Chapter 13

“Could we spend a night in the cave?” Tessa asked.

“The one we spent the night in three years ago?”

“Yes.”

“Of course. I will ask boobook.”

“How will you get there?” boobook asked.

“We will drive to Yardungarl and walk from there.”

“When?”

“After noon tomorrow. We must first go to Home Timber with Jos and Zeke and Andy and Henk. They will load the utes and we will drive to the new site, where they can unload. We will go to eat and drink and then go to the cave of the Gwion Gwion.”

“Stay safe.”

In the evening, Boobook spoke about housing.

Long ago, people were very tiny, not much taller than a galah.

They had no houses and lived on trees. It was not very comfortable living on a tree. When the rains fell, they would get completely wet; they were cold in the winters and sweated during the summers.

Life was very difficult. So they decided to live in burrows, like bilbies do. They thought that by living underground, they could protect themselves from the heat and the sun and also stay dry during the rains. However, that did not work as the roof kept falling in on them and they were often trapped.

After much thought, people finally decided to make tree houses. They created small umbrellas from the branches of the trees and lived beneath them. These houses provided shade and shelter from the rains, but had no walls, and the winds bothered them.

Finally, after much trial and error, they learnt how to make houses with walls. They were comfortable and people had finally shielded themselves from the caprices of the weather.

Life became better. Human beings also started building houses closer to each other, so that they could live together. [Adapted from an Indian folktale]

They formed a short caravan before nine: Sam and Tessa, Jos and Zeke, Andy and Henk. At the lumber yard the work crew (such as it was) stacked the lumber and the rolls of felt into the beds of the utes. In addition to hammers and saws, Sam had purchased a pair of saw horses, a spirit level, an 8-meter tape, a kilo of tacks, five kilo of 65mm nails, and some 10cm and 15cm nails, which were in the back of the Toyota along with four bottles of water, some energy bars and their swags.

They drove in a convoy to the Lake Argyle Road turn off and to the track for Yardungarl. There Sam pulled to the left and stopped.

“From here Jos is in charge,” he said. “This new settlement was his concept. But Henk’s the carpenter. Take the tools and other equipment now and put it in the utes. Stack everything neatly so that it can be gotten at tomorrow or the next day. Tessa and I will be Karlo and Bunjil soon. We hope to return in the morning. But we are in Baiame’s hands. Fare well.”

“May your spirits travel safely,” Josiah responded.

The four men moved the hardware and stood by the utes until Sam and Tessa drove off.

“Will we find the cave?”

“Unless Baiame or the Great Serpent or another spirit deems us unworthy.” Tessa asked nothing further.

Sam parked where there was no settlement. They stood for a moment after getting their swags, some food and several bottles of water.

A wedge tail perched on a rock for a second and took off.

“I guess I now know the answer,” Tessa said.

“The spirits surround us,” Sam said. “Once the ancestor spirits created the world, they transformed into trees, the stars, rocks, watering holes, and every other thing. Because the ancestors did not disappear at the end of the Dreaming, but remained in these sites, the Dreaming is never-ending, linking the past, present and the people and the land. You know, none of the hundreds of Aboriginal languages contains a word for time. Time is concept of the East, of India and of the West.

“The Dreaming explains the origin of the universe and workings of nature, of which humanity is a part. It shapes and structures life through the regulation and understanding of family life, the relations between the sexes and obligations between people, land and spirits. There is one all-encompassing dream which is past, present and future and in which we produce particulars.”

They were at the mouth of the cave. Each could see the Gwion Gwion, moving east to west. The raven and wedge tail were together on the far left now, perched on a tree.

“We are together,” Tessa said. “Do you remember our promise to my grandfather?”

“Of course.”

“It is my time. We could have a child in April or May.”

“We will make a child tonight.”

They spread their swags, drank water and each ate an energy bar. They kissed and spent the evening in an ancient manner.

“I love you, Tessa.”

“And I you.”

They slept entwined. At dawn they made love again. Then they ate and drank.

“I dreamt of building a nest but it contained only one egg.”

“Ravens lay several eggs, wedge tails generally lay two. You come from a large family. I have a sister. My father has a sister. Gordy had a brother. Not two at a time, but two in a generation. I dreamt of nesting apart from the group. Wedge tails are not gregarious, though I know corvids are.”