Perdita`s Parallel Universe - Joan Small Poetry and Books

Perdita’s Parallel
Universe
Reflections
Joan Harcourt-Turner
i
Copyright (c) Joan Small, 2014. This book is copyright.
Except as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (for
example a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research,
criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
any means without prior written permission. All inquiries
should be made to the publisher at the following address.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.joanharcourt-turner.com
Cover Design: Joan Small
Illustrations: Gloria Kearton
Mobile: 0418 429 276
ISBN: 978-1491008058
ii
My Parallel World
My dream world lives in parallel. It's quite unlike this one.
For I am free to walk and fly where e'er I see the fun.
No tickets, passports, licenses, are needed to go through.
Just instant choice, a whim, a wish to try out something new.
I walk through mirrors stand by streams,
I move from place to place.
My feet leave not a shadow print, my passing shows no trace.
Yet all who meet me know that I am real, but still not true.
And everywhere I venture forth is magical and new.
Each moment is adventurous. I have no future, past.
I just enjoy the present time, and everything is fast.
Perceptions are electric thrills with heightened senses each.
A juicy grape, a wondrous scene, aroma of the beach.
I thought I dreamed, and soon would wake,
and find it all not real.
I pinched my skin, I thought deep thoughts,
and asked, 'How do I feel?'
But then I found this world is mine, and I create each minute.
My own reality is real, for I'm the one who's in it.
(c) Joan Small
iii
Contents
Introduction ..................................................................1
Chapter One - Discovery ..............................................3
Chapter Two - The Party ..............................................8
Chapter Three - The Rocks ......................................... 15
Chapter Four - Saving the World ................................ 22
Chapter Five - Flipping ............................................... 30
Chapter Six Another Party and a New Friend ............. 40
Chapter Seven - My Worst Day .................................. 47
Chapter Eight – Action Plans ...................................... 55
Chapter Nine - Into Beyond ........................................ 61
Chapter Ten – The Rescue .......................................... 70
Chapter Eleven - Who’s Afraid Now?......................... 81
Chapter Twelve - Through the Void ........................... 85
Chapter Thirteen - Nature and Fantasy........................ 94
Chapter Fourteen - The Cave .................................... 102
Chapter Fifteen - Not Alone...................................... 108
Chapter Sixteen - Trapped ........................................ 113
Chapter Seventeen - Jess’s Story............................... 118
Chapter Eighteen - Letting Go .................................. 124
Chapter Nineteen - Outside ....................................... 129
Chapter Twenty - A Real Adventure ......................... 137
Chapter Twenty One - Solutions ............................... 145
iv
Dedication
To my mother who showed me the wondrous world of
fantasy, and to my children and grand-children who
have kept my ‘inner child’ alive.
v
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Introduction
My name is Perdita O’Neill. Perdita means 'The Lost
One', and it suits me because I feel lost sometimes. I live
in Parallel Universes.
Strange things began to happen just before Skye’s
birthday party. It was pretty scary at first, but now it’s
exciting, because I have amazing powers when I'm in
my other Universe.
My normal life is boring, but when I cross over I can
be and do anything I wish. It might sound like I’m some
sort of Wonder Woman, but it’s not like that at all. The
best way to explain is to go back to when it began.
It was a normal day …
1
2
Chapter One - Discovery
‘Wormie bookworm. Stuck-up bookworm!’
I heard the taunt even before the terrible two came
pounding into my bedroom and pounced on top of me.
Miranda snatched the book I was reading and ran around
the room chanting, ‘Wormie, wormie, bookworm’, and
Sam echoed, looking like a mirror image of her sister. I
jumped out of bed to chase her, and she caught hold of
my nightie and a bunch of my long hair. It hurt.
'Get out of here you creepy little monsters.'
I took a swipe at Miranda. She yelled, ‘Don’t hit
me’.
3
The book flew upwards and I managed to pluck it
from the air just as Mum burst in to see what the ruckus
was about. She grabbed the five-year-olds by the scruff
of the neck in time to prevent any further violence.
'You're nothing but trouble you Two-bits. Leave your
sister in peace.’
I thought I’d escaped Mum’s sharp tongue this time,
but before she marched the twins through the door she
pitched her remarks in my direction, ‘--- and you
Perdita. Lost in a book again. You'd better get out here
and help. So much to do.'
Stupid, pesky sisters. If I could design my own
world they wouldn’t be in it.
Why is it kids find your weak spot? Mine is shyness,
and sometimes this makes me seem stuck up. I don’t
have many friends, just Skye. Skye is friends with
everyone so she’s nice to me too. She even invited me to
her birthday party, though we’re not at all alike.
Skye doesn't like reading, and when she does read
it’s the ‘Saddle Club’ books. I’m different. I always
have my head in a book, and I like fantasy, adventure
and sci-fi best; anything about other worlds. I used to
like 'Peter Pan'. Neverland was so cool when I was just a
kid, but now I’m older I’m into King Arthur, and I’ve
watched all the re-runs of ‘Star Wars’.
4
The day the strange things started I was reading my
favourite book, 'Alice Through the Looking Glass',
which is a sort of sequel to ‘Alice in Wonderland’.
Most people don’t know there are two books about
Alice, and that they aren’t just kids’ books. I've read
them both. You could say I'm pretty smart. Not that
anybody does. Mum and Dad never say anything nice
about me. Not to my face anyway.
That’s why I used to imagine I was Alice. The
coolest part was stepping through the mirror into Alice’s
world. I talked to the animals and birds just as she did,
and when I felt small I would eat something to make me
huge and powerful. My imaginary world was my
escape.
***
After the two little tornadoes left my room, I
crawled back into bed and was soon deep into the story
again. Then I heard Mum’s voice calling me. ‘What are
you doing, Perdita? I need your help out here now.’
I wish she’d leave me alone.
I dragged myself out of bed and walked over to the
full-length mirror on my wardrobe door. My grumpy
expression looked back. I pulled a face and twirled
around with eyes shut, feeling my flimsy nightie floating
5
out around me. I put a smile on my face, opened my
eyes to look at myself again and gasped. There was no
smiling face looking back at me. There was no face at
all. All I could see was the back of my body with my
tangled dark hair reaching nearly to my waist. It was
creepy, and it grew creepier. My image walked away
from me towards the bedroom door in the mirror,
opened the door and walked out through it. For a split
second I was gazing at an empty room. Shivers ran
through my body, and I closed my eyes tightly to block
out the image. When I opened them, my true reflection
had returned and everything was normal again, except
that my eyes were like saucers.
'Bloody Hell', I said out loud, and straight away
clamped my hand over my mouth. Mum doesn't let us
swear.
I sat on the edge of the bed with my heart pounding
right up into my head and my skin prickling all over.
Then I jumped up and ran out to be with normal family.
I nearly bowled over the twins in the passage. ‘What
are you doing today?’ I said.
Not like me at all.
For the rest of the day I followed Mum around
asking to do jobs for her - anything to avoid going into
my room. That night Mum had to tell me three times to
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go to bed before I could pluck up the courage, and even
then I went to sleep with my back to the mirror. For
about a week I stopped reading Alice, and after a while I
put the incident out of my mind. I would have convinced
myself it was just my imagination if nothing else had
happened.
7
Chapter Two - The Party
The theme for Skye’s party was my idea.
When I suggested it to Skye she said, ‘What a cool
idea, Perdita. We can all dress up in mediaeval
costumes, and even the boys will get into it.’
I think I grew a lot taller when she said that, but I
groaned inside at the thought of boys being involved.
‘My brother Jaxon will be at the party of course’,
Skye said, ‘So Mum told me I have to invite his friends.
Emma is bringing her brother, Kyle.’
Skye’s brother Jaxon is a year older than her. He
didn’t seem too bad as boys go, kind of cute and funny.
8
He always winked at me when I went to Skye’s place
and I would blush. Embarrassing. Jaxon’s friends Victor
and Kirk would be at the party too. Kirk was a show-off,
and Victor hadn't grown out of armpit farts.
Mum's great at sewing, and in a week she had
created the perfect Queen Guinevere costume. ‘Try it on
Perdita’, she said. ‘I think you’ll like it.'
I shivered as I sneaked a look in the mirror, but what
I saw made me take a proper look. It was as if I’d been
transformed into someone else. The flowing violet
coloured dress of crushed velvet had long sleeves flaring
out to a point past the wrist. On my head I had a crown
over purple silk that showed off my dark hair and tanned
skin.
Mum held out her make-up box. ‘What you need to
complete the look is a bit of make-up. I’ll show you how
to do it.’
For once she said, ‘You look lovely, Perdita’, but I
think she was just admiring her own creation. I felt
different as Queen Guinevere - not so shy. But I was
still worried about Skye's party because of the boys.
***
Eight of us were at the party. Apart from Emma, the
only other girl was Skye’s friend from the Saddle Club,
9
Alana. We admired each other’s dresses, which were
similar, and for once I felt like one of the group.
The boys were something else. Jaxon and Victor
wore suits of armour with silvery jumpers underneath
that looked like chain mail. They punched each other’s
hard plastic breastplates and swished their swords
around. Victor was King Arthur of course, so he had a
crown instead of a helmet. He swaggered over to me
when he saw my crown, and bowed low. 'My Queen
Guinevere’, he said.
I retreated behind the girls, feeling like I was going
to die.
Victor lost interest in me, and looked around.
'Where's the dragon? I've got some slaying to do.’
Kirk swept in through the door right on cue,
disguised as a dragon. He puffed white powdery smoke
through his nostrils and boomed, 'Beware the firebreathing dragon'.
Jaxon yelled ‘Look out’, as the dragon's tail nearly
swiped a vase off the hall table.
Skye reached for it. 'Be careful, idiot’, she said, but
she was laughing at the same time.
Skye and I sometimes shared our secrets, and she’d
told me she likes Kirk, but I hadn’t told her about the
10
strange thing that happened with the mirror. She would
only have said, ‘Get real, Perdita. You're off in your
dream world again.’
After Kirk arrived we played games, and the boys
had jousts with swords and Kirk won, because he took
off his dragon costume to fight.
Victor said, ‘It’s not fair. Why should you fight
without your costume, and we have to rattle inside our
armour?’
It would have turned into a real fight if Skye’s mum
hadn’t organised the cake-cutting and lined us all up for
a photo. The boys posed, pulling faces and sticking their
fingers up behind us to make bunny ears, and we girls
tried to look as much like medieval princesses as we
could.
After that the boys went berserk, running around,
jumping on each other and taking turns to be the dragon
or to slay it. It was getting crazy - too much for me - but
Skye’s mum had downloaded a movie to quieten us
down. If she hadn't I would have been looking for a
book and somewhere to hide to read it.
Skye settled into a beanbag and patted the one next
to her. ‘Sit here, Perdy. This movie’s so cool.’
11
The movie was 'Shrek', about a big green ogre who
lived in a swamp. We’d all seen it, but it was funny
enough to watch again. The boys tried to imitate the
donkey's accent, and they made a competition of yelling
out each wisecrack before the character in the movie
said it. So annoying. But it was better than hyperactive
knights trying to kill everything in sight.
I was focussed on the screen looking intently at the
fairy-tale characters outside Shrek’s cottage. I noticed
my own reflection in the screen, and for some reason I
blinked. When I looked again I gasped and sat upright.
A new figure – a girl in a violet coloured dress - had
appeared in the middle of the group that a moment
before had been just the three little pigs, Pinocchio, the
Big Bad Wolf in grandmother’s nightgown, the Seven
Dwarfs and other fairy-tale characters.
I looked more closely.
It was me. Yes ME - in the swamp, dressed in my
Guinevere gown.
I knew I was in Skye’s family room watching the
video, but at the same time I could see myself inside the
movie. I felt the crush of the fairytale creatures all
around me, and the smell of the swamp was putrid; like
rotten eggs. The cottage door flew open, and standing
there was the biggest ugliest green ogre I had ever seen.
12
ome to think of it, I’d never actually seen an ogre
before.
I gasped and blinked again.
The other kids turned to look at me, slouched in the
beanbag next to Skye and laughed.
'You’re not scared of silly old Shrek are you Perdy?'
Victor said.
I shook my head and tried to laugh, then looked back
at the movie to see if I was still in the middle of the
crowd, but I had disappeared, so I checked the faces of
the other kids in the room, feeling worried that they
might have noticed something strange, but they were
laughing at what Shrek said.
Had I imagined being inside the movie, or was it a
trick of the light?
It took a while to calm my thoughts, and I was too
shaken to enjoy the rest of the party. Soon it was over
and we were getting ready to head home.
I gave Skye an extra big hug. ‘It was a nice party’, I
said.
Skye gave me a strange look and glanced down at
my shoes. Had she noticed something odd?
***
13
I was glad when I reached home and could retreat to
my bedroom. As I took off my costume, I noticed a
horrible smell coming from my feet. I turned my shoes
over and was shocked to see, stuck on the bottom of
them, something that looked like slimy dog poo. In my
mind I had an image of my feet in Shrek’s swamp.
Ooooo yuck! No wonder Skye gave me that look. She’ll
think I’m stinky now.
I grabbed a plastic bag out of the cupboard, threw
the shoes into it and ran into the garden. Mum saw me
through the kitchen window as I was spraying the shoes
with the garden hose. ‘What on earth are you doing,
Perdita?’
'Nothing, Mum. I must have trodden on some party
food. I'll leave my shoes on the patio to dry.'
At dinner time Mum said, ‘How was the party
Perdita? Did the children like your costume? What
games did you play? Did you have fun?’
I was silent. How could I tell her what I was feeling?
‘I don’t understand you Perdita. After all the nights I
spent making that beautiful costume. You’re a strange
one.’
14
Chapter Three - The Rocks
I didn’t see Skye much after the party, which was good
because I was still embarrassed about my stinky shoes.
We were in different classes at school and she was into
ballet and ponies. I preferred the beach when I wasn’t
reading.
It’s funny how friendships develop. One day I was at
the beach doing my favourite thing; jumping from rock
to rock, when I saw Emma in the distance. I hadn't seen
her since Skye's party and I would have avoided her, but
she called to me, ‘Wait Perdita’.
I leapt away but she soon caught up.
‘Got you.’
15
She grabbed me around the waist, and held me until
I could steady myself. ‘Do you like rock jumping too?’
she said. ‘I often do it to give me better balance for
gymnastics.’
I avoided her eyes. ‘Yeah.’
That sounded rude, so I asked, ‘Do you live near
here?’
‘Up there on the hill. That’s where I live.’
I looked towards the two-storey white house and
remembered that Emma was one of the ‘rich kids’ at
school. That made me more shy.
‘That was an excellent birthday party’, Emma said.
‘Uh-huh.’ The birthday party was the last thing I
wanted to talk about.
‘You know, Perdita, I‘ve been wanting to ask you
something. Something spooky.’
‘What?’ I said, not wanting to hear the answer.
‘It’s a bit hard to say, because you might think I’m
weird. Do you remember when we were watching that
Shrek movie?’
I nodded.
‘Well, when we got to the part where all the fairytale
characters were in the swamp, I saw someone that
16
looked just like you standing amongst them, and she
was wearing the exact dress you had on at Skye’s party.’
I sucked in my breath. What should I say? Then I
thought of an answer. ‘It shocked me too. But you know
Mum made my costume herself. The Shrek Movie was
where she got the idea from - that girl in Shrek’s swamp
- she thought it’d look good on me so she copied it.’
I crossed my fingers behind my back. A white lie, no
harm done.
‘I’m glad you cleared that up. I thought I was going
crazy, and when you gasped and went white I guessed
you must have seen it too.’
After that we jumped a few more rocks, swam for a
bit and soon it was time to go home.
Before I went to bed that night I had a quick look in
the mirror to make sure I was still the right way round.
In my sleep I dreamed I was floating along on a white
cloud; so comfortable that I didn’t want to wake up.
Then I heard my mother’s voice. ‘Perdita, get out of
bed. You’ll be late for school.’
The floating feeling stayed with me most of the day,
and it was as if I was moving my body from outside
myself. Several times my teacher, Miss Gratton, had to
repeat my name to snap me out of it. But at the same
17
time I seemed to know all the answers without even
thinking about them.
I’ve always liked story-writing lessons. That day I
received top marks for a story I wrote called, 'How to
Save the World'. Miss Gratton asked me to read it out. It
was about how we can ‘vanquish’ evil if we use all the
talents we have, like the Knights of King Arthur used to
kill dragons, and how, by doing good things for others
the circle will spread wider and wider.
