‘That? Oh, it’s some sort of theatre restaurant. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard about it. Do you want to go sometime?’
‘No, I mean, yes, but not to eat. There’s a sign in the window saying they’re hiring. I think I might apply for a job there.’
‘Yeah? Well, I did think you looked a bit like a witch when I first met you,’ she laughed, winking at me.
We zipped around the corner as soon as the light changed, and at the end of the block we arrived at this thing that Claire called a ‘round-about’. I thought we were going to die when a huge tram headed toward us, but Claire manoeuvred her little car like an expert, and we sailed around the turn and then quickly around another corner to the left. Then she turned left again into a gap between two large buildings. We arrived at a parking lot with a big sign at the entrance: Queen Victoria Market, since 1878.
Claire parked, but before she got out of the car she turned to me and lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘Hey, wanna hear something really creepy?’
‘I don’t know, do I?’
‘There are like nine thousand dead bodies under us right now,’ she whispered again, waving her hands around, and shivering theatrically.
‘What do you mean, under us?’ I asked, feeling the hair on my arms standing on end.
‘Under the car park,’ she laughed. ‘Seriously, there’s a graveyard under here. They built the market right over the top.’
‘Oh, gross. How could they do that? I mean, what about the families? And like … health laws and, and… oh, I don’t know—just how could they do that?’
‘It was a long time ago. This was built like … way over a hundred years ago. But don’t worry … there’s a lot of asphalt or concrete or whatever between us and them.’ She laughed again, then opened her door and jumped out. ‘Come on, it’ll be fun.’
The market was a complete contrast to the ultra-modern Docklands I’d just come from. Everything about this place was old. From what I could see, it was little more than just a collection of tables and stands set up under old metal roofing—maybe even old sheds. And the concrete floors were covered with dirt and grime that looked like it had been there for years.
When I hesitated, Claire grabbed my arm and dragged me past table after table with every type of souvenir you could imagine; stuffed koalas and kangaroos, key rings, bottle openers, leather hats and sheepskin slippers. Then there was a table with box after box of running shoes, and behind it the boxes were stacked so high they almost made a wall. Next to that was a table with hundreds of watches in little gift boxes. On the other side of the aisle were stalls. One had jeans with a makeshift change room at the back; one was selling candles and incense and little gifts and the like. Then there were towels and sheets, and perfume and makeup.
I was getting dizzy trying to look and walk at the same time, and I totally lost my sense of direction. Not only did I have no idea where we were going, I had no idea where we’d come from. But eventually we headed toward what looked a bit like a grocery store, and Claire finally stopped.
‘There’s someone over there I want you to meet,’ she whispered, pointing toward a large area filled with overflowing crates of fresh fruit and vegetables. ‘Just over there, next to the apples. See that absolutely gorgeous guy—the one with the blond hair and big brown eyes?’
I looked over in the direction she pointed, but I barely noticed the clean-shaven blond with the chiselled good looks. I was far too focused on the darker man next to him. I began feeling light-headed again—my jetlag returning with a thud.
He was dressed all in black—jeans, and a heavy pullover. His dark hair was brushed back away from his face, but a few strands seemed to have a mind of their own. He was slightly taller than the blond man, with a medium build. I was trying to decide if he was good-looking, or if he was the sort of guy people would walk past in the street and not be able to describe afterwards. Either way, there was one exception—his eyes. I couldn’t take my eyes off them.
As I stared, I got this sense of being pulled in—like the black holes that we learned about in high school. You know, where the gravity is so strong it pulls everything in … even the light.
Then Claire grabbed my hand and led me over toward her man. ‘Isn’t he something,’ she whispered in my ear.
When I looked at him the man cracked a smile, and I sensed that he’d heard her too.
Claire was completely absorbed. I don’t think she even noticed the other man standing there. If she did, she didn’t say anything.
