The Thousand Smiles of Nicholas Goring (22 page)

"That song," he said when they were done, "the words: they're something about a small plain on a large plain, right? I never realised what that was about, until now, but it's this hill."

"That's good, mate," said Kalti. "That's right. You done good."

"Will you come with us, then? Come to the waterhole with us."

Kalti glanced at Charlie, but not like he was seeking permission. "Yeah, mate," he said to Dave. "I'll come."

While they were still on the hill, Dave began murmuring the next song, scanning the land towards the west, looking for the next location on the songline. It had to be somewhere visible, towards which he could navigate. He couldn't immediately think how the song helped him, though, so he quit singing and said to Charlie, "This is about a snake Ancestor gliding over the ground, isn't it?" It wasn't just the words that told him that, but the undulating rhythm.

Charlie considered for long moments, and then suggested, "
Through
the ground, I think."

"
Through
the ground," Dave muttered, wondering how the hell that worked. But when he looked again, he glimpsed something on the horizon that might help. When he adjusted his glasses on his nose and looked again, he saw a slight but sharp dip in the line of the horizon. He pointed this out to Charlie and Kalti. "Like that? See that kind of … valley? It only looks like a notch from here, but could the snake have gone through there?"

"You beauty!" Charlie cried. "That's it, of course!"

"Cool," said Dave. And singing the song under his breath, he strode down to the level ground, and then struck out across the plain. He was aware of Charlie and Kalti following just behind, and then beyond them a convoy of four vehicles lurched slowly into gear and trailed along, accompanied by a goodly number of people on foot.

They covered just under twenty-three miles in this way, making for quite a long day. Dave would interpret the songs in terms of what he could see in the landscape, sometimes with help from Charlie, Kalti and Thursday but mostly on his own. There was only one song that completely stumped them all – and when they decided to have faith and strike out in the same general direction, they soon came to a rocky outcrop that had apparently broken apart or collapsed some decades before, but which had probably once been visible from some distance.

The very last song in the sequence was about a frilled-neck lizard Ancestor who had gone to sleep so long ago that now you could only see his back poking out of the ground. Dave had already figured this related to the worn old ridge of rocks that he'd long followed on his way to the waterhole, as the formation did look just like a spine curving up out of the ground and back down again. The pattern of rocks that he used to think of as an arrowhead at one end could instead be interpreted as a frill at half-mast.

"We're almost there," he said to his companions, unable to suppress his excitement. The ridge of rocks pointed them in exactly the right direction to take them up across the rise that would eventually reveal … the wide valley that contained the waterhole.

Dave paused on the crest of the rise in the warm glow of late afternoon sunshine, and let the others catch up with him. Those people in the vehicles climbed out and joined the group, which somehow felt larger than it should be, almost as if it were thick with spirits.

"That's it there," Dave announced, pointing towards where the trees and scrub were thickest. "That's the waterhole." Not that any of them other than Charlie would realise quite what they were looking at, not yet. "Come on!" Dave cried, and he strode down the long slope into the valley.

They all followed after him, and any tiredness was lost in a hubbub of excitement. Soon Dave was standing at the entrance to the waterhole. The vehicles were left parked at a respectful distance, and the people gathered around Dave. He looked at them all, sharing the moment with the people he loved, and the people he respected. The excitement became more of a fully charged hush … and when the timing was perfectly right, Dave turned and led the way down into this beautiful sacred place.

It was more than time to share the beauty with the world. Even the butterflies seemed to agree. Dave hadn't expected them to have emerged from the chrysalis yet, but a kaleidoscope of blue scraps of sky rose to meet them. His companions gasped in wonder, and Robin cried, "Oh, Nicholas!" He added more quietly, "Oh, I wish he were here …"

Soon the odd assortment of people were scattered across the sandy ground by the pool itself, marvelling at the gorgeous colours, revelling in the lush sense of peace which even this large gathering of humans couldn't dispel.