I didn’t think it was that clever, because I borrowed
one of the ideas from a movie called ‘Pay it Forward’,
about an eleven year old kid called Trevor who comes
up with an idea to change the world, but Miss Gratton
didn’t know that. Also, I had used my imagination and
added my own bits to change the story.
I had to read the story to Emma’s class too. After I’d
finished reading, the bell rang for recess and Emma
came over.
‘Hey Perdita, that was an awesome story. I wish I
could write like that. Would you teach me?’
‘It was nothing really. I just use my imagination.
Mum says I have too much of it.’
‘I love imagining things’, Emma said. ‘When I jump
over those rocks I pretend the ocean is boiling hot lava,
18
and if I slip I’ll fall into it and be burnt. That’s what I do
on the balance beam in gymnastics too. I guess that’s
why I’m so good at it - it's life or death for me.’
I laughed at that. It wasn’t funny, but I liked the fact
that someone else thought like I did. I plucked up
courage and said, ‘Maybe we could do some imagining
things together some time.’
‘That'd be cool. Let’s meet on Saturday.’
I felt the floating feeling again and I couldn't wait
until the weekend.
***
On Saturday, I hurried through my jobs so I could
meet Emma at the rocks. I saw her in the distance but
she wasn’t alone - there was another kid there - a boy. I
was tempted to turn and head for home, but they saw me
and waved.
The boy turned out to be Skye’s brother, Jaxon. He
winked at me as I came up and I could feel a blush
coming, so I bent down and picked up a rock to hide my
embarrassment and sent it skimming across the calm
water.
‘That was a wicked skim’, Jaxon said.
19
Emma put her arm around my shoulders. ‘I hope you
don’t mind me inviting Jaxon, Perdy. He likes rock
jumping too and he has a good imagination - for a boy.’
Before long the three of us were playing chasing
games over the rocks. At first we used Emma’s idea of
molten lava, and then we took turns to think up scary
dangerous things. Jaxon imagined poison - pits full of
snakes, funnel web spiders and stakes with poisoned
tips. I chose man-eating plants, stinging nettles and
blackberry bushes with gigantic thorns. Emma kept to
her burning theme, by changing the lava to boiling mud
and searing hot coals.
One time I slipped and almost fell into a crack
between the rocks. In the instant before Jaxon grabbed
hold of me I caught a glimpse of my face reflected in the
water. I closed my eyes. As Jaxon spun me around by
the arm I opened my eyes and came face to face with
another person. But it was not another person at all, it
was me.
I felt dizzy as I watched the other ‘me’ floating up in
the air. Then I was the other me, drifting over a jigsaw
puzzle of black rocks surrounded by boiling bubbling
hot mud. I was looking down on the three of us
springing from rock to rock. I heard the laughter, and I
was a part of the fun, but at the same time I felt separate.
20
I blinked again, and just as quickly as I had changed,
I was with Emma and Jaxon again.
Back on the beach we collapsed on the sand. My
head was spinning, but I couldn’t help laughing out loud
as we lay there in the sun and recovered.
‘That was unreal’, Jaxon said, and Emma agreed.
I was happy to have found some friends, but at the
same time I was worried about what was happening to
me.
21
Chapter Four - Saving the World
Mum heard about the story I’d written, so I had to read
it to her, Dad and my little sisters.
Dad isn’t home much. He’s an electronics engineer,
and Mum jokingly calls him a ‘rocket scientist’. He
spends a lot of time in Central Australia at a top-secret
facility called Pine Gap. I like it when he’s home
because he pays attention to me and he has a good
imagination too.
After I read my story Dad said, ‘That’s wonderful
Perdita. You are so clever at writing. I hope you do
more of it’.
22
But I had read the story aloud so many time I began
to dream about it at night, and even in the daytime.
***
One day soon after that, I was at the shops looking
for sixth birthday cards for Sam and Miranda. I
daydreaming - imagining myself saving the world, when
a voice behind me said, ‘G’day Rock Girl’.
It was Jaxon, and standing just behind him was
Emma.
'Fancy the three of us meeting here', said Emma.
‘It’s Serendipity for sure.’
Jaxon grinned. ‘Good to see you're awake, Perdita.
You looked like you were off the planet just now.’
‘I was imagining myself saving the world.’ I felt my
face going red. ‘You know, sort of like in my story.’
'What a cool idea. We could make a game about it.
You could start it off because you’ve got some ideas
already, and then we could build on it, turn it into a real
game and sell it. We might even end up as rich as Bill
Gates. My dad told me about how he invented computer
stuff and he's just about the richest man in the world.'
'’Let’s not get carried away’, Emma said, giggling.
‘But it does sound like a brilliant idea. Let’s meet
tomorrow at the rocks.’
23
***
The next morning I dressed early and stuffed my
story and notebook into my backpack. It was the special
notebook with a picture of a huge sacred aboriginal rock
called Uluru on the front cover. Dad had brought it back
from one of his trips, and it makes me go all shivery
when I look at it.
I escaped to the beach before Mum could find
something useful for me to do, and I was at the beach
ahead of Emma and Jaxon. The ocean was calm, with
small bubbles of foam appearing each time the incoming
tide splashed against the rocks.
Emma arrived next. ‘I’m in trouble’, she said,
puffing. ‘Dad was in a bad mood because he couldn’t
find his golf socks, and I sneaked out while Mum was
looking for them. I left before breakfast and it's my turn
to wash the dishes today. Where’s Jaxon?’
Just then Jaxon popped up from behind a sand dune
and ran towards us. ‘Let’s cut to the chase’, he said.
24
Just like a boy to take charge.
I took out the story and read it aloud. Jaxon liked
the bit about vanquishing evil, and Emma’s favourite
was about doing good things for others.
‘I’m not sure this is a game; it’s more like a quest’,
I said.
Jaxon liked that. ‘You mean like the knights of
King Arthur and the Holy Grail?’
‘Not exactly. But like the knights, each of us have
to know who we are and what we can do before we get
into the quest.’
'How do we do that?' asked Emma. 'Sometimes I
feel like four different people … the one my parents
think I am, the way my friends see me, the person the
other kids see and the one inside me.’
Jaxon scratched his rusty hair. ‘I think I understand
it. But I’m not sure I want to do it. It sounds like girls'
stuff.’
‘Just like a boy, chickening out because it’s not
sport or fighting.’
‘Gimme a break. Kirk and Victor are already asking
questions about what I was doing down here the other
morning. If it gets back to my footy mates I’m hanging
out with a couple of girls I'll be in real trouble. I thought
25
we were going to save the world, not go looking into our
inner souls.’
I frowned. ‘Do you want to do this or not?’
Jaxon laughed. ‘Ease up, girl. I didn't know you had
a temper.’
‘Sorry. We have to trust each other. This is like a
test.’
Jaxon looked interested at that. ‘I guess so. Let’s get
it over with and then we can move on to the good part.’
We sat in a circle hidden from view behind a sand
dune and I took notes.
Jaxon chuckled. ‘Victor calls me Buck-tooth
Bugsy’, he said.
I looked at his wide smile, with teeth that seemed
too big for his roundish face.
‘Kirk says I’m an air-headed blonde’, Emma said.
I took a deep breath, and told them my twin sisters'
nickname for me, ‘Wormie Bookworm’. I didn’t even
mind when Jaxon snorted with laughter. I shoved him
and he pretended to be afraid.
Next, I wrote down the things we liked most.
Jaxon's were football, surfing, rock climbing, guitar and
maths. Emma liked gymnastics, piano, acting, anything
26
to do with animals and swimming, and mine were
writing stories, imagining things, athletics, and I was
good at swimming too.
Then I let them have it - the hardest task. ‘We have
to say three things we like about ourselves.’
‘That's wussy’, Jaxon said. ‘Nobody says what they
like about themselves.’
So we had to swear that we wouldn't reveal
anything about our quest to anyone else. We spat on our
hands, rubbed them in the sand and ground the sand into
each other's palms to lock in the agreement. Jaxon
wanted to add in the Maori Haka he’d picked up from
the ‘All Blacks’ New Zealand Rugby team, so he taught
it to us and we stamped around in the sand chanting ‘Ka
mata ka mata, Ka ora, Ka ora….’
That seemed to satisfy him. Then, just like a boy, he
insisted on going first, to show off how good he was.
‘My sports instructor says I’m well co-ordinated.
That’s why I’m good at sports.’ He grinned. ‘I have a
cool sense of humour too. At least Dad says so. I copy
the way he tells funny stories, and I make people laugh.’
Jaxon wiggled his ears and we giggled.
Then it was Emma’s turn. Her cheeks were still
dimpled with laughter.
27
‘I like my dimples and my green eyes, but not my
freckles. I'm friendly, and I don't like people hurting
animals. Now it's your turn Perdita.’
I took a breath and plunged in. ‘I like my turned up
nose, even though my sisters tease me about it. It’s good
being able to imagine my own world … and I like being
able understand words and write stories. Is that three?’
Jaxon raised his hand. ‘Can I go now, Miss?’
I pulled a face at him and threw my pen in his
direction. He picked up the pen and raced up the beach
with me after him. Emma joined in, and Jaxon threw the
pen to her over my head. I jumped to intercept it, and
before long we were making up our own game. After a
while we were out of steam and collapsed on the sand
laughing.
Once we’d recovered our breath I returned to
business. ‘The next bit is more fun and we can use our
imagination.’
Jaxon picked up a stick and pretended to beat
himself around the shoulders. ‘Not another question.
Okay, okay, spit it out.’
‘The question is - what would you like to be?’
Emma went first. ‘That’s easy. I want to be an
Olympic gymnast, an artist or a vet.’
28
Jaxon stood up and pretended to kick a football
across the sand. ‘Me? I’m going to be a footy player …
or maybe a surfer. But then, I could be a sports reporter
for a newspaper, or a politician.’ He laughed. ‘Which
one do you think would help me save the world best.
Perdita?’
I ignored his question but my goals seemed weak
after his. I just wanted to write stories and books and
help people learn how to do new things.
Jaxon flopped down on the sand beside me and
looked at what I was writing in my notebook.
‘That wasn't so hard, was it?' I said.
‘I dunno. You're tough, Perdy.’
I pushed him. ‘Don't call me Perdy.’ I swung my
backpack to bash him but he was too quick. He dodged
the bag and ran towards the rocks.
We did some more rock jumping until hunger pangs
forced us to head for home and face our families. As the
sun rose hot in the sky we gave each other a selfconscious high-five before we parted. I felt excited just
thinking about what might happen next.
29
Chapter Five - Flipping
Mid-semester school holidays were coming up and
Emma was going to Cairns with her family. Jaxon’s
mum and dad decided to take him and Skye into the
outback on a camping trip, so that left me with just
Miranda and Sam for company - not an inviting
prospect.
Mum took the week off work to be with us. ‘A good
time to clean up and get ready for the twins’ party', she
said. ‘It'll be fun won't it?’
Not! But there was no getting around it. Right after
breakfast on the first day she was onto us. ‘Now you
30
three, into your bedrooms and get started on all the
clutter you've accumulated.’
I went straight to my room with plastic garbage
bags and threw them on the bed. The mirror drew me
like a magnet, and I wanted to make some sense of the
way I had flipped into another place and to find out how
I could control it.
I realised that each time I’d flipped it had been just
after I had seen my reflection and closed my eyes.
It worked with the TV set at Skye’s place. I wonder
if it will work with a picture as well.
I walked over to the painting on my bedroom wall,
which was called ‘Little Girl in Mother’s Shoes’. It
showed a small child wearing her mother’s high-heels,
long dress and big hat. I blinked and found myself
standing beside the little girl, and as I took her hand I
felt her fingers curl into mine.
‘What’s your name?’ I asked.
‘Lily.’
I knelt down and looked into her pale blue eyes, and
she smiled. ‘I’ll visit you again soon’, I said, and
blinked.
I was back in my room. I’d been away for scarcely a
minute, but now I knew a bit more. My heart beat fast
31
with excitement and fear as I sat on the edge of the bed
to steady myself.
It was time to go on a ‘journey of exploration’ into
my other world. I put on my joggers, threw my water
bottle and a pair of binoculars in my backpack and
hitched it over one shoulder. Then I moved to the
window and drew the curtains apart.
Outside I could see the garden, bright with red
poinsettia flowers. I stared at my reflection in the
window glass and closed my eyes, and when I opened
them I was outside, looking in at myself through the
window. The 'me' in the bedroom tried to run away,
tripped over the end of the bed in confusion, and I
watched myself getting up off the floor and rubbing my
bruised knee. I remotely felt the sensation of pain.
I looked up at the tall gum trees. ‘Let’s see what I
can do in this other World’, I said out loud. ‘I don’t
think this will work, but I’ll try it anyway. I wonder
what it would be like to sit on that branch.’
Nothing happened.
Surprised, I looked at my feet. I’ve got to figure this
out before too much time goes by, I thought, and sat
down on the rock retaining wall.
32
I crossed my legs and put my chin in my hand like
the statue of ‘The Thinker’, and straight away my whole
body was heavy as if it were solidifying.
If I’m not careful I won’t even be able to walk soon.
As I tried to raise myself off the wall I began to
stagger. My feet felt like blocks of lead stuck to the
grass, and a feeling of panic welled up inside me.
What if I can’t get back? What if I turn to stone like
the statues in Narnia?
Then, through the fog in my brain, it came to me.
It’s my thoughts that are making me like this. I’ve got to
change my thoughts.
With
conscious
effort I imagined myself
perched on a branch, and
at the same time I said, ‘I
want to be up in that
tree’.
In an instant I found
myself high amongst the
leaves straddling the
branch, and looking
down on the garden
below.
33
Whoa. Be careful not to fall. My grip loosened and I
began to slip.
I quickly changed my thoughts. Cool it. This is
easy. My body steadied and became relaxed again.
It was a different view, looking down on the yellow
wings of the honeyeaters as they chased each other
through the bushes below. Looking out, I could see past
tiled rooves to the mountains in the distance. I swung
my legs and lay back against the tree trunk, and my face
broke into a smile. Heights have never bothered me - the
higher the better, and now I was in my element.
I imagined lying down, and next moment my body
was stretched out like a possum along the length of the
smooth branch, moulding itself into the white bark.
Gum leaves tickled my cheek - ‘Koala Tips’ I call them
- and I picked a leaf and sucked at the pungent
eucalyptus flavour.
Above me the blue sky was framed between the
leaves of the tall tree, and I watched a magpie take to the
air.
I’d like to fly.
My body became light and floated upwards. Soon I
was gliding in and out between the branches of the
eucalypts laughing my head off. The wind rushed past
34
me as I accelerated and then rolled over and over doing
somersaults in the air. Out of my mouth came
spontaneous squeals of delight with the pure enjoyment
of it.
If only Emma and Jaxon could see me now.
It was amazing - better than Peter Pan and Wendy
with fairy dust, and even better than Harry Potter with
his Nimbus broomstick. With just my thoughts I zoomed
up to the sky, imagining I was chasing the Snitch in a
game of Quidditch. Then magically the Snitch appeared,
with its little wings spinning faster and faster, zigzagging this way and that. I sped after the small winged
metal ball, reaching out to grab it like I’d seen Harry do
in the movie, but the game wasn’t much fun without a
team to play it with.
I focussed my thoughts again. Down, down.
Choosing a clear space below, I drifted downwards
until my feet touched the grass outside my bedroom
window. I looked in at my other self, sleeping.
I’d better go back before I’m missed.
Blink.
***
35
I raised myself to a sitting position on the bed and
looked around the room. Everything was normal, but not
normal, at the same time.
I felt the spinny sensation again. Had I really gone
into my other world, or was it a weird dream?
I moved slowly to the window and looked out at the
garden. My backpack on the grass had burst open and
beside it were binoculars and the water bottle. I
scratched my head and felt something smooth and flat in
my hair. It was a shiny new gum leaf. Strange. I must
have been outside. But I knew I hadn’t gone through the
door.
I lay down on the bed, my head spinning and must
have dozed off. In my dream I floated in a cloudless sky,
and soon was away from the hustle and bustle of the
city, high above country roads looking down on cars and
buses. One car with a camper trailer behind it looked
familiar. I drifted down lower until I could see the
number plate, 'DOC 1'. It was Skye and Jaxon’s car with
their dad’s personalised number plate. (Jaxon’s dad is a
doctor.)
