An unexpected meeting

Ann woke to the sound of ravens fighting on her roof. They were there most mornings, squabbling and rattling their beaks and claws on the skylight above her living room. She groggily propped herself up against the bed head and waited for the room to come into focus.

“Oy! Quiet, you lot,” she managed, after a while. “What's the argument over this morning?” The noise stopped for a moment, but none of the ravens bothered to reply.

“That's better. Now for some coffee.”

She pulled herself out of bed, straightened her kaftan and put on her slippers. Ann made her way down the corridor, through the living room to the kitchen. She switched on the kettle, put out a cup and put two crumpets in the toaster. She sat on the bench, with her arm resting on the bread keeper.

“What a week it's been,” she said to herself. “It's no guess why my body's so upset with me.”

Ann's work at the hospital often left her exhausted. She was doing a rotation in the Emergency Department and the strange hours and irregular weekly timetables were having an adverse affect on her sleeping patterns.

She finished her coffee, ate one of the crumpets with apricot jam and left the other with just butter for later. She got dressed, brushed her teeth, packed her satchel, picked up the buttered crumpet and stepped out into the sunlight. She locked the front door behind her, folder in one hand, keys in the other and the crumpet held between her teeth.

The sunlight warmed her face, while the cold morning air brought a crisp chill. The walk to the hospital took her past a retirement village filled with rows of identical houses and gardens that had all manner of colourful flowers. One of the residents greeted Ann with a wave as she passed the driveway. Ann responded with a smile, trying to think whether she'd ever treated the waving gentleman. She hadn't finished the train of thought when she was startled by a shout from behind. She turned around to see a fellow intern from the E.D. running towards her.

“Ann! You- You're carrying your work gear. What's up?” panted the tall, sharply dressed man.

“What's up? Work's up, Hugh. That's what's up.”

“But, Ann, don't you remember- ?” Hugh smiled, waiting for the realisation to dawn.

“Sorry, what are you talking about...?” Ann though for a moment, “Oh, yes! That's right! So sorry. I remember, you called, didn't you. You're taking this shift so you can stay longer with your...?”

“Cousins, yes. Up north. It's no problem. Is it still OK?”

“Oh, yes, fine,” said Ann, glad to have a day of leisure.

“Well, I'd best get going, then. Sorry you had to walk this far.”

“Never mind. I think I'll just continue into town. I hope today's not too heavy on the ward. Have a good day.” Ann tucked her folder into her bag.

“Yeah, you too. Enjoy your freedom.” Hugh smiled then turned and left.

Ann stood on the spot. She thought about what she might do in town. There were groceries to buy, she could visit a friend and of course, she did need more baking trays. She examined the skyline. The car park that was attached to the shopping centre could be seen above the houses, as well as the palms that lined main street. To the right of this, a hill stretched upward covered with a housing estate. The cathedral could be seen near the base, and a river and grove wound its way down to the city centre, marking the boundary between the old suburb and the new. She wasn't sure what to do with this unexpected freedom. First, she decided she would head for the cathedral.

It didn't take long before she was climbing the steep driveway to the big, blue-stone building. When she reached the entrance, instead of going in to pray or to admire the beautiful architecture, she sought out the small path around the side. It ran between the side of the building and the surrounding hedgerows. Once it past the vestry, the path presented her with two options; one track lead to the community centre next door and the other zigzagged up a small hill, behind the church. Ann's eyes followed the path to the top of the hill, where she saw a shape she recognised at once.

Her strong legs propelled her forward, as she bounded up the dusty path to the lookout at the top. The large fish turned to see where the footsteps were coming from.

“Ann? Why it is Ann! Hello! Come to join me?” Carl asked, pleased to have some company.

“Hi, Carl! It's so good to see you!” Ann greeted him, hiding her shortness of breath. “What are you doing up here? And by yourself!”

“I could ask the same of you. I was just on my way back from shopping,” Carl said, patting the shopping bags beside him, “when I felt that it had been too long since I'd been up here. I mean, each week we go to church here, but usually after the morning tea we're back off home, or off to lunch at a friend's place.”

“I see what you mean. What about the bookshop? Is it closed today?”

“Oh, no. Hori's got it under control. I was just on an errand to make sure there was ample food in the pantry for tonight,” explained Carl. “You're off work today, then?”

“Yes. Bit of a mix up. I was rostered on for today, but forgot that I'd agreed to swap shifts with a friend. Never mind. I'm glad I ran into you. That is, I'm glad I spotted you up here. What's the plan for the rest of the day.”

“In the grand scheme of things, I suppose I should make it back to the shop before Hori closes up, but for now I wouldn't mind sitting here a while longer. Although, the morning's chill hasn't worn off. Will you be alright up here, exposed to the wind? You could probably fit your legs under the end of my scarf.” Carl held out the end of his woollen scarf to Ann.

“Thanks. It'd be nice to take in the view for a bit.”