Without the slightest sense of self-consciousness Dave took up the long-familiar stance, and began chanting the first of the songs about the waterhole itself, sharing the story about the Barcoo grunter Ancestor, and his love who fell from the sky. Charlie fell into step beside him, and they worked through the sequence of songs and dances – agreeing with little more than a glance which must be kept secret – while the others settled to sit in a large circle around them.

Once they were done, they were met with hearty cheers and applause, as everyone celebrated with them. Charlie put his arm around Dave's shoulders to squeeze him tight, giving Dave all the kudos, though Dave knew well enough they shared it between them. "There's another few songs that lead away from here," Dave explained, "that take the songline further out to the west. But I reckon we'll save them for next time. Let's just hang out here for what's left of the day, right?"

"Right," everyone agreed with a happy laugh.

Dave sat beside Charlie and watched as Thursday and Kalti set a small fire going and then lay green eucalyptus leaves on it. The leaves created smoke, which Dave knew was intended to cleanse both the area and the people in it, and symbolise a new beginning. The sharp scent of the leaves was itself stimulating; everyone touched by it smiled.

Thursday beckoned Dave into the place where the smoke was thickest, and gestured through it as if covering Dave with smoke from head to toe. Charlie advised, "Slough off what you don't need, mate. Let the smoke take it." Dave felt immeasurably lighter. He closed his eyes, listening to Thursday and Kalti chant a song of renewal.

Eventually the smoke dwindled, and people began stirring, about to get up and start exploring, when instead they fell quiet.

Thursday was stepping through the circle to Dave with a dillybag in his hand. When he reached Dave's side, he lifted a wooden board from the bag, and silently handed it over.

Dave took it carefully, and considered the painting on the one flat surface. As with most traditional Aboriginal images, it showed the landscape from above, from a bird's-eye view as it were. There was something about the shapes this depicted that felt very familiar – and it only took a moment for Dave to twig. "Oh! Oh, that's the waterhole!" He traced the concentric shapes, not quite daring to touch them. God only knew how old this was. "This is the valley, the crater," Dave said, indicating the largest, almost perfectly round circle. "This is the sinkhole, which we're in," he added, gesturing at the ellipse in the centre of the circle. "And this is the pool." It was an irregular shape towards one end of the sinkhole, pretty much exactly matching the pool itself. There were two people sitting by the water, one male and one female. "Are these the Ancestors, then?" he asked Thursday.

The old man nodded. He was looking happy, and very satisfied. When Dave tried to hand back the board, Thursday shook his head and stepped away.

"But –" said Dave.

Thursday drew near again, but only to give him the dillybag. "It's yours now, David. You belong in this place."

And David could feel himself beaming with joy. He had hoped to prove a point that day. He hadn't even considered that he might receive such recognition. "Thank you," he said, slipping the board safely back into the bag, and cradling it in both arms against his chest. "Thank you."

The gathering settled after that into the happiest picnic there had ever been, with everyone mingling and chatting happily, or wandering around gazing in quiet awe at the natural beauties of the waterhole. The butterflies continued their happy dance in the day's warmth, occasionally deigning to settle on someone's outstretched hand. Robin was taking plenty of photos with his smartphone so that Nicholas could eventually share in it as well.

Charlie was marvelling. "You do belong in this place, Davey. The Ancestor called you to him, before you even knew the songs."

"I guess so," said Dave. It was a mystery he didn't have an answer for, so Charlie's interpretation made as much sense as anything else.

"I knew all the songs," Charlie continued, giving Dave yet another one-armed hug. "I knew all the same songs, and I couldn't find this place. I couldn't do what you just did. I couldn't follow the songlines."

"Oh well. I guess the Ancestor just decided it was time."

"You're a good man, Davey Taylor."

He grinned at Charlie but bashfully shrugged off the compliment – and instead went to talk to Ted Walinski, who was puzzling over some kind of satnav device. "Not picking up a signal?"

"No, not even a weak one." Walinski looked at him a bit sheepishly. "I'm starting to understand now. I thought you were just being …"

"Difficult?"

"Something like that." He gestured at the red and black cliffs that surrounded them. "Maybe the depth of the sinkhole is interfering with the signal. We'd need a satellite to be almost directly overhead."

