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Hyienna stopped and took a deep breath, slowly turning a full circle as he let the quiet of the countryside envelop him in its cool, refreshing embrace. He idly scuffed at the cracked and dusty road; his boots the only man-made sound he could hear save for a murmuring bassline filtering out of the gathering dusk. As he drank in the gathering darkness, he reflected on the unlikely events which had overtaken his life during the past few weeks. It had all been so very strange at first, but now everything seemed to have settled into a sort of stable inertia. He and Kate had continued their flirtatious non-affair while Sarah had become a lot more distant, although a significant part of him was quite glad about that. Hyienna really didn’t want to be around when the whole thing inevitably blew up.
He let his head fall back and he gazed up at the darkening blue of late evening. Venus glimmered and winked from afar as a welcome breeze gently pushed the sun below the horizon. High season was winding down, although it would still be a good few weeks before Formentera settled down for her winter slumber. All the same, the evenings were just that little bit cooler and the heat a little less cloying after dark. In truth Hyienna preferred it that way as it certainly made for more comfortable sleeping, not that the subtle change to the atmosphere had any effect on his cycle of oddly insistent and endlessly recurrent dreams. He already knew there was only one solution to that problem, although he was surprised to still be left without a clue as to the mysterious rucksack’s rightful place.
As was his habit, he reached into his pocket for his little stone of safety as the memories of those dreams crowded around him. The old woman was always there, as was the river; and there was something about a boat and something lost, but he could never quite piece the fading impressions together once he’d awoken. The only thing he was certain of each morning was a nagging sense of guilt, as though some incorporeal part of himself was urging him to do something. The problem was, after all those weeks of mystery, secrets and low-level drama, he still had no understanding of what it was he was supposed to do. He’d hoped that moving the rucksack would’ve helped him sleep a little better, but it had made no difference; in fact he wasn’t entirely sure it hadn’t made the dreams more vivid and imbued them with a greater sense of urgency. Maybe that subtle change was all in his head; it was becoming harder to tell perception from reality, a problem which was especially dangerous for him.
Hyienna shook himself from his reverie and stepped onto the dusty track leading off the empty road. Coloured lights glinted in the darkness ahead while the thrum of distant music beckoned him to join the party.
He hadn't travelled more than a few paces off-road before he stopped dead, instinctively dropping to a crouch as he squinted into the gathering darkness ahead. He willed his eyes to gaze just a few feet further as he tried to discern the dark figure waiting on the path ahead. Was that somebody standing by the undergrowth, or was the ever-changing light of the falling dusk conspiring with his overactive imagination? After squinting a little more, he shook his head ruefully and stood up. There was nobody there, and in fact it wouldn't have been especially strange if somebody was there. After all, he was heading to a social gathering, so why shouldn't somebody else be arriving by the same route? You've got to get a grip on yourself, my lad. You're jumping at shadows and seeing things that aren't there; and you know very well where that could end up if you don’t calm down.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to walk straight forward like he owned the path, smiling to himself as he remembered another party where he’d recently arrived on foot. Although in some ways the situation was similar, any outward resemblance was entirely superficial; in fact, the experience was more like a mirror image or a polar opposite. The broken down, crumbling wall marking the drive and the rutted, unfinished roadway were a stark contrast to the antiseptic angularity of Casa Hermoso. Solomon’s home was a statement, a subjugation of the surrounding countryside and an expression of the will to dominate. By contrast Nathaniel’s place, if it had a name, was more a study in benign bohemian neglect; being at once rooted in and slowly being subsumed the surrounding countryside. The place suited the owner and given the choice, Hyienna would definitely have chosen this house over Solomon’s. Plus, it was just a short walk from the Green Lizard, which made him wonder why he hadn’t seen Nathaniel in there at least once or twice.