I wondered if they could see me but decided not to
test it.
Now I knew where Jaxon was, I wanted to find
Emma too.
36
I zoomed off.
I thought about Cairns, and in a moment I was
hovering over the Cairns airport just as a plane was
coming in to land.
I decided to hover for a while. Something told me
the plane was the one Emma and her family were on.
The aircraft landed and I watched it taxi along the
runway and stop at the terminal, then a stream of people
made their way down the stairs. Sure enough there was
Emma’s kid brother Kyle following his mum and dad,
and behind them was Emma.
I wanted to call out to her but I stopped myself just
in time.
She might freak out if she sees me hovering up in
the sky, I thought.
Instead I turned around and headed for home.
I didn’t have to actually do anything to be home –
just think 'home' and picture myself there and I was back
on my bed. My eyes shot open and I stared around the
room. I pinched myself like they do in books to make
sure I was only one person.
Was it a dream or did I really float out to the
country and see my friends going on holiday?
37
'You do have a vivid imagination Perdita,' I said
aloud in my mother’s voice.
‘And if you keep talking to yourself like this you
definitely have gone off your rocker!'
I think I was still in shock from the strangeness of it
all.
***
Mum came in just then. It was eleven o'clock in the
morning. ‘What have you been doing Perdita? The Twobits have just about finished their room and you haven't
even begun. Stop being lazy and get on with it.’
Better not let Mum see my stuff in the garden or
she’ll think I'm running away from home.
Still shaking from my weird experiences, I sneaked
into the garden to gather up the backpack and its spilled
contents and then went to work on the junk in my
bedroom, my mind racing all the while. I wasn't allowed
to eat lunch until I'd finished my room, so it was three
o'clock and I thought I'd die of starvation. Not a good
way to start the holidays.
***
Before I went to sleep that night, I opened my
notebook with the picture of Uluru on the cover to write
some things down before I forgot them. I had a feeling
38
that the book was going to lead to something magical much too important to be just a notebook It would be
‘My Journal’.
As I recorded my experiences I wondered what I
would tell Emma and Jaxon. The thought was almost
too scary to imagine. What if they thought I was
cracking up - or worse, that I was making it up?
Thoughts about the
other world
When I look at my
reflection and blink, I flip
into the other world.
Part of me is still in the
Real World when I’m in my
other world.
39
Chapter Six
Another Party and a New Friend
The twins were in the good books; Mum's little angels.
They wouldn’t leave me alone.
‘Help us with our Fairy Party, Perdy’, they begged.
Mum’s making us the best dresses - even better than
yours was - and all the girls in our class who aren’t
going on holidays will be here. It’s going to be such
fun.’
‘Groan!’ It sounded like a nightmare to me.
The party took up all my energy, because I was in
charge of the treasure hunt and some of the games, and
it was a relief when the fairies were finally in the garden
40
sitting on their imitation toadstools. Mum took a photo
of fifteen little imps with jelly and cake on their faces
and gappy grins. They did look rather sweet.
***
I was pleased when it was over and I could have
some time to myself - or so I thought - but this wasn’t to
be. The sky clouded over, and for the rest of the week it
rained, which meant I was cooped up inside with the
twins. I was so nervous about flipping into my other
world by accident that I didn't look in mirrors, even to
do my hair.
Mum was cranky. ‘For heavens sake Perdita, tidy
yourself up. You look like you’ve been through a bush
backwards.’ She sighed and raised her eye-brows
whenever she looked at me. I was such a
disappointment.
On Saturday the rain stopped, and I couldn’t stand
being tormented by my sisters anymore, so I took a book
to the beach. It was the sort of day I loved, with the
warm sun pumping energy through my body and the
cool breeze ruffling my hair.
The ocean beckoned. I ran to the rocks and sprang
across them towards the deeper water, imagining
Emma’s volcanic lava and Jaxon’s snake pits, but it was
no fun on my own so I sat down on a rock and looked at
41
my reflection in the water. My hair was a mess. No
wonder Mum was mad, I thought. I look like a wild
thing.
I blinked my eyes. Immediately, I was in a watery
world looking back at myself on the rock. I gasped,
swallowed a mouthful of salty water and struggled to the
surface, coughing and spluttering.
‘Bother’, I said, and felt the frown on my forehead.
Then I realised I was in my other world and had to think
good thoughts quickly.
I forced myself to think of a dolphin, one of my
favourite animals, and immediately my body calmed,
and a feeling of playfulness and fun washed through me.
The surface of the water rippled, and a friendly face
bobbed up, grinning. It was a small grey bottle-nosed
dolphin.
42
‘What’s your name?’
It seemed like a natural question.
The answer came back as a thought. Pip-squeak.
Hello Pip-squeak. I’m Perdita. Can I call you Pip?
Yes of course, Perdita. Pleased to meet you.
As these words entered my mind, the dolphin made
a squeaking noise and held out his flipper. Would you
like to play?
I grabbed hold of the flipper, kicked my legs and we
dived down. My lungs constricted so I couldn’t breathe,
and I felt panic rising.
Pip's thoughts were in my head. Breathe deep,
Perdita.
We surfaced and I took a deep breath, at the same
time imagining my chest expanding, and the air rushed
into my lungs. We dived beneath the surface, and this
time I found I could swim underwater for a long time
without the need to breathe, just as dolphins can.
Pip let go of my hand, and as we chased each other I
could see everything in the clearest of detail. The cool
water flowed around my body, and I felt at one with the
dolphin. We played in the shallows, gliding over the
sandy bottom dotted with shells and seaweed.
43
Pip stopped suddenly and I bumped up against him.
He seemed to be laughing at me. His smooth skin felt
silky under my touch, and I put my arms around him.
Then we were spinning, around and around in the water,
and as we spun I felt as if any feelings of sadness,
loneliness or anger were drifting off into the ocean.
Slowly we came out of the spin, and he turned his
cheeky face to mine and looked into my eyes with such
a loving expression it almost took my breath away. Do
you want to go out deeper? he asked in my head.
Fear crept into my mind at the thought of leaving the
safety of the land, and my skin prickled. Not today.
Have no fear.
I climbed onto Pip’s back and we surfaced, and then
began a game of skimming and diving over and under
the gentle swell of the waves. After a time I began to
tire.
I must get back, I thought, and found myself holding
onto the rock where the other ‘me’ was trailing her
fingers in the water.
I turned, just in time to wave to Pip, who gave me a
wide grin before he leaped over the waves. I bobbed my
head under the water, looked up at the sky shimmering
above, blinked, and was again sitting on the rock
44
enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face. I searched
the water for any sign of Pip, but there was none. Then I
remembered he was from my other world.
Back on the shore I gathered up my things and ran
home, wet and bedraggled. I had forgotten to take a
towel.
Mum greeted me, and the Real World hit me with
force.
‘What on earth happened to you Perdita? You look
like a drowned rat. Get into the bathroom and tidy
yourself straight away. We’re going shopping and you
can help me with the groceries.’
I towelled myself dry and plucked up courage to
look in the mirror to brush my hair, being careful not to
blink. My mind was a tangle of confusion. If only I had
someone to talk to perhaps then I could find out if I was
going crazy. I thought of Pip. If swimming with a
dolphin is crazy, bring it on.
The rest of the day dragged. Mum’s a real slave
driver sometimes. She made me push the trolley, and
back home I had to help her unpack the shopping and
prepare the evening meal. The twins were having a
sleepover at their friend’s place, so they couldn’t bug
me.
45
When I reached the privacy of my bedroom, I wrote
down the new things I'd learned about my other world.
That night I went to sleep counting the days until Emma
and Jaxon would return, and thinking about how I would
tell them what had happened without freaking them out.
Was I really going crazy, or was my other world
real?
The other world with Pip
I can go into the other world
through water too.
When I am in my other world I
can talk to Pip-Squeak with my
thoughts, and I can breathe like a
dolphin.
46
Chapter Seven - My Worst Day
The day started like any other, with my sisters taunting
me and my mother bossing me around. As soon as
possible I escaped to the beach with a book. I set my
towel down in the sand dunes out of the wind, and I was
soon engrossed in the story.
The loud sound of voices interrupted my
concentration, and I looked around at the nearly deserted
beach. Then I saw them - three kids who seemed
familiar. I stood up to get a better look and recognised
the school bullies, Josh, Ben and Jess, who called
themselves ‘The Crossbones’. They were dressed alike,
with ragged jeans and black tee-shirts printed with
47
tattoo-like pictures of skull and crossbones. I’d heard
kids calling Josh ‘Hulk’, and Ben was ‘Spider’ because
he had a habit of jumping out on people and frightening
them with his pale skinny features. The girl called Jess
looked like a boy with her short spike haircut streaked
with yellow and orange.
I shrank back into the dunes to hide. Too late, they’d
spotted me. I felt like a fly caught in a spider-web as
they headed in my direction.
‘Hey Nerdy Perdy’, Josh yelled at me. ‘Got your
nose in a book again eh? Thought you’d be out saving
the world.’
They bore down on me. Jess sprang from the top of
the dune and landed on all fours, catlike, spitting and
hissing.
The Hulk loomed up with hands raised over his head
like a huge wave about to engulf me, and his bulk
blocked out the sun. The odour of his arm-pits hit my
nostrils as he threatened me with his closeness. ‘Yah’,
he shouted in my face. My ears rang and my nerves
jangled.
They laughed at me scrambling to my feet: then Josh
grabbed my shoulder, his strong grip pinching my skin,
and he whirled me around until I was dizzy. The wiry
Spider sprang at me, his white hair and face like a ghost
48
sucking my strength. I turned and came face to face with
Jess’s mocking grin. They seemed to be everywhere.
They began to circle around me chanting, ‘Save the
world Perdy, save the world, save the world’.
In panic I tried to run, but Jess’s thin fingers gripped
my wrist. Her fingernails dug into my skin as she
dragged me back. There was no escape. They pushed
and shoved me from one to the other, backwards and
forwards, round and round, until I lost my balance and
fell to the ground. Their taunting grew louder and
louder. ‘Save the world, save the world.’
I covered my face with my hands to hide my tears,
and I choked back sobs.
‘Cry baby, sooky baby. Wussy nerd.' The words
rang in my ears and anger welled up inside me. I
staggered to my feet and went at Jess, punching and
kicking.
She dodged my blows laughing. ‘Well, well. The
little nerd has some fight in her after all.’
As I swung at her again, she stepped sideways and
gave my shoulder a shove. I fell into a clump of seaweed
and felt a foot on my back. Someone pressed my face
into the weed. Sand and grit filled my mouth. There was
nothing I could do, so I let my body go limp.
49
‘Victory’, Jess yelled. ‘The saviour of the world is
vanquished’, and the boys joined in with mocking
laughter.
The weed scratched my face and I was trembling all
over. Please make them go away, I prayed.
The pressure lifted from my back and all was quiet. I
lay still for a minute before I plucked up the courage to
sit up. The salty tears made painful pathways through
the sand and blood on my face. I was alone. The only
sounds were the call of the seagulls, waves crashing on
the rocks and the distant sound of holiday-makers. The
dunes around me were deserted.
I strained my eyes to look along the beach in both
directions before turning my attention away from the
ocean. I thought I saw three figures running towards the
road, but then they were gone.
I remembered what Jess had said, ‘The saviour of
the world is vanquished’. A dry laugh escaped from my
mouth. At least I’ve given her another word to use.
I put my hand to my head. My hair was sticky and
damp with sweat and sand. I staggered to my feet,
brushed myself off and ran down to the water. Bits of
dried seaweed were stuck to scratches oozing blood, and
the salt stung as I washed myself. I must have looked a
sight with my raw face, stringy hair and damp clothes.
50
If only I can get into the house without Mum or the
terrible two seeing me.
***
When I got to my house, I sneaked in the back door.
I could hear Mum vacuuming in the lounge room, but I
managed to reach the bathroom just before the twins
ambushed me. I shut the door in their faces, and they
pounded on it, calling, ‘Help us make something, Perdy.
We’re bored’.
The shower cleared my head, which wasn't a good
thing as shame threatened to overwhelm me. I thought
of Emma and Jaxon. How can I lead them when I’m
such a wuss? A yellow wimp. Jaxon’s right. It is a wussy
game, not a quest at all.
I dried myself and wrapped the towel around me.
My clothes were too full of sand to put on, so I threw
them in the bath with some water to soak while I fixed
my hair. My mind was racing, as I looked at myself in
the mirror. What a sight. The sand and weed had rubbed
my face raw, and my eyes were red and swollen from
crying. I blinked. Next thing, I was looking at myself
from the other side of the mirror. In shock, I put my
hands up to my face. What if … maybe I could try …
what do I have to lose?
51
I framed the thought - I’d like to clear my skin, my
hair and my eyes in the Real World . I imagined myself
as I wanted to look.
A slow blink and I was back in the bathroom. I felt
my face - smooth. I touched my hair - silky. I looked at
my eyes in the mirror - clear and bright.
A loud banging on the bathroom door brought me to
my senses. It was Mum. ‘Perdita, your sisters told me
you’ve been in there for half an hour. You know we
don’t waste the shower water. Get out here straight
away.’
‘I’m coming Mum.’
Back to the Real World all right. But somehow I was
comforted by the ordinary-ness of my mum. She never
changed.
***
Before I went to sleep that night I opened my
journal. What had happened at the sand dune? How had
the bullies disappeared so quickly?
I remembered the words I had said in my prayer,
‘Please make them go away’. Did this mean that one of
the abilities from the other world had been transferred to
the Real World?
52
Then I thought about how my face had been healed
in the bathroom. Just to make sure I wasn’t imagining it
I took a quick glance at the mirror. It was true. My face,
skin, eyes and hair looked as fresh as if nothing had
happened. I recorded this too.
I felt my confidence returning. It didn’t matter that
The Crossbones had been the victors that day - I had
some magical tools that I could use in the future. What’s
more I had some exciting news to tell Jaxon and Emma.
We had enemies to fight in our quest to save the world,
and Jaxon would be impressed.
I couldn’t wait to get back to school so I could catch
up with my new friends.
53
Rules of the other world
Can I make things happen in
the Real World too, if I ask it
strongly enough? (Like making
the bullies go away.)
If I heal my body in the other
world will it stay fixed in the Real
World?
(I have to test these out again)
54
Chapter Eight – Action Plans
I found Emma in the school yard at morning recess, just
after I’d ducked behind a wall to avoid The Crossbones,
who were prowling around looking for a victim.
‘What's happening?’ she asked as the bell rang.
‘Down at the rocks this arvo. Three thirty. Can you
make it? I have some exciting news.’
She looked surprised, but nodded.
‘Tell Jaxon.’
The rest of the day passed slowly and Miss Gratton
got up me a few times for daydreaming. School was so
boring I didn’t know how I’d survive the whole
semester. At lunch I hung out with Skye and her friends,
55
trying to look interested in Saddle Club talk. Skye gave
an account of their camping holiday. She wasn't much
into camping by the sound of it.
In the distance I saw The Crossbones taunting a
younger kid, watched by a group of boys who were
laughing. The playground teacher wasn't anywhere near.
It made me angry, but at school I felt helpless to do
anything. It would be different if I had Emma and Jaxon
to help.
In the afternoon we had a library lesson. On the
internet I found all sorts of interesting stuff about other
worlds. One idea was that there could be parallel
versions of ourselves in these universes, each living
slightly different lives. This sounded just like my other
world, so I decided to call it my Parallel Universe.
***
After school I raced home, changed out of my school
uniform and was at the rocks in no time. Emma was
there already, bubbling over with news.
‘We had an awesome time’, she said. ‘The Cairns
Sky-rail is so cool. It goes right through the top of the
trees and you can look down on the forest below. And
snorkelling on the reef - I felt I was flying over another
world. The coral was like rainbow gardens, and the fish
56
were almost close enough to touch. I saw lots of clown
fish too, just like Nemo.’
Jaxon turned up and gave his account of the camping
trip, which was quite different from Skye’s.
‘We went all the way to Longreach. You ought to
see the Stockmen's Hall of Fame. It was sensational.
There's a statue there with a face that looks real, and he
talks to you, and the Qantas Founders Museum is
excellent too. They have an actual 747 there. Another
time we went up the Thompson River in a boat, but
camping was the best. We had a campfire, and Dad and
I told stories till midnight.’
