Finally, laying the cutlery across her plate, Freya said to Mani, “Do you think you would have been a doctor if you’d grown up in Arnhem Land?”
“Who knows? . . . Maybe. Some kids from mission schools did well but they needed a lot of breaks and a lot of encouragement. Not too many get to higher education. I’ve only a few flashes of those early years but my parents said I gave them a hard time when they took me to Brisbane when Dad’s surveying contract was done. They reckon I was homesick for my birth mother and for the open spaces and the colours and the bird and animal life. Probably I’d still be in the Territory if I hadn’t been adopted.”
“Must have been tough.”
“I was too young to have a proper memory of my true Dad. Apparently he worked long hours and was away a lot with the droves and the mining work. It was odd though, according to my parents I always wanted to be a doctor even when they first got me.”
“Any idea why?”
“Well, I have a theory. Who knows if it’s right? One university break I backpacked up to the Territory and had an overpowering experience when I recognised some bark art pieces. I used to dream about them often when I was small; hadn’t remembered they were real. I know now that they are highly regarded and represent a development milestone in Aboriginal art. They’re called X-Ray art, because the markings show internal structures of animals.”
“I saw a TV program about that a few years ago. Fascinating. Did you see it?”
“No. Anyway I got this creepy feeling, and had a momentary vision of my mother, clear as day, saying, “I think you’d make a fine doctor Mani. It won’t be in time for me. . . . Maybe she had a premonition about what was coming. My parents told me that they’d taken my real mother and me on a trip to visit the area. That happened not long before she died – when my brother was born. He died too.”
Freya touched Mani’s hand briefly and said, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
The veil shifted over Mani’s expression as their plates and condiments were removed. “It was a long time ago.”
Click Follow to receive emails when this author adds content on Bublish
Comment on this Bubble
Your comment and a link to this bubble will also appear in your Facebook feed.