Beneath the Elder Tree

by Hazel Black

  ‘For standing by when he hurt you. I’m not like that…’Mouse obviously felt awkward when he tried to articulate his true feelings and thoughts. He couldn’t even bring himself to look her in the eye. ‘I’m not into hurting people. I just hang out with them so I won’t be hurt. People used to pick on me when I was a kid. They don’t pick on me anymore because I’m in the gang, you know.’

  ‘That makes sense.’

  ‘Doesn’t make it right.’

  ‘The first step is to know what’s right and what’s wrong. Now all you have to do is start living the right way.’

  ‘Yeah,’ he turned his face from her and sucked hard on the cigarette. ‘Maybe now is the time to change. Now that Josh is gone.’

  ‘Maybe.’

  Laura smiled at him then made her way to the store. She didn’t have much money, just a collection of coins that threatened to pull down her jeans. She had just about enough to buy two loaves of bread and two cartons of milk. She shared her smile once more, this time with the store owner as she lifted her purchases from the counter. She struggled to carry the groceries and within twenty yards one of the loaves of bread had slipped from her grasp and slapped the pavement.

  ‘Let me help you.’

  She turned to see Mouse crossing the street. He looked around, not wanting to be spotted helping someone out, and when he was sure the coast was clear he picked up the bread and offered to carry one of the cartons of milk.

  ‘Thanks… er… Mouse, isn’t it?’

  ‘My real name’s Shane. People call me Mouse because I’m small. I prefer Shane. You can call me that if you like.’

  ‘Shane is a nice name. Anyway, you’re slightly taller than me so I wouldn’t feel right calling you Mouse.’

  ‘You want me to carry this to the apartment block for you?’

  ‘I’m not taking it to the block.’

  ‘You’re not?’

  ‘Nope. I’m taking these to the other side of the estate. It isn’t far, if you have a few minutes to spare.’

  ‘Sure.’

  They didn’t say much as they traversed the winding roads of Millbrook. I could sense they were both feeling rather proud of themselves - thrilled even that they had made a connection and stopped antagonising one another. It made me happy to look at them. I also felt a little sad that two youngsters could feel a thrill by simply being pleasant and helpful to one another. It should have been commonplace, not a rarity.

  Laura led Mouse around a series of corners to a row of maisonettes. This was the poorest section of Millbrook, and was situated right on the outskirts of the suburb with a view of the freeway that led to the city. Mouse couldn’t figure out what Laura was up to. Neither could I. Her purpose only became clear when she knocked on the front door of the most decrepit of abodes. A young mother, with two toddlers clinging to her knees, answered the door and looked out gingerly. She nearly died when she saw Mouse loitering at the end of her garden. Laura calmed her down and told her he was a friend and not to be feared. My chosen spoke to her for a few moments, asking her how she was and if her youngest child had gotten over his most recent bout of illness. Then Laura handed over one carton of milk and a loaf of bread. The young woman told her she would someday repay all the kind deeds that Laura had done for her.

  Mouse looked at her like she had three heads as she walked back to the pavement. It’s likely he never witnessed a random act of kindness in his entire life. In fact, as I focused on him, I knew he had never seen someone doing something as charitable as this.

  Laura brought the rest of the groceries to the last maisonette on the row. An elderly man who could no longer look after himself properly came to the door and gave her a hug. It was obvious Laura had been doing this for quite some time, which explained why she never gave Grace her change when she bought her cigarettes. Laura actually endured arguments with her mother so she could help these unfortunates. She truly was worthy of a guide. Did I deserve her? I had done nothing but wrong since I had entered the mirror world. Sooner or later I would have to choose between Laura or Tim. I was not looking forward to making that decision.

  ‘That’s rare, you know,’ Mouse said, looking out at the busy freeway. ‘Being nice to folks like that. I doubt anyone else around here would do it.’

  ‘That’s why I do it.’ Laura came to his side and looked at the cars droning by. ‘It doesn’t take a lot of effort to help people.’

  ‘I like the way you think. You’re real clever. Real kind. It makes me feel even worse that I didn’t help you out when Josh was threatening you.’

  Now I could see that mortals still had the ability to surprise me - in good ways. They had both been born into a harsh environment. They had taken completely different ways during their short lives. They were natural enemies. Now, through the tragedy and horror of Josh’s murder, came understanding and respect. I knew nothing of the world. I was as lost as everyone else and had little sense of what was around the next corner. Tim was right; there was no way to predict the future. Everything was random. My fears about the ripper were unfounded. The dread I had been feeling was nonsensical paranoia that didn’t belong in the spirit worlds.

  Mouse lit another cigarette as he sat on the crest of the hill overlooking the eight lanes of traffic. Laura sat upwind of him.

  ‘I’m sorry we gave you a hard time,’ he said without looking at her. ‘It wasn’t right.’

  ‘You’ve already apologised.’

  ‘Shouldn’t have jeered you about your mother being a drinker.’ He took a heavy pull on the cigarette and flicked it down the hillside. ‘Truth be told, all of my friends have been in the same boat as you. You know, most of our folks are either drinkers or junkies. My mother drinks all the time.’

