#so the thing about my mum is that we have almost 2 acres of land and obviously the upkeep of that is INTENSE

[hella1975]

why pay for a gym membership when you can go back to the countryside and move bags of concrete for FREE 😍

[mybukz]

Fiction: Blue Cornflowers by Nik Fateen

Image by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash

The car feels like an oven on four wheels. It doesn’t matter if the air conditioner is cranked all the way up, the heat from the sun penetrates through the windows with such brute force. Even I, dressed in a simple romper, can feel the way sweat gathers behind my knees, making each squirm more uncomfortable than the one before. Every movement I make reminds my body that every fold, every bend of a joint, is clammy, clammy, clammy.

“How far away are we from grandma?” I ask, already too impatient to get out of the car.

Mum spares a glance at me in the backseat as she continues to fan dad with a magazine. Her effort proves useless as drops of sweat continue to run down his face. “In about an hour.” She looks at dad for confirmation.

Eyes still focused on the road, he answers. “Yeah. We’re already in the countryside so it shouldn’t take that long to get there.”

It doesn’t even occur to me that we have long left the city behind until dad mentions it. I look out the window on my right and see that there is barely any car on the opposite side of the road and we are actually surrounded by greenery. Fields of grass in the foreground and tall trees in the background. All those green and it’s 2 hours before noon so the heat is unwarranted. My eyes hunt for the sun in the sky. A childish urge to scold it arises in me before it is quickly defeated in our millisecond-long staredown. It almost feels like the sun is refusing to meet my gaze, but I am the one who is forced to look away.

When we reach grandma’s house, she is already waiting for us on her porch. Sprinting past mum and dad, I go inside, leave my bag of clothes by the stairs and march right out the door again before dad stops me.

“Where do you think you’re going, young lady?” He asks. Before I even fully turn around, I can already picture him standing on the steps with his hands on his hips.

Barely looking at him, I say, “To the woods.”

Mum puts a hand on his shoulder. “Honey, she’s been so stressed out lately with her classes. Just let her de-stress. She knows her way.”

“Thanks,” I say before dad can protest.

There is no way I will spend my summer days being holed up in a room when I can roam free among the trees instead. This is my favourite thing to do when we visit grandma and I know mum grew up doing the same thing and for all I know, grandma might have done it too.

“Going to the woods?” Grandma asks from her rocking chair on the porch.

“You bet.”

“Be careful.” Her tone when she says it makes me stop in my tracks, one hand on the rustic gate. She continues, looking at me with a small, unreadable smile on her face. “Nature hasn’t been quite forgiving lately.”

Instinctively, my fingers move ever so lightly as if caressing the gate, feeling its rough texture underneath my fingertips. The scratch is more than welcome while I shift my focus to just that feeling for a few seconds as I take a few deep breaths. I’m not sure if I quite understand what grandma means by that but it stirs something in my chest and I recall that brief staredown I had with the sun and the unbearable heat.

Grandma already has her attention on something else by the time I collect my thoughts. She’s looking at the pretty flowers which decorate her tall fence. “What flowers are those?”

“Centaurea, or cornflower. They just started blooming for this season. I’m glad I’m still allowed to enjoy gardening.

Another odd sentence by grandma but I brush past it. “I like the blue ones. The colour’s really pretty.”

I walk back from the gate into the garden to adore the flowers from a closer distance. The tallest ones reach to about my hips, so I crouch in front of the assortments of vibrant blue, pink and yellow and watch them sway on their wiry stems from the slightest hint of wind. There are still some buds waiting to open and show off their glorious petals.

“Do you mind if I pluck them and make a bouquet?”

“Once they all bloom, yes.”

I take one last look at the flowers before continuing my walk into the woods. It’s a private property owned by my mum’s side of the family and grandma told us that her grandfather had bought it and prohibited anybody, family member or not, from chopping down even a single tree. The trees are spread across about an acre of land and you can truly get lost in it if you’re not careful.

As per tradition, a rule created by none other than yours truly, I go into the foods barefoot with my shoes in my hand. I dig my toes into the dirt and feel the rough earth and grass blades underneath my sole. The heat from the midday summer sun hasn’t let up and is only becoming worse by the second, so that I can feel it on my feet every step I take. It is nothing close to unbearable like walking on the pavement during daytime, but I sure don’t expect this type of heat when nature’s canopy is stopping direct sunlight from reaching the ground.

Despite the sweat on my back, my face, and what I’m sure to be ugly pit stains under my arms, I keep trailing the path that I have always taken to reach The Big Tree. My arms spread as I touch the trunks of the trees, their skin rough from old age. My nails pick at a dried patch at random moments, craving the scratch that usually helps me sort out my thoughts as grandma’s words ring in my ears.