Hyienna looked around as he realised, he’d stopped walking again. There were no shadowy phantoms blocking his path this time and he knew he was just stalling. He was already late yet still he dawdled, fearful of what might lie ahead. It was true that he didn’t care for Solomon, but that wasn’t really a justification for his assisting the man’s fiancé to begin an affair with an old flame. The worst part was waiting for the explosion that must surely come.
Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and marched determinedly forward once more. If he was lucky then he could maybe meet some new people and keep a low profile, before slipping away early with a headache or nausea or some such. Hyienna silently scolded himself for his pretty forlorn and frankly effeminate plan, but it was the only thing he could come up with.
Slowly the quaintly sagging roofline of Nathaniel’s house revealed itself against the darkening sky. The whole place was pretty much how he’d imagined it, although it was bigger than he thought it might be. The rambling old farmhouse exuded the same informal chipped paint cosiness that made the Green Lizard so very homely and welcoming. The uneven structure was the kind of place that invited visitors to kick off their shoes and stretch out rather than to admire it politely and listen to its owner’s personal manifesto for entrepreneurial success.
The old farmhouse’s welcoming informality winked and shimmered in the glittering multi-coloured lights festooning the trees dotted around what had once been some sort of courtyard. The music was very different to Solomon’s place too; with the raunchy beats of Solomon’s pool party replaced by something with an altogether more traditional vibe of a Spanish guitar and modern electronic bass escaping into the lengthening shadows of the dusty countryside.
At last he made it to what passed for the front turning circle, with the chaotic jumble of vehicles providing another stark contrast to the regimented organisation of Solomon’s hospitality. Whilst you did as you were expected to do at Casa Hermoso, here at Casa Nathaniel, people just kind of showed up and did whatever. This was a place to actually chill out and socialise as opposed to somewhere to be seen. This was a place of true leisure, not a place of endless work cunningly disguised as a place to play. Arriving at Nathaniel’s house felt much more like a social pleasure than a social chore, not that the informal atmosphere did anything to calm Hyienna’s nerves.
The chink of glasses and the smell of freshly cooked food reached out to greet him as he followed a trail of flickering tea lights along a cracked and uneven path running past the house. The dancing candles soon led him through a crumbling farmyard wall, although the last time Nathaniel’s place had produced any kind of commercial crop was anyone’s guess.
Hyienna felt much more at home wandering through the informal jumble of tables, chairs and assorted garden furniture. Just like at Casa Hermoso, he didn’t really know anyone, but that didn’t seem to matter very much. Nobody was keeping score and that informal anonymity was something of a relief.
It wasn’t long before Hyienna’s nose led him to a soot blackened pizza oven belching out fragrant wood-smoke and the even more alluring odours of sizzling mozzarella and freshly cooked sausage.
“Hey buddy, great to see you!” A grinning Nathaniel thrust a glass of cold sangria into Hyienna’s hand before deftly retrieving a tray of good smelling pizza slices from inside the oven. “Have some food, relax, or go nuts; it’s all good at Granja de Cosecha.”
Not wanting to be rude, Hyienna helped himself to a slice of fresh pizza and made for a vacant table at the edge of an uneven space that had become an impromptu dancefloor. Quickly grabbing a napkin from the dispenser on the table, he tried to look as cool as possible while eating his delicious but unruly pizza slice. As he wrestled with a long string of tasty mozzarella, it suddenly struck him that he really didn’t care if anyone was watching. His usual self-consciousness just melted away as Nathaniel’s wonderful food took charge and he realised that nobody was paying attention anyhow. It was a different crowd and a very different vibe that was far more in tune with his own ideas of kicking back and chilling out. Yeah, he could get used to this.
As Hyienna settled back into his seat and wallowed in the relaxed and friendly atmosphere, it suddenly struck him that despite hanging out on an idyllic holiday island, this was the first time he’d really felt completely at ease since he’d first set foot on Formentera all those weeks ago.
