Going South is Downhill

"What are you doing here?" His mother sounds surprised to find him.

He's ensconced in the car already, awaiting the rest of his family. Game console, water bottle and oversized muppet toy (Animal) are all at the ready.

"You probably shouldn't be sitting in the car already Pete," Mum's voice drifts over from the driver's side door. "We'll be in the car for hours, you need to stretch your legs now while you can."

He stays where he is. Having already gathered the obvious essentials, there's a certain reluctance to re-emerge.

"Seriously, get out," his mum has opened his door. The water bottle which was stashed next to him rolls out and drops on the driveway. Pete sighs and climbs out, snatching up his water bottle.

He needs to avoid his family as they seem really grumpy. Wandering into his bedroom, he decides he could also bring his pillow, and a few snacks. Also a book, no - two books, just in case he finishes the first one. Glancing around his room makes him anxious, he's wishing he could bring all his things. Deciding what to leave behind is stressful.

***

"So - where are we going?" Pete's teenage brother Freddie has taken out his earphones for a rare moment of interaction.

"I just explained this!" His father sounds incredulous.

"We're going to the South Coast. We'll stay there for four nights. One day we'll go to the mountains and see snow," Mum explains succinctly.

“I hope you brought enough warm clothes. We did tell you all this last week,” Dad is trying to fold a map in the cramped confines of the car.

“And months ago when we booked it,” points out Mum, “did you pack that snow jacket we bought?”

“Yeah, obviously,” Freddie rolls his eyes, “I just meant where as in what’s the name of the actual town.”

“Narooma,” Pete supplies, having heard the itinerary numerous times already.

“Never heard of it,” Freddie replaces his earphones and scowls out the car window again.

The suburban landscape has given way to more open country out the window. Trees and scrubby bushes with marshy looking grassland. It reminds him of a scene in The Two Towers. Frodo falls into a puddle or pond. Whatever it was, there were ghosts under the water, reaching for him. He stares out, maybe there are hobbits out here, though it seems like it might be more suited to a Smeagol type creature.

“When we’re going South, it’s downhill,” Pete announces

“What?” answers Mum

“Sorry, mate - what was that?” asks Dad at the same time.

“Last time we went away on holiday we went North and it seemed uphill. Going South feels like downhill,” explains Pete.

“I think that's because we are going down an actual hill right now, “ answers Dad wryly.

“You might just think that because Treebeard says it in The Two Towers.” Mum has a weird way of knowing pretty much exactly what he is thinking.

“No, not just because of that. It does actually feel downhill. Even when we’re not going down a hill,” Pete says defensively. It really does.

“No mate, none of the directions on a compass are inherently up or downhill.” Pete can hear a condescending tone in Dad’s voice. He hates feeling like adults talk down to him because he’s a kid.

“What does inherently mean?” He says to change the subject.

South is definitely downhill, since Australia is on the underside of the planet. Obviously moving towards the South Pole is going to be downhill, but he can’t be bothered explaining this to his parents. Adults are often blind to the realities of the world, it’s as if their senses have dulled with age.

***

It was beginning to feel like they had always been in the car, and always would be.

“I’m hungry,” Pete said again, maybe they hadn’t heard him the first time.

“We’re really close to the place we'll be staying. You need to be quiet while we figure out which building it is,” his father glances down at the brochure, then out the windscreen again.

“Wait! Stop! It’s that driveway,” he calls abruptly

“What driveway?”Mum squints into the dusk as they continue down the road.

“Just keep going now,” Dad sighs, “and do a u-turn at this next roundabout.”

Pete’s brother slips a mini Mars bar into his hand without looking at him. Then shushes him with finger over his lips, brows raised in warning.

“Thanks,” Pete mouths soundlessly as he tries to unwrap the chocolate without alerting his parents. Luckily they’re still preoccupied with finding the accommodation.

Their car bumps into a driveway, slowly negotiating other family vehicles similarly stuffed with belongings. As soon as the car stops he bursts out, already holding Animal, Nintendo and water bottle. He leans back in to grab his pillow, then stuffs the books into the pillowcase.

“Which one is it?” Pete is already walking towards the holiday apartments.

“Wait for us,” says Mum, at the exact same time as Dad growls,“Get back here mate.”

Pete sighs and stops walking. Mum is putting on a jacket and rummaging in her handbag. Dad has begun hauling bags out of the boot.

“Here’s your bag buddy. You better come and get it,” he holds up a backpack in Pete’s direction.

Pete heads back to the car and grabs the bag before his father drops it. Unfortunately that means he drops Animal and his water battle.

“My hands are already full,” Pete grouses. Mum appears, she loops his backpack on to his back then puts his water bottle and game console into the bag. He picks up Animal and wanders across the car park. There’s a swimming pool surrounded by a fence - he can almost slip through the bars. Past the pool there’s a tennis court, where people are clustered around the umpires chair, sipping beer and smoking cigarettes. Animal doesn’t like these people at all and wants to find Pete's family again. At that moment a huge four wheel drive is trundling into the car park and Pete cannot see past it. Peering around in the darkening evening, he doesn't know which car is his. He thinks he can hear his mother:

"Pete! Petey...” She sounds a little worried.