  ‘You never jeered me about my mother. It was always Josh.’

  ‘I know. He was a right bastard sometimes.’

  ‘He was. Let’s not speak ill of the dead, though. I don’t want to be haunted.’

  ‘This will be the last place Josh haunts if he is a ghost. Deep down he hated this place. That’s why he was always looking for money. He wanted out of Millbrook as bad as we all do.’

  ‘He went about his escape in the wrong way.’

  ‘I can see that now.’

  There was a long moment of silence between them before Laura asked how Mouse dealt with his mother’s alcoholism. He was a little taken aback by the question, but opened up to her as he nervously lit yet another cigarette.

  ‘I can remember when I was a kid - when my dad was around. Life was actually good for a while. Millbrook was a lot cleaner back then and there weren’t as many gangs and junkies. Mum used to look after me. She used to take me places. I cared a lot about her back then. It changed when my dad died… he killed himself…’

  ‘You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t feel comfortable.’

  ‘It’s all right. It happened a long time ago and I’ve gotten over it. Mum hit the bottle after he died. I think she blamed herself for it. After a couple of years she couldn’t do without the drink. That’s when she started to shift the blame for his suicide on to me. After a while I started believing her. I didn’t do well at school. She told me I was useless and I believed it. She shouted all the time. Always shouting like a was deaf. I stopped going to school two years ago and started hanging out with Josh and the others. I stopped giving caring about everything, including my mother. I started shouting back. Nowadays she’s too scared of me to shout. I don’t even know her anymore. She’s not my mother. Just some drunken hag that I sometimes share a house with.’

  ‘I know how you feel.’

  ‘Yours giving you a rough time?’

  ‘Let’s just say it’s not easy sharing a tiny apartment with her.’

  ‘What are you going to do?’


  ‘I’ll put up with it. That’s the only thing I can do. I gave up trying to get her off the booze a long time ago. My mother will never be able to live without it. I guess I’ll just endure it until I leave school. Then I’ll move to the city and get away from here.’

  ‘Maybe we can meet up when you do.’

  ‘You’re moving to the city?’

  ‘Yeah. I have to get away from here soon. Josh is dead. That means the gangs will start fighting for power again. There’ll be beatings and probably a shooting or two. I don’t want to be beaten up. I definitely don’t want to be shot.’

  ‘Good for you.’

  ‘Yeah, well that’s the excuse I’m giving everyone.’

  ‘There’s some other reason?’

  ‘There is.’ Mouse’s hands were shaking and he was nibbling the inside of his lower lip. ‘Do me a favour, will you?’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Don’t ever go near the old house outside the estate. No matter what happens, never go to that place. Don’t even walk on that street.’

  ‘I think the murderer is long gone. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense for him to go back to that place.’

  ‘I don’t know who killed Josh. I don’t know what killed Josh. All I know is there’s something evil in that house. You’re a good person, Lucy. I wouldn’t want you to be hurt by it.’

  ‘What do you mean by evil?’

  ‘I saw something very strange in that house on the night Josh died.’

  ‘What was it?’

  ‘I’m not saying another word about it. You just stay away from that place, you hear!’

  * * *

  They spent more than two hours talking on the hillside. They were amazed by how much they had in common, once they’d gotten past appearance and reputation. Laura was as happy as I’d ever seen her as she made her way back to the apartment late that afternoon. She was really buzzing, despite Mouse’s stern warning about the old house. I couldn’t escape the feeling that he had been referring to Tim when he said there was true evil in the house. My lover must have put on quite a show that night. I prayed I would never see that side of him.

  We entered the apartment to find Grace sitting by the kitchen table in her night gown, a half smoked cigarette balanced on her lower lip. It was a sight that would put anyone in the rotten mood. Laura ignored her mother and went to her room. She spent the remainder of the afternoon and early evening trying to replicate the tune that I had played through her hands in the music store. She had the melody right, and was humming it over and over, but it would take her time to learn how to play it. She lacked skill but had determination, which is the most important quality for a musician. She sat on her bed and played for more than four hours. I didn’t help her, as tempting as that was. Laura didn’t need my help. She would learn this song for herself and would be better for it.

  Her fingers were burning by 6pm and finally she put the acoustic guitar aside and went to the kitchen to make some food. Grace had gotten dressed and was sitting on the couch clutching a glass of rum. She asked Laura to go to the store for cigarettes when she finally left her room. Laura gave her a cold stare and said: ‘I’m not your slave. Go get your own damn cigarettes.’

  She’d stood up to her mother many times, and on every occasion Grace got the better of her and won the argument. This time it was different. Grace didn’t even respond. There was something about the way Laura had looked at her. There was also steel in her tone of voice. I think it was the moment that the balance of their relationship was tipped in Laura’s favour. She was growing stronger by the day. She was changing at a rapid pace and I knew it had something to do with the bond we had made. Some measure of my strength and will was being passed to her, hastening the transformation into the person she was destined to be.

