Evolution (Part I of II)

Kirk Coningham

It was truly one of the world's most beautiful places. The cottage stood alone on a bluff overlooking a rugged and remote coastline.

The view stretched for kilometers in all directions without further sign of human habitation. Solar panel lights and a gas powered shower and refrigerator made it practical and comfortable. No radio, television, telephones or newspapers made it perfect.

Jack was beside himself with delight. Even his ten-year-old mind had warned him that his parents must have romanticized the place, but Jack saw that the place was even more beautiful than they had claimed.

"So what do you think Jack?" Julie, his mother, asked. "This is the place where you began." "Oh yuck mom, can't we get off that?" What she meant was that this was where he had been conceived.

Julie was twirling her arms and pirouetting like a ballerina around the open deck with its spectacular two hundred degree view of the coastline. She was as happy as a person could be. She hummed under her breath and devoured the vista before her with soft brown hush-puppy eyes.

Ben, Jack's father, watched the pair, laughing out loud at the happiness he was a part of. Ben was tall, 185 centimeters, and powerfully built. The formidable frame was crowned by a miss- matched soft face with milky blue eyes and curly sandy hair. Jack was a miniature version of his father.

Ben could not believe it had taken so long to get back to "The Rock" as his family had named the remote holiday cottage. Nothing much had changed in the eleven years since he had last been there. The eighty kilometers of dirt track leading to the coast had tested his new four-wheel-drive as it had tested earlier models.

The ancient selection of mismatched sagging furniture was the same, the dust was the same, and so was the liberating feeling of being cut off, let loose from civilization and work.

He had unpacked two week's worth of holiday supplies, fired up the refrigerator and hot water system and, less than an hour after arriving, was sitting on a deck chair looking at his family and the picture postcard view through a mist of happy tears.

Ben met Julie at university where she was studying dentistry and he was deeply immersed in studies that would eventually earn him a doctorate and entry to the college of psychiatry. Six weeks from the day of their first meeting, shocked family and friends gathered at their wedding.

The power of the attraction had never changed. They were meant to be together. But they also knew they were meant to have a child. Two failed IVF courses almost made them reconsider.

After the final IVF failure they headed for The Rock to lick their emotional wounds. While they were helping each other through the pain, Julie fell pregnant with Jack, and the rest was history.

Ben watched as the first stars appeared in the night sky. Julie and Jack were giggling in the kitchen throwing together a salad. Ben scanned the constellations as darkness revealed their hiding places. The Southern Cross blazed. Ahead a few degrees Ben searched for the pointer stars that, when used with the Southern Cross, would indicate due South.

His eye fell on a strange greenish star that was out of place. Ben quickly discounted it as a satellite and turned to help in the kitchen. As he turned he caught movement in the corner of his eye and swung back to face the night sky. The strange light had disappeared. "A weather balloon?"

Ben sat bolt upright in bed in the dead of the night, trying to get his bearings and hold on to the fleeting images of his dream. "Lights and Jack?" Julie mumbled something in her sleep and flopped her arm across his chest. Ben lifted it and gently slipped out of bed.

He didn't need a light; the stars spread enough of their greenish glow to allow him to see almost clearly. He looked in on Jack. His untamable blond thatch moved around on the pillow in restless sleep. Ben stepped in to cover his son who was mumbling in his sleep.

His eyes fluttered open. "Did you see them Dad, did you see the lights?" Jack's eyes closed again as he rolled over in search of deeper sleep.

Ben padded quickly back to Julie. He was disturbed. It was not the dream coincidence that bothered him, Jack and he shared a special bond which made this commonplace, it was the uneasy feeling he had that Jack was in some sort of danger.

As sleep finally came to Ben he was suddenly jerked upright again. 'What is it?' Ben felt a shiver run through him as he realized the greenish light that guided him to Jack's room on this cloudless night was gone. It was suddenly very dark.

Morning found them out exploring in the rock pools. Despite the relative cool of early spring, Jack found any excuse to fall into the deeper pools with a splash that forcibly included his parents in his wet games.

He was having a good time and his laughter eased Ben's guilty conscience. He had been worried that two weeks of isolation would be boring for an active ten year old, but Ben needed the isolation. He needed to rest his mind.

Ben had been attracted to psychiatry from an early age as he had an uncanny ability to read people and what they were thinking. This was a major advantage professionally but the constant press of other thoughts on his system was exhausting. Most of the time it wasn't too bad, but it sometimes felt his head was tuned to a dozen radio stations at once.

Looking at his son's smiling face, Ben was also aware that Jack shared his talent and might also enjoy a rest from other people's thoughts.

Jack brought his father a beer unasked. Ben rarely drank and was unaware of his desire for a beer until Jack arrived on the deck with the frosted bottle. Night had fallen quickly and Julie watched her two beautiful boys gazing at the stars. She was happy for them to keep their heads in the clouds.

Julie was their earthbound anchor. She was never the slightest bit jealous of the special bond between the two. She understood they needed her feet on the ground. She was the third piece of the puzzle that made the picture whole.

"What's that light Dad?" Jack pointed to a spot on the landward horizon behind the cottage. Ben saw it instantly. It was the same light he had mistaken for a star, but it was much closer now.

It was no star, no satellite, and no weather balloon. The greenish light seemed to float at an indefinable distance from the cottage. It was the shape of a full moon and seemed to pulse.

"Julie, come out here quick."

She heard the urgency in Ben's voice and rushed out of the kitchen.

"What do you think it is mom?" Julie saw it and was instantly afraid. "I don't know what it is, but it is not supposed to be here," Julie answered trying to stay calm.

She was suddenly very afraid. Something warned her they were in great danger and they were a long way from help ...