When Words Die
Page 11
I shook my head. “I’m just so sorry this all happened. The motorbike frightened the horses ...”
“Yes, Chloe told us. We’ve all got a lot to learn from this. I didn’t know that area was dangerous. One of the nurses told me. It looks safe, but sometimes it gets an undertow. Anyway, let’s go home now. Lily is fine, no water in her lungs. They were worried about dry drowning. We have to keep an eye on her, but she should be okay. She’ll be back singing again tomorrow!”
Chapter 33
Chloe
If she had been able to talk, she could have stopped Lily and Arona. And if she’d been able to talk, yell, call, whatever to Arona, maybe the two girls wouldn’t have gone back in the water. But she didn’t and the girls nearly drowned and it was all her fault. Not Keri’s. Even though Keri cried and said it was her fault, it wasn’t. It was hers – Chloe’s.
She hadn’t slept well. She was tired and grumpy and she didn’t feel like talking to anyone. But Mum said they all had to go to the New Year’s Eve hāngi. Heeni would be there, and she wanted to see all her mokopuna together. It might be her last chance.
Chloe checked in on Lily, who was her usual bouncy, loud self.
“Is she really okay?” she asked her mum.
“Seems so,” Mum said cheerfully. “She slept well and there’s no sign of rattle sounds from her lungs. Now go and get ready. We’re leaving here in forty-five minutes.”
Reluctantly Chloe dragged her way through showering and dressing. She put on her nicest dress, the one Mum had put out for her this morning. She didn’t know why it had to be her best dress – everyone else would be wearing shorts and jeans and whatever else was easy to put on, on a hot day like today was looking to be. She brushed her hair and tied it back. Then she presented herself to Mum.
“Very nice, sweetheart. You look great. Just one thing ...”
Chloe knew what was coming. “I’ll try, Mum, I’ll try.”
Tears pricked her eyes. It was all too much. She just wanted to crawl back to her bedroom and hide under the covers. She was just so tired. She’d never be able to speak to anyone today, and that was the truth. But she would try. If she had tried harder yesterday things might not have gone so wrong.
No big welcome today at the marae. It was a gathering of all the local iwi. The hāngi was in the ground, the kuia were sitting in the shade of the big old oak tree and the men were gathered around talking tribal politics. Older kids lounged around, laughing and joking with each other and trying to impress. Little children were racing all over, drying off from swimming in the waterhole in the river at the back of the grounds. Lily turned to join them.
“No, Lily!” Mum grabbed her just before she got out of arm’s reach. “No swimming or playing with the others until you have been to meet Heeni.”
“Why do I have to?” she wailed. “I want to play with Arona. It’s not FAIR!”
Dad crouched down beside her.
“Lily, listen to me. This is very important. Heeni is my mother – my real mother. That means she is your real grandmother. I want you to come with us to see Heeni before you go and play. If you don’t, I will take you home right now, and you will not play with Arona for a whole week. That’s how important it is to me. Do you understand?”
Lily nodded slowly and stuck her fingers in her mouth. With a scowl on her face, she took Dad’s hand and followed him to the wharekai where Heeni was sitting with the other cousins. Mereana was there, and Wiremu and Pani. And Wiremu and Pani’s baby brother. Dad gave Chloe a little push. She took Lily’s hand and she shyly walked towards the group who were all her relatives.
It was an hour later when they finally walked back into
the sunshine. The hāngi had been unwrapped and food was being served up in huge baskets and platters. Lily immediately tore off to where Arona was playing by a tree with her cousins and siblings.
Mereana took hold of Chloe’s hand and gave it a squeeze. She looked up at Mereana and saw she also had tears in her eyes and on her cheeks. Mereana nodded at a quiet spot away from everyone and in accord they sat with their backs to everyone else, in the shade of a small tree.
Chloe turned to Mereana, her eyes wide.
“Do you think it’s for real?” she asked. Awe had sent her anxieties away, and in her excitement, she had forgotten she couldn’t speak?
Mereana smiled at her. “I think so,” she said. “I think Heeni really does mean what she said.”
“But ... but ... we’ve only just got to know her, and it seems so horrible to be thinking about what she’s going to give us if it means she’ll be gone soon.”