He jumped a little as a bottle of beer appeared on the table in front of him and a cute girl with crazy corkscrew hair smiled and winked. “Compliments of the chef.” She jerked her head towards Nathaniel’s snorting pizza oven before disappearing into a haze of wood smoke that drifted across the dancefloor, turning Nathaniel’s guests into ethereal ghosts as they danced and shimmered in and out of sight.
Hyienna drained his sangria and picked up the beer, raising it in a silent toast to the girl who’d smiled into and out of his life just like that. Although they didn’t look much like each other, she kind of reminded him of the pretty hippy chick who’d sold him his brown agate anchor back on Ibiza. He patted his pocket, content to know that his little slice of solidity was in its proper place, although he felt no need for an enhanced connection with the “real” world...whatever that actually meant. He took another sip of beer and yawned, leaning further back in his chair and stretching his legs out, letting his senses become entangled with the twisting threads of incense and cooking smoke drifting across the exquisitely neglected farmyard. Just like Nathaniel’s pizza, the whole place was a little slice of heaven and right then and there it was all he needed in the whole wide world.
* * *
SLOWLY HYIENNA REGAINED his sense of his own being as the distant hum and chatter of the party pierced his consciousness, while a sudden brightness turned the dark and distant world unexpectedly red. For a moment his befuddled mind was trapped between waking from surprisingly deep sleep and not being quite sure of where he was.
He swallowed hard and sat up, blinking against the bright LED headlights rudely swooping across the dancefloor, turning revellers into moon dials as their shadows swooped and twisted across the uneven stone of the crumbling courtyard. Hyienna glanced at his watch and was surprised to find he’d only been asleep for a few minutes, even though it had felt like much longer. He’d even dreamt about something or someone, and some water.
He shaded his eyes as the headlights came to rest on the driveway beyond the house. They were quite high in the air, so he knew exactly who’d just arrived, especially when the lights stayed on for an unnecessarily long time.
At last, the lights blinked off and Hyienna closed his eyes again, luxuriating in his dark anonymity for just a little longer. He knew he only had a few minutes left before the new guests found him, and anything could happen after that.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Solomon’s deep voice interrupted the music. “Hey there; we stopped by the Lizard, but you were already gone. Getting a head start on us, huh?”
Hyienna yawned and stirred from his peaceful half-slumber, a little resentful but knowing this was a conversation that couldn’t be postponed any longer. He smiled and raised the beer that Solomon had placed in front of him. “Thanks. So where are the ladies?”
Solomon flopped into the chair opposite and jerked his head back towards Nathaniel’s magic outdoor oven. “Hobnobbing with the great man himself.”
Hyienna sensed an invitation to talk. “But not you?”
Solomon took a swig of beer. “Hey, I don’t want to say anything amiss, but...”
Hyienna completed Solomon’s sentence. “But you’re going to anyway.”
There was a pause as Solomon took another gulp of beer, seemingly weighing up what he should say next. “The guy always looks like he’s thinking one thing and saying another. His expressions don’t match his words and I don’t like guys with agendas.”
Hyienna just shrugged. “He’s a writer, which means he’s only half with us most of the time. Besides, everybody has an agenda, benign or otherwise.”
“Hey, no offence. I mean, I know he’s your buddy and all, but just bear in mind you don’t know him that well.”
“And you do?” Hyienna raised his eyebrows.
“Not really. We don’t tend to move in the same circles, but you know how the girls are with these creative types.”
Hyienna made a conscious effort not to narrow his eyes. Did Solomon know something, suspect something, or was that just a chance remark? He decided to play it safe, although he was secretly dreading the possibility that Solomon might ask him a direct question. It was hard to know whether the truth or a lie would be worse in that situation. “Well, the man makes a mean pizza, so no wonder everyone wants to be here.”
“You telling me you’re here for the food? Is that why you’ve been hanging around with Nathaniel so much?”