"Maybe," said Dave. "But I never got a signal from up at ground level, either. This whole area has been kind of … hidden."

Walinski was sceptical, of course. "Are you saying you believe in – ?"

"I guess we'd all explain it in different ways," said Dave.

"We flew over this area, I'm sure we did. The scrub and the trees would have hidden the sinkhole, I guess, but I don't understand why we didn't spot the crater."

Dave shrugged. "I don't have any answers for you that don't involve the Dreaming, and I know how hard that is for a white fella to accept."

Walinski turned to something he felt surer of. "I wasn't wrong about the hematite, though. That's magnificent!"

"It
is
magnificent," Fred Harvey agreed, wandering up to them with a complacent expression on his face. "Well, you've made your point, Mr Goring Taylor, and I think we can promise you that Reddy Eight will be taking great care not to cause this place any harm."

"But you'll still be looking to start mining in the region," Dave confirmed.

"Yes, but with the smallest possible footprint, I can assure you of that."

Dave sighed, though not unhappily. "I'd like to hear that from Elvis Reddy himself, but I don't mind hearing it from you in the meantime."

"I can do you one better." Harvey nodded his head towards where Mr Teng was sitting serenely meditating by the pool. Teng was still in his expensive shirt and trousers, but his shoes and socks were off, and on top of them were neatly piled his suit jacket and tie. "You can hear it directly from the man with the money, just as soon as you'd like to ask him."

"Oh!" Dave wondered why he hadn't guessed that already. "Mr Teng is actually the major investor?"

"Indeed." Harvey grinned at him. "Like I said, Dave, you've made your point. Well played."

And when Harvey offered his hand, Dave shook it with perfect equanimity.

Once Harvey and Walinski had wandered off, Dave looked around to see that Robin had taken Lisa and Debbie over to the wattle, and the young man was standing there watching with Bethan and Zoe while Lisa examined the plant just as thoroughly and excitedly as ever Nicholas had examined the butterflies.

Denise came over to Dave, and rubbed an affectionate hand up his arm. "This place is
beautiful
. No wonder you and Nicholas love it so."

"Yeah," said Dave, "but it was time to share. The butterflies don't seem to mind, anyway."

"They're astonishing!" she said. "I had no idea … I mean, to see them alive …"

"So, we're trying to get this place included in the Aboriginal reserve; the Department has agreed in principle. But we're also going to try to establish the wattle and some of the butterflies near another waterhole on the reserve. If we set that up properly for visitors, then that helps protect this, if you see what I mean. Nicholas and Lisa are paranoid about how fragile the environment is here."

Denise nodded. "Look, I admire you sharing the waterhole with us, Davey, but I think most people would understand you not opening it up as a tourist site, you know?"

He shrugged, feeling a bit reluctant himself. "I guess we'll have to consult the Ancestor about that!" he offered, more than half seriously.

Charlie, who'd been pondering the pool, heard them and came closer. "The Ancestor is dreaming happy," he declared. "You're right. It was time for him to welcome more of us in."

"It wasn't that we ever wanted to be selfish about it," Dave said. "We never thought we were more … well, more entitled to enjoy it than anyone else."

"Of course not," Charlie bracingly replied. "But you wanted to bring it back to life, and that takes time. You weren't in a rush, Davey, and neither should you be. You know, even Nicholas isn't always about seizing the day."

Denise snorted with laughter, in which Dave joined, and the happy sounds of mirth and quiet wonder and Mr Teng chanting a song of his own – all these lovely sounds mingled and rose and danced in the bright air with the butterflies. Everything seemed vivid and alive, and there was a sense somehow that it was all stirring. Sap was flowing through veins, water was welling through rock, and light was sparkling warmth in all it touched. The timeless feel of the waterhole had shifted, as if somehow it had become part of the world again, part of today, part of a story that wasn't yet fully told.

Dave wandered over to Ted Walinski, and said, "Try your GPS again, would you?"

Walinski did so – and after a long moment he received a signal loud and clear. He looked up at Dave in surprise.