I was envious, but I knew my adventure would top
theirs if I had the courage to tell all.
‘Let’s go up the hill into the forest’, I said. ‘We
might see some dolphins and whales from the lookout.’
I was thinking of Pip.
We wound our way up the path. Black and red bush
turkeys poked their heads out from the brush, making
their strange clucking noise as we went by. We stopped
at the lookout and scanned the turquoise ocean, but there
was no sign of dolphins or whales. The hill grew
steeper. Panting from the climb, we perched on a clump
of huge hexagonal plinths lying amongst the trees.
57
Jaxon examined them. ‘How do you reckon these
got here? They’re all over this mountain.’
‘Dad calls it the Mystic Mountain’, I said.
Jaxon got down to business. ‘Now Perdy, it's your
turn to tell all. Shoot. What’s your exciting news?’
I took a deep breath and told them about The
Crossbones. Jaxon was furious. He jumped up and
stomped around, his face red.
‘Just wait till I get my hands on them. They won’t
know what’s hit them.’
‘It’s not just you, Jaxon. It’s us. Remember our
quest. The Crossbones is the enemy.’ He looked almost
happy at that.
Emma gave me a hug. ‘It must have been dreadful.
How did you escape?’
‘That’s the weird part.’
I told them about how I’d silently asked for the
bullies to go away and how they’d vanished.
‘That is weird’, Jaxon said.
‘Don’t worry, it gets weirder.’
I went back to the beginning and told them about my
reflection, and how I’d flipped into another universe.
58
Emma’s eyes were round. ‘What do you mean,
flipping into another universe, Perdita. It sounds too
freaky for me.’
I had a flash of inspiration. ‘It’s sort of like
‘Teleporting’. You know, like ‘Beam me up Scotty’
from Star Trek.’
Jaxon was grinning, but Emma shook her head as if
she couldn’t think. Then light dawned. ‘So it was true.
You did go into the TV at Skye’s party.’
I could see the fascination in their eyes and feel
energy around us. The forest and the strange rocks
seemed to pick up the vibrations. We huddled closer and
I spoke almost in a whisper, my friends hanging onto
every word. When I told them the bit about Pip the
dolphin, Emma’s eyes sparkled. ‘How do we get into
this world?’
‘That’s just it. I know how to get myself into it, but I
don’t know if it will work for you too; we’ll have to
experiment. Are you up for it?’
‘You bet’, Jaxon said.
We’d been sitting for long enough and the pent-up
energy was too much, so we ran down the path at full
tilt, almost knocking over a bunch of tourists slogging
59
upwards. We stopped at the lookout, just in time to see
two large tails disappearing under the water.
‘The whales are here’, Emma said. ‘It must be a
sign.’ We strained our eyes but they were gone.
Once back on the beach we dodged and chased each
other, jumped the rocks and lay back on the sand to dry
in the sun.
‘When do we go into your world, Perdy?’ Jaxon
said.
‘My place tomorrow, four o’clock. Mum takes the
twins to Brownies and goes shopping so I get the house
to myself for an hour. I’m supposed to do my
homework, but I can squeeze it in later.’
Jaxon grinned. ‘It’s a deal.’
We did our special handshake, swearing to secrecy,
and ran off home.
I knew I’d have to face the Spanish Inquisition again
with Mum, but nothing could ruin the feeling of elation I
had at the thought of taking my two friends into my
other world. I hoped I could work out how to do it by
the next day.
60
Chapter Nine - Into Beyond
My mind was blank when I awoke, and all day at school
I had a niggling worry about how to take Emma and
Jaxon into my other world. I had to stay in at lunch-time
to finish my maths.
The Crossbones pulled faces at me through the
window. After I completed my schoolwork, I ate my
lunch in the classroom because I was afraid I would be
ambushed if I went outside, and by the end of the day I
felt terrible.
The house was quiet when I arrived home, and I shut
myself in the bedroom to consult my journal. Maybe I’d
discover some clues from re-reading what I’d written.
61
Then I remembered when I’d crossed over into the
picture of ‘Little Girl in Mother’s Shoes’.
The clock showed three thirty. I rummaged through
my desk and pulled out the photos Skye had given me of
her birthday party. One of the group photos showed
Jaxon and Emma standing side by side.
A pity to ruin the birthday photo, but it can’t be
helped.
I cut Jaxon and Emma out of the picture. Then I
picked up the family photo I had on my desk, opened up
the frame and replaced the photo with the cut-out image
of my two friends. I closed the frame and polished the
glass until I could see my face in it.
Just then the doorbell rang. Jaxon was impatient. ‘I
had to skip footy practice to come here, so it’d better be
good.’
‘It will be’, I said. ‘You’ve got to trust me.’ Under
my breath I added, More than I trust myself.
Once in my room, I picked up the framed photo.
‘What did you cut the photo up for?’ Emma asked.
‘You’ll see. Now, what I have to do is look at my
reflection in the glass, then blink my eyes and I’ll be
there with both of you in my other world. Are you
ready?’
62
Jaxon looked puzzled. ‘What do we have to do?’
‘Nothing. You’ll be there already because you’re in
the photo, and you’ll be here as well. We won’t stay
long for the first time.’
Jaxon wanted to ask more questions, but I shushed
him and held the photo of him and Emma up in front of
me. I stared at my reflection in the glass with my heart
beating fast, imagined my garden and blinked.
When I opened my eyes I was standing in the garden
next to Jaxon and Emma. They were dressed in their
party clothes; Jaxon as a knight in armour and Emma as
a mediaeval princess.
Jaxon looked down at himself, then at Emma and
me. ‘Is this it? I feel weird.’
I had no time to warn him. Next moment his face
turned a greenish colour, and his legs collapsed beneath
him.
‘Quick, think good thoughts’, I said.
‘Fighting dragons. I want to fight a dragon’, he
shouted, and jumped to his feet brandishing his sword.
A sound like a raging bushfire bombarded my ears
and the heat was intense. A huge scaly head with flaring
nostrils and bared teeth towered over us. Its body was
63
like a fat, scaly chicken, and it had chicken’s wings and
feet. Just like Jaxon to imagine a wacky beast like that.
Emma huddled on the ground covering her face with
her hands. There seemed to be no escape.
Jaxon drew his wooden sword and pranced around
pointing it at the dragon’s white belly. His voice was
thunderous. ‘Get back. Get back beast.’
I was amazed to see the dragon take a few steps
backwards, tossing his enormous head from side to side
as if a powerful force was attacking him. His massive
swishing tail tore trees out by the roots, and his
monstrous feet trampled shrubs and sent rocks rolling
down the slope. Jaxon’s face was glowing as he
tormented the mythical creature.
I pulled Emma to her feet, and we backed away
cowering, but the dragon advanced. The thought of
cowering made me feel smaller; too small to hide
64
Emma, who was behind me, and all the while Jaxon
continued to leap around making ghastly pirate noises.
‘Arr-harr, me hearty! You won’t beat this brave knight.
I’ll be damned if you’ll take me in one piece.’
The dragon took its attention off us and sent a burst
of flame in Jaxon’s direction as he danced along the
retaining wall and sprang to higher ground. He looked
so ridiculous in his suit of armour with his wooden
sword held high that I grinned in spite of my fear, and
this gave me strength, so I pulled Emma towards Jaxon,
grabbed his arm and focussed my thoughts on the
picture frame. I saw the dragon, reflected in the glass,
and I yelled in my mind Dragon disappear, and there
was a popping sound just before I blinked.
When I opened my eyes we were in the bedroom
again, Emma looking terrified and Jaxon with a shocked
expression on his face. Then he began to laugh. ‘Wow!
Your other world is a dangerous place all right.’
I felt like kicking myself. How could I take my
friends there without preparing them; especially a boy?
‘Look’, I said. ‘My world’s what you make it. You
created that dragon, Jaxon, by asking for it and
imagining it. Next time, imagine something a bit smaller
please.’ But I couldn’t help feeling proud. My idea had
worked and the quest had begun.
65
I pulled them down beside me on the bed. ‘I’d better
tell you some of the rules.’
I opened my journal and showed them the notes I
had made.
Emma looked happier. ‘Do you think we can go into
your world by blinking, now that we’ve been there?’
Jaxon wanted to try it straight away and we had half
an hour left, so we held hands in front of the window.
On the count of three, we closed our eyes together, and
when we opened them we were on the other side.All
was peaceful and calm.
‘No dragons this time’, I hissed at Jaxon. ‘Just try
out some simple things.’
He had fun shooting up to the top of the tallest tree
and swinging from branch to branch like a monkey, and
then he jumped to the ground and bounded over fences.
It was a worry.
Emma did tight-rope walking, cartwheels and
gymnastic tricks on the telephone wires. She tested out
some good emotions, her face and body changing with
each new feeling. Laughter made her weightless, and I
saw her spin into the air and hang poised like a hawk
before returning to earth.
66
I flew to my high branch and watched. I didn’t trust
Jaxon and I was afraid things would spin out of control
again. I was also conscious of the time, so I concentrated
my thoughts on my bedroom and picked up the feeling
of being ‘Perdita in the Real World’ sitting on the bed
talking with the other Emma and Jaxon. Then I heard
the front door open and next minute Miranda and Sam
were in my room.
‘Hey you guys. What are you doing here? Perdita’s
supposed to do her homework when we go to Brownies.
We’ll tell Mum.’
They ran out to find Mum.
The ‘me’ in the garden groaned, Oh no, I’ve been
sprung. My stomach turned over.
Oops! Forgot about that emotion thing. Better take
action.
I called to the others, ‘We've got to go back. The
Terrible Two are home’.
Outside the window I held Emma and Jaxon’s
hands, and we blinked and merged into the three
children in my bedroom.
***
We took a few moments to recover, and then strolled
into the kitchen where Mum was unpacking the
67
shopping. ‘Hi Mum. Jaxon and Emma came over to help
with my homework’, I lied with fingers crossed.
‘They’re just leaving.’
‘That’s nice, dear.’
Mum turned to the visitors. ‘You don’t have to go
straight away. I’ve brought buns from the bakery.’
We sat around the table eating buns and chatting
with Mum, and I felt like a normal person, but as we
parted I knew we’d never be normal again. We did our
handshake, swearing to secrecy, and agreed to meet at
the beach after school the next day
68
.
My Parallel Universe
I can take other people into my
Parallel Universe if I put their photo
behind glass.
To come back again, we have to
hold hands and blink.
In my Parallel Universe
anybody can create what he imagines
- even dragons!
If we say something strongly
enough we can even make dragons go
backwards, (like Jaxon did), or make
them disappear (like I did).
When people have been in the
Parallel Universe once, they can go
back just by blinking, but I think I
still have to hold their hands.
69
Chapter Ten – The Rescue
Jaxon looked serious when he joined Emma and me at
the beach. He told us Victor had been teasing him about
his two girlfriends.
‘He said if I didn’t clean his bike he’d tell my footy
mates I’d been kickin’ it with you. If they find out I’ll be
history.’
‘We’d better be a bit more clandestine’, I said.
Jaxon looked at me like I was talking alien. ‘What
sort of a word is that, Perdita?’
70
When I explained that clandestine means secret
missions and cloak and dagger stuff he liked the idea a
lot.
‘I know a cave along the coast where we can plan
our Save the World quest without being seen’, Jaxon
said. You can get into it at low tide, and the entrance is
narrow, but it opens out wider inside. My cousin’s into
caving, and he discovered it when he came up from
south. I don’t think anyone else knows about it.’
‘Have you been back there since?’ Emma said.
‘Nuh. My friends here aren’t into stuff like that.’
We were behind a sand dune making our way
towards the cave when we heard a squeal followed by a
screaming wailing sound. Jaxon bounded to the top of
the hill with Emma and me behind him. Down at the
rocks we could see The Crossbones struggling with a
kicking, screaming boy dangled upside down over the
knee-deep waves. We dropped to the sand so we could
watch for a moment without being seen.
Another scream was cut off by a spluttering noise as
the struggling boy’s head was dunked into the water.
His legs and arms flailed, but the three bullies kept him
under. It seemed forever before they pulled him up
again, gagging.
71
Emma sprang to her feet. ‘It’s Kyle. Those rotten
beasts are drowning my brother.’
She would have run down the dune, but Jaxon
grabbed her by the leg, tripping her up. She sat up,
spitting sand.
‘What did you do that for? We’ve got to save him
from those monsters.’
Jaxon was calm. ‘We have to use strategy to beat
them - they’re bigger and meaner than us. The only
chance we’ve got is to work as a team.’
In the distance, Kyle was yelling and kicking. Josh,
the Hulk, flung him over his shoulder and headed
towards the sand dunes, flanked by Jess and Spider who
pinched and taunted him as they went. The gang
disappeared into the hollow between the dunes - the
same place they had ambushed me, and I shivered,
remembering what I’d been through.
We slid down the hill to the rocky ground.
Jaxon whispered, ‘Here’s the plan. Each of us will
use our skills. Mine is my footy kick. Emma, yours is
gymnastics, and Perdita, you’re fast and you can dodge.
The rest of it we’ll make up as we go along. Follow my
lead’.
72
He reached down and grabbed up a handful of
crushed black rock, which he smeared on his face. We
did the same and ran after him over the sand dunes.
Jaxon paused on top of the hill looking down on The
Crossbones, who were grinding Kyle into the sand. He
had stopped yelling and was groaning.
As Emma and I came level with Jaxon, he took up
the Haka position and began beating his chest, stomping
and chanting, ‘Ka mata ka mata, Ka ora, Ka ora … ’
We joined in, echoing as loudly and deeply as we
could, ‘Ka mata, ka mata …’
The bullies wheeled around in surprise, and stared
up at our fierce faces. Before they had time to think,
Jaxon had pounced on the Hulk. The force of his body
knocked Josh’s solid mass to the ground. He staggered
upright, but Jaxon swung his foot as if he was kicking a
football, giving the Hulk a hefty upper-cut to the jaw
with his heel. The bully lurched backwards and his head
hit a lump of driftwood with a dull thump.
The ghostly Spider was bearing down on Emma. He
sprang towards her but Emma was ready. She did one of
her classic double back flips, landing lightly on two feet.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw her come back
towards him at a run. It looked like she would barrel
into him, but instead she pushed his head forward, and
73
with legs spread wide bounced over him as if he was a
gymnast’s horse. He wheeled around to face her and she
hooked one leg around his ankle. He crumpled to the
ground.
In the seconds that these actions took place, I yanked
at Kyle’s arm, pulling him to his feet, and screamed in
his ear, ‘Run, Kyle, run for home’.
He didn’t need a second telling. Although he had
looked beaten just moments before, he took off as if a
bunyip was after him, racing over the dunes with sand
spraying out behind his feet.
Then I felt my arm squeezed in a vice-like grip, and
the familiar pain of sharp fingernails cut through the
skin. Jess’s narrowed eyes pierced into mine, and her
mouth turned up at one corner in a sneer. But this time I
wasn’t afraid. ‘You will let go of me’, I yelled in her
face.
Her grip loosened. I side-stepped. She countered,
and I began to run and dodge. I weaved and sprinted
towards the water with Jess close behind.
Then Emma and Jaxon were by my side. They each
grabbed one of Jess’s arms and legs and carried her,
cursing and struggling, towards the water. I was tempted
to pinch and hit her, as I had seen her doing to Kyle, but
I thought better of it.
74
Emma and Jaxon turned Jess upside down and
dunked her hair in the shallow water. Jess began to beg,
‘Please, please don’t drown me. Don’t hurt me’. Her
sobs turned into loud wails.
My friends set Jess on her feet but they kept a firm
grip on her thin arms. ‘You have to promise us
something if you don’t want us to hurt you’, Jaxon said,
his blackened face looking serious and frightening.
‘Anything, anything.’
Jess’s eyes darted around, seeking support from
Hulk and Spider, but they had vanished from the beach.
‘Promise you will never threaten or bully another
person.’
All the fight seemed to have gone out of Jess as she
slumped down in the lapping water. She looked thin,
pale and defenceless. Her spiked hair was flat on her
head, and the studs on her face shone like strange
jewels. ‘I’m too scared’, she said.
‘Scared of what?’
‘Hulk and Spider. If I don’t go with them when they
beat up on kids, they bash me, steal my lunch money
and play horrid tricks. I don’t have any other friends.’