Hyienna seized his chance for misdirection and camped it up as much as he could. “Why Solomon, you never struck me as the jealous type. How long have you been hiding these feelings?”
At last one side of Solomon’s mouth rose in a slight smile. “Very funny, wise guy. And here I was thinking that personal success and a good fitness regime were important to the ladies; but maybe it’s all just pizza in the end.” He nodded to someone on the dancefloor who’d recognised him.
Now it was Hyienna’s turn to smile. “I guess chefs are never lonely. Everyone loves good food.”
Solomon rose and turned towards the dancefloor, winking as he did so. “Say hi to Sarah, when she can tear herself away from Mr cheesy slice over there.”
Hyienna raised his beer to Solomon’s back as the big man quickly vanished into a fog of incense, wood smoke and ganja. Only when he was sure that Solomon was otherwise engaged did he dare look across to Nathaniel’s cooking station. Sure enough, there he was, talking to Sarah as if they were just old friends. Well, he guessed they were, but they were so much more as well.
As though sensing Hyienna’s scrutiny, Sarah turned, blew him a kiss and mouthed something that looked like thank you, but he couldn’t be sure. He knew she was thanking him because she thought he was covering for her, which he supposed he was. Still, the question of what he might do if Solomon asked him a direct question nagged at his mind and dampened his mood.
Suddenly Hyienna’s world went black as a pair of hands were placed over his eyes, although Kate’s spicy perfume and the soft weight of her bosom against the back of his head somewhat gave the game away. The hands were quickly removed, and Kate’s immaculately manicured hand placed yet another bottle of beer on the table beside him. He watched her sashay around the table and take up the seat previously occupied by Solomon. “I could get used to this; everyone’s bringing me beer today.”
Kate toyed with her trademark martini glass. “You look like you could do with a drink, honey. I thought you were about to crack under questioning.” She inclined her head slightly behind her, indicating that she was talking about the recently departed Solomon.
Hyienna drained his rapidly warming beer and picked up the cold one Kate had just brought him. “I’m just starting to wonder if I’ve made a big mistake.”
Kate shook her head. “You didn’t make anyone do anything, so what do you care?”
“I don’t like lying to people, even if I haven’t done that yet.”
Kate broke into a warm, almost maternal smile. “We’re all liars, every last one of us, so there’s no need for false piety. Solomon’s a stranger to you and you’re just protecting your cousin. Nathaniel and Sarah were going to do what they were going to do anyway, regardless of whether you were around. All we did was oil the wheels because, to put it bluntly, my friend had become a real pain in the ass with all her lovesick moping about. Look at her now; doesn’t she look so much happier?”
Hyienna glanced across to Nathaniel’s cooking station, noting that both he and Sarah were conspicuously absent.
Kate placed a hand on his arm. “Don’t you go fretting about things that aren’t your concern. Sarah’s happy and Solomon’s too busy impressing women he barely knows; so why sweat any of it?”
Hyienna couldn’t help smiling as Kate winked that knowing, naughty wink of hers. Once again she’d managed to make him feel both completely helpless and yet wonderfully free from responsibility all at the same time. “So I should just do nothing?”
Kate stood up, smoothed down her dress and held out her hand. “No, my cute boy, you can dance with me.”
***
FRAGRANT BLUE CIGAR smoke twisted into the night sky, a dark shadow briefly flickering across the face of a bright, nearly full moon. Hyienna leaned back against the tumbledown compound wall and nodded appreciatively at the stogie lodged between his fingers. It had been a long time since he’d smoked anything, but it just seemed as though kicking back and enjoying one of life’s simple vices was de rigueur at Nathaniel’s place. Besides, it would have been rude to refuse the cute girl with the crazy hair. He made a mental note to ask Nathaniel about her habit of wandering around and just handing stuff out to people. It was a nice idea, but he hoped she could afford it.
