CHAPTER 1
Julie sat on the hospital bed, looking at her husband. Dan's head was swathed in bandages. He had just come out of the operating theatre and was still under the effects of the anaesthesia. She held his hand and willed him to wake up; the doctor had told her he may not recover from the operation, as the brain tumour was too far advanced, and if he did recover, he could suffer memory loss.
"Dan, please don't leave me," she cried. "How shall I carry on without you?"
Julie and Dan had been married for only two years when he started to get bad headaches; at first, aspirin and other pain-relieving tablets alleviated his pain, but his headaches steadily got worse and more frequent. The pills were not working, but he persevered, even with the pain, and kept on working. Julie couldn't stand to see her husband suffer and insisted he go to the doctor. The doctor had served the town for many years. He had delivered most of its citizens and watched them all grow up. But Dan always told Julie the pain would pass and then took more aspirins, doubling up on the doses. Finally, he had to agree with her.
On seeing Dan, the doctor immediately suspected what was wrong and sent him to hospital, where he could do further tests; the result wasn't good. Dan and Julie were told that he had a tumour on his brain, and Dan needed urgent surgery. The doctor told them the operation would be risky and Dan could die during the procedure. Even if all went well, they could expect him to suffer memory loss for sometime after. Dan told the doctor this tumour was going to kill him anyway, but if there was hope of him surviving, then please go ahead. While the Marickville hospital was well equipped to do this operation, the doctor asked Julie and Dan if they would rather go to a city hospital. Since Marickville was their home, they decided to have the operation here. A surgeon flew in from the city to perform this operation.
Julie waited with Dan's parents, Clara and Henry Mathews, before he was wheeled into the operating room; the surgeon came over and spoke to them. While he seemed cheerful, Julie noticed the concern on his face as he looked at Dan. Julie thanked him and begged him to do his best to save her husband. After he left, Henry and Clara left also, so Julie and Dan were alone. Dan told her that if he didn't make it, she shouldn't try to fulfill their dream. He added that he loved her very much. Julie kissed him and said she loved him too and that she would be there when he woke up. As he was taken into the operating theatre, she begged God to please bring Dan back to her.
* * *
Julie and Dan had dreams of purchasing a few acres of land somewhere where they could be self-supporting and run a few head of cattle. They both worked. Dan was a store manager at the local supermarket, and Julie worked in the office at the same supermarket. They lived in a granny flat at Clara and Henry's house; after paying rent and buying food, they pooled what was left of their wages into a joint banking account. When they found a suitable property to buy, they planned to borrowed more money from the bank if they didn't have enough.
Dan was an only child; Clara and Henry owned a cattle property a few kilometers from Marickville. That's where Dan was brought up; he was homeschooled and later went off to a university. He never had much to do with the children of Marickville. Julie was born there and spent all her young life in the town; she had no desire to live anywhere else. She knew everyone, and all her school friends also stayed on in the town when they grew up. Julie didn't meet Dan until his parents sold their cattle property and bought a house in Marickville, where they planned to retire. Julie was already working at the supermarket when Dan came home to visit his parents; he was planning to work on a large cattle property to learn all about the cattle industry, but when he met Julie, he fell in love with her and got a job at the same supermarket. He put his dreams on hold so they could be together, and they married six months later.
* * *
After the operation was over, Clara and Henry went home; they returned later in the afternoon. Clara could see Julie was very tired as she sat there holding Dan's hand; he hadn't woken up yet. Clara offered to stay with Dan so she could go home to get some rest; they assured her they would call her when he woke up. Julie realised how tired she really was and went home.
Not long after laying down for a nap, she woke with a start. The phone was ringing and ringing. It was Henry; he told her to come back to the hospital. When she got there, Clara was crying; she told Julie something happened, and Dan had been whisked back into surgery. Henry put his arms around Julie and told her to be brave as they went to wait outside the theatre. Julie had a nagging feeling of dread and paced the floor nervously.
The door opened, and they could tell by the look on the doctor's face he had bad news. Clara started sobbing as he told them they did all they could to save Dan. Julie asked if she could see him, and he said a nurse would come and get her shortly. Clara was distraught; Henry had to take her outside. A nurse took Julie to see Dan; he looked as if he was sleeping and would wake up at any minute. She felt numb as she looked at him, not wanting to believe he was gone. After a while, Henry came back in alone and touched Dan's face; it was all he could do. Dan was their only child. He put his arms around Julie and said they should go now, and in a daze, she let Henry lead her away. After locking his car, Henry told Clara he would pick it up in the morning as Julie was too upset to drive her car.