75
The three of us stared in amazement. I was actually
feeling sorry for this person who had been so mean to
me.
‘We’ll try to help you’, Jaxon said, ‘But you have to
prove yourself. If you can think of a way to do three
good things for other people, we will help you get away
from The Crossbones.’
Jess began to cry again. ‘I don’t know how to do
that. I can’t help anybody. I’m no good at anything.’
Emma and I sat down, one on each side of her in the
shallow water. She didn’t seem tough any more - quite
the opposite.
Jaxon took charge. ‘Let’s get you cleaned up and
send you home. It’s getting late and we have things to
do.’
Emma and I helped Jess wash the sand off, and I
loaned her my comb to fix her hair. I noticed the dark
hair growing at the roots of the yellow and orange
spikes. With salty sea water in her hair it was easy to
make the spikes stand up again, and soon she was
almost her old mean self - but not quite. She looked
helpless.
‘Please don’t tell anyone about this’, she said.
76
We stood without answering and watched her walk
away. Then Jaxon broke the serious mood. ‘We are the
Invincible Three’, he shouted, raising his arm, and we
slapped high fives.
‘You were amazing, Jaxon’, I said. ‘That footy kick
was awesome.’
Jaxon puffed out his chest. ‘What about Emma the
Karate Kid?’ he said.
Emma re-enacted how she had hooked her leg
around Spider’s to trip him up, and Jaxon bounced
around, punching and kicking imaginary enemies.
Streaks of black ran down his face and his soggy clothes
hung limp. Emma looked like an Amazon warrior
woman, and I must have been a sight too. We began to
laugh, and soon we were doubled up and gripping our
aching sides.
We cleaned ourselves up a bit in the shallows. Jaxon
kicked water at me, and I splashed him back. Emma
joined in, and we chased each other through the waves,
romping and splashing.
Jaxon looked at his watch. ‘Crikey. It’s past six
o’clock. There’ll be the biggest stink when I get home.’
He raced off without a backward glance.
77
As I left the beach with Emma she said, ‘I hope
Kyle’s all right’.
‘Sure to be’, I said, ‘You should have seen him take
off over the hills. He would have beaten Usain Bolt’.
‘I suppose we’ve begun to save the world’, she said.
‘Do you think rescuing Kyle is part of our quest?’
‘Of course. Did we vanquish the enemy or what?’
Emma looked serious. ‘Yes, that’s one part, but what
about doing good things for other people?’
‘Well, we did save Kyle, and maybe he will do
something good for someone else now.’
‘I hope so. He’s really annoying sometimes. Perhaps
he’ll stop bugging me.’
She smiled as she waved goodbye.
***
I sat up in bed that night reading what I had written
in my journal, and going over in my mind the events of
the afternoon. I was dozing when Mum came in, and I
felt her presence as she removed the journal, pulled the
covers over me and turned out the light.
78
Parallel Universe Notes
The Real World
Question:
Did I make Jess stop, just
by telling her - the way
Jaxon and I had with the
Dragon in my Parallel
Universe?
79
Was saving Kyle part of the
Save the World Quest?
Will Jess be able to do good
things for others?
80
Chapter Eleven - Who’s Afraid Now?
The next morning, the birds warbling in the garden
woke me and I wondered what exciting adventures I
would have that day? Remembering how we had
rescued Kyle put a smile on my face.
When I sat down to breakfast, Miranda and Sam
were eating their boiled eggs like curly headed angels,
and when Mum asked if I had slept well I thought I must
have flipped over into my Parallel Universe.
At school it was different too. Kyle ran up to me, his
cheeky face displaying a huge grin. ‘You were amazing
Perdita … you and Jaxon and Emma. You saved my life
yesterday. I’m your number one fan.’
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Kyle soon had an audience as he dramatised his
story about the attack by The Crossbones, but it was no
fun for me. I made my way quickly to the lockers, with
head down to hide my face. Emma was there already.
‘Did you hear, Perdy? Josh and Ben have to see the
school counsellor because they wagged school yesterday
and everybody knows about the fight on the beach.
Jaxon and I have been questioned about it and they want
to talk to you too.’
I was being forced into the spotlight again and I
thought I would die.
I fronted up to see the deputy principal and Mrs
Brady, the school counsellor, and I was waiting outside
the office when the Hulk and Spider arrived. They
scowled when they saw me.
Hulk shoved his face close to mine. ‘Think you’re
smart, do you Nerdy Perdy? You won’t get away with
this. You and your fancy friends might’ve beaten us
once, but we’ll be ready for you next time.’
I stood up straighter and looked him in the eye,
which wasn’t easy because he smelt bad. He took a step
back and trod on Spider’s foot, making him swear, and
at the same moment the door opened. The deputy
principal glared at Josh and Ben who stood back against
the wall shuffling their feet.
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Apparently my story pretty much matched Jaxon’s
and Emma’s so I was sent back to class. It didn’t stop
there though - all the kids stared at me when I walked
through the classroom door. At recess they crowded
around me and demanded to hear all about the fight. I
managed to escape to the girls’ toilet block where Emma
was taking a long time fixing her hair. She shared her
latest news.
‘Jess didn’t turn up for school today. I hope she’s
okay.’
‘Why wouldn’t she be?’
‘Well, she did seem frightened yesterday, and one of
the girls said she lives with her dad and he’s rough on
her. Sometimes she comes to school with bruises. That’s
why she wears those leggings and arm bands, but when
she does gym you can see the purple blotches. I’ve seen
them myself.’
I felt terrible. I had an image of Jess huddled in the
shallow water, sobbing and admitting she was scared. I
remembered that we had said we would help her. I
turned to the mirror and began to comb my hair so
Emma wouldn’t see my tears. I blinked, and when I
opened my eyes I was on the other side of the mirror. I
whispered to the Perdita in the bathroom, ‘Go back into
school. I have work to do’.
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From inside the mirror I watched the other Perdita
take Emma by the arm and walk out of the girls’
bathroom. Then I turned around and went to see how my
Parallel Universe could help solve Jess’s problems.
84
Chapter Twelve - Through the Void
The world I entered was strange indeed. The cubicles
were in rows just the same, but everything was reversed.
Why hadn’t I brought Emma with me? I would have felt
braver, just as I had in our fight on the beach. But I
realised I needed Emma in one piece to cover for me at
school that day. The Perdita I’d left behind was the
‘normal’ me - not the true me who had helped win the
fight.
Somehow I had to find my way from the girls’
bathroom to Jess’s house. I opened one of the cubicle
doors and walked in. It had no back wall, it just went on
and on, so I kept walking. Soon I was in a long corridor
85
of grey cement walls, ceiling and floor, like an extended
prison cell with no windows. In the distance there was a
faint light, just enough to show me the walls without
end. My walk became a trudge, my body grew heavy
and my mind was blank. My skin prickled. There was
nothing there to be afraid of and yet the increasing terror
was tangible. My heart quickened and I could hardly
breathe. I began to wheeze as I tried to suck air into my
lungs, and my stomach turned over.
This must be one of those panic attacks I’ve heard
some girls talk about, I thought.
I staggered against the rough wall, grazing my arm,
and slid to the hard floor.
It’d be just my luck to meet a ghost.
I felt an icy wind swirling around me. My imagined
ghost appeared before my eyes, his white cape hanging
over his forehead, and inside it were dark eye-sockets
with a pin prick of light staring straight through me. As
he raised his arms to engulf me, something clicked in
my mind. I remembered Jaxon’s dragon.
This ghost is my creation, so I can destroy him if I
think good thoughts.
With a conscious effort, I focussed on my garden at
home and saw myself relaxed in the tallest gum tree,
86
with legs dangling from the branch. The picture became
clearer and brighter as I held it in my mind. As if by
magic I was amongst the eucalyptus leaves with the
honeyeaters chirping as they played dodge in and out of
the branches. My stomach still felt queasy, until I
remembered I was in my Parallel Universe and I could
change this too.
‘Stomach, feel fantastic’, I commanded aloud,
feeling like an idiot. But it did the trick. My insides
settled down.
I grabbed a handful of the fresh green Koala Tips
and held them to my nose, breathing in deeply, and my
heart slowed its beat. I felt a sensation of happiness as I
looked around at the paradise I was in.
Down below, the garden was bright with yellow
Singapore daisies and the red and black poinsettia
flowers. Up above, the brilliant blue sky was dotted with
soft puffy clouds like the ones angels perch on in
greeting cards. I named them ‘Angel clouds’. In the
distance, kookaburras cackled their strange laughter.
Okay, laugh at me then, I thought, and laughed at
myself for getting caught up in ghastly ghosts. I was
having such a good time now that I could have stayed
there all day, but I was curious about how the other
Perdita was making out at school, so I focussed, and
87
soon picked up the impression of her happily doing
maths at her desk. I sensed that the other Perdita was
better at doing the ‘school thing’ than I was.
With a jolt I remembered why I had left school in
the first place. It was to find out about Jess. I figured I
was partly responsible if something bad was happening
to her. Where did she live? I had no idea. All I knew
was that she had to catch a bus home from school. I tried
to picture the number on the bus, but it was no use. I just
couldn’t get my mind into gear.
Think, Perdita! Stop dreaming and think!
It was Miss Gratton’s voice in my head. It just made
me worse. Then my own voice answered, Stop thinking.
Imagine.
That was the key. I imagined myself standing
outside Jess’s bedroom window looking in, and next
moment I was right there.
The rough gravel crunched under my feet as I peered
through filmy curtains at the darkened room behind. Jess
was lying on the bed facing the window, curled up in a
ball hugging her knees. I saw an angry red mark on her
forehead and her puffy eyes were shut.
I tapped on the window, trying not to frighten her.
No response. Her thin chest heaved up and down, and
88
her hair stood out in tangled spikes all around her face. I
thought how pathetic she looked. The studs in her
eyebrows, nose and ears glistened in the dim light.
As if she felt me watching her, she raised herself
from the bed, moved to the window in a trance and
stared out. She looked through the glass at where I was
standing, but her eyes were glazed as if she saw only the
barren yard.
Then it struck me. Of course. I’m in my other world.
I’ve got to find a way of entering her world. But how
can I do this when the other Perdita is already in the
Real World at school? It was so confusing.
Tears brimmed in Jess’s eyes and rolled down her
cheeks. A crashing sound came from another part of the
house, and her expression changed from sadness to fear.
She moved onto the bed and curled into a ball again,
pulling the covers over her.
The door flew open, and framed in the doorway was
a man. I guessed he was her father. He was good
looking in a swarthy kind of a way, with olive skin,
black hair and eyebrows, and he frowned when he saw
Jess huddled on the bed.
‘What’s wrong with yer, girl? I’ve gotta be at work
soon, so yer’d better get dressed and go to school or I’ll
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have Children’s Services knocking at my door again. I
don’t want those meddlin’ women hanging round here.’
He moved to Jess’s bed and snatched the covers off
her. She began to whimper.
‘Stop crying or I’ll give yer something to cry about’.
He raised his arm, and Jess shrank away from him.
Then his voice softened. ‘Come on then, be a good girl.
I’ll run yer a hot bath. You’ll feel better when you’re all
washed and clean. I’ll even help yer make those ugly
spikes in your hair if yer just get up and get on your
way.’
Jess made a move and sat up on the bed, sniffing.
She wiped her nose and swollen eyes, leaving black
marks from her mascara on the sheet. Her dad went to
help her up but she shrugged him off, and dodged under
his arm and out of the room. He followed, and I heard
water running and a door slamming.
I stepped away from the window to think about what
I had seen. Her father looked capable of hitting her, but
he also seemed to care about her too. It was too much
for me to handle. I had to enlist some help.
That reminded me of the other Perdita I’d left
behind.
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I tuned in again, and perceived her in the schoolyard
with Skye and Alana. She was joining in their
conversation about a Saddle Club movie called ‘Horse
Crazy’. I couldn’t believe she was actually interested in
what the girls were saying, and they were treating her
like one of the group.
Something else to think about when I write in my
journal.
***
I imagined myself at school, and next moment I was
looking through the mirror into the girls’ bathroom. I
blinked, and when I opened my eyes the two Perditas
were back in one body, in the schoolyard.
The other girls around me were enthusing about the
movie, but all of a sudden I couldn’t think of anything to
say. They looked at me as if I had turned into a
pumpkin, so I made an excuse to leave them and went to
find Emma. When she saw me she came over straight
away.
‘What’s been going on, Perdy? I’ve been trying to
talk to you all day and all you‘ve been interested in was
Saddle Club talk.’
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‘That wasn’t the real me, Em. I’ll explain later, but
right now I’ve got to talk to you about Jess. She needs
our help.’
Then the stupid bell rang.
I looked out for Jess after school, but she didn’t
seem to have turned up and I was worried about her.
Emma said she would come over to my place as soon as
she could, and she would phone Jaxon to join us.
When I got home I wrote in my journal while I
waited for my friends to join me.
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The Parallel Universe and
the Real World
Questions
When I go into my other world,
is the Perdita in the Real World
the ‘normal’ me?
Do I split? Do I have two
personalities?
That’s a scary thought.
(I have to test these out again)
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Chapter Thirteen - Nature and Fantasy
When Jaxon and Emma arrived, Mum couldn’t have
been nicer. She made us her special fresh fruit juice, and
set up a picnic on the patio with home-made cake and
chocolate biscuits. At times like this I was glad Mum
only worked in the mornings.
Jaxon and Emma looked relaxed as we happily
munched and watched the yellow-tufted honeyeaters
playing in the birdbath.
I was just about to tell them about my visit to Jess’s
place when there was a sound of wings flapping and
leaves rustling in the gum tree, followed by a squawking
noise.
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Emma pointed. ‘Look, Perdy. There’s a rainbow
lorikeet. Its real name is Trichoglossus hematodus.’
Jaxon choked on his cake. ‘Who’s a clever pants
then?’ He leaned back in the chair with his hands behind
his head and put his feet up on
the heavy wooden table.
Emma gave the chair a gentle
shove, and he managed to grab
hold of the table in time to
prevent himself from falling
backwards.
The rainbow lorikeet fluttered
to a closer branch, then hung upside down eyeing us,
before flying down to the patio and landing on the
pavers by Emma’s chair. Jaxon broke a piece off his
cake to feed the bird, but Emma put her hand on his arm
and whispered, ‘No, Jaxon. Parrots eat seeds, not
crumbs’.
She made clicking noises with her tongue, and the
lorikeet talked back to her, cocking his blue and green
head. His orange breast feathers shone in the sunlight.
Emma smiled. ‘I think he likes me. I’ll call him
Rainbow. Hello Rainbow.’
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The lorikeet hopped closer, and when Emma reached
out her hand he stretched towards it. Just as she was
about to touch him, there was the squawk from another
parrot in the trees. Rainbow ran a few steps on his
clawed feet and with a flap of his colourful wings he
ascended into the treetops and disappeared.
‘What was that all about?’ Jaxon asked.
‘I don’t know, but I‘ve got a feeling we’ll meet
Rainbow again.’
Emma turned to me. ‘Now, Perdy, why are we here?
What’s so important to drag us away from our exciting
homework?’
I told them about Jess, and what I had seen and
heard through the window.
‘What can we do?’ Emma said. ‘It sounds like we
need some expert advice on this one.’
‘Maybe. But if we bring school counsellors or
parents in it might make things worse for Jess. This
might be our first big project in our Save the World
quest.’
‘Bugger,’ Jaxon said. ‘I was looking forward to
fighting that dragon again.’ He grinned his toothy grin.
‘Maybe Jess is a dragon in disguise, with all her studs
and spikes.’
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‘Be serious’, I said, but I couldn’t help laughing. It
was hard to be serious for long around Jaxon.
He stood up. ‘I have to go to footy training now.
Maybe you two can find out where Jess has disappeared
to.’
After Jaxon left, Emma and I sat without speaking
for a while, as if some of the energy had gone with him.
Then Emma said she wanted to explore the other world
some more and we both had time so I agreed.
The honeyeaters flapping in the birdbath attracted
my attention. The wind had dropped, so the water was
still and clear. Mum always kept it clean, and regularly
re-painted the white surface. I took Emma’s hand in
mine and we moved closer to the bath.
‘We can go through the water, just the same as we
went through the glass. Just look at your reflection,
close your eyes, then open them. That’s all you have to
do, but keep hold of my hand. I don’t want us to end up
in two different places. Oh, and remember to think good
thoughts.’