“You won’t hurt me, will you?” Of course, I don’t get any answer. The trees keep reaching towards the sun, and the birds and insects keep on singing their song. Even then, it still feels like there is something off about it, as if they are out of tune. But that’s not even possible.

Frustrated at the heat, the discordant singing, and the ominous warning by grandma, I soldier on because this is the opposite of what I come here for. I keep walking, chasing the feeling of peace that I have always felt when I’m here, directing myself to The Big Tree in hopes that I will find it there.

But once I am there, I’m even more unsure if this is what I was looking for.

I could’ve missed it. Honestly, I could have. If I hadn't been barefoot all this time and kept my shoes on, I would’ve missed the difference in the texture and the temperature of the earth underneath my right foot. The sudden change sends an electric shock up my spine and I gasp out loud. I have been here countless times, but the earth has never felt this cold. It’s even more jarring to think about considering how warm the ground feels underneath my left foot. They are only a few inches apart but the difference is stark, as if there is a line that divides between here and there. Not only that, it is suddenly dead silent, so that I can almost hear it ringing in my ears, and it is deafening. How do all the birds and insects stop their music at the exact same moment and even more confusing, why would they?

I debate about making another step towards The Big Tree. I can clearly see it from where I stand, its trunk massive and its roots crawl all over the area, marking its territory. Its branches twist and turn in the air, providing a more-than-big-enough canopy for a kid to sit by its side and read some books. But something about it today seems like it doesn’t want the kid to be there.

As soon as that thought crosses my mind, something grabs my ankles and pulls the rest of my body to the ground. I fall on my back with a painful thud, and before I can even process what is going on, that thing takes hold of my limbs. Whatever it is, it’s rough and the friction burns as it slithers down the bare skin of my arms and thighs. It only stops once I am unable to move anything else but my eyes. Pausing from struggling, I manage a glance and see tree roots wrapped around my limbs and they are tightening themselves on me. My chest feels so horribly tight that I can only take short breaths, unable to fill in my lungs. I can hear my heart rapidly pumping blood all over my body because of the adrenaline, forcing my body to fight or take flight, but even my frantic mind can understand that there is nothing I can do.

Desperately trying to find a scratch that does not leave red marks on my skin, I feel for the earth underneath the palms of my hands. Cold, unforgiving earth. The roots only tighten themselves around me and I can feel them crawling up my neck, slowly closing its grip on it. Any hopes of forcing a scream out of my throat with whatever air is left in my lungs leave me when I choke on my own spit, unable to swallow them down as that passage is now closed. The pulse on my neck beats against the roots in a shameful rhythm as if they are mocking the very thing they seem to be trying to stop.

I don’t know what to do. I can’t shout. I can’t move. I can’t breathe.

The last thing I see flash through my mind is the cornflowers in grandma’s garden. I want to see them all bloom, want to collect them into a bouquet. Then, I lose consciousness.

When I open my eyes again, I am just lying on the ground in the middle of the woods. The sun is hanging low in the sky, meaning that some time has passed. I sit up and look around me. The roots are no longer there but I can’t forget how rough they felt against my skin, how tightly they were crushing me. The more logical side of me would’ve argued that they were not real, so that the heat got to me and I was seeing things. But the red marks on my skin prove otherwise. These aren’t rashes, they look exactly like rope burns with long marks crawling up my body but instead of ropes, it’s some wild tree roots that don’t want you here.

Sore and dazed, I drag myself home using the same trail I came from, shoes in hand. Every bone in my body aches and every muscle is sore, but I don’t have another choice except to carry on. The earth gets warmer the farther I get from The Big Tree, as if saying that I should keep my distance. Maybe not forever, but for the time being until we are forgiven. Like grandma said, “Nature hasn’t been quite forgiving lately.” For which sin, I can’t put a finger on it.

I swing open the back gate and the creaking sound calls out for the people in the house. They rush towards me, saying my name and asking me what happened when they see the marks. I don’t know how to explain it to them even if I tried. All I know is that it happened.

“Darling, let’s get you inside.” That is my grandma speaking.

Mum and dad wrap their arms around me from each side and lead me into the house. Before I walk through the door, my eyes catch sight of the bed of cornflowers. The rest of them are a few days away from blooming and something about that thought calms me down.

Bio:

Nik Fateen is a 21-year-old aspiring writer who uses fiction as a creative way to explore abstract thoughts and emotions.

