Page 56 of Road to Rosalee

‘I always carry this little beauty with me when I head out at night. You never know when the power will cut.’ He held it beneath his chin, lighting his face in an eerie kind of way. ‘Or when you need to scare the pants off someone in the black of night.’

‘You tripper.’ Melody laughed at his antics. She seriously wished he could get her pants off, even if it meant scaring her. Falling into step with him, she was relieved for the sense of safety his company brought. ‘Thank goodness we didn’t lose power when I was cooking, otherwise you lot would have gotten a can of beans each for dinner.’

‘A few months back, none of us would have cared much, but now you’ve spoilt us all.’ Halting his steps, Zai looked to the menacing dark clouds rolling across the moonlit sky, quickly swallowing the glittering stars, as if ravenous. ‘I reckon this is going to be one cracker of a storm.’

‘Looks like it.’ Melody stood close to him as she followed his gaze. ‘It certainly explains why it’s been so damn hot the past couple of days.’

Zai placed his hand on the small of her back and gently pressed her onwards. ‘Come on, we better get you back before it hits.’

Heads down, they walked quickly, Harold sticking close behind. Time barely passed between each flash and rumble, and the earth felt as if it were trembling beneath her feet. In a matter of seconds, the humidity of the day was gone. The inky darkness closed in on them, and the fast moving clouds cast creeping shadows across their path. Just as they were heading up the homestead steps, forks of lightning split the sky once again. A deep rumbling echoed before a rifle-crack of thunder detonated, followed by another. Whining, Harold scurried to the front door and pressed himself flush up against it, his fearful gaze begging Melody to let him inside – a place he quite often didn’t care to be. Melody crouched down at her doggie mate’s side, soothing Harold as much as she could with nervous fingers. She shivered, both from the abrupt change of temperature and the ferocity of the storm rolling in at alarming speed.

Zai didn’t appear fazed in the slightest. ‘I’m gathering you’ve never seen an outback storm in full swing?’

‘No, never.’ She straightened, kicking off her thongs.

‘You’re in for a real treat then.’ He pointed to the swing chair, squeaking as it swayed in the gusty breeze. ‘You need to grab yourself a drink then plant yourself there so you can watch it all unfold.’

‘I’m not sure I want to stay out here to watch.’ Shoving the door open, Harold launched inside the house, his scuttling feet disappearing into the darkness.

‘Really? Well, I can stay here with you, if it makes you feel better?’

She almost knocked his offer back, but the thought of sitting in the dark house on her own, with the storm lashing outside, stopped her from being so silly. ‘That would actually be nice, thanks Zai.’

He clearly didn’t need any more of an invitation as he kicked his boots off. ‘Great, let’s go and grab a beer and get back out here before we miss the show.’

‘Sounds like a plan, but I think this weather calls for a bottle of red.’ She stepped past him. ‘What do you think?’

He shone the torch down the hallway, now shadowy and a little spooky. ‘Even better.’

While Zai got Harold settled on a blanket beneath the dining table, Melody’s heart swooning with his reassuring pats and gentle words, she gathered wine and a packet of peanut M&Ms – her guilty pleasure. The rumbles and cracks grew increasingly closer and echoed around the dark house. Just as they stepped back out onto the verandah, with two glasses, a bottle of cab sav, sweet treats, and a blanket, the heart of the storm opened up upon them. The scent of impending rain was refreshing. Sinking into the swing chair, nice and close, Zai flicked the blanket over their legs. With him holding the glasses, Melody poured them both some wine. An earth-shuddering thunderclap boomed directly overhead, rattling the glass of the windows and reverberating deep within her bones. Then the biggest strike of silvery-blue lightning she’d ever seen split the graphite sky in two, the electromagnetic force somehow kick-starting her heart and sending her caged spirit soaring. The sheer energy swirling around them was mind-blowing.

Like a heaving breath by the mouth of the heavens, the wind picked up and tossed a scattering of leaves across the verandah just as the first drops of water struck the iron roof so heavily, it was impossible to hear anything else. Curtains of rain stabbed upon the dry, dusty earth and quickly formed puddles of rusty water. Transfixed and overwhelmed by the spectacle unfolding before her, Melody breathed in deep – it smelt so wonderful and so different to the storms in the city. Clean. Invigorating. Pure. The gutters quickly filled with the deluge, and water poured out of the downpipes. Frogs croaked noisily, as if rejoicing. She could almost sense the earth quenching its thirst. The fragrance of what she could only describe as renewed hope clung to the air, making her feel the same. Further bits of her broken heart slipped back into place, making her feel more whole, more centred, more sure of what she wanted – and also of what she didn’t want. Never would she have believed that a storm could be so therapeutic, so soul-opening.

Zai was quiet for a while, looking up at the sky as if he too was searching for the answers she was stumbling upon. She ached to know what he was contemplating.

‘What are you thinking about?’ she asked, gently.

He turned to her, his eyes a little sad. ‘I’m not sure you’d want to know.’ He quickly looked away, clearing his throat.

‘Trust me, I really do.’ She held her breath, hoping he was going to let her in – he deserved the same sort of comfort that he gave to her.

He heaved a sigh and looked to his clasped hands. ‘Do you sometimes wish things were less … I dunno, complicated?’ He lifted his gaze back to her, and it was filled was so much tenderness, it stole her breath.

She resisted the urge to interpret it. ‘Of course I do.’

He went to respond, but his mouth closed tight and he shook his head. It took him a few lengthy moments to try again. ‘I struggle with feeling like the black sheep of my family.’

She tipped her head and placed a hand on his bouncing knee. ‘How so?’

Zai explained why and she listened intently to his words, her heart breaking for him. She may have lost her mother and only just found her father, but at least she felt loved by both of them. He, on the other hand, felt like a failure in his parents’ eyes, and that would be a very heavy cross to carry.

She touched his arm. ‘You’re a good man, Zai, and a damn hard worker. They should be proud of you, not reminding you every chance they get that you’re not living up to their idea of success.’

He turned, took her hand in his, and brought it to his lips, kissing it. ‘Thank you, Melody, for making me feel like you have my back. You don’t know how much that means to me.’

‘Of course I do, just like you have mine.’ She offered him a gentle smile, wishing she could do more than that to let him know just how much she cared for him.

‘You really are a special woman, Sweet Melody.’