As we got closer, I could see the colour of the darker man’s eyes. From a distance they’d looked almost black, but now I could see they were actually a very dark blue. He was frowning and there was something else that I couldn’t quite put my finger on—sadness maybe? As I stared at him, I realised he’d been staring back at me the whole time, and I felt the heat of embarrassment rise in my cheeks. I tore my gaze away from him to look at Claire.
Claire looked like a kid in a candy shop—her smile lighting up her face and making her even prettier than usual. And as for her friend, his eyes were dilated, the way a cat’s get when it is about to attack a favourite toy. Then he smiled at her, showing off absolutely perfect white teeth.
‘Hi Tom, I’m back … obviously,’ Claire cooed, looking up at Tom through her lashes. ‘This is Lili. She’s come over to stay with her aunt and uncle for a couple of months.’
‘Hey, gorgeous … have you been away?’ he asked with a joking tone in his voice.
Claire seemed almost crushed by his words, and maybe he sensed this too, as he quickly changed his tone.
‘Just kidding—of course I missed you. I’m glad you’re back. Did you have fun?’
Claire smiled again. ‘I sure did. The weather was great—sunshine every day, and warm. Not like the crap weather here.’
‘Yeah, well, you haven’t missed much around here, that’s for sure. There’s been nothing exciting happening at all,’ said Tom, grinning as he looked over at the other man.
‘Yeah, and the Hawks’ last few games have been a joke,’ said Claire, talking about some sort of sport I guessed.
‘Oh, that’s right; you’re a Hawks supporter too, aren’t you?’ asked Tom, again looking over at the other man.
I followed Tom’s gaze toward the darker man and couldn’t help notice that he looked to be grinding his teeth. Tom turned back to Claire and grinned, and I got the feeling that he was clearly enjoying the discomfort that this conversation was causing his friend. Then Tom’s expression changed, like he just had an idea.
‘Hey, we should go to a game one day; show Lili what Aussie Rules is all about. How’s that sound?’
‘That would be awesome,’ said Claire as she turned to me. ‘You’ll LOVE our footy. It’s fast and furious and has lots of big, strong men running around wearing … well, not much at all.’
Tom laughed at this, and Claire giggled too.
‘Sam, what do ya reckon? Should we take these girls to a footy game on the weekend?’ Tom asked, turning toward the other man. I followed his gaze, but the man was no longer there. ‘Sam? Hey, Sam? Bloody hell … sorry girls, I guess he’s gone out the back for something. I’ll catch up with him later. I’m sure he’ll be in it. I’ll ring you when I know I can get the tickets.’
Claire was barely able to contain her excitement as we said goodbye to Tom. And as we made our way back to the car, she giggled and chatted, talking about what she’d wear to the game, and where we could go for dinner after, and how much fun it would be, and how glad she was that Tom took the bait when she mentioned the Hawks.
But I kept glancing over my shoulder, only halfway listening to Claire’s chatter. I could swear someone was staring at me, and I couldn’t get the image of those dark blue eyes out of my mind.
I had no idea which direction we’d gone, but in a short time we were back at the car and Claire was unlocking the doors.
~~***~~
We’d had a massive lunch in Chinatown so I wasn’t
the least bit hungry at dinner time. But Debs was fine with that, saying that Ian had to work late in any case. She’d just make something light, and we could spend the evening at home.
I sat on the sofa and turned on the TV to watch the news. I loved the Australian accents—they made even the boring stuff seem more interesting. Right now they were talking about how the Mayor and the Chief of Police were trying to find ways to control what they kept referring to as alcohol fuelled violence. One young man was in the hospital fighting for his life, and another was still missing. I’d sworn years earlier that I’d never touch the stuff—alcohol. All it ever did was ruin lives.
Debs came in and sat on the sofa next to me. ‘Oh, let’s not watch this—it’s too depressing,’ she said, pushing the buttons on the remote until some soft music filled the room.
She wasn’t what I’d expected. I mean, she was nothing like Dad, or at least not the way I remembered him. He was quieter, thinking a lot I guess—after all he’d been a brilliant scientist. Mom said she still often wondered what he might have achieved if he’d lived … there was a good chance he could have made a breakthrough in his research for a cure for diabetes.