He looks around, then glances up. Stars are beginning to appear as the sky darkens to deep blue, almost navy like his school pants. There are already a lot more stars than he's ever seen, and it's not even properly dark yet. He meanders away from the lights in the car park. More stars come out, like little lights winking on. They’re clustered together like a spine across the sky. Pete’s belly rumbles reminding him that his parents haven't found him yet. Maybe he has slipped into another world like Narnia, only Australian. Perhaps Mr Tumnus would be a talking kangaroo or something.

“Hey, I thought you were hungry,” Freddie appears around the corner of the garden.

“I am hungry!" Pete answers, "look at how many stars you can see here,” his brother gently drags him by the elbow back towards the car park.

“Mmhmm, you can always see more stars away from the city,” Freddie concedes, “you shouldn’t wander off. One day we might not be able to find you.”

“I just needed to get away from the creeps on the tennis court.”

“How do you know they’re creeps?” his brother asks.

“Animal didn’t like them.”

“You know Animal’s just a toy right?”

Of course Pete knew it was a toy, but he had trouble explaining his instincts at times.

***

His parents seemed to be having some drama about a long stretch of highway with no petrol station and possibly running out of petrol. Pete daydreams about what would happen if they ran out of petrol: he could probably catch one of the horses he often saw out his car window. They'd gallop to a petrol station and return with help. The horse (Charlie) would be gifted to him as everyone agrees they make a great team.

When they finally made it to the mountains, Pete could see no evidence of the promised snow.

“Um, I thought you said there would be snow,” he challenged, already grumpy from being in the car so long.

“See those mountains,” dad points over his shoulder, “that white stuff on them is snow.”

“They seem pretty far away,” Pete is dubious.

“Nah, it’s not that far - here have a banana,” mum is always trying to distract him with food. He takes the banana, eating it while they shoulder backpacks.

The air is cold though the sun shines brightly in a cloudless sky. His parents keep exclaiming over how different the plants are here. Bushes and grass have a muted olive green colour on either side of the rocky trail. Occasionally people roll past on mountain bikes up ahead there’s a hollow filled with white sand.

“Oh look: snow!” his mother exclaims.

Pete dashes ahead, stumbling into the cool glade. He stuffs his hands onto the white slush, squishing together a snowball with freezing fingers. His brother seems to have forgotten that he’s too old to play as they attempt to throw snow at each other. Growing up in Sydney, snow is something completely novel to them.

“Come on boys, there’s still a long way to go,” their parents are already continuing to walk.

Unfortunately they’re right. When they've already been walking for hours Pete notices people spilling out of an adjoining path. Walking down that track a short way he sees there's a chairlift. Pete is dismayed to realise they could have just hiked this last part. He turns around to find his family, only now realising he may have wandered away from them again. Bolting back up the path he almost collides with Mum who's come in search. They both sigh with relief.

"Please don't wander off Petey," she admonishes, "it scares us."

It scared him too, but no-one seemed to understand he didn't get lost on purpose.

***

By the time they’re descending again Pete is exhausted. His second water bottle is now empty as well. Thankfully there’s a river glinting in the afternoon sunlight at the bottom of this slope. His steps speed up, water gurgles playfully over the rocks. They had crossed this river this morning, he recalls. Something flashes upstream. He can just see it out of the corner of his eye. Scrambling off the track, he steps through tufted grasses and strewn rocks. It’s like a giant had scattered big handfuls of stones all throughout the high country.

Pete can tell the sun's rays are reflecting strangely from a depression which looks like a giant’s footprint. It’s a little pond! Undoing the cap of his water bottle, he kneels by the small pool. He realises there’s a thin layer of ice over the water. As he bends over the surface, his backpack shifts forward thumping into the back of his head. Pete tumbles through the ice into the freezing water.

The cold is so fierce it shocks the air from his lungs. Pete’s mind is filled with vivid images of underwater ghouls. Phantom hands are grasping at his clothes trying to drag him down. Pete flails wildly trying to push the ghosts away, strong hands drag him out of the water by his backpack.

"You need to stay with us," his father sounds furious,"it's a miracle I heard the ice break, otherwise who knows what might have happened."

"Whoa, did you actually fall in?" his brother looms suddenly.

"Don't follow the lights," mum can't seem to resist quoting The Lord of the Rings, even now.

Pete shivers miserably while they strip his wet clothes off and dress him in odds and ends of dry clothing. Dad carries three packs: his own, Mum's and Pete's. Mum carries Pete on her back, Freddie carries the wet clothes with a disgusted expression.

"I did follow the lights," he admits to his mother, "but I won't next time."