Page 66 of Lost In Kakadu

Mackenzie remembered when he was eleven and quickly forced the thought aside. This was meant to be Abi’s special day and reading these letters was making her miserable. He couldn’t stand it any longer, he reached over and wiped the teardrop from her cheek. Their eyes met, and her chin dimpled.

“Enough of this sad stuff. It’s your birthday and we’re not having any more tears. Besides, you’ll ruin what precious makeup you have left.”

He watched her laugh—eyes closed, white teeth showing, slight dimples in her cheeks and a lock of blonde hair falling across her face as she tilted her head toward him. With each passing day, she was growing more relaxed, she put on less makeup and her high heel shoes had long ago been abandoned.

She laughed more freely too, and subtle creases had gradually appeared at the sides of her eyes.

Despite their rugged setting, she was blossoming, and he liked what he saw.

He stood up and held his hand toward her, helping her to her feet. “Now go wash your hands. Lunch is nearly ready.”

Walking away, she wore her sadness on her downcast shoulders.

Now more than anything, he wanted to make this day special, and he had the perfect idea to cheer her up.

Lunch first though.

As he dug the roast meat out of the oven the savoury smell made his mouth water. Licking his lips, he juggled the steaming bundle to the table he’d previously made out of a plane-wing. Abigail joined him just as he unravelled it.

They ate with their fingers, peeling off mouthfuls ofmeat at a time and mixing it with the stewed cranberries and crunchy wattle seeds. The quoll was sweet, tender and delicious.

“This is better than anything the caterers were planning for my birthday,” she mumbled, her mouth full.

“You’re just saying that.”

“No. I mean it. The combination of flavour and texture works so well with the meat. You’re very clever.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He raised his eyebrows. “I have another surprise.”

Her eyes lit up. “What?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

She cocked her head. “What are you up to?”

“You’ll have to wait and see. But no peeking. In fact, you need to lie on your bed until I call you, then I know you can’t see what I’m doing.”

She gasped with mock hurt. “It’s my birthday and you want to send me to my room?”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way.” He laughed. “But yes, do as you’re told.”

A small dimple appeared in her right cheek as she grinned at him. “Okay. But only because you asked so nicely.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Mackenzie filled the backpack with the water bottles and left Abigail to wrap the leftover meat. They’d learnt a long time ago not to leave food lying around. Ants could sniff it out in minutes.

He followed the now well-worn path down to the lagoon and within ten minutes he heard the waterfall. The path did a hairpin turn as it skirted the cliff face and as he travelled along the edge, he peered into the valley below. Over the last couple of weeks, the glistening stream had steadily decreased in volume, and he could see a distinct line in the valley wall marking where the water once coursed through. Approaching the stream, he squinted at the sun and breathed in the damp smell of wet rocks.

Glancing up the cliff face, he reminisced about how difficult it’d been to climb the first time. Now he could simply climb up from there with the ladder he’d made from the plane’s electrical wiring and several solid branches. He strolled along the waterfall’s edge to the flat rock that served as a jetty and knelt down, washed the dried blood off his hands and splashed water onto his face.

After filling the bottles, he returned them to the backpack and buckled it on for the uphill journey back to camp. He gripped with his toes to climb the steep path and pulled himself along with the thick vine he’d woven from tree to tree a long time ago. The calluses on his handswere now as tough as leather, protecting him from the vine’s rough surface.

Arriving back at the camp, he called out to Abigail.

“I’m in my naughty corner.”

He laughed. “Okay, stay there till I call you.”

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