Mparntwe. - 1. Chapter 1

Mparntwe.

***

The uncomfortable tingle started and Jarra smiled as the doctor took his hand. She was a nice doctor as far as he was concerned, and always stayed with him till he felt okay. The smile went away. The world went away. Everything always did for the few minutes while the effect lasted, then awareness returned.

"Where is your walk taking you today, Jarra?"

"The riverbed and the old gum tree."

She knew the gum tree because twice she'd walked there with him and talked while they sat on the wooden bench.

"Do you ever go any further?"

"Sometimes. I like to go out to the Nature Park or even the East McDonald's on the mag-lev and walk around looking at things."

"Really? Isn't that too much?"

"Only if I'm silly."

The doctor laughed.

"And you'd never be silly would you?"

"Not about my walks."

She gave a little nod.

"No, you wouldn't. ...Tell me how it's all going.

***

There were too many people on the walking track so Jarra diverted to a parallel course he'd worked out over time which passed interesting plants and other features.

Yes, here was his N-tree with its curiously distorted shape. Next was the broken termite mound and not far past that the cleared ground where a big colony of red ants lived. As usual he brushed his feet across the top then quickly moved far enough away so we could watch, without getting bitten, as the defenders erupted from the various exits and rushed in all directions. This nest had its own trails winding in five different connections with five more nests, which in turn had trails connecting with other nests. Jarra had looked them up on the InterWeb and developed an idea they were all part of a super colony involving every red ant in the area.

A bit further along he stopped to look at an Australian grass tree. This was quite a large one and particularly interesting because it was starting to grow a flower stalk. The InterWeb said these stalks had been called Kangaroo tails for hundreds of years.

Whoo! There was someone sitting at the base of the gum tree?

Jarra felt a flicker of annoyance. He'd left the walking track to get away from people and here was someone invading the space of his special tree. The annoyance changed to curiosity and then concern as he took in the figure now watching his approach.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm exploring but I don't know which way is home."

Jarra wasn't sure how to respond. The main path was close and there were public buildings not far away.

"I've got an InfoPad. We can use that to find the way if you like."

"You're nice. Can we explore?"

Strange.

"Don't you want to go home? I could see you were upset about it."

"Not upset! Explorers don't cry."

A smile lit up his face and Jarra couldn't tell if it was related to the miss-statement or not. Whatever, he couldn't help smiling back as the boy jumped to his feet.

"Look! The tree is hurt. Blood is coming out."

Jarra blinked in surprise at the complete shift of attention. Definitely strange.

"It's not blood. Its sap. And there's not much so the tree doesn't really hurt."

"It looks like a lot. If that much sap came out of me it would hurt."

"Look how big the tree is. It's thirty meters high so it would be like a pinprick."

"Pinpricks hurt."

"Not much."

An understanding came to Jarra that he needed to reassure this puzzling person that the tree was okay. He looked round, moved to a nearby shrub which he knew had prickles on its stem, and beckoned.

"Watch."

Carefully, he pressed his finger against a prickle then, smiling, showed the tiny speck of welling blood.

"See! It hurts, but not much."

The boy's eyes widened then turned and looked at the top of the tree then down to the dark red blob of hardened sap.

"You're clever. What is your name?"

"Jarra."

"That's a good name. Mine's Mirri. What will we look at next?"

Jarra's answer was immediate and impulsive.

"I'll show you a kangaroo tail."

"A tail? Did you hunt the kangaroo?"

"No, it's just a tail. Its growing without a kangaroo."

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is. Come on, Mirri. I'll show you."

Jarra laughed at the mixture of puzzlement and fascination now focused on him.

A few moments later Mirri was touching the young grass tree flower with what could only be described as delight.

"I've seen these but no one told me they are kangaroo tails. It's a good name. Kangaroos don't use them do they?"

This was another startling question, but not as much because Jarra was understanding that Mirri was different.

"No, kangaroos grow their own and keep them all their life."

A minute later Mirri made a little sound and pointed to the stick on a shrub.

"Look! What is it?"

Jarra started to say it was just a stick but then realised it wasn't.

"Mirri, you're a good explorer. You've found a stick insect."

Jarra really meant it. Seeing special stuff that other people didn't was one of his own good things and this camouflage would have tricked him.

"I saw its eyes looking at me. Does it bite?"

"No, it can't hurt you. Do you want to hold it?"

Mirri didn't answer so Jarra, slowly and carefully, lifted the stick insect from the shrub, let it stand on his hand for a moment, then took Mirri's hand and gently transferred the spindly creature. It stayed motionless for several seconds before starting a slow swaying motion. Jarra's hunch that Mirri would love holding the strange insect was completely correct as he was staring, transfixed. A soft sound, something like a hum, came from his throat and continued with changing tone and quality.

It was Jarra's turn to be transfixed. Mirri was singing to the stick insect? Yes, there was no doubt. There were no words but the sound was happy. Suddenly, wings spread and the insect flew, past the shrub and toward another some distance away. The happy sound stopped and when Mirri stared at his open hand Jarra sensed that somehow, the stick insect was still there for him.

"More exploring?"

Jarra wanted to ask about the singing but Mirri almost seemed to be unaware that it had happened.

"It's time to find the way home for you."

"There's plenty of time."

"Not for me."

"Okay!"

Jarra smiled at the complete acceptance then staggered helplessly as a whirlwind of hugs and lifts enveloped him. A few moments later, and flat on his back with Mirri sitting on him, he stared up at a hugely smiling face.