He took another drag on his cigar and looked out across the darkening scrubland, the lights from the house behind him lengthening shadows and enhancing contrast to imbue the scene with almost supernatural hue. Whilst it made the sandy scrub close by that much brighter, it was offset by the deeper shadows further away. That dense darkness immediately drew his mind back to the nothingness waiting for him in that cheap, nondescript bag. He quickly reached into his pocket for his little agate anchor, not trusting himself stay put rather than floating away on a cloud of introspection fuelled by alcohol, tobacco and second-hand ganja smoke.
Glancing at his watch, he stretched, yawned and began to think about making his way home. It was a little after three in the morning and the party was winding down. Sure, the music was still playing and there were plenty of folk about, but most of the dancing was done and little knots had formed around different tables as old friends and new acquaintances chatted and drank through the small hours. He didn’t really know anyone that well, especially as Solomon had taken Sarah and Kate home about an hour ago. Solomon seemed to be in good spirits, but still Hyienna couldn’t shake the idea that Sarah’s fiancé was feeling him out, trying to see if his suspicions about her were well founded. Sure, he’d gotten away with it for one night, but Hyienna knew full well that the situation would come to a head, and probably sooner rather than later.
He jumped as he heard a footstep close behind him.
“Hey relax, don’t die of a heart attack on my property.” Nathaniel grinned, with his own cigar clamped between his teeth. “Puts the idea of cigarette girls in a whole new light, don’t you think?”
Hyienna breathed out heavily. “I guess, kind of a nice touch really. She a friend of yours?”
“Yeah, she’s a good kid. She just wants to make everyone happy and she’s way too pretty for her own good. I try to keep her out of trouble.”
“Maybe it’s yourself you want to be keeping out of trouble.”
Nathaniel stepped over a low point in the wall and raised his eyebrows. “Am I in some kind of trouble?”
“Don’t get cute. You know what Solomon will do when he finds out about you and his fiancé.”
Nathaniel’s stare hardened. “There’s no reason for him to find anything out.”
Hyienna was surprised to feel his patience slipping. “You know, you’re either incredibly arrogant or unbelievably stupid. Now Solomon might be arrogant too but he’s not your average fool. He won’t need me to tell him what’s blatantly bloody obvious to everyone.”
Nathaniel’s expression softened again. “Yeah, you’re probably right, but there’s no need to worry. It’s not your problem.”
“You know you’re the second person to say that to me this evening.”
The host grinned. “Then I guess I’m not the only smart boy in the neighbourhood.”
“Who said it was a boy?”
Nathaniel was silent for a moment as he looked up at the moon. “Fair point, and you’re probably right about Solomon. Someone once said in a movie that some things have to end badly or they wouldn’t end at all.”
Hyienna also looked up at the night sky, thinking how peaceful, serene and remote it seemed in comparison to the undignified scramble of the countless daily lives playing out below them. “Listen, I’m not much for telling people what to do, but if I’ve learned just one thing in this world it’s that you can’t just keep repeating the past. It never ends well.”
Nathaniel gestured towards the stars. “Those patterns have been repeating for billions of years, and none of us would be here if they hadn’t been. Repetition is a necessary condition for anything...everything to exist in the first place.”
Hyienna blew out another plume of cigar smoke. “That might be a fine outlook for some distant galaxy, but it’s not much of a philosophy for people. You can’t move forward if you’re always looking behind you; you’re bound to come to grief sooner or later.”
Nathaniel was silent for a few seconds. “Well, my cigar smoking philosopher, we can speculate all night about what has been and what might be, but I can tell you something that’s certain in the here and now.”
Curious, Hyienna turned to face him. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”
“Sarah was smiling all evening. Now that’s the truth.” Nathaniel clapped him on the shoulder and wandered back to the party.
Hyienna took another long drag on his cigar as he thought about what Nathaniel had said Hyienna took another long drag on his cigar as he thought about what Nathaniel had said. Suddenly he found himself squinting into the darkness once more. Was someone out there?