by Verna Clay
Zoe pointed ahead. "That looks like a nice one."
Davide agreed and pulled into the entrance of the Elkira Motel. Within minutes they had procured rooms and he said he would return in an hour so they could go to lunch. She could tell he was anxious to make his phone calls.
Zoe heard a tap on her door and opened her eyes. She had drifted to sleep while waiting for Davide. "I'm coming," she called. She opened the door to a grinning Davide and said, "You look like you're the kitten that just found the cream. What's up?"
"I'll tell you part of what's up during lunch. After that, I'll show you the other part."
She studied his face a second, smiled, and patted the springy curls on either side of her head in mock vanity. "Okay, let me see if I can do something to tame this hair."
Unexpectedly, Davide reached and covered her hands with his, trapping them next to her ears. His mouth descended and he gave her lips a loud smack. "Zoe, I love your hair. I'll meet you at the van in five minutes." He closed the door.
Zoe placed her fingers over her lips. For Davide the kiss had simply been a gesture of friendship, but for her, any touch from him sent her heart into a marathon. Sighing, she searched her room for her ball cap.
Davide located a small diner and they ordered Outback Burgers. Curiosity was eating her up, so Zoe said, "Okay, Davide, tell me what's up. You're fairly oozing excitement."
"My credit card mess is straightened out."
"That's wonderful, but I don't think that's why you're so excited."
"You'll find out my other surprise after lunch. Not a moment sooner. Now, back to my credit cards…" A look of irritation passed across is face. "My father was the one to close the cards."
"What!"
"That's exactly what I said, and how I said it."
"Why?"
"That was my response, too. The only answer I got was, 'Thought you needed the challenge.' My dad loved the fact that you stepped in and saved the day."
"Davide, that's crazy."
"Tell me about it. I don't know what's gotten into my family. It's like they've turned into people I don't recognize. Anyway, my dad said the cards have been reactivated." He shook his head. "How he did it, I haven't the faintest. I couldn't get the credit card company to budge when I called them. It must have something to do with his security clearance. Hell if I know."
After lunch Davide drove to a building with a sign that read, Centre for Arts and Entertainment, and parked in the parking lot. Zoe looked curiously at him and followed him around to the back door of the building. He knocked hard several times. Finally, a tall and thin elderly man with stooped shoulders responded to his persistent knocking. The sun-weathered old-timer stepped aside and waved them inside using the broom he was holding. "Where's the fire, matey?"
Davide ignored the cranky man's sour expression and reached into his pocket. Pulling out several bills, he handed them over into the gray-haired, gray-bearded caretaker's arthritic hands. The man sniffed. "Right-o. Follow me."
Zoe glanced questioningly at Davide as he placed a hand on her elbow to guide her behind the broom-welding Aussie. They followed him to center stage and a grand piano. He then returned backstage. Davide sat on the piano bench and lightly fingered the ivory keys. He said seriously, "At this moment, I'm eternally grateful to my mother for insisting I take piano lessons."
Zoe knew that while Davide was not accomplished in the sense of being a professional, he could play very well. Distracted by a noise, she glanced up to see the caretaker return carrying an instrument case. She recognized the shape—a violin. "Davide, what's going on?"
He didn't respond until the elderly man had handed him the case and left. He held it out to Zoe. "Go ahead, tune it up."
"Not until you tell me what's going on." She set the case next to him on the bench.
He acquiesced. "Okay. Remember when we were in the cave and I said I heard the music of nature."
She nodded.
"Now I want to play that music…"
Zoe's eyes widened.
"…and I want you to play it with me."
"How can I do that?"
"I'm going to attempt to pick out the melody so you can improvise. Let's just see what happens."
The pleading in his eyes kept her from arguing. "Okay."
Davide smiled. "That's my sweet Zoe; always game for new things."
While he fingered the piano keys, she removed the instrument, and even though the violin was not top quality, it was certainly adequate. She ran the bow over the strings and then plucked them to tune them. Finally, she waited.
"Listen to this," said Davide. "I heard it in the wind." He lightly pressed the keys, practiced, and then with more confidence, played a melody.
Zoe was astounded at the beauty of the sound.
"I heard this in the rain." He added to the melody. "I heard this in the bird songs." He added again.
Spellbound, she listened to music that could only have originated in heaven. Lifting her violin, she closed her eyes and let the notes soak into her soul and then her spirit. Finally, they reached her body and she moved the bow, lost in Davide's melody. There was no effort required in her playing. It was as if angels guided her strokes. Her breathing slowed, her heart rate slowed, her mind lost consciousness except for the music…always the music. She never wanted to return to earth, she wanted to stay in heaven with Davide.
A muffled sound distracted her and she whooshed back to earth's realm. She blinked and looked at Davide. He was staring at her with glazed eyes. She heard the sound again and they both turned toward backstage. The cranky caretaker stood in the shadows leaning against his broom and as he lifted a hand to his eyes, a sob wrenched his aging form.
Unable to bear the sound, Zoe set the violin on top of the piano and rushed toward him. "Are you okay?"
