sloppy white
batter and dropped that in. A second piece after it.
'Do you know anyone with a white van?' I asked him.
'Sure,' he said, looking over his shoulder with a grin. 'Me.'
Yes, I thought. That's about par for the course.
There were no lights on back home. I panicked for a second
but I knew it was all right. Gith sometimes did this, going to
bed soon as it got dark. I put my parcel of food on the kitchen
bench and went through into the hallway. The door to her
room was open just a crack. I swung it a bit wider and a shaft
of light spread across the floor and over the bed on the far
side, my shadow in the middle of it. I could see Gith's head on
the pillow, just poking out of the folded bedclothes. I wanted
to go in and touch her, to make sure she was all right or just
to feel her warmth maybe. But that was dumb.
I closed the door again and turned away, went back to the
kitchen for the food.
***
ON SATURDAY WE went for a drive up to Lake Nihonui. We
took the Riley and Gith drove. The Riley is her car, registered
in her name, and she really likes the chance to get behind the
wheel. I didn't honestly know if the learner's licence she got
when she was fifteen was still valid but, given that Hemi never
said anything, we reckoned it must be. The car did all right,
purring along at fifty mph on the flat bits and taking the hills
in its stride. We stopped at a layby on the northern edge of
the lake. It was too cold to have lunch in the open air so we
unpacked the sandwiches and ate them sitting in the car.
'Len,' she said, after a while. 'Thad.'
'Sad? Yes. Too right.'
'Poor Len. Poor Kath.' She sighed. 'Die. Thcary.'
'We're all scared to die, I guess.'
'Acthident. Mum an Dad.'
'You remember that?'
'Narg. Ferry. Birdth. Gullth. Waaark.' She made a fair shot
at the sound of a gull. Then she said. 'Thcream. Thcream.
Braketh thcream. Mum thcream. Eeeeeeeeeeeee.'
'You remember that? The brakes? Your mum?'
'Narg. Mebby. Mum an Dad. Dead.'
'That's sad.'
'Gith.' She said nothing for a second or two, and then,
'Hurt.' She started to cry, one hand over her eyes. She had a
cup of tea in the other. A half-eaten sandwich on a piece of
Glad Wrap in her lap.
She was a long way away in the Riley's front seat but I
moved across and put my arm around her shoulders.
'Yes, sweetheart. I know. I know. It still hurts, eh.'
She sniffed.
'We don't talk about it much,' I said. 'Maybe we should.'
She knuckled away her tears, sniffed again.
'Girl. Van girl. Dead,' she said.
'Dead?' I wanted to say she was wrong but I couldn't.
She rubbed above her left eye with the tip of her finger.
'Head,' she said. 'Thtuffed. Talk. Thtuffed.'
'I know.'
'Bugger.'
'Yes.'
She looked at me and then waved her hand out towards the
water. 'Thad,' she said. 'Here. Thad. Thad light. Bad. Mebby.'
'Here?' I knew what she meant. There was always something
weird about the lake. Right now a flock of ducks, maybe thirty
or forty birds, were skimming over the surface. Dark shapes
with their blurred shadows in the silver water. To the south
the hills rose up, a deep dull grey against a blue-grey sky, while
to our right, along the western side, a pale mist was rolling in
like smoke, tumbling down the gullies and spreading out over
the surface.
Gith opened the car door and got out, stood hugging
herself against the cold and sipping her cup of tea. I joined
her, put my arm round her, felt her shiver. A damp breeze was
stirring, flicking her hair against my jaw. Bit by bit, the lake
was sinking under the mist.
'We should go,' I said.
She didn't move.
I remembered the story of the taniwha they said lived up
here, and how the lake sometimes turned to blood. It was a
trick of the light but that didn't stop it freaking you out. My
brother Bill had seen it once. He was up here on a tramping
trip and spent the night over on the western side where the
mist was coming down now. He woke at sunrise the next
morning. The sky was red in the east and the lake even
batter and dropped that in. A second piece after it.