But Debs, well, firstly she wasn’t quiet. And she was no scientist. Not that I thought she was dumb or anything. She just wasn’t smart in the same way that Dad was. She referred to herself as a professional student. Of course, having had three wealthy husbands probably helped. She’d never had to work a day in her life. So, in addition to making a beautiful home for the husband of the day, she studied. Her studies seemed to have covered everything from art and music and languages, to dog training (although I did wonder if she’d ever actually owned a dog, given the immaculate apartment she lived in), interior decorating, photography, bridge, cooking and yoga, just to name a few. Recently, she’d taken up more alternative studies, including numerology, palm reading and tarot.
‘Sit here, Lili—I’d like to do a tarot reading for you, if I may. It’ll be fun,’ she said, handing me a deck of rather large cards.
She had me shuffle the cards and fan them out with my left hand. Then she told me to select three cards. The fun ended when I turned over the first card; Death. I felt a shiver run down my spine and I wondered why I’d agreed to this. But when I looked at her, she smiled and nodded for me to continue. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the next two cards either, though they didn’t look as bad as the first card. One was a lady hunched over in a boat, with a bunch of swords sticking up, and the other a very serious looking King sitting on a throne, also holding a sword. Unfortunately, none of them seemed to be predicting great wealth or happy marriage.
Debs smiled. ‘That’s lovely. Now, don’t worry. The Death card isn’t what you think. It’s not bad at all,’ she said, picking up her tarot book and quickly reading the meaning of each card.
‘This is really good, Lili. The Death card simply means the end of one phase in your life, as you move into another. It could be related to your trip here for instance. Or it could be something or someone that you’ve left behind in California—the end of a relationship, or job perhaps? It is the promise of change and transformation.’
I thought to myself that the cards had gotten that part right. Debs looked at me, and raised an eyebrow, but when I didn’t comment she continued.
‘The Six of Swords is one of my favourites too. This card denotes a journey—either a physical or spiritual journey—from difficult times to more peaceful times. See how the water she’s moving away from is rough and the water she’s moving toward is calm. This is a beautiful card—having suffered, she moves on to calmer waters. She is leaving pain behind her.’
Debs looked at me and winked. ‘Ah … and lastly—the King of Swords. This card tells us there is, or will be, a powerful man in your life.’
I knew I was blushing. As soon as she’d said the words, the image of the dark man from the market flashed into my head. His eyes were as vivid in my mind as if he were standing in front of me. Debs looked at me and smiled. Did she know that I was thinking of someone in particular?
‘He’s a wise man with a strong sense of fairness, and a quest for truth and justice. He is a man who is passionate about his relationships, whether with friends or enemies. I’m not sure about the timing of all this,’ she continued, ‘but it’s a good message. You’ll experience some significant changes in your life—and that’s a fabulous thing. I can’t think of anything worse than living a ‘same old, same old’ life without change. You’ll experience peace, although there may be some rough times beforehand. And you’ll have a passionate man in your life. I’m no expert when it comes to the meaning of the cards, but it seems like a wonderful message to me.’
‘Well, if you say so … but I’m still not too sure I like that Death card,’ I laughed. ‘Hey, speaking of death … you might know about this. When Claire took me to the market today, she said there are bodies under the parking lot. She says they built the market right over the top, and never moved the bodies. Is that right?’
‘Why, yes—that’s true. I wouldn’t have thought Claire would know that. She’s an interesting girl.’ Debs seemed to be thinking for a moment before she continued. ‘The Old Melbourne Cemetery was the first proper cemetery in Melbourne. Mind you, there were a few people buried up on what they called Burial Hill before that. You’d have driven past Burial Hill on the way to the market—it’s the place they now call Flagstaff Gardens.’
‘I know where you mean … at the corner,’ I said, remembering seeing it when we’d stopped at the light.