When I opened my eyes we were in a white world.
Everywhere I looked was white like the inside of an
Angel Cloud.
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‘Do you see white?’ I asked Emma, and felt her
fingers squeezing mine.
‘It’s spooky’, she said.
Oops. A ghostly figure began to form in front of us.
‘Not again’, I said. ‘Think garden, Emma.’
We must have both imagined a garden at the same
time because the white cleared away, and in its place
was my back garden. But springing up amongst the
familiar trees and plants were tall palm trees, a sparkling
waterfall surrounded by philodendrons, and an orange
trumpet vine climbing over a trellis. My garden and
Emma’s had combined to create a magical spot. A
rainbow lorikeet fluttered down to the grass at our feet.
Emma’s eyes shone. ‘It’s Rainbow, Perdy. I invited
him to join us.’
For the next half hour we played. We added extra
features to our garden world; exotic flowers, a stream
flowing from the waterfall, and kayaks to paddle on the
water. Silver fish swam along beside us and peacocks
strutted along the
flamboyant tails.
grassy
bank
spreading
their
‘I’d love a little dog’, said Emma. ‘A white poodle
with curly hair and floppy ears. He’ll be my puppy and
follow me everywhere.’
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In an instant the puppy appeared, with tail wagging
and tongue hanging out. He sat at Emma’s feet.
‘Ooh, he’s so cute.’
She knelt down and
hugged him, and he
wriggled onto her lap
and gazed up into her
eyes. He licked Emma’s
ear and seemed to be
whispering in it.
‘His name’s Curly.’
‘This is magic’, I
said.
‘Roarr-rr-rr!’ The tranquil world was interrupted by
the terrifying sound, and Curly jumped from Emma’s
lap and disappeared into the bushes.
We looked up to see a huge gnarled head towering
over the trees, with fire spurting from its nostrils.
Burning eucalyptus leaves crackled, and a sound like a
cyclone surrounded us. Trees fell as the monster
advanced towards us, his eyes like fireballs.
‘It’s Jaxon’s dragon. Back, back. Get back you ugly
creature.’
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The dragon stopped, but it didn’t retreat, and I could
feel the scorching fire searing my skin. Emma dragged
me backwards.
‘Quick, Perdy, the birdbath. We’ve got to get out of
here.’
‘Wait, Emma. Think good thoughts. That will make
it go.’
‘No time. We’re getting fried. Come on.’
We sprang to the bird bath, blinked, and in a
moment we were back in the peaceful Real World.
Emma looked as white as a sheet. ‘I – I - is it always
like that?’
‘Not usually. One of us must have re-created the
dragon.’
Emma looked sheepish. ‘I couldn’t help it. I was
thinking about how different our world was to the one
Jaxon would have imagined, and I had an image of the
dragon, and then it was there.’
‘I forgot to warn you. Everything happens straight
away in the other world, and you have to control what
you think or awful things can happen.’
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By then all thoughts of Jess’s problem had gone out
of our heads, and I was subdued when Emma said
goodbye.
Mum was being the cheerful person she always was
when we have visitors. ‘Did you have a lovely time in
the garden, Emma? Do come again. It’s good for Perdita
to have her friends around.’
If Mum had known about our frightening encounter,
would she still want me to have my friends around?
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Chapter Fourteen - The Cave
Jess didn’t turn up to school all of the next week. I heard
rumours that she had run away from home, and someone
said her dad had been to see the Principal. No one
seemed to care much about her.
Jokes went around about super heroes overcoming
the villains, but I closed my ears to that and kept to
myself even more.
I looked over my shoulder a few times in case the
Hulk and Spider were lurking somewhere ready to
pounce on me again. It wasn’t so much that I was
worried, but I did want to be prepared. I heard that they
had been disrupting their class and had to visit the
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school counsellor, Mrs Brady, and now they were doing
their schoolwork in the isolation room. During the
breaks the playground duty teacher watched them to
make sure they didn’t bully anyone.
Mrs Brady was a friend of Mum’s, and sometimes
looked after the twins and me when Mum and Dad went
out. I liked her a lot, and would find myself telling her
things I didn’t share with Mum. She seemed to have the
knack of finding out people’s secrets.
I imagined how Mrs Brady would deal with the two
bullies. Could she sort them out? Would she find out
what made them tick? And what about Jess, and who
would help her?
I managed to catch up with Emma briefly.
“I’m still worried about Jess, Em’, I said. ‘There
must be something we can do.’
‘I don’t know, Perdy. We’ll have to leave it up to the
grown-ups. I’m flat out with gym practice. The
championships are coming up, and Mum and my coach
have been pushing me real hard.’
Jaxon was no better. He was hanging round with his
footy mates again and he didn’t talk to me at school.
I was busy too with athletics, homework and trying
to keep Mum off my back. The twins were in trouble,
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which made a nice change. When they heard about how
we fought off The Crossbones they set up a ‘Perdita Fan
Club’ with some of their friends and spent hours in their
cubby house writing letters to me with hearts all over
them. They took some photos of me to school, with my
signature forged on the back, and were selling them to
the other kids, until someone dobbed on them. Mum was
horrified and grounded them for a week.
That was fine, except that it fell on me to entertain
them at home so they didn’t get up to any mischief. I
bought all kinds of craft things from the local shops, and
I couldn’t help thinking of the day in the shopping
centre when Jaxon had called me, ‘Rock Girl’. I felt
lonely without my friends and our exciting adventures.
It was as if my other world had dissolved into thin air.
Mum didn’t say much to me about how we had
saved Kyle, but sometimes I caught her looking at me
with a strange expression in her eyes, and she stopped
getting on my back for a while. Dad came home from
one of his trips, and it was great to have him around.
In spite of that, I was so desperate to get back to our
‘Save the World’ quest, that I took matters into my own
hands. After school on a Friday, I caught Emma and
Jaxon walking out through the school gates together,
and I baled them up.
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‘Tomorrow morning, six o’clock at the rocks. We’re
going caving.’
***
Saturday was crisply cool and fine. I had checked to
make sure it was low tide at that time in the morning, so
we would be able to make it through the cave entrance
with nobody around to see us.
I pulled my tracksuit on over my bathing costume
and grabbed my backpack. I had filled it the night before
with snack food, water, a torch, my comb, a towel and
my mobile phone. I left a note for Mum on the kitchen
bench, saying I was at the beach with my friends and
would help her when I came home. Then I slipped out
the back door, escaping without the Two-bits seeing me.
Emma caught up as I made my way across the sand.
She had brought her Frisbee so we threw it between us
to warm up while we waited for Jaxon, who arrived at
6.30 looking like he was still half asleep.
‘You girls and your early mornings.’
He joined in the game, and we were soon laughing
together as buddies again, and I felt like we were the
‘Save the World’ gang once more.
After a while, Jaxon turned and ran over the sand
dunes towards the cave, with Emma and me racing after
105
him. I looked up at the Mystic Mountain silhouetted
against the pale yellow sky. At the base of the mountain,
the turquoise blue ocean lapped, splashing white foam
onto hexagonal plinths that had fallen from the slopes
above.
We reached a rocky inlet. A small sandy beach led
up to where two of the huge plinths were lying on the
sand. Behind them we found the low cave entrance.
Jaxon bent down and crawled inside, beckoning us to
follow.
We stood up inside the cave at the beginning of a
natural rock staircase, ascending into a huge cavern. As
we climbed up, we were dazzled by the sparkling
limestone cave. Glistening greyish-white stalactites
hung from the ceiling, and the magical shapes of
stalagmites reached up towards them from the cave floor
like mirrored images. We went deeper into the cavern.
Beams of sunlight shone down from the roof through
twisted roots of a tree, dangling like spidery fingers into
space. I stood in awe as I surveyed this fairy
wonderland.
‘It’s beautiful’, I said.
Jaxon turned to look at me, and I blushed.
Emma moved forward, picking a path along the
rock-strewn floor. ‘Come on you two, let’s explore.’
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Jaxon turned his back and bounded up ahead to do
the ‘boy thing’ and lead us into the unknown world of
the cave. He had remembered to bring a torch too, and
while rummaging in his bag for it he pulled out a plastic
container. It was full to the brim with white pebbles.
‘Remember Hansel and Gretel’, he said. ‘We don’t
want to lose our way back.’
He laughed as he dropped the first stone on the
ground,where it shone brightly against the grey dirt.
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Chapter Fifteen - Not Alone
The cavern went deep into the hillside. We had been
walking for about ten minutes when we paused to look
back at the trail of white stones shining in the eerie halflight. Despite the dimness, the atmosphere was fresh.
I bent down by the streamlet that meandered along
the rocky cave floor, and cupped my hands to collect the
pure water. It tasted sweet and cool on my lips. As I
breathed in the moist air inside the cave I felt its
energising qualities.
The gentle sound of dripping water was interrupted
by a strange noise coming from the distant blackness. It
108
was a faint moaning sound, almost like wind whistling
down a tunnel.
Jaxon pointed. ‘It’s coming from that direction. Here
Perdy, you take the stones, and don’t forget to put one
every two metres. Stay close.’
He picked his way along a narrow pathway in the
direction of the sound.
I flicked on my torch and moved forward, with
Emma holding onto my tracksuit jacket. I didn’t feel the
slightest bit scared. Instead I was excited, as I wondered
what was up ahead. And anyway, Jaxon was between
me and whatever was making the noise.
I whispered to Emma, ‘Maybe it’s Jaxon’s dragon
again.’
Her face paled. ‘Don’t even think about dragons,
Perdy, I’ve been having nightmares about that day. We
are in the Real World aren’t we?’
As we rounded a bend, we could see a faint light
behind the stalagmites ahead. Jaxon signalled us to get
down, and he advanced, dodging from rocky clump to
rocky clump. Stooping low, Emma and I followed at a
distance, remembering to drop a white stone from time
to time.
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Jaxon called to us. ‘Come on girls. Quick. I need
your help.’
We stumbled along until we came up to where he
was stooped over a thin body lying by the side of a clear
pool. It was Jess.
‘My God. Is she all right?’
It was a shock to see the state Jess was in. Her blackrimmed eyes were shut, and her arms and legs spread
out over the rocky ground. By her side was a large torch
with its beam of light almost spent. A few plastic
containers and paper wrappings were scattered around.
I knelt and touched Jess’s face. It was icy cold. She
moaned but didn’t wake.
Jaxon removed his jacket and covered her with it,
and I rolled up mine and tucked it under her head as a
pillow. Emma took a bottle out of her backpack and
dribbled water over Jess’s cracked lips. She stirred. Her
eyelids fluttered open, and she stared with eyes wide at
the three of us bending over her. She made as if to stand
but was too weak and fell back onto one thin arm.
‘What? Who … ?’ Her voice was fearful, and I
realised she probably couldn’t see our faces.
‘Hush. It’s all right. You’re safe with us, Jess. It’s
Perdita, Emma and Jaxon.’
110
Before Jess flopped back down again, Emma slipped
a towel beneath her, and guided Jess’s head back onto
the makeshift pillow. Jess closed her eyes. I massaged
her thin arms and Emma stroked her forehead.
‘What do we do now?’ I whispered to Jaxon.
‘We’d better get some food and water into her if we
can. She looks half-starved. Then we’ve got to find out
what’s going on and how she got to be here.’
The three of us sat silently in the dim torchlight with
Jess for what seemed like an age, sipping from our water
bottles. Jaxon stood up and looked around the cave as if
he was keeping watch and familiarising himself with its
features.
After a while, Jess stirred again, opened her eyes and
said in a weak voice, ‘Perdita. What are you doing
here?’
‘Emma and Jaxon are here too. We’re going to help
you.’
I raised her head and gave her a sip of water from
my bottle. She swallowed it with difficulty. Pale colour
returned to her cheeks.
‘Where am I?’
‘You’re in a cave. Don’t you remember how you got
here?’
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She shook her head, her brow creased and she began
to cry.
Emma was on her knees. ‘You don’t have to talk,
Jess. We’re going to get you out of here.’
Fear took over Jess’s body. She snatched her arm
away and pushed back against the rock, wild eyed and
terrified.
‘No. No. I hid in here to escape. I don’t want to go
back.’
She hugged her body with her scrawny arms and
began to rock backwards and forwards.
Jaxon moved to her. ‘Don’t be frightened, Jess.
We’re not going to make you do anything you don’t
want to do.’
Jess relaxed a little, and after a while Emma passed
her a cheese sandwich from her backpack. She snatched
it and took a big bite, as if she hadn’t eaten for days.
As I watched Jess munching her way through a
second sandwich I thought, ‘At least she’s not anorexic’.
Then she vomited.
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Chapter Sixteen - Trapped
Everything Jess had eaten and drunk came back up,
spraying over the rocks beside her. I held her while she
heaved and coughed. The vomiting turned into dry
retching, and every time she retched her eyes sank
further into their sockets. I was terrified that she was
going to die.
I had never seen anyone die … just our fluffy cat,
Caprice. My mind drifted back to when she had been
attacked by a dog that had grabbed her in its jaws. I beat
the dog off with a stick and carried Caprice home, but
she had internal injuries. In the night I crept out of bed
and sat with the cat in my lap, stroking her until I saw
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the light fade from her eyes. For ages afterwards I had
an empty feeling every time I thought of Caprice. Now,
the experience was transferring to Jess and I felt ill.
Change your thoughts, Perdy, I admonished myself.
I looked up at the glistening crystal stalactites and draw
on the spirit of the cave, the life-giving freshness of the
moist air, and the beauty of the crystal formations.
Gently at first, and then more strongly, I blew air into
Jess’s face.
She gasped, opened her mouth and breathed in. As
she sucked in my breath, her blue lips took on a pinkish
tinge and the colour rose from her chin up to her
hairline. Her face began to glow as if the blood was
rushing into it, her bloodshot eyes became clear, and
strength returned to Jess’s body. She leaned back against
a rock, unfolding her arms and legs, which showed
muscle tone they had not had before.
But as Jess was growing stronger I was becoming
weaker. I lay back on the rock floor to rest. Emma lay
beside me, putting her arms around me. We must have
made a strange picture; Jess, with her coloured spiky
hair sticking out at odd angles as she leaned against the
rock, while Emma and I lay together, our heads resting
on the rolled up tracksuit jacket. Jaxon stood guard over
the three females with a bewildered expression on his
114
face. There was a disgusting smell of vomit, and as I
drifted off to sleep I thought, Got to do something about
that too.
I must have slept for a quite a while. When I woke
up I became aware of Jess and Emma sitting beside me.
‘Where’s Jaxon?’
Emma took my hand. ‘Don’t worry, Perdy. He’s
gone to check the way out. We’ve been here for hours
and our families will be worried.’
Jess smiled down at me. I was surprised to see her
even white teeth.
‘Just lie there, Perdy. We’ll look after you.’
I smiled back. Who was looking after who now?
Was this the same girl who had looked so pathetic when
I last saw her? Her skin was white like parchment, but
her eyes were clear.
She’s actually quite pretty, I thought.
As if she had heard me speak, Jess smiled again and
held out the water bottle.
‘I filled it from the spring. It’s sweet water.’
I took a long refreshing swig, and felt the cool liquid
inside my body. It seemed to reach right to the tips of
115
my toes and my skin began to tingle. I stretched and sat
up, feeling like a flower opening to the sun.
‘Come on guys. Food. I need food.’
Emma emptied the contents of my backpack, and
made a picnic of potato crisps, bananas and chocolate
biscuits. It surprised me to see Jess tucking in again as if
nothing had happened. There was no smell of vomit, just
the clean tangy aroma of spring water as we sat
munching and sipping in the fading torchlight.
Crunching footsteps sounded nearby and Jaxon’s
voice echoed round the cavern.
‘Just like girls to hog into the best food while a man
is out doing his work.’
He flopped down beside us, reaching for a handful
of crisps.
‘Do you want the good news or the bad news?’
‘Your choice’, I said.
‘Good to see you’re okay Perdy; you had me
worried for a bit. The good news is, the white stones
worked. We have a well-marked trail back to the cave
entrance. The bad news is, the tide has come up and the
exit is flooded. We won’t be able to get out.’
Jess looked relieved.
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Emma frowned. ‘How long before the water goes
down?’
Jaxon thought for a moment. ‘I have tide charts at
home. I used to watch them when I was going surfing all
the time. My guess is, since it was low tide at six thirty
this morning and it’s eleven o’clock now, it must be
nearly high tide. We’ll have to wait another few hours
before it’s low enough for us to walk out.’