  Grace stormed out of the apartment minutes later and didn’t reappear. She was probably drowning her sorrows at the local bar. Laura took advantage of the quietness and lay on the couch and read one of the books she bought the day before. That left me with a quiet moment to hover by the sitting room window to watch the grey sky surrendering to blackness. Night world had arrived again. Tim would be with me soon.

  - CHAPTER FIFTEEN -

  A Shadow in Water

  Laura had astounded me that day by proving to be both talented and determined. She had shown an act of kindness that made a real difference in the lives of those who were the true victims in Millbrook. Through her charity she had demolished a barrier with Mouse. She’d also displayed a resilience that was uncommon for a girl of her age when she stood up to her mother. I suppose the experiences of that day led me to believe that she didn’t need to have a guide around all the time. I was confident enough in Laura to leave her for a few hours. I would be free to indulge my lust for adventure with Tim. That’s where my mind was at when he arrived.

  I felt him before I even saw him. The remnants of the dark energy that was passed into me the night before became lively and tickled my aura when he approached. A black cloud formed on the ceiling before he descended through it into the centre of the sitting room. He still looked strong and confident, as he had the night before.

  ‘You’ve survived another day in the mirror world,’ he said as the black mist around him evaporated. ‘And you can still manage a smile for me.’

  ‘Don’t get carried away with yourself, Tim. I’m smiling because I had a good day, not just because you’ve decided to come back.’

  ‘Oh,’ he laughed, rubbing hands over his biceps, ‘has it suddenly gotten cold in here? I think your icy heart is freezing the very air around us.’

  ‘You know full well I’m not cold inside.’

  ‘I do.’ He raised one of his jet black eyebrows and grinned. ‘I know exactly how you feel inside.’

  His fingers skated along the side of my face. His eyes grew fiery and his playful grin was severed by his black tongue flicking his lower lip. I felt like I was in the grasp of a vampire of the dead, wanting to sink invisible fangs into my neck and draw out my living aura.

  ‘No,’ I said, brushing him off. ‘Not here and not now.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘My chosen is sitting on the other side of the room.’

  ‘So what?’ he shrugged. ‘She doesn’t even know we exist.’

  ‘That doesn’t matter. It still won’t feel right.’

  ‘Whatever you say.’ The colour of his eyes faded and he crossed the room and relaxed into a chair right next to Laura. ‘What shall we do?’

  ‘I thought you were going to suggest we visit one of your secret places…’

  ‘I was hoping you’d say that.’ The boyish grin quickly returned. ‘Are you comfortable enough to leave your chosen for the night?’

  I looked at Laura, still calm and content, as she had been all day. I believed she would be fine without me.

  I turned to my lover and smiled. ‘She’ll be all right for one night on her own.’

  ‘Good,’ Tim said eagerly. ‘Now we can indulge our experimental tendencies.’

  ‘What will be tonight’s experiment?’

  ‘I simply want to open your eyes a little more to what is possible in this place.’

  He’d been sitting on the opposite side of the room before he vanished. I twisted round, my eyes darting left and right. How had he done it? How was it possible to simply disappear? Then out of thin air he reappeared by my side.

  ‘How did you do that?’

  ‘It’s simple to do, but hard to explain.’

  I jolted away from him when I remembered that Emily had said that exact thing when I asked her how her eyes changed colour. Was this a coincidence? How could he repeat those exact words?

  ‘Lucy, what’s wrong?’

  �
�Nothing,’ I replied, shaking my head. ‘I’m being silly again. Just what you said reminded me of something.’

  ‘You’re a bit jumpy tonight. Are you sure you don’t want to remain here?’

  ‘I’m fine. How did you disappear?’

  ‘I have discovered lots of new powers lately. Travelling from one location to another in the blink of an eye is one such power.’

  ‘How far can you travel like this?’

  ‘Far enough for what we are going to do tonight.’

  ‘I don’t know how to teleport… hell, I don’t even know if guides can teleport.’

  ‘I can do it for us both.’

  He took a firm grip of my arms, hard enough that it hurt, then pressed his forehead against mine.

  ‘Close your eyes, Lucy.’

  We were abruptly torn from the spirit world into a place that was less tangible, where matter and time had long been abandoned, replaced by an emptiness that made mirror world seem abundant. There was a bareness that begged for the energy that held my soul together. It was a place that nothing could exist in for very long. Fear was creeping into me. I was told I would live for all time as a spirit. Not in this place. This was a place where no life could endure. I cursed Tim for exposing me to it. He held me fast against him as light and shadow bent around us. Distant voices rang out. Shapes flittered under me. All the while my spirit body grew colder than cold. A cloud of dark vapour consumed us, blinding me to everything. I shut my eyes and screamed for Tim to end it.

  ‘Do not be afraid.’

  The calmness of Tim’s voice brought me to my senses. I felt a soft surface beneath my feet and a familiar sweeping sound met my ear. I opened my eyes to see my lover standing before me.

  ‘What was that place?’ I asked. ‘It felt like death.’