“At least we will have got to know her a little bit, and we know who we came from and now there is no mystery anymore.”
Chloe suddenly realised she had been talking to Mereana like a normal person. Her fear started to close up her voice again, but she shook her head, took a deep breath and sent the fear away.
“Thank you,” she said, “for being my cousin.”
Mereana put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug.
“You’re a brave girl,” she said. “Thank you for being my cousin.”
Keri and Jess found them a little time later and brought them plates of food from the hāngi.
“You’re lucky we saved you some,” Jess said. “There’s not much left. It’s really good. They’re having music and fireworks later. It’s a proper New Year party!”
Keri grinned at her. “So, is Tyrone going to be around?”
Jess looked sheepish.
“You have to admit, he is good-looking. How was I to know?”
“He has lots of girlfriends,” Chloe said. “I’ve seen him at school.”
She was a little surprised at herself, but she felt safe with these girls. A tiny spark of hope gave her courage. Maybe next year at school would be better. Maybe not. But right now was good.
Chapter 34
Keri
Jess and I left three days later, to go back to Auckland. We talked all the way home. It was good to find that she was still going to be my friend. We had been friends for such a long time and her time away had changed her, and changed me, but not as much that we couldn’t find the connection again.
Mereana stayed with Nanny Anahera and helped her look after Heeni. Heeni was quite ill when we left, and she died a week later. Mereana stayed for the tangi, and it was almost time for school to start before she came home. Her mum drove up before Heeni died, and they came home together. I didn’t get to talk to her until a few days before school began for the new year.
“You remember there was talk of Heeni being rich?” Mereana asked.
“Um, yes, but I didn’t know if it was just Wiremu thinking everyone who lived in Australia was rich.”
“No, she really was. She has left all the money to the grandchildren, to go into a trust fund. We can’t have anything until we are twenty-one. We haven’t found out how much yet, but it means that if I want, I can go to university and not have to worry about if Mum can afford it or not. I can have a loan from the trust for my fees and pay it back later.”
“That is so cool! Does that mean you can keep going to our school and not have to worry about losing your scholarship?”
“I guess so,” she said. “I’ll have to check that out. But I don’t intend to lose my scholarship. Do you?”
“Nope, especially as Jess is going there as a fee-paying student. We’ll all be together in the same year. And Sara too.”
“Well, there’s one more piece of news.”
Mereana stopped for dramatic effect.
“Go on. What?”
“Chloe is coming to board with Mum and me, and she’s going to our school too. She’ll be having counselling to help her overcome her anxieties, and our school is best placed to do it. Mum and Uncle Rob did some research. I don’t think it’s going to be too much of a problem. She’s already opened up to Mum and she and Heeni had long talks together. I just hope that a big change like that won’t set her back
.”
“That is so excellent! We can all keep an eye on her, make sure she’s safe and happy. When’s she coming?”
“Tomorrow. Can you and Jess come and welcome her?”
“Try and keep us away.”
~The End~
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Did you love When Words Die? Then you should read Watch Me! by Jenni Francis!
When Claire finds a lump on her chest she can't imagine how it got there. She decides she must have knocked into something. Anyway, there's too much to do to worry about it. Her cousin Keri is coming to stay, there are the horse trekkers to deal with and three horses have gone missing.
Keri and Mereana arrive to stay for a week, and find themselves involved in more than just helping out on the farm and riding horses. Neighbouring farms have been losing sheep and cattle and even a pig is targeted. Then Claire has to go to hospital. With Claire and her mum out of action, Keri and Mereana have to step in to help out, but before long it's not just animals who are abducted.
Read more at Jenni Francis’s site.
Also by Jenni Francis
Keri Series
Losing William
Fire Island
Danger Signs - Falling on Deaf Ears
Cold as Ice
Watch Me!
When Words Die
Standalone
A Little Book of Short Stories for Boys
Watch for more at Jenni Francis’s site.
About the Author
Jenni Francis lives in Matakana, New Zealand, with her husband, and her greedy golden retriever, Bailey. She lives on five acres, with an orchard, a pond, sheep, ducks and lots of other wild life.
She has been a teacher for many years, and during that time has written many novels and short stories. Now that she has more time, she decided it was time to put this work together.
Read more at Jenni Francis’s site.