[elevenhoursinfront-blog]

11th June 2017

We slept the whole night through. The bed was so big, we didn't even know each other was in it. We woke up and got ourselves ready. Steve made me a coffee and I woke the other two up. It was AMAZING to sleep in a room without 6 other people, it was quiet and not smelly and oh god. Just amazing. 

Dan was slightly behind (like normal) and decided to make toast at 0725. We had to be out of the door by 0730 latest. Steve and Meg put the stuff into the car and I did the look round the house. We walked outside and the sky was stunning. Pinks, purples, blues. We took photos and got on the road again. Megan wanted to drive for a bit so she got in the front seat. She had to reverse off the drive which panicked her slightly, but after a few goes, we were on the road towards The Grampians National Park. Mel and Jack were meeting us at 0930 to do the first lookout point 'The Pinnacle'. It was only a two hour drive which went pretty smoothly. It was almost a straight road the whole way there. As we were driving, we saw massive Kangaroo's jumping around in a field which was amazing. I love seeing animals in the wild.

We got near to the Grampians and Steve took over driving. We tried to find the Pinnacle's but we couldn't. We ended up getting lost on top of a mountain somewhere. I managed to get a stunning photograph of the sun coming up with the fog on the mountain, every silver lining. I rang Mel and they were lost too. We decided to meet at the Information Centre.

We drove down, parked the car and found Mel and Jack getting a coffee in the newsagents next door. We all got a hot drink and looked at the map. A lady had highlighted the bits we would want to do and how to go about it which was nice. The main attractions were all in Halls Gap so we didn't need to drive all that far even though the park was massive.

We all drove to the 'Wonderland Carpark' which was packed! It was about 1100 by the time we got there, which to me is still early. The Pinnacle is the biggest attraction so we wanted to get that over with. It said that it was a strenuous climb and it would take 2 hours to get up and down. We got our bags on and left for the walk.

When the sign suggested 'strenuous' they weren't kidding. The climb was a steep uphill, off path climb. Rocks that weren't stable and slippery. Some parts had stairs made out of rocks but that was the worst bit. Our legs were in agony. We were all sweating and dying for water. Luckily, we all bought massive bottles with us but we didn't expect it to be this tiring. It became silent half way through as nobody could breathe enough to talk.

We eventually got to the top, just after an hour of constant climbing and the views were unreal. Completely worth every painful step. We were on the top of a mountain and there were no barriers to stop anyone from falling. It was so natural. People were taking photos and videos all around us. Some just sat down, chilling, enjoying the view. We sat down for a while catching our breath before taking photos. Dan and Jack have a fear of heights but handled it really quite well. We all sat on the edge of the cliff to get a good photo. Jack even managed it after a while. I got a really good photo on my GoPro of him so he'll be pleased with that. My mum and dad would have had kittens.

We started to climb down which was really easy on the stamina point of view but still hurt our legs. The angle was a steep slant so we had to stop ourselves from falling and going too fast down hill. Steve managed to fall over and twist his ankles - of course it would be Steve, why would it be anyone else? His ankles are so weak from football as it is.

We eventually got to the bottom around 1330. Our legs felt like sweaty death. Good job Mel bought her inhaler with her as she was getting weasy. We got into the car and went to the next lookout points - Reid and Balconies. These lookouts weren't strenuous and come off the same car park. We got there and luckily found a space. We took more photos at the Reid lookout which was nice. We were overlooking a valley full of trees and more mountains. We walked the 1km to the Balconies lookout which was almost the same but higher up. People were climbing over the barriers to get better photos on rocks that might be unstable. My eyes couldn't watch. We all got more photos and left for the car. We went to our final lookout which was the Mackenzie Falls - a massive waterfall. We got to the car park and started to walk down the steep hill towards the falls. It was really cloudy so we decided to give it a miss and try again tomorrow. It was 1645 and everyone was starving.

We noticed an Indian restaurant on the way into Halls Gap before we started our trip so we went there for a family meal. The national park is so big, it has its own police force and all sorts.

We drove the 20 minutes down the mountain to the bottom where the restaurant was. It was 1700 when we got there. The restaurant was completely empty but they said that as we didn’t have a booking, we would have to be finished by 1900. No problem for us, we were knackered and wanted to get back to our new house.

I ordered what I always order at an Indian - chicken korma, plain rice and sweet naan. Steve had a rogan josh which came out like a vindaloo. He requested for it to be 'medium' spice and the waitress told him that it would be spicy. Steve replied with 'that's fine, I like spice'. He didn't realise that it would be THAT spicy especially when there were 4 more options that were much hotter. The spice ruined his meal for him but he managed as much as he could.

