Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
E vie’s mother had kept in contact with a friend she had gone to school with. Katrina lived north of Cairns and had a small house that was available for rent. The address was written on a piece of paper, and Evie peered at it as the sun sank below the mountains that flanked the side of the road they drove on. The place they had come to live was north of a town called Mossman. ‘Mossman is where you’ll go to school,’ Mother told her. ‘We’re going to live further out.’ Evie clutched the note, as she peered through the windscreen at an old timber house that was barely visible through the palms and other rainforest trees that surrounded it. Someone had put the front veranda light on and, as promised, the key to the front door was in the letterbox.
The night air was sultry and a moon floated in the eastern sky, giving them some light as they lugged their suitcases up the overgrown path, into the house. ‘Thank goodness the electricity is on,’ Mother said, as she flicked the lights on. They stood in the front room, where an old lounge and a couple of single chairs positioned around a chunky timber coffee table, took up most of the room. A couple of rugs covered the rough timber floorboards and Evie ventured a bit further into the kitchen. The house was old and the kitchen had bright blue cupboard doors, with three wooden shelves painted blue to match. A rounded fridge that Evie guessed was from the 1950s had been turned on, and a welcome note on the kitchen bench told them where a few necessities were.
Toilet is out the back door and to your left. Watch for snakes at night and during the day. The hot water system is broken but will be fixed tomorrow. Back door doesn’t lock, but you’re safe here anyway. Will call around in the morning to check what you need. Love Katrina.
Katrina promised that, although the house was old, it was waterproof, comfortable and tucked away from the more populated areas. ‘Just what we want…and it’s cheap and furnished,’ her mother declared as they looked around. Although the toilet was outside, the bathroom was inside and the kitchen had plenty of space. The furniture was basic, but included everything they needed. ‘This is going to be home,’ she added, as she put an arm around Evie’s shoulder. ‘Home for you and me. We’ll make it work.’
Evie wasn’t sure if she was supposed to reply to that statement, but the words didn’t come anyway. What was she supposed to say? ‘Yay. Can’t wait. Can’t wait to try and make new friends. This is the best day of my life.’
As she lay in the single bed in her new bedroom that night, she tried not to jump every time a palm frond brushed against the window, or a twig or small branch landed on the tin roof. Apart from those noises, there were no others. That was probably the strangest thing, and it kept her from going to sleep. Silence. A profound, unsettling silence.