The paddle dipped into the inky blackness and gracefully pulled the craft through the water. Droplets making a curve as the rower made a fluid motion and pulled the craft towards the furthest shoreline. Two figures in a boat whispered in hushed reverence as the night darkened and torchlight briefly touched their faces. The two women grinned, seemingly knowing each other’s thoughts as their childhood friendship had solidified from such hair-brained exploits, the torch was extinguished as their adventure began in earnest.
Moments before the canoe had been on top of the old Subaru and ungraciously pulled off the roof in practiced ease and efficiency. Dusk was falling and the night chorus of Kookaburra’s and Wattle birds added to the din of the night escapade. The women had waded through the mud and water weeds, water slopping over the top of gumboots until success! The water was deep enough and so free to hop aboard and strike out for open water. The anxiety of stepping on hidden stingrays and sharp night dwelling water creatures adding to their excitement of their clandestine adventure.
Their head torches were briefly employed to check progress then darkness returned as eyes adjusted to the night. Velvet skies spilled stars like scattered diamonds above the two friends, the 7 Sisters and Emu were out and moved in a slow arc in the sky above. The paddle dipped many times into the water casting ripples across the water until the canoe slid onto the shore making a rasping noise across the sand as it was pulled ashore. There the women slunk into the undergrowth, not wishing to give away their presence. Their exploits were not illegal but a wanting to sample hidden fruits in quiet solitude.
The forest was a different world at night, cocooned in a soft embrace of darkness. The bush was alive with sounds, frog calls, night bird calls and leaves rustled by unseen creatures whispered through the undergrowth. A crescent moon hung low, casting a soft ghostly glow, not enough to interfere with the next part of the adventure but enough to light the path and foliage surrounding the two figures. Each step on the leaf-laden ground released an earthly aroma, wafting through the warm and humid night air and entwined with the sweet scent of damp scrub. “Just through here” one of the figures stated, a puff of breath entering the world brimming with wonders.
They continued until a soft whitish green glow could be seen carpeting the forest floor like fairy lights. Tall, gnarled, big barrelled trees loomed overhead, shielding the women from the moonlight and the world. Branches woven together like fingers of old friends creating a tapestry of a green and enclosed secret dell. The emitting glow was from Ghost Mushrooms Omphalotus Nidiformis, seemingly the moon had spilled light onto the floor.
The figures nestled between the old roots and logs strewn across the forest floor entranced by the delicate spectre that glowed gently beneath the cover of night, shimmering with ethereal hues of pale green and blueish-white. Crouching down they see the mushroom’s delicate structure, the curved gills on ivory columns like Gothic cathedrals, but these structures are of a more ancient heritage and so were revered. They sat in peace, watching, listening and waiting as the earth’s magical display settled in front of their eyes. The ghosts seemed to increase their astounding light, the women breathed in the earth, it’s silence and a peacefulness, only forest mediation can achieve, entered their souls. Eventually they reluctantly brought out a camera, the technology seeming almost abhorrent in the face of ancient beauty, the shutter making a harsh click which silenced the cricket calls close to them. They captured the moment and with a slow breath the forest continued again as the camera was quickly pocketed. Their mission a success, the ghost hunt was complete.
Luminous beings, guardians of the bush and bridge to different realms, keeper of tales and woven into the very roots and fabric of the earth. In the world of the ghost mushroom the veil between reality and magic was thin. The women reluctantly left as they retraced their steps back to the ordinary and their canoe. As they launched their craft, bioluminescent sea sparkle scattered under the paddles, a final fay farewell from ghosts and enchantments.
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