I reached for my mobile phone and held it up.
‘Saved. Mum won’t let me go out without this now, so
at least we can call and let our parents know we’re safe.’
I pressed the keys, but the screen was blank. ‘Oh
bother. I forgot there wouldn’t be a signal inside the
cave. Now what do we do?’
Jaxon brightened. ‘We could always try swimming.’
Fear returned to Jess’s eyes. ‘I hate the water. My
dad used to dunk me. I can’t swim.’
I reassured her. ‘We won’t make you swim if you
don’t want to Jess. Why don’t you tell us what happened
and why you’re here?’
Jess was silent for a long time. Then she took a deep
breath, as though gathering courage to speak, and she
began her story.
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Chapter Seventeen - Jess’s Story
‘I remember my mother’, she said. ‘She was small and
pretty. She used to brush my hair and tie it up in
bunches or a ponytail. Mum worked in the casino on the
tables, but she never missed reading me a story before
she went to work at night, and we used to sit cuddled up
together on my bed. She had a special perfume … I still
smell it sometimes.’
Jess’s brow wrinkled and her voice became more
intense. ‘Dad was different then. Sometimes he would
yell, but Mum always calmed him down and he’d end
up hugging her, and me too. After Mum went to work I
would go to sleep with my teddy. I didn’t like the
118
mornings much though. Dad always fixed my breakfast
and we had to sneak around the house so as not to wake
Mum. He was usually grumpy and I was just a
nuisance.’
She hesitated and gulped, and we waited for her to
go on.
‘When I was seven, something happened. It was the
middle of the night. They knocked at the door … the
police. It woke me up. Dad went crazy. He was angry,
and crying too. I saw him at the door. He was trying to
choke one of the policemen. The other policeman
dragged him off, and they made Dad sit down. He just
slumped over the table with his head in his hands. I still
have nightmares about it.’
Jess’s eyes had sunk back in her head. Her breathing
came in short gasps, and her voice was thin.
‘I was so frightened I hid in my room. I pulled the
covers over my head and blocked my ears. I wanted
Mum but she wasn’t there. I knew something had
happened to her before Dad told me. He sat me down
and explained that a drunk driver had run into her car
and she’d died straight away. That’s all he said. He was
so choked up he could hardly get the words out.’
‘After that he was different. There was all sorts of
stuff with the police, and the funeral. I wasn’t allowed to
119
go. Dad sent me to stay with my grandma and grandpa
in Sydney. It was his mum and dad, and they were
horrible … strict … and cold. I didn’t want anyone
except Mum anyway, and my teddy.’
Jess’s face was like stone. It seemed like she had
come to the end of the story, but we waited in silence.
Then, in a small voice she went on.
‘It was as if my heart was a lump of ice. I wanted to
die. I wanted to be where my mother was, and I even
prayed that I would die while I was sleeping so I didn’t
have to live another day by myself.’
By this time Emma and I were mopping the tears
from our faces. In the distance I could hear the hollow
sound of water dripping from the stalactites. Jaxon took
a walk towards some rocks and sat at a distance from us
with his face turned away.
Then Jess’s voice brightened. ‘There was one good
day when I was in Sydney. It was when my mum’s
parents came back from the funeral. They were Nonna
and Pop to me. Nonna’s Italian for grandma, and Nonno
is what they call ‘grandpa’, but when I was little I got
them mixed up, so my grandfather said to call him Pop.
After the funeral, they picked me up from my other
grandparents’ place and took me back to their house.’
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‘Nonna was like Mum, but she had white hair. I
liked the way she talked and how she smiled a lot. We’d
spent a few holidays with her and Pop when I was a bit
younger, so I sort of knew them. Pop used to joke heaps,
and he was always making Nonna laugh. When Mum
and me visited we laughed all the time too.’
She paused and looked down. ‘Dad never came with
us on those holidays. I think Nonna and Pop didn’t like
him much.’
I passed the water bottle to Jess and she took a long
drink. The light from my torch went out, and Jaxon
reached for his and turned it on. It shone on Jess’s
strained face. Her voice grew softer, and we had to lean
close to hear what she said next.
‘Dad came and collected me. He drove me back
home and he hardly said anything all the way; he just
stopped for hamburgers and fuel, and I remember there
was country and western music on the radio. I hate
country and western.’
Jess wiped her nose on the back of her arm.
‘Anyway, I had to go to school. It was awful. I couldn’t
concentrate and I kept getting into trouble. The other
kids began to tease me about everything, even my name.
They called me ‘Russo the Pusso’. Then the teachers put
me in a special class for dumb kids, but I’m not dumb.
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Mum used to say how clever I was.’ Jess was crying
again.
‘Have you told anybody about this?’ I said. ‘Maybe
you could talk to Mrs Brady or someone … get some
help.’
She shook her head violently. ‘I can’t. They’d only
come and harass my dad, and it’d be worse. They might
try and take me away.’
She looked across at Jaxon and he took the hint and
said, ‘I’m going exploring again. Just call out if you
need me. I won’t be far away.’
‘Dad tried to be nice to me ---’ Jess said, ‘--- but he
didn’t know how. He’d come into my room to read a
story, but some nights he’d get half way through it and
break down. He always looked tough, so it was horrid to
see him crying, and I didn’t know what to do.’
I pictured Jess’s dad as he had looked the day I stood
outside her bedroom window. It was hard to imagine
that angry dark man crying.
‘Some nights I would put my arms around his neck
and hug him. He seemed like a little boy. Then things
got worse.’
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Jess stopped speaking and hung her head. The
silence went on and on. She seemed to be battling with
her thoughts and emotions.
I reached for her hand. ‘What happened, Jess?’
‘He was drinking more and more, and he would get
angry. I just had to do the smallest thing to annoy him
and he would hit me.’ She looked up at me. ‘I didn’t
know what to do. One day, while I was at school, he
threw my teddy in the garbage bin. When I looked for it
to take to bed he told me I didn’t need teddy. He was my
teddy, and I had to be a big girl and look after him now
Mum was gone.’
Jess was sobbing, holding her knees and rocking
backwards and forwards. Her wailing and crying echoed
around the cavern. Emma sobbed along with her.
Jaxon came back. He stood looking down at us.
Then he took Emma’s hand and led her away. After a
while I heard sounds as if they were jumping rocks, and
their muffled voices. Jess was aware of nothing but her
own agonising emotions.
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Chapter Eighteen - Letting Go
‘Tell me, Jess. Let it out. You must let it out to let it
go.’ I felt calm, as though I was allowing Jess’s sorrow
to flow past me.
Jess went on. ‘I started to pull my hair out in
clumps. I would sit in school or hide in the garden
tugging at my hair. I don’t know why, it just seemed to
help. Nobody at school liked me. I was eight then. I
used to look forward to the night times when I would
see my dad, but after a while he was hitting me more
and more. I couldn’t do anything right. The teachers
kept calling him to come up to my school, and they
asked him questions, and then the child welfare people
came around. He said he would beat me more if I talked
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to anyone, but sometimes he bashed me anyway. He
would sit at the table with his beer and drink, and I had
to sneak around in case I upset him.’
Jess shivered. I put the jacket around her shoulders.
‘I ran away once and slept in the park, but I had to
go home because I was cold and hungry, and then he
laid into me again.’
Her voice had gone flat, and she spoke as if she was
telling some-one else’s story.
‘That’s when I met Josh and Ben. It was a bad day. I
went to the park and I was throwing rocks at the ducks
when they came along, and they threw some rocks too.
Big ones. One of their rocks hit a duck in the head and
killed it. I helped them drag it out of the water and hide
it in the bushes. They told me I had guts for a little kid.’
‘After that they made me do things, like going into
shops and stealing magazines, cigarettes and spray paint
cans. I made scratches down the sides of the teachers’
cars and much worse things too. You don’t want to
know.’
She stopped. I didn’t ask what the other things were.
‘But it was like I felt strong when I was with them
… like I could control things and people. I dressed
different too. I stole some hair colour from the
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supermarket to put in my hair, and when I made it spiky
I stopped pulling it out.
Dad didn’t even notice. Even when Hulk and Spider
made me get my piercings, Dad didn’t say anything. All
he cared about was working, drinking and sleeping.
Some nights he fell asleep straight away, and I’d take
my mother’s pillow and put my face in it, and I would
smell her perfume. I could imagine she was holding me
close like she used to when I was little.’
Jess had a faraway look on her face. Then she
frowned.
‘Hulk and Spider were my only friends. They called
me ‘Creepy’ and it made me feel like one of them; they
treated me all right if I did what they said. We were
picking on other kids, and they taught me some fighting
tricks. I’ve always been quick on my feet. Mum used to
take me to dancing classes.’
Her eyes filled with tears and again she sniffed
loudly.
‘It was weird. One part of me hated bullying other
kids and was scared shitless. The other part felt like I
was brave and strong. The day we picked on you, it was
so cool saying, ‘The saviour of the world is vanquished’.
It made me feel like I was you. I used to hide behind the
sand dunes and watch you with Emma and Jaxon
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jumping over the rocks, and I used to wish like anything
that I could be like you.’
That surprised me. I didn’t imagine anyone would
want to be me.
Jess’s face cleared, and she looked around as though
she was seeing the cave for the first time. ‘Want to see
my mum?’
She reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out a
faded photo. It showed a pretty lady in a red dress
holding the hand of a little girl about six years old with
long wavy brown hair. I shone the torch onto it, and
could see a likeness to Jess in both the faces.
‘She’s beautiful Jess, and so are you.’
I passed the photo back and hugged her. She
snuggled into my shoulder like a baby, and her
breathing became even. I stroked her face and felt the
muscles relax and the frown smooth from her forehead.
We sat like that for a few moments with the happy
sound of Jaxon and Emma playing in the background. I
felt a pang of jealousy, listening to them, but I was
pleased Jaxon had taken Emma away.
I had to do something to lift Jess from her mood, so I
said, ‘Emma and I have a thing we say when we’re not
feeling good. We say, ‘Think good thoughts’. What
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would you think of, if you were to think good thoughts
right now?’
She was silent for a moment.
‘I know, Perdita. I would imagine being back with
Nonna and Pop in Sydney, listening to Pop saying funny
things and making us laugh.’
‘That’s great Jess. Just hold onto that thought and it
might even come true.’
But she frowned instead. ‘Dad will be furious at me
for not going home’, she said.
‘And our parents too. Come on, we’ll find Jaxon and
Emma and see if they’ve worked out a way to get out of
here.’
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Chapter Nineteen - Outside
‘We’ll just have to swim for it, Perdy’, Jaxon said.
‘We’ve been gone too long, and everyone will be
looking for us.’
Jess shook her head. ‘No, no. I can’t swim. And I
can’t go back. They’ll put me in a foster home. Please,
just leave me here. I’ll get out when the tide goes down.’
It was tricky. There had to be some way to get us all
out without giving the game away. Once we were out of
the cave we could think about what to do with Jess.
I said, ‘Jess, we won’t betray you, but the three of us
have to work out a way to get out of here. Will you be
all right on your own for a while?’
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Jess smiled and nodded. Her face had healthy colour
in it now.
Jaxon led us down the rock path to a little grotto
surrounded by crystal stalagmites, and we perched on
rocks to puzzle out how we could get Jess and ourselves
out of the cave without raising any alarms.
Jaxon spoke first. ‘I’ve had a good look around, and
swimming seems to be the only way. It’s too hard to
climb up to the roof without my proper climbing gear
and the roof is the only place where light is coming in,
but I don’t know how big the hole is.’
Just then we heard a sound of wings and a squawk.
We looked up towards the roof of the cave where beams
of sunlight filtered through the spidery tree roots. The
light flashed on rainbow-coloured feathers as a bird-like
shape flew in and out of the darkness.
Emma gave a shriek. ‘It’s Rainbow, the lorikeet. He
came in through the hole in the roof.’
We watched open-mouthed as the parrot flew down
and perched on Emma’s shoulder. I got the giggles. I
half expected the bird to screech, ‘Pieces of eight, pieces
of eight’.
Jaxon and Emma saw the funny side too, and joined
in the laughter while Rainbow nibbled at Emma’s ear.
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Jaxon scratched his head. ‘Well, at least we know
the hole’s big enough to let a parrot through, so I guess
we could make it big enough for one of us, if we can
work out how to get up there. If we swim out we won’t
be able to bring back all the gear I need. Besides, my
parents will ask questions if they see me collecting ropes
and tackle. We can’t let them know about Jess until
we’ve figured out how to help her.’
‘Maybe we can use my Parallel Universe …’, I said
‘… like the time when I brought back some slime on my
shoes from Shrek’s swamp’.
‘That’s not quite the same, Perdy. I’m talking about
real stuff, not just smelly dog poo.’
‘Wait up, Jaxon. Another time I had a gum leaf from
the garden in my hair. I know it’s only a little thing, but
maybe we can bring bigger things back on purpose, not
just by accident.’
‘If that’s all we’ve got to go on, I guess we’ll have to
try it … unless you have a better idea, Emma.’
Emma shook her head. ‘We have to trust Perdy. She
knows more about her world than we do.’
We decided to tell Jess that we were going to swim
out through the cave entrance, and we would come back
for her as soon as we could. We gave her the remaining
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good torch, the rest of the food, and our jackets and
backpacks, and we left Rainbow with her, strutting
around and picking chip crumbs off the rocks.
‘So much for parrots eating seed, clever Emma’,
Jaxon said, and Emma pulled a face at him.
We clambered down to the nearest rock pool and
Jaxon looked at his watch. ‘It’s twelve thirty now. Let’s
make it half an hour to be back at this spot.’
I reminded the others, ‘The three of us will still be in
this real world at the same time as we’re in the Parallel
Universe, but so as not to freak Jess out we’d better lie
low here until our other selves come back through the
pool, okay?’
Jaxon and Emma nodded their heads seriously.
Emma shook her head as if she was trying to get her
mind around it.
I paused to let her catch up, and then continued,
‘When we go through the pool, we’ll be in unknown
water in the Parallel Universe. We have to focus and
imagine being on the beach near the rocks so we can
find our way. After we’ve completed our tasks, we’ll
meet back on the beach again.’
I grinned to lighten the mood. ‘No dragons, Jaxon.’
Jaxon laughed. ‘Okay, okay. Boring!’
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We held hands and I said, ‘Think beach and rocks.’
We joined hands, looked into the pool and blinked
our eyes. When we opened them we were swimming in
crystal clear water. I imagined the beach and found
myself standing on the sand looking at the waves
crashing on the rocks. It was good to feel and taste the
fresh salty breeze. Emma appeared beside me.
‘Welcome home,’ I said grabbing her two hands and
whizzing her around.
A fluffy white figure appeared amongst our twisting
legs, jumping up and down and yapping. Emma
crouched down. ‘It’s Curly. He’s come to find me,
Perdy. He must think he’s my puppy.’
Curly was going crazy with happiness. His whole
rear end wagged with his tail, and he alternately barked
and whined, licking Emma’s face as she patted him.
They rolled around in the sand together, and it made me
feel happy just to watch them, but it also reminded me
that we were in the Parallel Universe on a mission, no
time to waste.
‘Where’s Jaxon, Em? Don’t tell me he’s been sidetracked again?’
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‘Who’s been side-tracked?’ There he was with his
copper hair shining in the sun. ‘What are you waiting
for? We’ve got work to do.’
Jaxon created rockets on his feet and took off like
Astro Boy.
Emma laughed and ran towards her house with
Curly bouncing along behind.
I imagined myself at home and was there, looking in
through the kitchen window. Everything seemed
normal. Then I heard Mum talking to Emma’s mother
on the phone.
‘No Michelle, I haven’t seen her in hours. She left a
note for me saying she was at the beach with Emma and
Jaxon, but my husband has been down there twice
already and there’s no sign of them. I thought she might
be at your house.’ She paused to listen, and then said,
‘I’ll phone Jaxon’s parents. Perhaps they are there.’
I sighed with relief. Mum’s in control. She’s used to
my erratic behaviour so she won’t panic for a while yet.
There’s time to get back before they sound the alarm.
I focused my thoughts on Mrs Brady. It was
important to know where she was too, as we would need
her help with Jess. As soon as I thought of Mrs Brady’s
house, I was standing in her lounge room watching her
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dusting the bookcase, while music from Enya played in
the background. I moved to hide behind the sofa, but
realised she couldn’t see me in my other world.
