Si, Beth, and I are on the outskirts of town. The landscape is flat and very, very snowy. We’re zipping about all over the place on our snowmobiles. I’m having the time of my life; of my angelet’s life anyway.
My new amigos are up ahead; they’re taking me to a spot where we can do some fishing. I need to tell you about Beth, she is sooo beautiful with her black, bobbed, chin-length hair and those ebony eyes. She looks so sad sometimes, I just want to hug her and k… Here I go again.
Now, Si is a good-looking dude too. He’s not dissimilar to Beth, except he’s a dude and eh, his hair isn’t bobbed, and eh… Listen, he’s a handsome dude. I feel as though I’m digging myself into a deep hole, trying to describe the guy. Goodness, use your imagination. We must have reached the place because they’ve stopped.
“Is this the place you were telling me about?” I pull up behind them.
“Yes, this is it. First one to catch a fish doesn’t have to clean or cook. ” says Si.
“Okay with me. But I’m a bit feckless when it comes to cooking or fishing come to think of it,” I say.
“We’ll see how feckless you are because I’m the best fisherman around,” boasts Si.
“Whoa, boy, nothing like blowing your own trumpet,” I say. I slap him hard across the back. He knocks me over onto the ground and we start play wrestling. There’s only going to be one loser in this mock fight—Aagh!— not me. Beth has just smeared a big piece of icy snow allover my face. It’s a pity it wasn’t her I was wrestling with in the snow. Aaagh!
Beth kindled the fire, while, yes, I gutted the fish. Si has done nothing but brag about the size of his catch. Both of these kids are accustomed to the outdoor life and are now enjoying the heat from the fire, which was soon blazing. Their catch is in a large frying pan, blackened by the soot from the fire. Notice I said their catch; that’s because I caught nada.
“Are you enjoying yourself, Dan?” asks Si.
“Yes, I am very much and you look as though you are too. I must say you both seem a lot happier than you were when we first set off this morning,” I say.
I’m putting the burnt offerings out onto the three tin plates and I can now settle down by the fire on one of the little collapsible stools Beth packed.
“We hate when the so-called grown-ups argue,” says Beth.
“She says so-called because they weren’t acting like grown-ups at all. We hate when dad and Charlie are at each other’s throats,” Si sighs. Beth nods in agreement
with her brother.
“That’s understandable. Do they argue often?” I ask. I’m tucking in, so excuse my speaking with my mouth full.
“Well, since…” Si hesitates. “Hey, I’ve said enough already.” He looks down at his plate and he starts to fiddle with a piece of herring.
“Since what?” I ask.
“Please don’t tell dad I’ve told you this. They were arguing about Ruth,” says Beth. “Who is Ruth?” I ask.
“Our sister,” blurts out Si.
“Oh, where is she then?” If I sound surprised, it’s because I am. This is the first I’ve heard about an additional member of the family.
“We don’t know,” says Beth.
Pick me up, I’ve just fallen over. Don’t worry, I haven’t actually fallen over. My goodness, you take everything so literally, don’t you? You haven’t changed one bit. Listen, I’ve no time to explain every little thing to you. I’m just getting to the juicy bit.
“When did she go missing?” I ask.
“Six months ago,” says Si. His eyes are filled with tears and he’s scratching his fork across his plate.
“What happened to her?” I ask.
Beth looks at her brother and says, “Actually, we’re not sure. You see, Ruth has always been rather rebellious. She seemed to hate everything about her life. Although we’re triplets, sometimes she was like a stranger to us. She was never interested in school; she never handed
in her homework assignments on time. Sometimes she didn’t even hand them in and her grades were poor.
“On numerous occasions her behavior was so bizarre that we thought she may be taking drugs. Then there were the times that she came home under the influence of alcohol. Falling about, swearing, totally and utterly bizarre. Our parents were losing patience with her and
for that reason, we think she decided to run away from home.”
“So, your mum, dad, your grandfather, and the police all believe she ran away?” I ask.
“We searched high and low for her. We can’t find her anywhere. We’ve given up hope of ever finding her,” says Si.
“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. But why were they arguing about her?” I ask inquisitively.
“Charlie keeps saying Ruth is dead and her soul has
been stolen. Her soul is being held captive on the Island of Lost Souls. He says if we don’t get it back soon, she is destined for the afterlife,” says Si.
“I take Stan doesn’t believe him?” Cough, cough, cough. I’m choking on my herring and tears are running down my face. Si’s about to pay me back for slapping him hard earlier. Whack! Whack! That’s the noise of my shoulder blades exiting my body via my chest.
“Of course not. Stan started calling him an old fool and that’s when you came in,” says Beth.
“It is a bit farfetched,” I croak my words.
“Is it?” says Si. He’s staring at me. “Yeah, you’re right, it is a little farfetched. Dad said Charlie’s imagination is playing tricks on him.” He shakes his head, then pushes a piece of bread and fish into his mouth.
Beth stays silent, thank goodness. I felt as though my head was on a swivel when they were speaking. You ask one a question and the other one answers; it must be because they shared their mom’s womb. At least I have a clearer picture of what’s going on here. I knew at some
point soon I would get an inkling as to why I was here in Tuk. Looks like I just got my first clue.
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