"What are you doing?"

"Playing! It's fun and you have to try to push me down before we go home."

That wasn't possible of course. His muscles simply didn't have the strength. Jarra made the token effort anyway. Mirri's laughter and happy noises changed.

"Don't you want to play?"

At that moment there was nothing Jarra would like more.

"We have to play gently, Mirri. My muscles aren't very strong."

"Okay, I will be very gentle. I have to because I'm strong."

He was so gentle that it wasn't long before Jarra was triumphantly sitting on top with Mirri pretending he was helpless.

"That was fun, Mirri, but it's time to find our way home."

He pulled out his InfoPad and searched for Mirri a number of different ways but there really wasn't much point as every time there were hundreds of possible results. Jarra decided to head for the main walking track and take things from there. Maybe Mirri might even remember it. They'd almost reached the track when Mirri took off like a rocket and ran to a man who was looking at something in his hand.

"Uncle Baradin, I held a stick but it flew away and Jarra is the best explorer. Can he come home with us?"

"A flying stick? That does sound interesting. Mirrigan, we have to ask first. ... Jarra?"

He looked to Jarra for acknowledgement then went on.

"... Might have other things he needs to do."

"Yes, he might. Jarra, can you come home with us?"

Jarra could only smile at the eagerness. He'd love to see more of Mirri but he'd have to talk to his dad first.

"I'd love to, Mirri, but not today. It's time for me to go to my own home."

"Okay! Will we go exploring again?"

"I hope so."

"Mirrigan, I want you to run along the path as fast as you can till you see your brother."

There was another okay and Mirri was away with his rocket act again.

"You handled that wonderfully well, young man. I'm very impressed. My name is Baradin."

Jarra was ten years old so calling him a young man was unusual. He liked it though.

"Thank you. Is Mirrigan his proper name? He told me it was Mirri."

"Mirrigan is his full name. Mirri, he reserves for people who are special."

Baradin indicated a bench several metres away.

"Jarra, are you happy to talk for a few minutes?"

Jarra nodded and they settled.

"I hope Mirrigan wasn't a nuisance for you. He can be very demanding."

"He's not a nuisance. He's amazing."

"Amazing? Why do you say that?"

"He was crying when I found him and then everything we did made him so happy I was happy too."

"Did he tell you why he was crying?"

"He didn't know where he was."

"That would be right. It's a real dilemma for us. He has an irresistible urge to explore new places and at the same time he gets upset when he doesn't know his surroundings. You understand that he thinks differently don't you?"

"Yes, you can tell straight away."

"Some people find him weird."

Jarra didn't know that this was very much a test question.

"I suppose so, but he's very clever at some things. I have very good powers of observation but he saw a stick insect I would have walked straight past."

"Powers of observation? You read a lot?"

"Yes, and he sang a beautiful song to the stick insect."

"You heard him sing? Jarra, you are indeed an amazing young man."

Jarra didn't know what to make of that so he held in his mind to think about later. It sounded good. He didn't say anything though because he was trying to puzzle out why Baradin seemed surprised.

"Jarra, I'd love to hear what happened in your encounter with Mirrigan. It's very apparent it was a significant experience for him and you could give us a better understanding than anything we could coax ourselves."

He touched his shirt just below the ComPatch with the gesture that meant he was asking permission to record. Jarra nodded his assent and went ahead. It took a while because Baradin kept asking for more information.

"Have I detained you too long?"

"No, my dad expects me to linger when I'm on this walk."

"Linger?"

"He knows I get preoccupied."

"Jarra, you sounded genuinely pleased when Mirrigan invited you home. Would you like to see him again?"

Jarra couldn't help smiling. He'd been hoping Baradin might ask this.

"Yes please. Is there time tomorrow? The next two days are a bit awkward."

"We can make time any day that suits. So, as long as your parents are happy, tomorrow it will be."

"My dad will be pleased, but can you talk to him first so he knows where I am and how far it is?"

"If you don't mind I'd like to walk home with you now so I can assure him you will be well looked after, and arrange for someone to guide you through the Community."

"I wouldn't need a guide. I'm good at finding my way."

"I'm sure you are, but you must be welcomed properly."

The slow walk took twenty minutes and Jarra was relieved when they reached the nearest entrance to his Community Center and they could access the transport lifts.

"Do you like living here?"

Jarra didn't really think of it in terms of like or dislike. It was home, where he'd been all his life.

"It's okay. We're lucky because we've got a window and we can look out at the riverbed and all the reclaimed land."

"A real window? That will be interesting to see. We only have wall displays."

Baradin and Mirri lived in the giant First Australian Community which was constructed completely underground. In fact it was beneath the just mentioned reclaimed land. With nearly two and a half million people it was the largest single Community Center in all Australia and Jarra had always been curious about what it was like. Visiting tomorrow would be a real experience.

The three other Alice Springs Communities were all hybrid structures with above and below ground sections. This one, where Jarra lived, was the Public Center, providing shelter for people who couldn't afford the much higher cost of living in the privately owned Communities with their extra facilities and larger space allocations. Jarra headed for the right lift and touched the call panel.

"This is a good connection. We only have to make three changes and it usually only takes six minutes. ...Do you know this centre very well?"

Baradin shook his head as the horizontal lift started its four hundred meter journey.

"I make occasional visits but my work keeps me too busy. This is quieter than I expected."

"The next stop is very busy. We'll probably fill up there."

Jarra used his InfoPad to tell his dad they were nearly home.

***