Oracle in the Mist (12 page)

“Yes, I do see,” said David, “but unfortunately we have to make our way home to our own world and …”

“I do understand,” said Bobby interrupting David. “Just tell us what we have to do and we will do it.” There was no way she would stand by and allow any harm to come to this beautiful place. David stared at her wideeyed and disapproving. Here she goes again, he thought to himself. What is she getting us into this time? At that moment each child and the rest of the party became horrified as they witnessed the Oracle herself morph into a completely different creature right before their eyes. What they saw then was a massive figure, three metres tall, with a tiny head and tentacles for legs and wearing a tight fitting dress.

“Time to go home, my pets,” it said with a mischievous hiss. “Don't be silly now. Give me back my ball and I'll send you home and then everyone's happy. Oh what a wonderful idea, don't you agree?” She was greeted with utter silence as they were all too shocked to answer, even the professor. Where was the old Crone anyway? Nothing like this had ever happened in the history of the island.

“Now, now, my pets,” she warned louder and with more urgency, “don't mess with me. Just do what I say and you get to walk away with your lives, do you see? You don't want to make me angry, now. You might regret that, believe me.”

“You don't frighten me,” said Bobby, going right up to the face of the workhouse Oracle and pointing her finger at her. “I'm not giving you the ball or anything else for that matter so you might as well just go back to where you came from.”

“Bobby,” screamed David, “what are you doing? You're going to get us killed. Come back here.”

“
You will regret this,”
the Oracle thundered at them and somehow she appeared even taller and larger than before. But Bobby didn't move an inch. She wouldn't back down to the Oracle. At that moment the Oracle disappeared and the native Crone was before them again. She looked very pale as if she was going to pass out, a look of shock and bewilderment on her face.

“She was here, wasn't she?” she asked, steadying herself by leaning on the professor. Everyone nodded their heads. “I knew it was just a matter of time. Her hold over me is getting stronger and stronger. Soon she will be able to shapeshift into my body for longer and longer periods of time and then she will have total control over all of this. And she won't stop until she gets her crystal ball back.” She turned to Bobby and David to warn them. “I was wrong with what I said before, you both need to go home and away from here or your safety is in danger. Tomorrow you must go,” she insisted. Bobby looked at David, not believing that he could just walk away from this. But the Crone was someone you didn't want to argue with.

“Okay,” Bobby said, “but I will come back to help you. I'm the one with the ball and noone can stop me from using it when I want.” Bobby was determined to save the island and its inhabitants. David wasn't so keen, she could tell. He wouldn't talk about it with her. And even the professor said it was too dangerous for them to get involved in.

“But for now, let the festivities begin,” said the Crone. The party started up again as if nothing had happened and the children were expected to take part as well. Finally, there were a few quiet moments where Bobby and David found themselves alone and able to talk to one another.

“What do you make of all this?” Bobby asked David.

“It's just incredible! I still can't really believe any of it. But I must admit I'm looking forward to going home tomorrow. What about you?”

“I can't believe you even want to go home, David Game. Why don't you want to stay and fight for the island?”

“You're impossible, Bobby,” he said, slightly annoyed. “Don't you see what the situation is here? We're going to be killed and you don't really seem to care.” She could see there was no persuading him but she knew that she would be back and that he couldn't stop her so she said nothing.

“Yes, well at least now I'm starting to understand what was really going on behind my grandmother's sad eyes. It's all starting to make more sense now, that's for sure.”

“Yes, and just to think, I have the same ancestors as you! I just can't believe it.” Bobby wasn't sure what David meant by this comment but she decided not to take offence at it.

“Yes and my grandmother is your grandmother which means … oh my stars, David, do you realise what this means?”

“What, oh Lord, I hadn't thought of that … you and I are cousins of sorts.” They each shook their heads in disbelief.

“This is fabulous, David,” Bobby said at last. “Do you know how long I've been wishing for a brother or sister or cousin or just any other kid to be related to by blood? I've always wanted to have a family, other than my mother, and have that feeling that I belong somewhere, and now I have that. I'll never forget this day, will you?” Bobby put both of her arms around David and laid her head on his shoulder. But for some reason he remained quite stiff and solemnlooking.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Oh, it's nothing really,” he said but not very sincerely and gave her hand a quick rub. “Let's get back to the party, shall we?” He didn't want Bobby to know the real reason he felt completely crushed.

Bobby made a mental note to herself that she would have to find out what had really upset David. Maybe he didn't want a cousin. No, that can't be right, thought Bobby. Now she had three things she had to find out about. Anyhow, now that she knew he was her cousin she didn't feel quite as irritated by him. In fact she thought she might even be able to find it in herself to love him unconditionally, because that's what families do.

Bobby and David joined the party again, practising and getting quite good at the new dance they'd learnt. They did start to enjoy themselves in spite of the dangers and their difference of opinions. The festivities were held in their honour, after all. They were completely oblivious to the admiring stares of a thirteenyearold native girl named Tinka who also just happened to be the princess of the tribe and her fourteenyearold brother, Ranku, who was the prince. It was lucky actually that Bobby and David hadn't noticed Tinka and Ranku staring at them, with knowing smiles. The two native children were privy to a lot of secret information about Bobby and David and what was to come for them in their futures and the children may have found that slightly disconcerting.

