Dymphna

Dymphna always knew that this day would come. Mam had prepared her for it as long as she could remember. One day, the soldiers would come and Mam would be taken away. Dymphna had now lived ten winters. Ten years of hiding. Ten years of sleeping in the same bed as Mam so that a warm bed would not give her away. Ten years of eating from the same plate lest the soldiers come and find two dirty plates.

It was three in the morning, and Mam sat bolt upright in bed. The sound of helicopters whirred overhead. The rumble of trucks and the thud, thud of heavy boots marching in formation were heard in the street. Lights flashed and sirens sounded – all designed to terrify. This was the moment they had dreaded for ten years.

Without a word, Mam pushed Dymphna into the top shelf of the wardrobe and hid her behind a red suitcase. She took off her gold locket, a beautiful heart-shaped piece of jewellery that had belonged to Mam’s mother, and pushed it into Dymphna’s hand. The soldiers were bashing down the door of their small home and running in. “Courage, head north,” whispered Mam and prepared to be taken away.

Dymphna lay there in terror. The guards grabbed Mam, muffled her cries and were gone. Although she had anticipated this day for ten years, she felt completely unprepared. It was time for her to fulfil her destiny.

She remembered the long afternoons talking to Mam. She heard over and over the stories of her people. Their people were bound together, not by genetics but by their common passion and purpose of the Lifeforce of Creation. They came from every land on earth, from every language and tongue. Together, their stories created a mosaic of knowledge. They lived simply, in harmony with the earth. They respected the Lifeforce of Creation and worked with her. They celebrated beauty and justice and love.

But among most people, the memory of the Lifeforce of Creation had been lost. People wanted more and more stuff. They had become greedy. Their acquisitive desires, their insatiable craving for more and more had led to pollution of the earth. Water not fit to drink. Rivers and creeks dying. Fish and frogs and snakes gone. Rivers of sludge, oozing their filth. Grey lifeless landscapes as far as the eye could see. Trees slaughtered. Yes, money can buy anything, even annihilation.

The people were not bad. The change had been gradual and they had not seen what was happening around them. They spent their days on screens, frittering away their lives on vacuous entertainment. Simplicity, care for others, beauty – these values never entered their minds. Government had collapsed and the people were ruled by a small group of massively wealthy people whose only agenda was to grow richer and more powerful. The followers of the Lifeforce of Creation were a threat to their way of life.

Dymphna recalled the stories of her people. She remembered all that Mam had taught her – the stories of great heroes who had nurtured the earth, the secrets of how to regrow the forests, the mysteries of how to purify the air and the water. She rehearsed them over and over in her mind. She’d made up little rhymes to make them easier to remember.

Dymphna and Mam had been cut off from their people for so long. There were not many of their people left, but together they might be a force for good. Together they might awaken the search for goodness, beauty and justice that had lain dormant in the people for so long. Together, they might change the world.

Sometimes at night Mam took Dymphna outside to show her the stars. But they had to be careful. They could take no risks that a nosy neighbour would guess at Dymphna’s existence. The great Southern Cross was her guide. After a time, the stars became familiar landmarks and she was confident that she could find her way north.

As the sun began to bathe the bedroom in light, Dymphna cautiously crept out of her hiding place. She dressed warmly, jeans, a pink shirt and a thick blue parka. She had a long journey ahead of her.

She stole into the kitchen. She sat in her favourite chair and looked around at the only home she had ever known. It was cosy, warm, familiar. It spoke to her of love and caring. It was simple, no clutter. She and Mam got by without wanting the latest of this and the most up to date gadget. She knew what would happen later in the day – fire and bulldozers and destruction. it had happened in other places.

Her heart ached as her eyes lighted on the stove where they made nourishing soups from vegetables scrounged from supermarket dumpsters. She looked at the thick hessian curtains on which she and Mam had embroidered colourful flowers. A simple place. Home, that she would never seen again. She wanted to remember.

She looked out the window. The road seemed deserted. It looked as if the soldiers had all gone. But then she saw a twitch of a curtain across the road and she drew back. A few minutes later a soldier came out of the front door and ran down the street to join his companions.

All those times when she wanted to go outside and play, but Mam said no. All the times she wanted a friend to share a tea party, but Mam forbade it. All of those times were worth it now. Nobody was looking for her, because nobody knew she was there.

Dymphna had her backpack ready with provisions for the journey. But she also had what she needed most. Around her neck was the gold heart-shaped locket. She had Mam’s love and courage in her heart. She had the stories of her people in her memory. She had the knowledge of how to navigate her way north. She had hope in the future.

Warily, Dymphna opened the door and looked around. The road was deserted. It was time to go. Resolutely and bravely, Dymphna stepped out and headed north.

- margie dahl