The old man looked down at her with tear-filled eyes. "I've never heard anything so beautiful in me life. It's like…it's like the angels descended. It's like all the loved ones I've lost was with them. I…I didn't feel the loneliness while the music played. I felt…peace. I felt…happy. Thank you." He sniffed and reached into his pocket for a wadded handkerchief and loudly blew his nose.
Zoe turned to see Davide standing behind her. She questioned him with her eyes. What happened?
He walked back to the piano and replaced the violin in its case. Nodding a thank you to the old man and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder when they walked past, he led Zoe to their van. They didn't speak on the ride to their motel.
Davide followed her into her room and heaved a sigh. Sitting on the edge of the bed he placed his head in his hands. Zoe rushed to him. "Davide, are you okay?"
He looked up at her. "Zoe, I don't understand what just happened. I've never, never, felt like that. It was exactly like the caretaker described."
CHAPTER 17:
THE MAP
After leaving Alice Springs the morning following their mystical musical duet, Davide drove northward toward Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory. The drive to the harbor city built on a bluff overlooking the Sea of Timor would be a shorter trip than returning to Adelaide, and it was where they would catch a flight back to Adelaide and then the U.S. They spent one night on the side of the road, sleeping in the parking lot of a roadhouse.
When they reached the outskirts of Darwin, Davide handed his cell phone to Zoe and asked her to call up a map to the airport. She did and directed him toward the suburb of Marrara. The first part of their adventure was almost over and he was feeling sad about it. He glanced at Zoe and the ball cap sitting askew on her head. She had tried to stuff the mass of curls beneath the cap, but corkscrew tendrils had escaped to frame her elfin face. He said, "Looks like our Australian adventure is coming to a close, and it's been quite the adventure."
She smiled. "I'll never forget it."
"I won't either." He reached to finger a wayward curl, but dropped his hand when she turned her head toward the window. He inwardly sighed. "In Al
ice Springs, I called the car rental company and found out they have a drop site near the airport. I also reserved rooms at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. There's a shuttle that will take us there."
Zoe mumbled something and then turned back to him. "Please tell me more about what you experienced in the cave."
Davide puffed a breath. "Honestly, I'm not sure what happened. I remember closing my eyes and listening to the silence, only it wasn't silent. I could hear…I don't know exactly how to describe it…but I could hear nature." He asked, "You didn't hear anything?"
"No, nothing. When did you get the melody for the song?"
"That's just the thing, Zoe. I never heard the song in the sense of, wow, there's a song; it was just always there. It wasn't separate from the nature sounds; it was the nature sounds. That's the only way I know how to explain it. First, I heard the wind, then the rain; later I heard birds and insects. I felt like I was communing with nature."
"You said there were other songs."
Davide laughed. "There were so many melodies, they seemed limitless. It's as if following the songlines and meditating in the cave released an avalanche. And the thing is, the songs are there, just waiting."
"Maybe they're waiting for you to release them."
"Do you realize how crazy that sounds? Of course, with me being a shapeling who can't shift, who am I to think anything is crazy."
Zoe grinned and Davide chucked her gently under the chin. "But it was you who gave the song life, Zoe. I only picked out the melody."
"That's not true, Davide. You made the song breathe; I merely followed your lead."
"I disagree, the song would never have happened without you. I'm going to name it, Zoe's Song." When she started to protest, he pointed. "Looks like this is our off ramp. Let's forget about the music for now and enjoy our short stay in Darwin. Did you know this area is one of the most lightening prone places in the world?"
"No." She laughed. "You are an encyclopedia of information."
Late that night, while standing on his balcony, the two of them watched a magnificent lightening storm dance across the horizon. Closing his eyes, Davide listened to the song in the lightening. Unexpectedly, the song was interrupted by a vision of two bodies entwined in a dance of love.
* * *
Their commercial flight landed at Portland International Airport and Davide heard Zoe groan with relief. They'd been flying for hours. As soon as they entered the terminal he stopped and stretched his tall body. "I feel like running laps to get the kinks out."
Zoe followed suit and stretched her petite form. Davide joked, "Zoe, you're so tiny I could run laps carrying you."
Her mouth lifted into a smile. "I gave up my dream of modeling at the age of twelve."
They started walking through the terminal. "So, what else did you aspire to? Did you dream of becoming a princess like other little girls?"
Zoe abruptly stopped. "What did you say?"
"Whoa, Zoe, I didn't ask anything profound. I just asked if you ever dreamed of becoming a princess."
She looked embarrassed. "Oh, nope, never wanted to be a princess."
She started walking again and Davide wondered at her strange reaction. At the curb, he glanced up and down until he spotted Johnson. "There's our ride."
Within minutes they were past the airport access road and entering the freeway onramp. Johnson pushed a button on the dash and radioed their estimated arrival time. Davide sat in front with Johnson and turned to look at Zoe in the backseat. She was gazing out the window and, of course, her baseball cap was crooked and her hair poking out. He thought about the episode in the airport. That was the second time he'd distracted her by mentioning the word "princess." Surely, it had nothing to do with the mistaken prophesy of him being a prince. The longer Davide was with Zoe, the more she intrigued him as a woman.
