The Beach

Friday afternoon and there is great excitement in the small town of Wantanotha. Usually the sleepy little beachside village is quite except for the few weeks of the year when there is an influx of holiday makers, but this is not holiday time and the place is buzzing. It has taken the residents by surprise, no one was expecting anything like this and the locals are scrambling to make the most of it. Those that have holiday accommodation are both excited and anxious. They are totally unprepared for this.

Three local youths, Andy, Rory and Shane had been for a late afternoon surf off the point on Thursday. As the changed from their wetsuits they experienced something that none of them had before. It appeared on the headland, just after sunset. It was that time of the month that the “stairway to heaven” appeared, this phenomenon regularly occurred as the tide was receding to its lowest point and the full moon appeared just over the headland. Nothing at all unusual about “stairway to heaven” at Wantanotha, but on this occasion as the boys allowed their eyes to follow the “staircase” up, instead of just the large golden disc of the full moon just above the headland, oh the moon was there alright, but below it was a bright bluish green light they never seen before.

The three boys seen it alright but then it was gone. It was past the time that they should be home and they all knew the consequences of not arriving home in time for tea. They valued there freedom to ride the waves off the point. That left hander that built up as the tide receded at this phase of the moon was too good to miss. They agreed that tomorrow afternoon they would scale the rocky headland to see if there was any evidence of that bright sighting before going for their after school surf. They would say nothing for fear of the questions they could not answer and the threat of being grounded.

By the time the boys were going home from school on Friday an influx of strangers had started to arrive in Wantanotha. There had been something strange on Thursday night on that rocky headland that overlooked the beach where the “stairway” occurred and Wantanotha had a story to tell. It seems that not only these three boys seen it but someone else had and reported it as a UFO. Who had seen the landing on the headland? What time had it happened? What exactly was it?

Andy arrived home and went straight to the end of the back veranda to collect his surfboard, “no point in going to the headland now, all those strangers will be up there, might as well just go and enjoy the left hander off the point” thought Andy.

“Andrew” Mrs Gottasnag called in an unusually firm voice when she heard her boy’s footsteps on the back veranda, “come here”. “Awe Mum I am going to ride that lefthander off the point with Rory and Shane. It will be breaking just right”. “Andrew, you can’t go today, the place is swarming with strangers and the word is that there is an alien in the area”. “What Mum, you don’t believe that crap do you?”

Andy had already picked up his board and was heading off the veranda. “ANDREW you are not going walking through that bush track to jump off the rocks, not with an alien out there!” “I have been talking to Rory’s mum and Shane’s mum and they are not going either. It’s serious you know, they say the Federal Police and the Army are coming to investigate. Someone even said there is radiation detected all around the beach. YOU ARE NOT GOING!” “They say it happened just after dark last night. A UFO landed on the headland”.

Andy thought, “I had better sound curious, don’t say anything about what we seen last night or the old woman will lose it.” “Mum, do you really think a UFO landed and there is an alien out there?” “Son, I just don’t know but I have never seen such activity in Wantanotha. Best stay away you never know.”

Andy curiosity and excitement was now souring, he had actually seen that flash of blue green light. In Wantanotha nothing very exciting happens. Usually it’s “the surfs up, the lefthander is working” or “its as flat as, no point in putting on the wet suit” as far as the kids were concerned. And as for the adults in Wantanotha it was “the tuna are running” or “the tuna are not running”. Andy had to get out there, this was exciting. “ANDREW, you are NOT TO GO to the beach!” “Oh mum can’t I just go and have a look?” “NO!” was the very firm reply.

Andy thought “best not insist, there are other ways.” “OK mum I best do my homework.” And he disappeared into his bedroom. Ivyanna Gotasnag, Ivy or just plain Ive was bemused by her son’s sudden compliance but thought no more of it as she turned her attention to preparing the evening meal.

Andy, however had no intention of doing homework, gave his mother just a minute or two and quietly lifted the window, eased open the hinged screen and jumped the one and a half metres to the ground and was off, no surf board, his mother would hear him getting it. Straight down to the beach, he would run along the hard sand of the ebbing tide, he knew the track up the headland well and he would see for himself where that UFO had landed.

As Andy ran along the beach his eyes drifted naturally to the high water mark, he often picked up a cuttlefish bone for the canaries. Suddenly he stopped, there was a curious blue pearlescent object, and another. Andy picked them up and without thinking much about them and tucked them the pocket of his shorts and kept going. Up the track through the headland scrub emerging on the rocky top of the headland, he came to a sudden halt.

The headland had several official looking men in curious outfits, probably just white overalls but not something Andy had experienced and they had guns. Not accustomed to such sightings Andy turned and bolted back down the track from whence he had come. Stopping only when he was back on the beach and trying to walk along as if nothing at all was any different to normal. Andy saw a few more of the pearlescent beads, picked them up, not bothering to put them in his pocket he continued back along the beach.

As Andy came off the beach the men in white overalls were starting to blockade the entrance to the beach. He hurried on deciding that maybe his mother was right and that he perhaps had best go home. By the time Andy was trying to sneak back into the house without his mother seeing him, he became aware of his left hand feeling hot, in fact it was quite like he had burned it. He threw the pearlescent beads under the back veranda, and the ones from his pocket as well.

Andy managed to get back into his room without seeming to disturb his mother in the kitchen, quietly pulled the screen shut and the window down so as to just leave a small opening for a little evening breeze. Andy pondered what he had seen the previous evening, wondered if Rory or Shane had mentioned anything of it to their parents and thought “could there really be an alien out there”. He had never seen so many men in white. His hand was now starting to bother him so he went the bathroom to wash it.