So this is what it feels like to be a ghost? Spooky.
I had the urge to move some furniture around to give
Mrs Brady a fright, but quickly snapped out of it.
The clock on the wall showed that twenty five
minutes had passed - nearly time to meet Emma and
Jaxon on the beach. My mission was accomplished. We
still had a bit of time before Mum and Dad would be
panicking, and I knew Mrs Brady was at home where
we needed her to be.
I pictured the beach, and felt the warm sand under
my bare feet. I shivered in my damp bathers. I wish I
had my wet suit on, I thought, and at the same time
imagined the blue and black rubbery material.
Jaxon appeared in front of me, weighed down with
ropes and tackle tied into a special back-rack he used for
his surfboard when he rode his bike.
‘Hey Perdy, that was a smart move changing into
your wet suit.’
‘What do you mean?’ I glanced down, and saw that
it was true.
‘Why don’t you try it, Jaxon?’
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Jaxon created a wet suit, and when Emma arrived
she added flippers and mask to hers. We were ready for
Jess’s rescue. Emma had remembered to fetch more
torch batteries, as well as gloves and other useful objects
in a waterproof bag.
Then I heard a familiar voice, and looked across to
where my dad was emerging from the sand dunes with
our next-door neighbour. I wanted to run and give him a
hug, but he looked straight past us as if we were
invisible. I remembered that we were.
Emma and Jaxon looked shocked, as if they had
been discovered doing something wrong.
I whispered, ‘They can’t see us’.
Curly whimpered and pawed at Emma’s leg. She
picked him up and shushed him anyway.
Dad was saying, ‘You walk up the beach, Bruce, and
I’ll scout around here. I’ve been here twice already, but
it’s worth another look. Evelyn says the kids like to
jump on the rocks. Seems dangerous to me. I think I’ll
have to put a stop to that when I find them.’
Emma put Curly down on the sand, rubbed him all
over his woolly little body and rolled his ears. Then she
whispered something to him and he scampered up the
beach.
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Chapter Twenty - A Real Adventure
I took control, as we stood together.
‘This time we have to imagine ourselves by the
crystal pool in the cave with all this stuff. If we focus
together it should work.’
‘Should work, Perdy? I thought you knew what you
were doing.’
I grabbed Jaxon’s and Emma’s hands. ‘Shut up and
focus, Jaxon. A knight who can make a dragon back up
should be able to take a bunch of gear through the pool
into the Real World.’
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We focussed on the rock pool and blinked together.
Immediately we found ourselves kicking our flippered
feet in the clear water, and when we opened our eyes we
were standing beside the crystal pool in the cave,
merged with our other selves. Jaxon gave a mock salute.
‘Congratulations Captain. You did it again.’
He looked up at the ceiling. ‘Now comes the hard
part.’
Emma went back to Jess to explain what she would
have to do, while I helped Jaxon unravel the ropes and
tackle and strap them more securely into the back-rack.
This left his gloved hands free to grasp hold of the
cracks and crevasses in the cave wall as he climbed. He
had remembered his climbing boots to help him get a
toehold.
I watched as Jaxon made his way up the wall of the
cavern towards the tree roots where the sunlight
streamed in with a narrow beam. At first I was fearful
for him, but his feet and hands were sure and strong, and
he seemed to find the best handholds and narrow ledges.
Jess and Emma came up behind me. We stood close
together in silence, our eyes fastened on the shadowy
figure silhouetted against the sparkling formations
hanging from the cave roof. As I watched, I was
praying, Make the hole big enough to get through.
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The roots of the tree looked like giant claws
reaching towards Jaxon.
Not far to go now, I thought. I hope he doesn’t fall.
At that moment, Jaxon placed his foot on a loose
rock, dislodging it. ‘Rock falling’, he yelled, as it
crashed to the cave floor and smashed into pieces.
‘Take care’, I yelled back, and focussed my thoughts
on him arriving safely at the top.
He found another foothold. With one hand he
reached out and grasped a thick tree root. It looked easy,
as he pulled himself through the tangle of roots to the
hole in the cave roof. I saw the top half of his body
disappear, and then he was gone.
Jaxon’s face appeared in the hole. ‘Woohoo!’ His
voice echoed around the cave. ‘That was an awesome
climb. Now I’ll bring you up Jess.’
He ducked away for a moment, and I explained to
Jess that he was fixing the rope and tackle to the trees
above so that he could haul her up. Jess squared her
shoulders and took a deep breath as if to ready herself
for the ordeal.
Jaxon fed a rope through the hole. As it snaked
downwards, I saw he had tied a loop in it, and when it
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reached us I slipped it over Jess’s body. Emma handed
her some gloves to help her grip the thick rope.
‘Just hold on tight’, I said. ‘Jaxon will do the rest.’
Jess lifted off the ground. She looked worried as the
rope began to swing.
Jaxon yelled down to her, ‘Jess, kick off from the
wall with your legs if you get too close. You’ll be fine.’
Emma and I held our breath as we watched her being
raised, little by little, towards the cave roof.
Emma’s eyes were shining in the dim light. ‘This is
a real adventure, Perdy. Not just like imagining things
when we jump the rocks. Now we’re starting to save the
world properly … one person at a time.’
Soon Jess was among the tree roots. The rope had
become entangled, and she couldn’t go any further. She
swung backwards and forwards fifteen metres above the
floor looking terrified.
Jaxon’s head reappeared in the hole. ‘What’s up,
Jess?’ He saw the rope caught on the tree root. ‘Okay,
don’t panic. I’m coming down.’
I wanted to hide my face. This adventure was getting
much too dangerous, with Jess hanging suspended in
space and Jaxon perched in the tree roots tugging at the
rope to free it. Emma gripped my hand. I noticed the
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water dripping from the tips of the roots and heard the
tiny splat as the drops fell to the cave floor. ‘Oh no. The
roots are slippery.’
Jaxon’s hands slid down the root and his legs
dangled in space.
‘Grab the rope’, I yelled.
He didn’t need telling. He reached for the knot
above Jess’s head and grasped hold of it. The rope
jerked as it took his weight, but it held fast. Jess
shrieked.
Now two bodies dangled over our heads. My neck
ached as I strained to watch what was happening up
above. One slip and Jaxon would fall to the rocks below.
I cleared my mind of any thoughts of disaster.
Ignoring gasps from Jess, Jaxon swung the rope until
he could wrap his legs around one dry root, and with his
free arm he grasped another. Looking like a spider in its
web, he worked his way back towards the hole, testing
each tree root before he gripped it, and untangling the
rope as he went. At last he pulled himself through and
disappeared.
Before long Jess was moving upwards again. She
reached the hole and scrambled through. Two heads
appeared, silhouetted against the sunlight.
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Jess’s excited voice echoed around the cave. ‘I made
it, I made it. Jaxon rescued me. It’s amazing. It’s
amazing out here. So bright I can hardly see.’
Jaxon was laughing out loud. He let out a great
Tarzan whoop that reverberated around us. ‘Wait till I
tell Dad about this. What an adrenalin rush.’
Emma and I whirled each other around, jumping up
and down. We couldn’t stop laughing and shouting.
Then we moved into action. We munched the energy
bars that Emma had put in her waterproof bag, as we
prepared ourselves to swim under the water and out
through the cave entrance to join Jess and Jaxon on the
Mystic Mountain.
We were reaching exhaustion. I imagined waves of
energy, and instantly felt my body responding, so I told
Emma to do the same. Although she looked at me oddly,
I could see colour returning to her face, and her body
straightened.
We made a neat pile of all our things; our clothes,
backpacks, and torches, and put our sneakers in Emma’s
waterproof bags that we hung around our necks. We
would need sneakers for the climb up the mountain.
Then we made our way towards the flooded cave
entrance. With flippers on our feet, and masks on our
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faces, we plunged in and began to swim. I was glad of
the wet suit as the water was icy. In no time we were
through the cave entrance and had surfaced.
We hid our snorkelling gear behind rocks, slipped on
our sneakers, and trudged up the hill. Before long we
could make out Jess and Jaxon in the distance perched
on a tree stump, and as we came up to them we noticed
that they were munching berries and chatting as if they
had been friends forever.
Jaxon grinned. ‘What took you so long?’
I gave him a shove and he fell backwards into the
ferns. Jess pulled him up onto the log. Her face looked
different, and I noticed that she had removed the studs
from her eyelids and nose. Her hair was no longer flat to
her head the way Emma had combed it. It was ruffled,
and had fallen down over her forehead, giving her a
pixie appearance, with her fine bones and pointed chin.
She looked at me with a smile. ‘You three are
awesome’.
‘Yeah.’ Jaxon said. ‘We’re the Invincible Three, you
know. There’s nothing we can’t do.’
He put his arms around Emma’s shoulders and mine.
It was one of those magic moments.
Jess broke the silence. ‘What do we do now?’
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‘Jaxon is going to hide you in the Granny Flat at his
house until I can get some help. He knows a back way
where nobody will see you. We have some family stuff
to handle before we can come for you, but Jaxon will
bring you supplies and you’ll be able to rest while you
wait. Don’t worry about anything. We have a plan.’
‘You won’t let them put me in a home will you
Perdy?’
I shook my head. ‘Not if I can help it. But you do
want things to change, don’t you?’
She nodded.
‘We all have to trust that this will work out, Jess.
You’re part of the Save the World quest now, so just do
your bit and we’ll do ours, and it’ll turn out fine.’
I wished I was as confident as I sounded. I had to
trust too - trust a lot of people, and trust both of my
worlds.
We waved to each other as we parted.
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Chapter Twenty One - Solutions
I heard Mum’s voice as I stood at the back door, with
wet clothes and stringy hair.
‘We’ve got to call the police now, Jim. Perdita has
been missing for hours and she’s never been at the beach
this long before.’
‘I searched everywhere’, Dad said. It’s my fault; I
should have been home more often to help you with the
girls.’
The twins were the first to see me. They shrieked,
‘Mum, Dad, it’s her. Perdy’s home.’
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Mum ran to me and wrapped her arms around me in
a tight hug. It felt good, so I hugged her right back. Then
Dad had his arms around both of us, and Miranda and
Sam joined in.
‘Group hug, group hug’. We all laughed and hugged
some more.
Mum sat me down at the table, and for once she
didn’t tell me off. She made me hot milk, which I hate,
placed a huge chunk of fruit cake in front of me, and I
ate and drank, enjoying the fuss. It gave me time to
think of what to say next.
‘Mum, Dad - I know you’ve been worried, but I’ve
got a good reason for being away so long. I need to talk
to you, Mum, alone.’
Mum must have realised it was serious, because she
looked at Dad. ‘Jim, do you mind keeping an eye on the
Two-bits, while Perdita and I have a talk?’
She led me into her bedroom and shut the door
behind us. The king-sized bed felt downy soft as I sunk
onto it, and I was tempted to lie back and sleep, but I
had things to do before I could give in to that luxury. I
took a deep breath and told Mum about Jess, but not
about where we had found her. Emma, Jaxon and I had
agreed to keep the cave as our secret.
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Mum looked horrified and wanted to talk to the
authorities straight away about Jess’s dad. ‘I never
trusted that man’, she said. ‘He gave me the creeps
whenever I saw him at school.’
That was the opening I needed. ‘Mum, I’m hoping
Mrs Brady can help Jess. She needs someone to look
after her, but she’s terrified of going into a home. I think
Mrs Brady will do something about that if you ask her. I
know she’s home at the moment. We could go over
there together.’
Mum was great. She didn’t ask me how I knew Mrs
Brady was at home, she just helped me quickly clean up
so I looked ‘more respectable’, as she called it. Dad
didn’t ask questions, and he agreed to look after the
twins.
Mrs Brady answered our knock and invited us in,
offering tea. Mum accepted, and I chose juice, and
nibbled on a biscuit while Mum spoke.
‘You may wonder why we are calling on you
unexpectedly, Rebecca. We have a problem that you
might be able to help us with.’
Mrs Brady gave me a shocked look. ‘Not you,
Perdita? You’ve always been such a good girl.’
I smiled to myself. That’s not what Mum thinks.
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Mum was quick to reply. ‘No, no, not Perdita, it’s
Jess.’
‘Oh dear. I’ve been worried about that little girl,
especially when she got mixed up with those boys, Josh
and Ben. I’ve tried talking to her father, but it’s been so
difficult. Nobody has been able to find out what was
going on with Jessica.’
‘That’s just it, Rebecca. Perdita heard the story from
Jess herself. It’s dreadful - so dreadful for a little girl to
have to go through that. Perdita has a proposal and she
wants us to listen to what she has to say.’
Mrs Brady thought for a moment. ‘Do you know
where Jess is, Perdita?’
I nodded.
‘Will you take me to her? You know I will have to
report to Child Protection Services if there is any
possible harm, don’t you?’
I gulped. Would I be betraying Jess if I told Mrs
Brady where she was? Then I thought of how terrible
her life was, and I took the plunge.
‘We have to get Jess away from her dad, Mrs Brady,
so I’ll tell you where she is, and I have an idea where
she can go to be safe.’
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Mum re-told the main parts of Jess’s story. It was
enough for Mrs Brady to grasp what had been
happening. She looked grave, sipped her tea and passed
the biscuits. ‘You’re being very grown up about this
Perdita. What’s your idea?’
‘I think Jess should be sent to her Nonna and Pop’s
place in Sydney. We have to get her away from Josh and
Ben as well as her dad. They might try and trap her into
doing bad things again.’
Mrs Brady looked concerned. ‘Tell me about this
Nonna and Pop, Perdita.’
I repeated what Jess had told me about the holidays
in Sydney, the occasional visits with her mother’s
parents, and how her Pop made her laugh.
‘That sounds like a possible solution’, Mrs Brady
said. ‘It’s lucky that I worked with Children’s Services
once myself, and I have the right qualifications. I will
apply for Jess to stay with me until we can organise
things and sort out the formalities. Now tell me, Perdita.
Where have you hidden Jess?’
***
Jess reacted well to the idea of living with her
Nonna and Pop. With her help Mrs Brady was able to
discover their name and address, and they were
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delighted to hear from their long lost grand-daughter.
They had to be checked out to make sure they were fit to
care for her, so it took a while for everything to be
sorted.
I saw Jess once before she left for Sydney. She was
upset that her dad was being questioned by police, but I
could see she was relieved too. She told me the
counselling she was getting was helping a lot, and she
said Mrs Brady had been very kind.
I went to the airport with Mum to see Jess off. Mrs
Brady had agreed to go with her to make sure she was
delivered safely to her grandparents. Before she boarded
the plane Jess said, ‘You’ll write to me won’t you
Perdita. You’re my friend now, aren’t you?’
***
Emma and Jaxon told me that their parents had been
like mine - so relieved to see them that they just
welcomed them home and told them not to do anything
silly again. Emma said she had slept for 12 hours
straight.
The next week we went back to the cave at low tide
to recover the things we had left behind. As we picked
our way between the glistening stalagmites and
stalactites the memories of the rescue came flooding
back and I had goose-bumps all over.
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Friends forever, I thought.
Jaxon was hyperactive. ‘Race you Perdy’.
We bounded from surface to surface giggling,
laughing and dodging the crystal formations, springing
backwards and forwards over the narrow stream until we
came to the rock pool.
As we stood together, peering into the clear water,
Emma looked at me. ‘Shall we?’
I shook my head. ‘Not today. There’ll be plenty
more times.’
I wish now that we had seized the moment and gone
into my Parallel Universe just for the pure fun of it. But
the moment passed, and I skipped towards the cave
entrance with Jaxon and Emma behind me.
Back outside, we self-consciously spat on our hands,
rubbed them in the sand, ground the sand into each
other's palms and chanted the Haka. Our time together
in the cave had changed us, and now it seemed a silly
thing to do.
Jaxon raised an imaginary glass in the air. ‘Here’s to
us, and saving the world, one person at a time.’
Emma and I did the same. Then we threw away our
imaginary glasses and raced off home. It seemed more
like an ending than a beginning, but I didn’t have much
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time to think about this over the next few weeks,
because my life changed again.
My Parallel Universe
The ‘Save the World’ quest has
begun.
‘The Invincible Three’ , Jaxon,
Emma and I , helped Kyle, and
now we have helped Jess in a big
way. What will happen next?
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