but some areas were impossible to check at this stage.’
Dawn Lang squeezes my shoulders while I ask about the car and if the fire fighters saw it.
‘A Toyota Hilux is parked in the garage.’
‘Oh. Do you know if … um … anyone … ?’ I have to stop to swallow.
He says, ‘It was found to be unoccupied.’
This news is a significant blow. I thought for sure it wouldn’t be there. Mum and Dad go on Sunday drives occasionally. Now I know they didn’t make it to the car and drive to somewhere safe. I guess I just hoped …
Sliding into a daze, wondering what could have happened to them, I walk off on my own. I don’t need anyone to tell me it’s too late to save my house. I can see that with my own eyes. I stand back and watch as the fire fighters do their best. Amber comes and stands as a sentinel beside me, ready to collect the pieces if this doesn’t end well.
As the house burns away before my eyes, my thoughts are not of the past or what I have lost. Wood is wood after all. Houses can be rebuilt. My thoughts are on my mum and dad, hoping with all my heart that somehow,
somehow
, they managed to escape.
17
Jordan
His car is a white Lamborghini.
The double-winged doors are wide but light as a feather as I get in.
‘Do you like it?’ he asks, grinning at me from behind the wheel.
‘What do you think? Of course I like it!’
He presses the ignition switch. The controls whirr to life, purring like a kitten. He gives it a bit of oomph, and it rumbles like a mountain bear and pulls away.
In a good mood, Nathaneal looks like a teenager. I wonder how old he is.
‘I’m twenty-three,’ he replies, reading my thoughts.
‘Isn’t that young for an angel? I mean, weren’t you created, like, millions of years ago, before everything?’
He glances at me, smiling. ‘One of my closest friends was born several thousand years ago and doesn’t look a day over twenty.’
‘So, are your years the same length as human years?’
He nods. ‘Our significant differences lie in our cultures. Earth is dependent on technology, whereas in Avena we rely on the natural environment and the energy we producefrom within our physical bodies. We don’t use machines. We don’t keep clocks. We have our own inbuilt timepieces. We don’t use guns or bombs and our weapons would appear rudimentary to a human, but when they are powered by our own inner forces, they are more lethal than any man-made invention.’
While he talks, my fingers run over the car’s immaculate leather interior. The flashy screens and switches resemble the cockpit of a jet plane, while the charcoal-coloured upholstery with the cool, charcoal-and-white seats matches perfectly with the glossy white exterior paintwork. I sink into the sports-style contoured seat and, with my eyes closed inhale the scent of new leather.
‘I’ll teach you to drive it, if you like.’
My eyes snap open. ‘Are you serious? You’ll teach me to drive
this
?’
We’re zipping through morning traffic, full-thrust mode. The throaty F1 growl turns heads on both sides of Walgett Road – girls and guys, except the blokes are looking at the car, while the girls unashamedly eye up Nathaneal.
He drives fast. I tilt my head to check the speedometer and notice it’s up well in excess of a hundred.
‘I kind of thought, you being an angel and everything, you might follow road rules more rigorously. What gives? Are you a rebel angel or something?’
He laughs. ‘My friends and even my enemies have called me many things, but never a rebel.’ Then he adds, ‘I can’t use my wings without attracting attention here on Earth, and driving fast helps ease the ache of inactivity.’
‘Where did you get the money to buy something that moves this fast? Or am I out of line?’
‘You can ask me anything, Jordan. The Brothers of the Holy Cross Monastery manage financial trusts funded from the sale of their goods and produce, and from contributions, usually in the form of
Dawn Lang squeezes my shoulders while I ask about the car and if the fire fighters saw it.
‘A Toyota Hilux is parked in the garage.’
‘Oh. Do you know if … um … anyone … ?’ I have to stop to swallow.
He says, ‘It was found to be unoccupied.’
This news is a significant blow. I thought for sure it wouldn’t be there. Mum and Dad go on Sunday drives occasionally. Now I know they didn’t make it to the car and drive to somewhere safe. I guess I just hoped …
Sliding into a daze, wondering what could have happened to them, I walk off on my own. I don’t need anyone to tell me it’s too late to save my house. I can see that with my own eyes. I stand back and watch as the fire fighters do their best. Amber comes and stands as a sentinel beside me, ready to collect the pieces if this doesn’t end well.
As the house burns away before my eyes, my thoughts are not of the past or what I have lost. Wood is wood after all. Houses can be rebuilt. My thoughts are on my mum and dad, hoping with all my heart that somehow,
somehow
, they managed to escape.
17
Jordan
His car is a white Lamborghini.
The double-winged doors are wide but light as a feather as I get in.
‘Do you like it?’ he asks, grinning at me from behind the wheel.
‘What do you think? Of course I like it!’
He presses the ignition switch. The controls whirr to life, purring like a kitten. He gives it a bit of oomph, and it rumbles like a mountain bear and pulls away.
In a good mood, Nathaneal looks like a teenager. I wonder how old he is.
‘I’m twenty-three,’ he replies, reading my thoughts.
‘Isn’t that young for an angel? I mean, weren’t you created, like, millions of years ago, before everything?’
He glances at me, smiling. ‘One of my closest friends was born several thousand years ago and doesn’t look a day over twenty.’
‘So, are your years the same length as human years?’
He nods. ‘Our significant differences lie in our cultures. Earth is dependent on technology, whereas in Avena we rely on the natural environment and the energy we producefrom within our physical bodies. We don’t use machines. We don’t keep clocks. We have our own inbuilt timepieces. We don’t use guns or bombs and our weapons would appear rudimentary to a human, but when they are powered by our own inner forces, they are more lethal than any man-made invention.’
While he talks, my fingers run over the car’s immaculate leather interior. The flashy screens and switches resemble the cockpit of a jet plane, while the charcoal-coloured upholstery with the cool, charcoal-and-white seats matches perfectly with the glossy white exterior paintwork. I sink into the sports-style contoured seat and, with my eyes closed inhale the scent of new leather.
‘I’ll teach you to drive it, if you like.’
My eyes snap open. ‘Are you serious? You’ll teach me to drive
this
?’
We’re zipping through morning traffic, full-thrust mode. The throaty F1 growl turns heads on both sides of Walgett Road – girls and guys, except the blokes are looking at the car, while the girls unashamedly eye up Nathaneal.
He drives fast. I tilt my head to check the speedometer and notice it’s up well in excess of a hundred.
‘I kind of thought, you being an angel and everything, you might follow road rules more rigorously. What gives? Are you a rebel angel or something?’
He laughs. ‘My friends and even my enemies have called me many things, but never a rebel.’ Then he adds, ‘I can’t use my wings without attracting attention here on Earth, and driving fast helps ease the ache of inactivity.’
‘Where did you get the money to buy something that moves this fast? Or am I out of line?’
‘You can ask me anything, Jordan. The Brothers of the Holy Cross Monastery manage financial trusts funded from the sale of their goods and produce, and from contributions, usually in the form of
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