As always, Johnson did not pry into matters, so Davide told him about their trip. "Johnson, Uluru is literally a mountain of sandstone erupting out of the flat desert, and I can't even begin to describe its magnificence at sunrise and sunset, when it changes from shades of orange to red to purple."
Zoe added her perspective and then Johnson said, "Sounds like you kids had a great time." He pulled onto an off ramp and asked. "Zoe, how are your parents?"
"Busy as ever at the ranch."
Even though Davide enjoyed the small talk during the drive, he was anxious to see his parents and receive directions to the Cave of Thirteen. He figured he and Zoe could rest for a couple of days and then begin the next leg of their adventure. He listened to the musical tone of her voice while she chatted with Johnson and almost laughed aloud. He was hearing music in everything.
At the guard station the two guards on duty welcomed him back and greeted Zoe. When Johnson pulled onto the long drive, Davide turned to look at her. She had rolled her window down and was leaning into the breeze. She smiled at him. "I love your home, Davide. The first time I saw it, I thought it had magically materialized from a fairytale."
Davide smiled and turned back around watching their approach to the only home he'd ever known, and decided it did look rather magical.
Parking near the front door, Johnson started to exit the Escalade, but Davide said, "I've got it." He hopped from the car and quickly opened Zoe's door. She handed him her backpack and stepped onto the portico. Johnson waved goodbye and drove away. Slinging their backpacks over their shoulders, they rushed up the steps and Davide punched a code into the security panel to unlock the door. Inside, they set their backpacks on the floor of the foyer and Zoe followed him down the long central hallway.
Before they reached the library door, his mother came running down the magnificent circular staircase. "Goodness, you're home sooner than I expected. I just spoke to your father and he's on his way from Childress Enterprises." She reached them and gave her son a tight hug before turning to Zoe and doing the same. "I'm so happy to see you, Zoe. We've missed you. You've got to bring Roth and me up-to-speed on what's happening in your life. I talk to your mother on the phone quite often and she keeps me informed, but now you can update me personally." Rainey clapped her hands, appearing as excited as a little girl. "Davide and Zoe, I can't wait to hear about your walkabout."
During the remainder of the afternoon and over dinner, with his grandparents Hank and Stella joining them, and his sister Lilly hanging on every word, Davide and Zoe described Uluru and their drive from Adelaide to Darwin. He did not go into details about what had happened inside the cave in Kata Tjuta and Zoe followed his lead, not revealing intimate details of their trip.
After dinner, he bid Zoe goodnight by kissing the top of her head. "I'll see you in the morning, dear friend." And, for some reason, she looked at him with a sad expression. "Yes, we are dear friends."
Instead of going directly to bed, Davide joined his parents in their suite of rooms. Plopping onto a recliner, he pulled the lever and raised the footrest. He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. It felt good to be home. After a few minutes he opened his eyes to watch his mother enter the room carrying a tray. She placed it on the coffee table and began pouring tea. From his reclined position, Davide accepted a cup and sipped. Whenever they had family discussions, tea was usually served. Roth joined his wife and son after changing into old Levis and a faded T-shirt, and Davide waited to hear what was on his parents' minds.
"Okay, son, tell us what else happened on the walkabout. We know you well enough to realize there's more to your story than descriptions of terrain," said his mother.
Davide sighed and took another sip of tea before bringing his recliner back to a seated position and setting his cup on the end table.
"I don't even know how to explain what happened, but I'll do my best. It seems that Yileen, our Aboriginal guide on the walkabout, has been seeing my face in his dreams for as long as he can remember."
"What!" said his mother.
"This is going to be interesting," his father interjected.
For the next hour Davide explained, as
best he could, the strange events that had taken place in Australia. When he got to the part about him and Zoe composing a song and the effect it had had on the old caretaker, his mother gasped and covered her mouth. By the time he had finished revealing his experiences, both his parents were shaking their heads in wonder. He stopped talking and gazed at his father expectantly, lifting his eyebrows.
His father laughed. "So, son, I guess you want me to fulfill my end of the bargain and give you directions to the Isle of Shapelings and the Cave of Thirteen."
Davide smiled. "Yes, sir. I was thinking along those lines."
Reaching into his T-shirt pocket, Roth pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Davide. "Memorize this map and coordinates, because after tonight, it will be burned. We can never take the chance of someone seeing it."
Davide looked at the details and committed them to memory. Afterward, he grinned. "Looks like Zoe and I will be sailing out on the Dolphin."
PART TWO
THE CAVE OF THIRTEEN
May the embers of truth always glow;
lighting the path for the fire of love…
—Prayer of the Unknown First One
CHAPTER 18:
SETTING SAIL
Zoe repacked her backpack and zipped it. In a few hours she and Davide would be weighing anchor on the Dolphin. Johnson was driving them to the Portland Yacht Association where the cruiser was docked. She shook her head as she thought about everything that had happened in less than two weeks: Davide unexpectedly showing up after her last performance in Madrid; Davide whisking her away to Australia and together watching the sunrise over Uluru; meeting Yileen, another Indigo child, at the base of the mountain; being led on a walkabout to Kata Tjuta; witnessing a mystical happening in Yileen's cave; and finally, composing heavenly music with Davide.