Winter Solstice Part Four

 

Jayden put his arm around his friend’sshoulders. ‘Mum will really like these shrooms too,’ he said and thenremembered that night out on the water poaching, when he felt scared and smalland cold and his Mum was ranting about poetry or something and about the end ofthe world.

‘Parents, man,’ Jayden said, trying to soundunderstanding but he also knew what he was talking about and he tried tocommunicate this to Matt through his side hug.

Parents who didn’t think, who were so busywith their own dramas that they forgot to pick him and Matt up from footy trainingon that low, misty oval late at night. Parents who privileged their ancient vendettasagainst teachers over the yearly school camp. Parents who fought a landlord’sinjustices in court and then ran some poor bastard down outside a BP servicestation. Fucking parents.

Jayden’s Mum had read him Beowulf, explained the Ladypoem about rogue onions and the Narnia Chronicles and she knew what happened tothe children of those men who’d abdicated responsibility and still she gotarrested and locked up and left her kid alone to deal with the shit..

‘The swan roads,’ Jayden said, pointing to thelake. ‘That’s the swan roads, like in the poem..’

‘What, the lake?’ asked Matt.

The two of them stared at the pond and the birds. Jaydensaw lights behind them but also lights gathering in the swans who squwarked and gossiped on the water.