‘Yes, that’s right. If my memory serves me right, there were only a few people buried there, before they opened the Old Melbourne Cemetery. Then later they closed that cemetery and created a new one on the other side of the city. They moved some of the bodies, but most were left where they were as they could no longer contact the families.’
‘That’s pretty much what Claire said. I thought she was just making it up, you know, trying to scare me or something.’
‘No. She wasn’t making it up,’ Debs said. ‘In fact, you may have a relative there.’
‘Relative? What do you mean?’
‘Well, I can’t say for sure, but I did do some research a while back. A friend got me started when she researched her ancestry.’
She paused, and looked to be thinking carefully before continuing, ‘Our ancestors came from Scotland a very long time ago. But you knew that, didn’t you?’ She smiled, and I wondered if she saw the embarrassment on my face. I knew so little about my family’s history.
‘Sure,’ I mumbled in reply.
‘Well, Angus Ross came to Australia in the 1850’s with four daughters. His wife had passed, so he intended to marry the daughters off, then head to the goldfields to strike it rich. One of the daughters is our direct ancestor, Mary. She married a farmer, Donald McIntyre.’
‘And was she buried at the old cemetery?’
‘Oh, no, not her—she lived a long life on a big farm property in the country. She bore farmer McIntyre many children; several boys as well as a couple of daughters. I’ll get my family tree out later for you to look through. It’s very interesting. But no, it wasn’t her that I was referring to.’
She paused, seeming to search her memory. ‘Mary, and her sister Anna, both married and moved away and had large families. But the other two daughters never married. And … well, there were some insinuations as to how they made a living after their father left. I found references to them in some letters written by Anna to Mary that were tucked in an old Bible.’
Debs smiled now, appearing to be enjoying the memory of her detective work.
‘And … so what’s the connection with that old cemetery then? I don’t follow.’
‘Well, there was mention of an illegitimate child; a niece of Mary and Anna. But the references were somewhat cryptic. I suspect Anna was fearful someone might read the letters and so chose her words carefully.’
‘Hmmm … so perhaps there are some shady characters
in my family tree. Cool.’
Debs laughed, and I suddenly felt really close to her. ‘Anyway, it seems that this child died around 1865, and was buried in the old cemetery. But I wasn’t able to verify this because there was a fire in 1866 and all the old records of burials were lost.’
‘So, we can’t really know for sure then?’ I asked.
‘No, not for sure, but I’ll show you the letters if you like. I’ll get them out along with the family tree—one day when you want to look through it all. But the thing is, if it is true, I suspect this poor child would still be there—under the market. Her grave would not have been one of the ones they exhumed.’
A shiver ran down my spine again, and I could feel the hair on my arms standing on end. Debs noticed the goose bumps.
‘You’re a very sensitive girl, Lili. I don’t mean in the fragile way, I mean in a spiritual way. You need to trust your intuition, and listen to your inner-self. It will tell you what to believe, and what to disregard. The goose bumps are your intuition telling you a truth is being spoken.’
She paused, looking at me inquisitively. ‘I don’t think it was an accident, you coming here now, at this point in your life. I think there are big changes coming. Changes that will be good for you, that will take you to your rightful place. Remember the Six of Swords.’ Her voice cracked a little, and she cleared her throat. ‘I know how difficult it was for you, losing your father when you were so young. Alan’s death was a shock for all of us.’
She hugged me, then stood up and excused herself off to bed.
I slept soundly that night, more soundly than I had for a very long time—but not before dreaming about a dark stranger with gorgeous blue eyes.
~~***~~
The following morning was overcast and cold but there was no wind, and no rain. Debs had a bridge game that would take up most of her day, and I hadn’t heard from Claire so I was on my own.
After Debs left, I decided that I could walk up to The Cauldron and apply for the job, then go for a run in the Flagstaff Gardens across the road. Burial Hill. Perhaps it was an odd place to run, but what the heck—it was close and it looked nice.
Destiny (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 1) Page 2