Travelling the white line.

Psychedelic

“Good boy,” Shirley smiled as Leon resurfaced, holding an extra rod, “thank you. Now be back by six thirty if you want fresh tuna casserole. Otherwise you’ll have to eat it cold.”

“Come on Drew!” Bill’s voice rung out, and Drew stumbled out of the front door, holding a sort of lantern. Bill laughed. “What’s that for?”

“Keeping the bug’s away.” Drew grinned impishly. Bill laughed, ruffling his hair. I realised the close resemblance between the two, and smiled.

“Just don’t drop it in the water or we’ll be eating barbequed fish for weeks.” Bill joked. Drew laughed heartily, sounding a lot like Bill. With an encouraging pat on the back, he ran ahead of us.

“Come on, slow pokes!” he called through the trees, obscured in the distance.

“Have fun, sunflower.” My mother called to me as I walked after Drew, Leon several steps ahead of me. I turned to wave, and she gave me a quick wink. I scowled at her, annoyed as her laugh rang out across the lake.

After almost ten minutes of walking, the suns golden fingers had begun to stroke the sky, beckoning to the moon to rise. I smiled silently, not expressing my gratitude for the beautiful sunset that cast golden sparkles along the lakes cool surface.

Finally, Leon and I spotted Drew, perched on a rock at the lakes edge. Leon walked towards him and set down the bucket and two of the rods. He held the third out to me.

“Have you ever gone fishing before?” he asked.

I recalled the deep-sea fishing that I had done in Tasmania two years before, and confidently replied, “Yes.”

“Do you know how to use the rod properly?”

“I think so, yes.”

“Have you ever caught anything?” he asked. I blushed, feeling my cheeks grow hot, and shook my head. He sighed and handed me the rod. “Don’t do anything stupid.” He warned. I bit my lip, and hoped like hell that I didn’t.

We had been fishing for a half hour, and the sun had completely disappeared from the sky. The buzz of mosquitoes around us irked me, but the lantern Drew had brought with him was keeping the bugs away. Still, I felt fidgety whenever a bug sounded particularly close. Drew was grinning as he captured fireflies in a small jar, and I remembered doing the same when I was younger. Leon sat, his face as still as a small pool of water. He seemed so relaxed, as if the lake was his natural element. I had no doubt he could fish all day and night if he wanted to. After all, he had successfully caught several large fish already. Even Drew had caught one or two. I sighed, feeling incompetent. I still hadn’t caught a single bite.

“So,” a calm voice said finally, and I turned to see Leon still looking out across the water. “What’s your real name?” I cocked my head to the side, puzzled.

“What do you mean?” I asked. He sighed exasperatedly, and I flinched at his apparent annoyance.

“Well your name isn’t really Celeste Moonchild, is it?” he said as if it was fact, “So what is it?”

“My name is Celestial Rainbow Moonchild, Celeste for short. It always has been.” I sniffed proudly, taken aback by how a simple question had suddenly become an attack on my family. Leon finally looked at me.

“You can’t honestly believe your surname is Moonchild.” He frowned. I felt like I had just been accused of believing in Santa Claus. I had a sort of seedy feeling in my gut. It had never occurred to me that my real surname wasn’t Moonchild, but the more I thought about it, the more preposterous it seemed. But then a more urgent question came to mind.

What were Barnaby and Miccah’s real names?

I realised I was breathing heavily now, and closed my eyes. Exhaling deeply, a technique I’d learnt from the Aboriginal Elders of Uluru, I shook my head, freeing it from my childish thoughts. Their names didn’t change who they were. And who was Leon to question my family?

“Where do you live?” asked a younger voice, and in the warm glow of the lantern I could see Drew looking at me.

“In my mini-bus.” I said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. He shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Where’s your school?” he asked.

“I’m home-schooled.” I smiled, “My parents teach me.”

“Then when do you see your friends?” Drew raised his eyebrows, and I was suddenly aware that Leon was now watching me too. My breath caught in my throat.

“Well, moving around a lot, as I do, I guess I-” I couldn’t think of what to say. What could I possibly say that didn’t make me sound like a freak to these small-town country kids?

“She’s a nomad.” I heard Leon say, and my head whipped around to face him. He caught my gaze and looked away, instead making eye contact with Drew.

“What’s that mean?”

“It means Celeste is constantly on the go.”

“Like the Energizer Bunny?” Drew asked, wide-eyed.

“Far out, you ask a lot of questions kiddo. Yes, like the goddamn Energizer bunny.”

The coldness of Leon’s tone made Drew wince as he turned back to the water. I flinched at the sadness that crossed his face, knowing his curiosity hadn’t been satisfied. I never had to deal with emotion all too much. My parents were genuinely in love, and their only arguments occurred over fickle debates to pass the time on a long trip. A famous argument of theirs that they continued to debate was the age-old question ‘Should you put the milk in the coffee before the water’.

I realised suddenly that Leon’s eyes were still on me. Looking to him, I mouthed the words ‘thank you’. He had, after all, saved me from looking like a complete fool.

I spent my days exploring the quieter parts of Australia, so answering the lingering questions of a bewildered 12 year old was new territory to me altogether. The more I considered it, the more grateful I was for Leon’s intervention.

Leon made a gesture towards his upper lip, and my hand followed his. My index finger found moisture, and I flushed when I discovered the bead of sweat that had been forming on my upper lip.

I bit my lip nervously, looking down at the rod in my hands. After a few moments, I snuck a glance at Leon, to see if he had turned to back to the lake that had seemed to captivate him so thoroughly before, as if he were one with it. My stomach did a small flip when I noticed his eyes burning into mine, hard and cold. What I thought was a threatening stare soon surprised me, as he did something I never expected.

Leon cocked his head to the side, and smirked.