The restaurant got packed after about half an hour. The majority of the town must've been there. There was a lovely fire in the middle of the restaurant that kept us all really warm.

We left at 1830 to go find our house. We weren't too far from it - maybe half an hour. It was going to take us slightly longer as it was pitch black, driving through the mountain and it started to rain. We had to be really careful, especially because of all the wildlife. We stopped at the bottle shop to get some beers and wine. Megs and I shared a bottle of white as Meg doesn't like red, Mel and Jack shared a bottle of white, Steve and Dan shared 6 beers.

We started driving towards the house which was difficult. They don't really use street lights here so we were relying on the car lights only. I was the driver as Steve had a beer with his dinner. I was in front and Mel was behind following. After about 40 minutes, our SatNav told us to turn right into the street. We started telling really scary stories because we were in the middle of nowhere, mid-forest/mountain with no service. We lost the SatNav eventually but we were on the right road. We drove down a bumpy, stony road and came across two gates. The sign said 'Banksia B&B' which is where we had booked. We were so scared to go in. We drove forward and followed the dirt track that had been made by previous cars. We kept going until we saw a building in the distance. I turned the car towards the building and a woman and man came out and pointed where to park.

We thought that this was definitely something out of a Hollywood movie and that we were all going to be murdered. We shouldn't have told stupid stories on the way to scare us! We parked the cars and introduced ourselves (although, I was the one to get out first and say hi). I'm really pushing my confidence and anxiety in this country.

The lady introduced herself as 'Julie-ann' and I introduced myself as Charlie-Ann. Her husbands name was Rob. They were as Australian as they could've been. They took us inside and showed us where we were staying. There was one big double room with a TV, bathroom, sofa and massive queen bed. The other room had a toilet and one double bed, with a sofa bed pulled out. Unfortunately, Steve and I are far too polite and let the others pick what they wanted first so we ended up with the sofa bed. The annoying thing was (most, for me) is that it was absolutely freezing and our bed was the only one without a heated blanket. Mel and Jack took the private room and Dan and Meg had the double bed.

The couple showed us around the house - it was massive! They showed us the kitchen and the chill out room, where the TV, pool table and bar was. They had a dog called Bouncer and a cat called Willow. Steve's Nan’s dog is called Bouncer and my cat at home is called Willow... So odd. There was a cockatoo, too, called Oscar. We didn't go into the living room as that’s where Rob and Julie-Ann were and we didn't want to invade on their privacy. Steve wanted to go in and chat with them as he thought it'd be rude not too. It was a hard one. They had 50 acres of land surrounding their house, including a lake right outside. They had a balcony area which surrounded the main part of the house which was nice. Julie-Ann said when we get up, there will be kangaroos and emus everywhere. I was so excited.

They showed us where the Jacuzzi was and we all got ready to go in. When Rob lifted the lid off, the steam came pouring out. It looked so good. It was a massive Jacuzzi with 2 lay down seats and 2 normal seats. Steve, Megan and I were first in so we picked the good seats. When Megan was getting into her bikini in the toilet, she found a spider. She shouted "DAN!" for help and decided to run out, boobs flying everywhere! It was so funny, she jumped onto the bed. I grabbed a towel to cover her up and dumb and dumber (Steve and Dan) tried to catch it and get rid of it as quickly as possible. We all sat in the 34 degrees Jacuzzi for well over an hour, chatting away eating M&M's which ended up melting. We all looked like dried up prunes by the time we decided to get out. We were dreading getting out of the hot water into the garden. The temperature outside must've been around 5 degrees. We jumped out one by one and almost froze. I've never felt anything so cold in my life. We ran inside and got changed as quickly as possible.

We all went into Mel's room and put the TV on. They had really soft carpet in their room as it was finished. The room we were staying in was still being done-up. They had a toilet but the shower wasn't fitted yet so we would all have to use Mel's tomorrow. There wasn’t carpet either, it had hard cold tiles. It will look really nice once its completed. We sat chatting away, drinking our wine watching the TV. There wasn't anything on except Pirates of the Caribbean. By 2230, I was knackered. We all left the room and went to bed. The mattress of the sofa bed was really comfortable with a nice blanket beneath the duvet. Unfortunately, the bed rolled into the middle so Steve and I didn't sleep at all. The bed must've been really old and we ached so much. By 0300, I ended up sitting up and crying because I was that tired, I just wanted to sleep. I couldn't lay on the floor as there was no carpet and there wasn't a chair to sit on either. I'm an emotional wreck when I'm tired (I also cry at anything).