Shallow Breath

35

Maya




‘I’m so sorry, Maya.’ Pete is apologising as he drives. ‘I didn’t mean to drift off. I can’t believe I didn’t hear Luke go.’

‘It’s all right,’ Maya says as the scenery flies past. ‘He’s been pretty good at sneaking around lately. I just hope he’s okay.’ She points towards a turning. ‘This one, I think.’ Pete indicates, and then pulls over when they find house number eleven.

Maya isn’t sure what reception she’ll get here, but she has to try. Otherwise she’ll be stuck waiting for Luke to call her again. She walks along the driveway to the small red-brick house, her nerves jangling, and raps loudly on the door. Nothing happens, so she waits for a while and knocks again.

She is on the verge of giving up when she hears footsteps, and the key turning. The door opens and she sees Luke’s mum, Patricia, squinting in the sunlight, her puffy eyes trying to focus on Maya.

‘Hi there, is Luke around?’ Maya asks.

Patricia grins. ‘You the woman he’s been hanging round with, eh? I’ve been telling him to bring you home.’

Maya smiles tentatively. ‘Is he here?’

Without warning, Sean’s pasty face looms over the top of Patricia’s. He pushes the door wider, and leans on the frame. ‘We ain’t seen him all night. Hayden’s been after him, though,’ he says. From the way he is glaring at Maya, she is uncertain how much he knows. He’s holding a mug, and tips it up as soon as he’s spoken, revealing a heavily tattooed arm as he takes a gulp.

As Maya faces Patricia again, she sees her eyes have clouded over. ‘Can you tell him I came by? Ask him to come and see me?’

Patricia tries to smile and nods slightly, but all her vitality has gone. She turns away and Sean lingers for a moment, looking past Maya to Pete in the car, before he closes the door.

‘No luck?’ Pete asks as Maya returns.

‘No.’

‘So what do you want to do now?’

‘Go home, I guess.’

He turns to her. ‘And where’s home, Maya?’

She realises she’d been thinking of the shack, but she doesn’t want to admit that. ‘I suppose I’d better go and talk to Mum a bit more,’ she says instead.

Pete nods, and begins to drive. Maya watches the same bland bushland flying past on the return trip, and begins to massage a sore spot on her neck. Then she leans forward with a start. ‘Oh, no.’

‘What?’ Pete glances anxiously at her.

‘Mum’s necklace. I’ve lost it.’ Her heart sinks. She remembers being tackled to the ground in the bush. ‘Can you take the turning to the old wildlife park so I can look for it? It might have come off last night.’



They arrive in a few moments. The car rattles up the long track until it reaches a small clearing. It’s obvious they are in the right place, because empty bottles and fast-food wrappers are scattered everywhere. It’s incredible, Maya thinks, that a few careless people can make such a big mess.

She gets out reluctantly. She doesn’t want to discover any more dead kangaroos. It is bad enough finding them at night, but there’s nowhere to hide in daylight. She thinks back a few hours, and tries to orientate herself.

As she searches, Pete paces the ground next to her. There are no carcasses nearby, but plenty of kangaroo droppings in the long grass. Maya kicks leaves and litter out of the way, hoping to spot something, but it is useless. It had been so dark last night that now it’s impossible to figure out exactly where she was. It will be a miracle if she finds the necklace – and right now, she’s having trouble believing in miracles.

Nevertheless, they spend another half an hour or so before she turns to Pete. ‘Let’s forget it.’

‘You sure?’

She shrugs disconsolately, and they return to the car in silence.

They drive for another few minutes, then Pete pulls over at the end of the track to the shack. ‘Are you all right if I drop you here?’ he asks. ‘There are a few things I need to do today.’

‘Yeah, that’s fine,’ she says, beginning to get out.

‘I’m really sorry I let Luke disappear,’ Pete calls after her.

She leans in. ‘It doesn’t matter. He would have gone whether you were awake or not. It’s his decision.’

Once Pete has driven away, she trudges up towards the shack, stopping when she sees an unfamiliar vehicle. Then she remembers: Kate is here.

She is fighting exhaustion, and doesn’t feel ready for whatever Kate is bringing to their door. Instead, she creeps around the back of the house, and sits on the step.

She can hear voices inside. Unintentionally, she begins to eavesdrop.

She is just in time to hear Kate’s plea. She listens in astonishment as Kate outlines what she’s planning to do, and then hears Desi tell her where she has been these past fifteen months, and why she couldn’t help her, even if she wanted to.

Maya’s mind begins to tumble over itself with possibilities. She jumps up and stumbles away from the shack, hurrying down the track until she is at the road. She waits, and waits, until she hears distant voices, the slamming of doors and the starting of an engine.

As Kate’s car reaches the end of the driveway, Maya steps out in front of it and gestures to her to stop. She goes around to the driver’s door, while Kate studies her in surprise, before winding down the window.

‘I heard you talking to Mum in there,’ Maya says breathlessly. ‘I know she said she can’t help you – but I can.’

Kate doesn’t reply for a moment. Maya’s heart is in her mouth as she stands there, listening to the impatient idling of the engine. Then Kate points to the empty seat next to her.

‘I hope you’re right. Get in, and we’ll talk.’