“Andrew, go and shut the chickens in, don’t want foxes helping themselves in the moonlight. Your father will be home soon and tea will be ready”. It did not matter whether it was moonlight or not there was always “don’t want foxes helping themselves” and Andy had never seen a fox or heard of anyone loosing chickens to foxes but that was the least of his concern. His hand was now quite throbbing.

Andy’s father, Alwright Ivor Gotasnag, arrived home, not quite in his usual sombre mood after a day at the cannery. It was obvious that the excitement had reached those cleaning fish and speculation had thrived among the workers. OK Ive as most called him went straight to the kitchen the see if his wife Ive knew anything more than the rumours that had circulated around the cleaning table.

“No I just know what I have heard on the radio, a UFO landed on the headland and an alien is at large, that’s all.” “OK Ive, what’s for tea then and where’s that Andy? Has he shut the chickens in, full moon you know and plenty of foxes will be out and about.” “Take it easy Alwright, Andrew has closed the chicken coop and I have a nice pot of alien soup, got a bit of a glow about it though.” “What are you talking about WOMAN, that’s not funny, could be true you know, why else would the place be full of white overalls, seen quite a few as I rode home you know.”

“OK Alwright, chicken soup and it’s not from one a fox killed.” “I hope it’s not that old hen that stopped laying last month.” “No it’s that red pullet that was growing the big red comb and spurs” Alwright softened a little when he realised that Ivyanna had dressed a nice young rooster and cooked it for dinner, there was nothing he liked more than to suck on the boiled feet of a young rooster, it just finished tea off so well.

The family sat down for tea at their usual places, Alwright at the head of the table, Ivyanna on his right, closest to the stove and sink and Andy on his father’s left. Usually they ate with little conversation however tonight there was UFO’s and aliens to talk about. Could they really exist, would an alien be able to survive, surely our atmosphere would be different, what would it eat etc…

Then Alwright noticed Andy’s hand, by this time it had become quite swollen and Andy was favouring it to the point of not really using it. “What’s up with your hand Andy”, said Alwright “Nothing really, just must have touched some nettles down by the chook house”. “I never seen nettles cause such a swelling said Andy’s father, what do you think Ive?”

Andy’s mother was much more astute than Andy gave her credit for, she knew that Andy had gone out the window and she also knew that he had not taken his surf board. He was after all a 14 year old boy. She also knew there were no nettles around the chicken run, although there often enough were, but she had a clean-up down there only last week.

Ivyanna had to be a bit careful, if she let it be known to Andy’s father that she knew Andy had sneaked out and she had done nothing, all hell would break loose. Ivyanna considered the occasion was exceptional and she would save her position of knowing Andy’s habits for a more suitable occasion. Besides Alwright did not know that she had grounded Andy that afternoon.

“Doesn’t look like a nettle sting Andy, what else have you been handling?” Andy was now getting a bit worried about his hand, it was quite swollen and throbbing. “Don’t know Mum, only thing I can think of is that when I went down on the beach to check the surf on the way home I picked up some unusual bluish beads.” Ivyanna knew that Andy had not been on the beach on the way home, he had arrived too early for that. She knew he was so keen to go surfing that he had come straight home to collect his board but she let that pass, it was more important to find out what had happened than to be chastising Andy for his sneakiness.

“Where are those bluish beads now Andy?” his mother asked quite gently. “Oh I threw them away, what could they be just washed up on the beach.” Andy’s father had been listening and thinking “UFO, aliens, bluish beads?? Bloody radioactivity, the boy has picked up some radioactive beads on the beach and now his hand has been burnt by radiation.” “Andy WHERE did you throw those beads? They are what has caused your hand to be burnt! We had better get you to the hospital. Bloody hell! Hiroshima all over again. What were you thinking! Picking up radioactive beads off the beach! Everyone knows aliens bring radioactivity with them and the damage it can do. Bloody hell Andy.”

Alwright was in a state of panic, an hour’s drive to the hospital, he was up, his meal half eaten “Come on no time to spare, let’s get going, I hope the car will start. Bloody old Standard, should have bought that new Holden last year. I might have to crank it or push start it. Come on let’s get going. Ivyanna what are you doing, bugger the lipstick.

The 1935 Standard 8 had not been out of the garage for two weeks, Alwright only drove it on special occasions and starting it was always an ordeal. Today was an exception, the battery had enough kick and the evening was still warm and the motor fired up from the starter motor. “Come on get in we are off!” “What about locking the house pleaded Ivyanna?” ”Bugger the house woman, everyone’s looking for aliens and rightly so. No one is going to bother with our little house.” “Except maybe an alien looking for food and shelter! And it’ll find that nice rooster soup, just right, suck everything off the feet it will, and probably be sleeping in Andy’s bed when we get back!”

The trip to the hospital took only about half an hour and when they arrived the hospital staff was all abuzz, a young man had been apprehended for causing a public nuisance by shining a laser light through a splitter up on the headland on Thursday night. The nurse looked at Andy’s hand and said quite casually, “Looks like a allergic reaction to a marine mollusc, seen a few of those lately, they look like beads, pearlescent bluish colour they are. A bit of vinegar and an hour or so it will be OK.”

“There Andy, starting to feel better already isn’t it.” The nurse turned to reassure Alwright Gotasnag but he was already out waiting in the car, muttering, “Bloody rumour mongers, bloody panic merchants.”