Walking up the street to Pop’s place wasn’t my idea of ‘helping’ the search effort, but I’d finally stepped on Mum’s last nerve and been ordered out of the house. After we’d gotten home, Uncle Joe went out to talk to our mob and Mum started ringing everyone and anyone she could think of. It was like watching her shake the limbs of a big ghost gum and getting depressed when nothing fell out. No one had seen Laney. It didn’t help that we’d both spring to the phone if it so much as squeaked. Plus I kept staring at her, wondering if I should try to talk to her about my dream. I don’t believe but I knew she would. When she went off at me for creeping her out it helped relieve the uncertainty. If she was going to yell, then it probably is a good thing I don’t tell her. A nightmare isn’t going to help us find Laney. The one upside is that now everyone knows what’s happening the biggest mob is turning up. They’re all at our place, sitting down, dividing up streets, properties and search areas. And I hate that I’m not there with them.

The feed of barbecue steak, sausages, eggs and tomatoes is still warm on the plate and wrapped in alfoil as I trudge the back roads. There is a big frigging hill this way but a lot fewer houses, and I don’t want anyone stopping me to ask how it’s going. I focus on keeping the bread from sliding off of the top of the alfoil so I don’t have to look up. I know the path to Pop’s like the back of my hand; I can walk around blindfolded in this town. Eidsvold is mostly little weatherboards like ours, most I’d been in were small three bedrooms with one bathroom and a kitchen. If you are lucky the toilet is in the house. If you aren’t, it means tiptoeing over cane toads to do a dump at night. Even my white mates’ places are like that. A bit flasher maybe, not needing anything done, like a bathroom that actually has four complete walls, but still a similar layout. Then again most of them own their places, us blackfullas are all renting from the Aboriginal Housing or private way. There are so few options for us in our town that you take what you can get and are thankful for it.