share the same genes.
So Luca had rung Bear, and even now could hear the recrimination in his own voice. It was that same perfunctory tone he used to shut everyone out. It was always like that. No matter how hard he tried to say what he felt, there was always this unspoken anger, this wall between them.
At the beginning of their relationship, Luca had been amazed by how quickly he and Bear had seemed to accept each other. There wasn’t any of the usual fear he had experienced in the past. Instead, it felt entirely natural to have her with him, as if it had always been so.
But just in that one moment, that tipping point where their relationship would have taken shape and solidified into something more meaningful, it suddenly became much more complicated. The issue of her son grew and grew, gnawing away at every other part of their lives. It was terrifying how fast it all seemed to happen; the doubts and ill feeling spreading like a cancer. The very togetherness they had felt at the beginning of their relationship soon twisted into a resentment that was equally palpable. On it went, day after day, without Luca facing up to the real issues. Finally, all he could think to do was run.
He sighed, slumping back into the uncomfortable seat of the plane. Why did he always cut away like that? Why did he always choose solitude over confrontation? Shaking his head, he wondered whether Bear had even listened to the message in the first place. With all that had happened, he wouldn’t have blamed her if she had deleted it straight away.
‘Go! Go!’ came the loader’s voice, rousing him from his thoughts. This time he was gesturing to Luca to don the last of his outer clothing. They were nearly there.
As Luca looked about him, he realised the light outside the plane had changed. Through the single porthole in the cargo bay, he could see the first ice as they passed through the Antarctic Circle and into perpetual daylight. Beneath him were immense tabular icebergs, forerunners of the mighty continent ahead, while a shimmering, yellow light haloed the horizon. It was the sun’s rays being reflected back into the sky by the sheer mass of ice that was Antarctica.
Luca had seen mountains and glaciers before, but never anything on this scale. Antarctica was simply titanic. Stretching out before him was an entire new world, one that had been waiting there all along around the underside of the globe. Antarctica – the only land on the planet not owned by a single nation. The last great wilderness on earth.
There was a clunk as the landing gear unfurled. Then, as the plane descended on its final approach, a horizon of ice seemed to rise up above the porthole. Suddenly everything went white.
The plane thumped down on the runway, sending a metallic ripple through the fuel drums. As the engines roared in reverse thrust, clouds of loose snow blew up past the wingtips, reducing visibility to zero. On they went, the speed gradually bleeding off with each metre as they approached the end section of the runway, until the enormous machine finally ground to a halt. Before the noise of the engines had even wound down, the main door was heaved open and a bitter cold came rushing inside. It sucked out the warm, stale air from the flight, replacing it with a bone-dry cold that pierced Luca’s lungs.
Getting to his feet, he grabbed his rucksack and moved over to the door. Beyond was a landscape of unending ice, stretching out as far as he could see. ‘English!’
He looked down to see a man standing on the edge of the runway with his arms held wide. He was wearing a one-piece padded suit that seemed to accentuate his already bulbous waistline. Evidently the suit had once been bright red, but now the fabric more resembled the colour of the engine grease splattered across its knees and chest.
The man’s bushy beard looked like a continuation of the fur lining of his jacket, while his cheeks were tanned the colour of mahogany. As Luca descended
So Luca had rung Bear, and even now could hear the recrimination in his own voice. It was that same perfunctory tone he used to shut everyone out. It was always like that. No matter how hard he tried to say what he felt, there was always this unspoken anger, this wall between them.
At the beginning of their relationship, Luca had been amazed by how quickly he and Bear had seemed to accept each other. There wasn’t any of the usual fear he had experienced in the past. Instead, it felt entirely natural to have her with him, as if it had always been so.
But just in that one moment, that tipping point where their relationship would have taken shape and solidified into something more meaningful, it suddenly became much more complicated. The issue of her son grew and grew, gnawing away at every other part of their lives. It was terrifying how fast it all seemed to happen; the doubts and ill feeling spreading like a cancer. The very togetherness they had felt at the beginning of their relationship soon twisted into a resentment that was equally palpable. On it went, day after day, without Luca facing up to the real issues. Finally, all he could think to do was run.
He sighed, slumping back into the uncomfortable seat of the plane. Why did he always cut away like that? Why did he always choose solitude over confrontation? Shaking his head, he wondered whether Bear had even listened to the message in the first place. With all that had happened, he wouldn’t have blamed her if she had deleted it straight away.
‘Go! Go!’ came the loader’s voice, rousing him from his thoughts. This time he was gesturing to Luca to don the last of his outer clothing. They were nearly there.
As Luca looked about him, he realised the light outside the plane had changed. Through the single porthole in the cargo bay, he could see the first ice as they passed through the Antarctic Circle and into perpetual daylight. Beneath him were immense tabular icebergs, forerunners of the mighty continent ahead, while a shimmering, yellow light haloed the horizon. It was the sun’s rays being reflected back into the sky by the sheer mass of ice that was Antarctica.
Luca had seen mountains and glaciers before, but never anything on this scale. Antarctica was simply titanic. Stretching out before him was an entire new world, one that had been waiting there all along around the underside of the globe. Antarctica – the only land on the planet not owned by a single nation. The last great wilderness on earth.
There was a clunk as the landing gear unfurled. Then, as the plane descended on its final approach, a horizon of ice seemed to rise up above the porthole. Suddenly everything went white.
The plane thumped down on the runway, sending a metallic ripple through the fuel drums. As the engines roared in reverse thrust, clouds of loose snow blew up past the wingtips, reducing visibility to zero. On they went, the speed gradually bleeding off with each metre as they approached the end section of the runway, until the enormous machine finally ground to a halt. Before the noise of the engines had even wound down, the main door was heaved open and a bitter cold came rushing inside. It sucked out the warm, stale air from the flight, replacing it with a bone-dry cold that pierced Luca’s lungs.
Getting to his feet, he grabbed his rucksack and moved over to the door. Beyond was a landscape of unending ice, stretching out as far as he could see. ‘English!’
He looked down to see a man standing on the edge of the runway with his arms held wide. He was wearing a one-piece padded suit that seemed to accentuate his already bulbous waistline. Evidently the suit had once been bright red, but now the fabric more resembled the colour of the engine grease splattered across its knees and chest.
The man’s bushy beard looked like a continuation of the fur lining of his jacket, while his cheeks were tanned the colour of mahogany. As Luca descended
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