The view was stunning. They could see from the lakes to the farms and right across the city. The pair sat there on the grass and took turns pointing out their favourite coffee shops, restaurants and bike trails (although Carl wasn't much of a cyclist). When they felt they'd exhausted that avenue of diversion, they turned on the spot to look up at the suburbs that were sprawled out behind them. Ann pointed out various friends' houses until Carl drew their attention to the clouds that seemed determined to settle over them. As soon as the sky started to spit, they hurried down the hill to take shelter in the church.

An afternoon in the bookshop

Making his way past the encyclopaedias, Horatio looked through the shelves labelled 'mystery'. He ran his fingers along the spines until he found the place he was looking for. He made a space beside the other books by an author called 'Sherman' and placed the one in his hand in the gap.

“Mightn't the customers get confused? I know that was our original intention, but, well. Fair's fair,” Hori called out over the shelves.

“Confused? Seems clear enough to me,” Carl called back. “It makes sense to put books about which we know very little in the 'mystery' section.”

“Yes, yes. But what if they want a novel of the mystery genre?” Hori asked, ignoring Carl's chuckles.

As a giant, olive-green fish, Carl felt better suited to customer service in the bookshop, and as such, left most of the running around to Horatio. Carl was fit enough, and the shelves were far enough apart that he could maneuver around them with relative ease. However, he often found that customers sometimes had a great deal of trouble squeezing past him, so he resided mostly behind the counter.

“Then they can look in the 'thriller' section, or under 'detective' or perhaps 'horror'. I think we've scattered most of them through 'general fiction'. It adds character to the shop, in my opinion.”

“I'm sure it does. I'm sure it does. The sudden showers have certainly helped business today, I'd say. The day doesn't know whether it wants to be sunny and cheerful or bleak and miserable. It's keeping everyone on their toes.”

“It'd be nice if the rain let up for more than fifteen minutes. We might be able to throw the frisbee later,” said Carl, looking out the window. People on the footpath were quickening their pace in response to the latest sun shower.

“Why would rain bother you?” Hori asked. Horatio, unlike Carl, was entirely human.

“Just thinking of you, my dear. Just thinking of you.”

Hori stepped over the cart of new books he was putting away and walked through to the back room.

“More lapsang souchong, Carl?”

“Oh, no, thank you. My stomach's getting more and more sensitive,” said Carl, wistfully.

Carl watched through the doorway as Hori poured a cup from the pot. Horatio breathed in the smoky scent of the tea and let out a sigh.

“You know what's funny, Carl?” Horatio asked suddenly.

“Clowns, movies with poorly translated subtitles, turtles that land on their back and have trouble getting up-”

“Har har,” said Hori sarcastically. “What really is funny is that very little happens around here-”

“That's not particularly funny,” Carl piped in.

“Let me finish. Let me finish. It's just that nothing particularly exciting happens around here, and, well... I don't really mind.”

“I know what you mean.”

Carl smiled at Hori as he blew on his tea to cool it.

A weekend well spent

Carl's dark form could be seen moving slowly through the water. He came from under the bridge and approached the side of the canal, where Hori's legs were dangling, his trousers rolled up to his knees. Carl's head surface again and he looked up at Hori's smiling face and broad-brimmed hat. Horatio put down the book he was reading, rolled his neck and stretched his shoulders, enjoying the sunlight. A weekend was always a blessing and there wasn't a chance he would waste this one.

“Well, my good fellow... shall we move on to the gallery? Are you sufficiently wet?”

Carl closed one eye lazily, angling his body, watching the reflections of his scales on the wall of the canal.

“Shall we?” Hori repeated, then quickly pulled his arms in front of his face to shield his eyes from the light shining off Carl's scales. “Ooh, watch out, Carl. That's bright!”

A deep, resonant chuckle welled up within Carl's big, green body. Hori lowered his arms in time to receive a jet of water from Carl's mouth that knocked Hori's hat right off his head.

“Heh heh. That sounds simply lovely. Although, you might want to dry yourself a little,” laughed Carl as he propelled himself up onto the boardwalk, then proceeded to take a towel and slap his back with it.

“Oh, how kind of you...” Hori smiled, “Never mind drying off, we'll take a walk in the gardens first.”

Carl threw the towel across his back and sidled up to Hori. Hori tucked his book in his jacket pocket and handed Carl his glasses, then took up the straw hat and basket beside him. They made their way across the bridge and through the streets as they wound a path through the city to the public gardens. Few crossed their paths, save for a postman on his motorcycle, who dipped his hat, and a group of university students with satchels, all of whom were laughing, glad for the chance to study outdoors. One of the girls caught Hori's eye. He smiled back, with a feeling of recognition, but kept on his way.

They arrived at the large, black gates of the public gardens and after visiting all their favourite places (the greenhouse, the cactus garden, the eels in the Chinese fountain) they strolled back to the entrance. Striding toward them, on the other side of the gate, was the same group of students they'd passed earlier. “You've the right idea,” Hori called, waving, “It's too beautiful a day to be spent indoors!”

