deckhand and finishes fishing up his quota." Dean didn't sound too depressed for me or his cousin.
"Oh, that's too bad. Don't worry about it." I dismissed it. I never thought he or his cousin would come through with anything.
"How'd you like to fish for two months and get paid for it?" Dean burst out.
"What?" This has got to be a joke. It's Dean, after all.
"I'm serious. My cousin's a real experienced fisherman and he needs a deckhand for the rest of the season, the next two months. The pay's good and all you have to do is fish." He sounded thrilled at the prospect.
"Why don't you do it? He's your cousin," I wondered aloud. There has to be a catch.
Dean was so excited, he was probably telling the truth without realising. "He won't have me. I was over there for Easter last year and he told me if I got seasick on his boat again he'd throw me over the side for the sharks."
I like his cousin already.
"So I told him about you. You told me you know your way around a boat, and he thinks you'll be perfect!"
I hesitated. He probably sold me as the descendant of Captain Cook, Columbus and Captain Jack Sparrow. "Now look, crewing a boat out to Rottnest and some kayaking on the Swan River isn't like handling a fishing boat offshore..."
"Nah mate, you'll be great. You'll get to go fishing every day, your food and accommodation are provided, what else could you ask for?" Dean sounded like he was trying to sell it to me.
The certainty that you didn't just pull this out of your arse?
"Look, he needs someone as soon as possible. How soon can you get up here?"
Dean's in Geraldton, then.
"I could finish up at the end of the week and fly up on Sunday," I told him reluctantly.
"Cool, I'll get my cousin to sort out your flights and he'll meet you out on the islands. You can see how it goes the first week and if it works out you get paid to go fishing for the rest of your holidays. Seeya." He hung up.
Shit. What've I got myself into? Knowing Dean, this was going to be a disaster. Oh well, next trip I can always get back at him by putting huge spiders in his swag. He's terrified of them, but he always forgets to zip his swag up properly. And he screams like a girl when he finds them, too.
What's the worst that can happen? A week on a free fishing charter and possibly getting paid to fish for weeks after it. And if it didn't work out, the next three months of seeing Dean do a high-pitched jig every night when he found spiders in his swag. Hell, there wasn't a downside that I could see.
I started writing down a list of things to pack.
5. SIRENA
The voyage was long and arduous. After consideration, I'd chosen the very islands I'd cursed as a child as the best starting point to gather information. I had visited them in the interim, but it was my first, stormy swim that came to mind as we approached the continental shelf.
It was a stunning contrast to my first lone swim to land. Much time had passed and I was now an elder, acting under my own command. The two sisters who followed me were my daughters, both adults who had done their duty to our people. The contrast between us was distinctive, too. I twisted to look back. Over my own blue tail, which blended with the shallow waters at the islands, I could see dark Maria, with her dark blue tail. Apalala was my golden girl, more than ever. The pale yellow tail she had been born with had deepened to gold now. The only brighter tail I had seen was her daughter's, an orange flame that matched her fire-coloured hair. Zerafina had been too young for such a trip, without the assistance of currents to carry us, and our duty too dangerous.
Should the humans discover what we were, we would protect our sisters at all costs. Even if it cost our lives. It was my responsibility to ensure it did not come to that.
I kept up a steady stream of instructions as we travelled.
"We will be expected to live human, which means dry. Whilst we are at the islands, I will remain in my human form for the duration. You may swim, but only after dark and where the humans cannot see you. You may eat as you please, but when humans are present, we will eat what and as they do. We must keep a supply of human food, just in case. We all have our preferences; it will be important that we keep those on hand.
"Our strength and agility are greater than theirs, for we require these more than they do. They have grown soft whilst we have not. We must take care that this is not too apparent. This is unlikely to be difficult, but still we must take care.
"Our vision and hearing are more perceptive than that of humans; we must also take care that they do not discover this.
"We must use human names and human language whilst in their hearing and sight. I will be Vanessa, Maria will retain her name and Apalala must use Belinda once more. Our human names and human speech must be unremarkable and ordinary.
"Under no circumstances do we sing above water. The humans react peculiarly to this, particularly the males. Singing is, of course, permissible beneath the water's surface. We may need this to call fish or other creatures.
"Human drinks will also be necessary. This will include a reasonable quantity of alcohol, which must be consumed carefully, so we do not make mistakes.
"We must wear human clothing at all times, or at least when visible to them. I recommend we choose only one or two colours each and restrict our purchases to these colours, so we do not mix them up.
"We must associate with humans and appear human, which means being as polite as possible, without being too friendly or antagonistic.
"Humans value privacy, with walls they can hide behind. This will work to our advantage, if we can remember this, for it means we can be out of sight and this will not draw their attention as it wo
uld among our kind.
"We do not shape water or waves where they may be perceived by humans, unless it is absolutely necessary.
"We will first go to the islands off the coast, where there is a fishing settlement. We shall remain there and fish from a boat as they do, for the duration of the fishing season. We will obtain as much information as we can from the humans at the fishing settlement, before we relocate to the nearest city. If further information is required..."
Apalala was the most vocal of my daughters, so she was the first to interrupt my flow. "Sirena, is there no end to your advice? We have lived dry among humans before."
I remembered well her last time on land, for I had been there, too. I reminded myself to use her human name, Belinda, even in my thoughts. "But not for this long. And you must remember that I cannot use my name until I return to the water once more. Even in your thoughts I must be Vanessa."
Belinda's curiosity persisted. "Why did you choose Vanessa? It is not similar to your name – it does not even have a similar meaning."
"Vanessa is the name of a character in a moving picture for human children. An old witch, who lives in the ocean, transforms herself into a beautiful human woman to seduce a human man. The name she takes as a human is Vanessa," I tried to explain. When I had first heard of it, I had been using my real name on land, but I had known that I would need a new one to ensure my ageless appearance went unremarked upon.
Maria broke her silence to give voice to her shock. "Do you plan to seduce a human man, in addition to our duty here?"
Both Belinda and I considered her sister's words amusing. I found the idea intriguing, but unlikely. "Not at present. However, as I may not swim in the evenings, I will need to find something to occupy my time. Perhaps I will purchase some books."
Maria interrupted my thoughts with more practical considerations. "First we must reach the land. How long will it be?"
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