"We will make all the arrangements for the funeral, Julie," Henry said as he drove them home in her car.
Julie and Clara were too upset to think beyond this heartbreaking day, but Julie managed to whisper, "Thanks, Pop."
They took Julie home with them so she wouldn't be alone, but her friends heard the news and all came to the house to comfort her. Julie welcomed her wonderful friends and drew comfort from their presence. It was only when they went home that she felt all alone, even with Dan's parents by her side, but she could not shed a tear. Clara and Henry could see Julie was in shock and didn't know how to console her as they were also grieving but Henry knew the women looked to him to organise the funeral.
On the day of the funeral, Clara practically had to dress Julie. They were surrounded with friends and acquaintances, but nothing seemed real to the young woman. She stood by the graveside, not hearing anything the preacher said. Clara took her hands and got her to sprinkle earth over the coffin and step aside to let the others do the same. Everyone came to hug her and made heaps of promises to be there for her if she needed them. Julie thanked them all but had no idea what they were saying; when everyone had left, Julie and Dan's parents turned to leave also. Julie did not glance at the open grave. She didn't want to believe it was Dan in that coffin.
The months went by, but Julie just couldn't get on with her life. Clara and Henry left her alone, hoping she would get over her grief soon, but Julie felt so alone, and when she finally realised Dan wasn't coming back, she panicked and cried out, "I can't stay here anymore! I have to go somewhere, anywhere. Oh, Dan, I miss you so much."
She scribbled a note to Clara and Henry, telling them she needed to get away and would call them soon. She quickly threw some clothes into a bag, grabbed her purse, and ran out to her car; she didn't stop to lock the door on her flat. As she drove past the cemetery, she stared straight ahead and kept driving. She did not care where she was going; when she noticed the car was nearly out of fuel, she started to read the road signs to find a town where she could fuel up. She happened to see a roadhouse just off the highway and stopped. After filling her car, she went inside to get something to eat and drink. There were a few people inside who stared at her when she walked in; she was glad no one approached her for a chat, as she wanted to leave as soon as her order was ready.
Julie drove for over a week, not caring where she was going. She only stopped for fuel and food; eventually, she got tired of sleeping in the car, and when she came to a small town late one afternoon, she stopped at a motel to spend the night. She must have looked a sight when she booked in because the owner said she could pay for the room when she was ready to leave. Julie was too tired to think; she fell into the comfortable bed and slept soundly all night.
The next morning, the sun was shining through her window when she awoke. Julie glanced at the clock beside her bed; it was 8.30. She still felt tired and decided to stay another night in the motel. She rolled over to sleep some more, but her stomach was rumbling for food, as she hadn't eaten anything since midday yesterday. Craving a cup of coffee, she got out of bed and had a shower to wake herself up; after dressing, she decided to go look for a café. She also needed to find a shop that sold road maps, as she had no idea where she was. There was just one main street, and all the shops were situated on either side; she found a café and went in to order breakfast and a pot of coffee. She was the only customer, so her order didn't take long. Julie thought about asking the waitress about the town, but she wasn't very talkative, so she sat quietly and ate her meal. As she sat there, she noticed a small grocery store opposite the café.
Julie walked across the street. There was no traffic; she seemed to be the only person around. A little old woman stood behind the counter as Julie walked into the store. Julie nodded a greeting and picked up a shopping basket; the store was well stocked and sold nearly everything. Julie was aware of the woman staring at her. She was watching her every move; she wondered if the old woman thought she might steal something but continued to gather a few groceries and was pleased when she found a stand filled with road maps. She picked out three that she thought she might need and went to the checkout.
The woman was still staring at her as she walked to the counter. Julie felt uncomfortable and avoided eye contact with her; she placed her purchases on the counter and waited while the woman scanned the items. Julie glanced up at the woman when she stopped scanning and saw her looking at the road maps that Julie had selected.
The old woman looked at her and said, "This is the only map you will need; it will show you where to go, and then you can stop running, my dear. I lost my husband some years back, and this town healed my grief. When you get there, you will also heal."
"What?" Julie stared at her, puzzled at what the woman said.
She became flustered and nearly dropped her purse on the floor as she fumbled with trembling hands to take out the money to pay her. Julie grabbed her groceries and fled out the door.