The group smiled back and Hori searched his memory for where he'd seen the girl with the pretty black and red hair, earlier in the week.

“I can't place her, Carl.”

“Who's that, Hori? Do you know one of those students?”

“I think I remember seeing the one with the red tips in her hair before.”

“Heh heh. Yes, yes. She is pretty, isn't she?” Carl smiled. Hori looked away from Carl, taking a sudden interest in pine trees lining the path. “It'll come to me, I'm sure,” he muttered to himself.

In the gallery they saw an exhibition of furniture by an Italian designer and a collection of sketches depicting forest fires. Patrons came and stood silently in front of the works, then in turn moved on to the next and the next and the next. Carl tried to pull a face imitating a portrait of one of the artists. He was a stern looking man, sporting a giant moustache. Carl flung his towel over his upper lip and tried to look gruff. Hori laughed.

Carl struggled with the escalator, but they moved on to the the modern art collection. They saw hats made of corrugated iron, blank road signs, pictures of forest animals in parliament and Hori's favourite – a big, grey canvas with a small girl in the middle, reading a book by Chekhov.

Hori suddenly turned to his scaly friend, “I've got it! She was at the library on Tuesday afternoon.”

“You've been thinking about her the whole time haven't you?” Carl's grin made Hori turn the same shade of maroon as the girl's dress in the painting.

“Quiet, you...” Horatio smiled back, “Now, to remember her name...”

“You spoke to her?”

“Oh, yes. Only for a moment. I don't remember whether we exchanged names.”

Hori suddenly noticed the funny smile on Carl's face, “What? What's wrong?”

Carl motioned with his fin and Horatio turned to see where Carl was pointing. “You should ask her,” Carl's smile widened as Hori watched the very same girl, along with another of the students, making her way around the room, moving from one artwork to the next. When she got to the large grey painting, she made her way up to Hori and Carl, pointing to the painting beside them.

“Fantastic isn't it?” she asked, “It reminds me of when I was young.”

“Ch-Chekhov? You read Chekhov when you were-” Carl asked, astonished.

“No, no. Of course not,” the girl said quickly. “I was just left to my books a lot when I was younger. I still love to read. A little too much, perhaps.”

“Ah, I see. It was... at the library that I met you earlier in the week, isn't that right?” Hori asked.

“Yes, I was trying to figure that out myself. My name's Ann and this is Catherine,” she said, motioning for her friend to join her.

“Nice to meet you,” Catherine extended a hand.

“A pleasure. Horatio, err... Hori. I'm Hori and this is Carl.” Catherine shook Carl's fin, admiring his big, grey eyes, one at a time.

“You're both students, yes?” Horatio asked.

“Well, Catherine's a dental student in her final year, but I'm a recent graduate,” Ann began.

After much small talk, it was revealed that Ann was working in a hospital, after graduating from studying medicine. Carl mentioned that Horatio and himself had been friends since high school and that Hori had studied robotic systems at university. Hori explained that Carl had been left ownership of his father's bookshop when his father passed away and, as a favour to Carl, Hori took over management and decided this was where he felt comfortable. The joint venture had become a relative success. They could spend time together at work and at their home in the suburbs.

This went on for some time, until Catherine eyed the basket in Hori's hand.

“Is that a picnic basket I see?” she asked. “Ann and I could buy some lunch and join you on the lawns in the sculpture garden. The one behind the gallery.”

“Oh, no. No need. We have plenty with us,” Carl insisted. “That is, if you don't mind tinned meats, crusty bread, blue cheese and chocolate truffles-”

“Oh, you're too kind!” cried Ann.

Hori and Carl beamed at the new friends they'd made.

A man and his fish

After feeling around in the dark for the light switch for a few seconds, Hori managed to illuminate the scene before him. He stood there, motionless, searching with his eyes. It looked like a cyclone had been captured mid-motion; the chandelier was hanging crooked, his painting of a lighthouse had been partially torn from the frame and every surface was covered in glistening shards of glass. Before he could fully take in the destruction, he spied what he was desperately looking for. He ran to the shivering, panting mass in the corner.

“Carl? Have they hurt you? Are you bleeding?” he managed, between terrified breaths.

“No, no, I'm... I'm fine... Oh, Hori! Why do they do this?!” Carl panted, then broke down, sobbing. Hori put his dressing gown over Carl's scaly back, even though it barely covered any of his giant body.

“You know they've never understood us. I'm just glad you're safe.” Hori paused to further examine his surroundings, “Didn't they come in?”

“They're scared of me. They ran away when I came in, then threw bricks at the windows.”

“It's OK, I'll just clean up the glass, so you can move into the kitchen.” Hori returned shortly with a dustpan and broom. He set them down, then reached out a hand to Carl. Carl rested his giant fin in it and Hori squeezed tight.

“Maybe... Well, I don't see any other way... I think I have to leave-” Carl began.

“Don't worry, I'm here,” Hori cut him off, “I'll always be your man, Carl.”

“You-you're right, Hori. I'm sorry. You know I'll always be your fish.”