The Northerly

The last step creaked as Tom walked down the staircase. It was there to remind him that it had to be fixed before somebody stepped through the old wood. But not today. It was far too hot already although the sun had only just come up over the saltbush horizon. He did not get much sleep; it was almost impossible to fall asleep on these hot nights and it was the fourth day now in a row with temperatures around 40 degrees. You would think you would get used to it out here where there was little shade from the scorching sun, but the heat always came when you least expected it. He was older now and just breathing had become an effort when the air was hot and dusty. It sucked the life out of you.

Tom filled the heavy kettle with water and plugged it into the wall. He took a cup from the bench, last nights dishes, and rinsed it quickly. Two and a half teaspoons of Maxwell instant coffee and a teaspoon of instant milk. They had run out of fresh milk, and he was not going into town until the weather cooled down. He opened the front door as he waited for the kettle to boil just as a dust cloud whipped up outside the screen door and he felt the northerly wind coming through the wire netting. There was no point waking Lilly, she needed her sleep and there was no hurry and nothing that had to be done urgently.

The kettle whistled and he filled his cup, stirring with the teaspoon a couple of times as he walked out to the front porch. He wiped the old wood bench and noticed the red dust on his fingers.

- Dam northerly! he mumbled to himself. He hated it, it would steal your breath if it could.

The sky was Australian blue, vast and wide and no clouds to give relief from the golden sun.

The road stretched out ahead in a straight line all the way to the hills. In a few hours as the heat got worse, a cloud of steam would rise from the asphalt. They said the ground was so hot you could fry an egg on it, but he had never tried it. The road was clear now making the hills seem closer. This was a pleasant view, as opposed to the one across the road where there was nothing but dry saltbush as far as the eye could see.

Having a shop on the main road had its advantages. Travelers passing through would stop for the odd groceries they needed. Lilly served cheese and gherkin sandwiches with a cupper if they wanted refreshments and there were always cool drinks in the fridge. Tom made sure the shelves were reasonable well stocked with cans of all sorts of ingredients, dried biscuits, matches, BBQ coals, stationary, toilet paper and the necessary practical things like turpentine, methylated spirits and of course… water. Pearsons was a dying town and many of the original locals had left. At last count there were about thirty-one inhabitants left in the town, and a few farmers on the outskirts. “The great thirty-one” as Tom liked to call them.

The wind caught the screen door, banging it against the worn wooden frame. Tom stuck a brick in front to stop it as another burst of wind came from the saltbush. He sipped his coffee. The only sound was the hissing of that dam wind, and he coughed as a cloud of dust spread out in front of him.

Lilly woke feeling heavy headed as if she had not slept at all. She looked over to see that Tom was already up and rose slowly from the bed. The sheets felt hot and the fan at the end of the bed did not offer any relief from the stifling heat. The wind had not let up during the night, the window seal was covered with red dust and so was the dressing table. The face looking back at her from the mirror was a face she hardly recognized. She squeezed her cheeks and attempted a smile, but nothing could cover the lines that told a lifetime of stories. Her hair was still long, and she plated it at night making sure it was moistened well with coconut oil before going to bed. She rubbed the oil all over her body and nagged Tom to do the same to make sure the skin stayed soft even through the dryest period of the year. But he forgot, or perhaps he did not care anymore. The thin white dressing gown with blue and green dragonflies covered her bare arms and she wrapped it tightly around her as she moved down the stairs. The bottom step creaked, and she smiled, she would have to remind Tom again to fix it one day. But not today. It was far too hot.

They sat together on the porch, watching the day unfold, listening to the radio in the shop and feeling the wind like a hot breath on their faces. The news was all about the bush fires on Kangaroo Island, destroying hundreds of hectares in the national park. They had been there once and remembered how beautiful it was. Long sandy beaches, cliffs where the seals were sunbaking and the parks full of wildlife.

- Poor koalas, Tom sighted.

- And the kangaroos, Lilly added.

- Yes, and the birds.

- It must be terrible.

- You know koalas usually return to their natural habitat and now they are going to return to cinders just to find out there is nothing left, but charcoal remains.

They talked of memories from their time on the island and laughed when they remembered Saphire Beach where their inflatable matrass was blown away by the wind. That was a cold, rogue wind, stirring up the sand and the water and making them grab their belongings and run back to the car. It was a long time ago.

- Look a tumbleweed!

Tom pointed to a ball of dried grass, a couple of feet or more in size, rolling down the street towards them.

- It’s going to pass us, you watch.

The tumbleweed rolled in front of them in a straight line like it had a life of its own.

The weather forecast offered little relief. Another hot couple of days with temperatures soaring over the forties and the fire alert was extreme. Tom grabbed Lillys hand.

- We must ride it out, love. He gave her one of those looks that implied “well there’s nothing we can do about it anyway.”  It will pass.

It was like this now. They were both old, the children had long since left, just like so many others in this small town and they were still here because this was their home, and home was where the heart was. There were thoughts of what would happen when they could no longer manage, but they wished and hoped that they would just go together when the time was right. Tom used to say that there was a cliff there on the hill at the end of the road and if they could make it there, they could both jump, hand in hand. Lilly knew it would not happen like that, but she loved Tom romanticizing about it.

Tom hummed along with the chorus of the song that the radio played.