"You will be fine, love!" the woman called out to her.
Julie ran back to the motel and fell on the bed; she was shaking. How did she know that about me? she thought. She had never seen me before; what did she mean by when you get there. Where? Julie stayed inside her room for the rest of the day.
The next morning, Julie went to check out of the motel.
"Oh, you're leaving so soon?" the owner said. "I hope you had a good rest, love. I said to my husband that lady looked as if she hadn't slept for days."
Julie thanked her, and as she was walking out the door, she stopped and returned to the desk.
"What is the name of this town?" she asked.
"Runaway," she replied. "And please come back and stay with us next time you visit."
Julie had to smile; what a funny name for a town, but as she drove out onto the highway, she saw a sign that read "Thank you for visiting Runaway." Julie turned the car and headed west, and an hour later, she came to a crossroads and stopped to decide which way should she go: straight ahead, to the right, or to the left. She closed her eyes.
"Left, go left!" she heard a voice say.
Julie opened her eyes. "What? Who said that?"
"Left, go left!"
Julie turned the wheel and headed left, as if the car had a mind of its own.
"Oh well," she sighed. "It doesn't matter where I go. I don't care."
It was a lonely road, and it seemed she was the only one driving on it. After driving for only forty-five minutes, the tar road ended, and it became a dirt track. Julie thought of turning back but decided to keep driving, as there must be people living along this road. It was getting late, and the sun would be setting soon; she hoped to see a town or a roadhouse so she could spend the night, but there was nothing.
After driving for another hour, there was still no sign of any habitation. Julie resigned herself to sleep in the car beside the road, but as she drove around a small hill, she saw a house just off the road and decided to go there and ask them if she could stay on their property for the night. The gate was lying on the ground, and the fence was overgrown with grass.
They don't look after their place too good, Julie thought as she drove up to the house. It was a lovely home with a verandah around the top. As she knocked on the door, a black horse with a white face suddenly appeared and stood there, watching her.
"Hello! Is anybody home?" Julie called out; there was no answer.
She pushed on the door; it slowly squeaked open enough for her to squeeze inside. The place was covered in dust, as if it hadn't been lived in for years. The house looked abandoned. Julie ventured further inside to check the house out; she walked into a huge lounge room with a fireplace that still had coal heaped in it. The lounge chairs and cupboards were covered over with dirty sheets, due to lots of dust. There was a long table in the dining room; the table and ten chairs were also covered with sheets, and in the middle of the room was a swing door that led into a spacious kitchen with a huge stove with two ovens. There were cupboards all around the room and a long work table in the centre. Julie opened one of the cupboards and found it filled with pots and pans; another cupboard held crockery and dishes. She didn't bother to look in the others. A door at one end of the kitchen led to a granny flat.
It must have been for the cook, Julie thought, and then she wondered, If the house was abandoned, how come no one stole any of this stuff?
She noticed stairs in the lounge room leading up to the top floor and decided she may as well check upstairs before it got too dark. Upstairs were four bedrooms, still furnished and all with another door leading out onto the verandah. Down one end of the hallway was a large bathroom and two toilets; one toilet had a separate door. Across from the staircase on the other side of the bedrooms was a large open room, furnished as a sitting room. It still had books in the bookcase. Nothing upstairs was covered, and everything was very dusty.
There was another door in the sitting room, and Julie discovered it led to a larger bedroom with a king-size bed; it was fully furnished and covered over in sheets. Cobwebs hung off the pictures on the wall and on the ceiling. Julie noticed a wooden trunk on the floor at the end of the bed; curious, she opened it up and found woman's clothing. It made her feel sad, as if it meant something. This must have been the master bedroom, she thought. The room also had a door that led out to the front part of the verandah. She opened the door and looked out.
"What a wonderful view," she said aloud. "I can see all over the valley; this must have been a lovely property. I wonder why it was abandoned; there is a jacaranda tree too. That must be very pretty when it is in bloom."
She smiled when she saw the horse standing under the tree. A cold breeze wafted up and shook the leaves on the jacaranda tree. It made Julie shiver. She could tell it was going to be a cold night and went over and pulled part of the sheet off the bed. The mattress was still firm, and she decided to sleep there that night.
She walked back out to the verandah and called out, "Hey, Billyboy! Are you the only one living here? Can I sleep here tonight?"
The horse looked up at her, whinnied, and galloped off.