'Do you know anyone with a white van?' I asked him.
'Sure,' he said, looking over his shoulder with a grin. 'Me.'
Yes, I thought. That's about par for the course.
There were no lights on back home. I panicked for a second
but I knew it was all right. Gith sometimes did this, going to
bed soon as it got dark. I put my parcel of food on the kitchen
bench and went through into the hallway. The door to her
room was open just a crack. I swung it a bit wider and a shaft
of light spread across the floor and over the bed on the far
side, my shadow in the middle of it. I could see Gith's head on
the pillow, just poking out of the folded bedclothes. I wanted
to go in and touch her, to make sure she was all right or just
to feel her warmth maybe. But that was dumb.
I closed the door again and turned away, went back to the
kitchen for the food.
***
ON SATURDAY WE went for a drive up to Lake Nihonui. We
took the Riley and Gith drove. The Riley is her car, registered
in her name, and she really likes the chance to get behind the
wheel. I didn't honestly know if the learner's licence she got
when she was fifteen was still valid but, given that Hemi never
said anything, we reckoned it must be. The car did all right,
purring along at fifty mph on the flat bits and taking the hills
in its stride. We stopped at a layby on the northern edge of
the lake. It was too cold to have lunch in the open air so we
unpacked the sandwiches and ate them sitting in the car.
'Len,' she said, after a while. 'Thad.'
'Sad? Yes. Too right.'
'Poor Len. Poor Kath.' She sighed. 'Die. Thcary.'
'We're all scared to die, I guess.'
'Acthident. Mum an Dad.'
'You remember that?'
'Narg. Ferry. Birdth. Gullth. Waaark.' She made a fair shot
at the sound of a gull. Then she said. 'Thcream. Thcream.
Braketh thcream. Mum thcream. Eeeeeeeeeeeee.'
'You remember that? The brakes? Your mum?'
'Narg. Mebby. Mum an Dad. Dead.'
'That's sad.'
'Gith.' She said nothing for a second or two, and then,
'Hurt.' She started to cry, one hand over her eyes. She had a
cup of tea in the other. A half-eaten sandwich on a piece of
Glad Wrap in her lap.
She was a long way away in the Riley's front seat but I
moved across and put my arm around her shoulders.
'Yes, sweetheart. I know. I know. It still hurts, eh.'
She sniffed.
'We don't talk about it much,' I said. 'Maybe we should.'
She knuckled away her tears, sniffed again.
'Girl. Van girl. Dead,' she said.
'Dead?' I wanted to say she was wrong but I couldn't.
She rubbed above her left eye with the tip of her finger.
'Head,' she said. 'Thtuffed. Talk. Thtuffed.'
'I know.'
'Bugger.'
'Yes.'
She looked at me and then waved her hand out towards the
water. 'Thad,' she said. 'Here. Thad. Thad light. Bad. Mebby.'
'Here?' I knew what she meant. There was always something
weird about the lake. Right now a flock of ducks, maybe thirty
or forty birds, were skimming over the surface. Dark shapes
with their blurred shadows in the silver water. To the south
the hills rose up, a deep dull grey against a blue-grey sky, while
to our right, along the western side, a pale mist was rolling in
like smoke, tumbling down the gullies and spreading out over
the surface.
Gith opened the car door and got out, stood hugging
herself against the cold and sipping her cup of tea. I joined
her, put my arm round her, felt her shiver. A damp breeze was
stirring, flicking her hair against my jaw. Bit by bit, the lake
was sinking under the mist.
'We should go,' I said.
She didn't move.
I remembered the story of the taniwha they said lived up
here, and how the lake sometimes turned to blood. It was a
trick of the light but that didn't stop it freaking you out. My
brother Bill had seen it once. He was up here on a tramping
trip and spent the night over on the western side where the
mist was coming down now. He woke at sunrise the next
morning. The sky was red in the east and the lake even
Similar Books