“Out on the patio we sit, and the humidity we breath, we watch the lightening crack over the cane fields laugh and think this is Australia.”

- Do you remember when we were in Queensland, the burning of the cane fields and all the snakes and animals coming out across the road. And what about the cane toads? Remember how they used to sell them in the souvenir shops, stuffed and glazed?

Lilly laughed. Yes, she remembered. It was funny how the wind had played so many roles in their previous lives. And she remembered the storm that nearly blew down their tent while they were camping alongside the mangroves. It seemed to come from nowhere, right in the middle of the night as they were sleeping by the edge of the creek. At first, they thought they had been hit by a car. It roared and howled, and the pegs torn loose. They got out of the sleeping bags as fast as they could only to watch the ocean in front of them raising up like a black serpent in the night, covering all the sand and land between them and the sea. They had never moved so fast. They pulled down the tent and grabbed the few belongings they had and ran for shelter into the thick rain forest. And the leaches…oh yes, the leaches. They could laugh about it now, all those years ago.

The light was becoming harsher now as the day progressed.

- I am going to take a shower.

Lilly went inside and Tom turned the hose on to cool down the porch. The steam rose as the water hit the limestone blocks and the humidity made it harder to breath. The wind rattled in the shutters and Tom closed them. It made the house darker inside, but he did not like the sound of them hitting the wall. It made him uneasy. Lilly had put on the reading light and was sitting on the lounge in the back of the shop reading. Tom picked up the crosswords he had started the night before but did not get far before he nodded off. They were both fast asleep when the phone rang. Lilly woke with a jolt and hurried out to the passage. Tom heard her talking and knew instantly it was their daughter Cassy in Queensland calling to say she would not be coming down for the school holidays next week. He sighed. Lilly would be upset. She was looking forward to seeing the grandchildren and to have some quality time with her daughter.

- It was not meant to be, she said. Her eyes, sad as she sighed deeply, sitting down beside Tom.

- There is a cyclone warning, and it has been upgraded to category three now. They say it might hit Proserpine in a couple of days and Cassy is worried.

- I understand. Never mind love, next time.

Tom hid the disappointment. Yes, maybe next time. He had also been looking forward to seeing his daughter again.

- Just going outside for a while, love, see if the town is still there. They laughed.

The hot northerly was still blowing, easing perhaps a little from the morning. Out on the saltbush a whirly whirly swept past, whipping up loose branches, leaves and dust. He watched as it moved on further and further away towards the distant horizon. It was then he noticed a large dust cloud from far down the road. Could it be a car? It moved closer and soon he became aware of the sound of a roaring engine. The car was driving very fast heading down the main street. He watched as it approached him and finally came to a standstill in front of him. The breaks screamed as a big black Ford pulled up. A young man jumped out from the driver’s side. He was dressed in black jeans, a white t-shirt with a Nike label written across it in big letters. He waved a mobile phone in his hand and was clearly upset.

- Hey, he yelled. Where the hell are we?

Tom noticed the black shiny boots with the Cuban heels as the man approached him. “Boots and jeans in this weather” was all he could think.

- This is Pearsons, he said. Where are you heading?

- Pearsons! The young man yelled and continued to wave his mobile phone.

- The GPS cut out! We got lost!

- Well, you won’t get any signal out here. Where are you going?

- We were going to Cummins. Must have taken the wrong turn.

Tom tried to calm the man down.

- Yes, you sure did. You must go back on this road and turn right at the end. It’s about fifty kilometers or so up the road. But there is not much open by the time you get there. Everything closes at five, sometimes earlier when it’s hot like this. Oh, but the pub is open of course.

- Well, that’s where we are heading, we’ve got a room there for the night.

The man had calmed down a little and Tom looked through the car window towards the passenger seat where a young woman was sitting. She looked straight ahead at the road obviously showing no interest in the surroundings and fanned a piece of paper in front of her face to cool it.

- Would you like a cool drink?

- Naw…we betta get going. Wouldn’t wanna get stuck out here, he murmured to himself.

Then jumping into the car, he spun the steering wheel, revving the motor loudly. The car turned back on to the road in the direction where they came from.

Tom coughed as a dust cloud moved along the road.

Lilly was still on the lounge when he got in.

- I can’t get the tv working, looks like we lost the reception again.

Tom sighed.

- It’s the wind. I’ll have a look at the arial tomorrow. Not now, it’s just too hot. At least the radio is working.

The hills in the evenings were always beautiful. The light shifted from blue to orange to red before they all turned black showing off the occasional bright light from the houses hidden amongst the far-off trees. Then the hills disappeared into darkness and only the starry night sky was left there to comfort them. They laid in bed and listened to the loud hissing sound outside that moved around, over, and even under the house. Then there was complete silence almost as if the wind had taken its last breath. All they could hear now was the fan by the end of the bed.

- I hope the Bartons are okey. Jack said the roof was coming loose in a few places.

- Isn’t everything around here?

They laughed.

- I think it’s over, the wind has finally died down.

Tom stroked Lillys hand and looked into the darkness.

- I love you, Tom.

He laughed.

- Not tonight love, it’s just too hot.

It was true, they still enjoyed making love. They were blessed with each other, that they knew.

- How is your back?

- The usual aches here and there.

They laughed.

- Come here, he said, pulling her closer.

- Well, it’s not that hot.

His lips found hers in the soft darkness.