T
he next morning the children awoke in the professor's house to a lovely homecooked meal. Each of them was ready to greet the new day. Bobby thought about her mother Daphne but then she remembered that virtually no time had elapsed since leaving their world and so put the thought from her mind. Still, she felt eager to be on her way home now. During breakfast the professor told them of his plan to enable them to remember their adventure on getting home.

“So what I've done is written each of you a letter,” he said and he produced two neatly folded letters with the children's names on them.

“You simply place the letter in your pocket and on returning home you will find it there and then on reading it you will be able to remember all of the details of your trip here. Okay then, best away.” With that, the professor took the children to the same tree that was used 80 years earlier by the original eight children.

“Lovely to have finally met you,” he said as they were about to enter the tree. “Pip, pip, cheerio and I will see you again one day, I'm sure of it.”

The children thanked him again for his hospitality as they stepped into the tree.

In what seemed like only a moment, Bobby awoke in her bed on another beautiful, sunny day, fully clothed and with the backpack on her back. I just can't work this out, she thought to herself. It's like I've had a dream but can't remember it … if only I could remember it. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. After a while she took off the backpack and looked inside. Yes, that's right, a crystal ball, and there are Anzac biscuits, a bottle of water and newspaper articles. That's right, she thought to herself: there's a great mystery and I have to solve it. Have I solved it yet? There was a boy too — what was his name? She reached into her jeans pocket — she wasn't sure why. Out came a neatly folded letter with her name on it.

Hello Bobby

This is the Professor Lambert and I know you don't remember me but I wrote this letter to jog your memory. Good grief, what an adventure you've had. Do you remember now that once you go back through the mists your brain completely forgets everything that it has experienced? It's part of the magic of this island. It's called self-preservation.

Anyhow, I know this will sound incredible to say the least but can you bring yourself to remember my most esteemed colleague Sebastian the monkey and all of the natives living here on this island paradise?

Do you remember Ina and Henry who came here with six other stowaways and their dreadful experience in what they referred to as the workhouse? And what about the evil Oracle? You must by now remember David Game who, as fate would have it, is not only your very close friend but also a cousin of yours, of sorts. Do you remember being here with him, dancing by the bonfire on the beach and then the next day our resident Oracle sent you home together through the giant tree, back through the mists and back through time, as it were?

Anyway, my dear, we will be meeting again one day, I'm sure of it and in the meantime keep well and say hello to David for me.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Lambert,

P.S. I told David in his letter to call in and check on you so you can be expecting a knock on the door sometime soon.

Bobby sat blinking and turned the letter over and over as if to glean some kind of other clue as to who Professor Lambert even was. I must be dreaming, she thought to herself. I can't believe this. How on earth did this letter come to be in my pocket? Where did it come from? And yet the things it spoke of did seem familiar to her, like some kind of distant dream. She slowly became aware of the fact that this was the truth.

“Bobby, Bobby,” Daphne was calling her name up the stairs. Bobby jumped out of her bed and ran down to the landing where her mother was standing. Never before had she been so completely happy to see her mother. It felt as if she hadn't seen her mother for a very long time. She bound into her mother's arms and hugged her tightly.

“I love you, Mum,” she said and suddenly realised that this was something she hadn't said in a long time.

“I love you too, Bob-Bob,” Daphne replied but then she held Bobby back by her shoulders and looked at her and asked, “Hey, what's going on? You look different. Are you okay and how come you're dressed already? Are you off to somewhere already?”

“Oh, no I'm fine; it's just such a beautiful day and I thought I might try and spend some time outdoors today.”

“Okay, but first come and have some breakfast with me, will you?” her mother insisted.

“You know Bobby, it was strange last night. You went out and then I must have fallen asleep on the couch because I don't remember you coming home and then I woke up this morning still on the couch.” Daphne looked at her, puzzled.

“Really,” Bobby answered, avoiding eye contact. How she wished she could tell her mother about the crystal ball and the strange letter in her pocket but something told her that Daphne would not be approving of … well, Bobby couldn't even work out what the mystery was anyway. Then there was a knock on the front door and David Game was standing on her step, just like the letter had said. Now she remembered him of course.

“I'm going out with my homeschool buddy, Daphne,” she shouted from the door.

“Oh, okay then, see you later,” came her mother's reply and Bobby and David walked off up the street together.

“Bobby, the most peculiar thing has happened,” David started to say.

“I know. It happened to me too. Did you get the letter, David?” she asked and she reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter by Professor Lambert.

“Yes, what do you make of it?”

“It's too incredible to be true,” said Bobby

“I know and yet what other explanation is there? Apparently we travelled through a wormhole or something, through time and to a parallel dimension and met Professor Lambert and all of the others. And apparently you and I are cousins. That's the part I can't believe.” They stared at one another in disbelief and then they both started to laugh with the shock of it.

“David,” Bobby stopped walking and looked at David seriously, “I don't actually remember anything about any of that and yet somehow in here,” she pointed to her heart, “I know it to be the truth. There's no other way to explain these letters, is there?”

“I know, I know,” he agreed, “it
must
have happened.” They arrived at the milk bar and again ordered their milk shakes and went to sit in the window booth. They each sat silently, sipping on their straws and trying to absorb all of the information.