12

NANNA AND THE CROC

Nanna and I are driving out to Lake Moondarra. We don’t say a word about last night. I think we’re both a bit embarrassed about the whole bathroom thing.

‘Your mother said you met a girl,’ says Nanna.

‘Yep,’ I reply, looking out the window. ‘She’s the reason I’m not Deadly D anymore.’

‘Well it sounds like moving to Brisbane has been full of adventure, hey boy?’ Nanna keeps her eyes on the road.

It turns out that Mum has told Nanna about Taylor and her family being visitors from the planet Terrandia and that they couldn’t return home without the last piece of Dad’s meteorite; the same piece of meteorite that gave me the power to turn into Deadly D.

‘And you believed everything Mum said? Most people would think that’s a gammin’ story,’ I say.

We pull up in the car park and look out at the lake. It’s famous for its crocodiles and there are a couple of people in canoes taking photos.

‘I believe your story,’ says Nanna finally. ‘In fact, I can show you where that rock from outer space landed.’

‘You knew about that?’ I ask, but Nan’s already out of the car and walking down to the lake.

‘Wait, Nanna. I’m busting!’ I call.

She points to a big gum tree and tells me to go behind it. I’m still behind the tree when I hear a loud commotion.

‘Dylan! Help! Help!’

I poke my head around the tree trunk and see Nanna at the water’s edge with a croc attached to her necklace! ‘Hang on, Nanna!’ I yell.

But as I race down to the water, Nanna throws her arms around the croc’s head, wrestles it to the ground and jumps on its back like it’s a rodeo bull! She punches it in the face, throws a left hook and then a right, followed by a left uppercut! Nanna knocks the croc out cold. It lies on the bank with its big white belly up in the air. I stand there, staring. I wonder if she has a trophy for croc wrestling? Nanna straightens her necklace and calmly rearranges the red, yellow and black beads. I’m still staring at the croc lying motionless on the ground.

‘Come on, boy!’ yells Nanna. ‘If he wakes up, you’ll be his dinner. Not much meat on your bones though!’

My nanna is one deadly old lady.

Nanna treks back to the car and grabs our picnic basket. We find a safe spot to sit, well away from the water. She pulls some lemon chicken sandwiches from the basket. Yum. As we eat, Nanna tells me that this is the spot where Dad was fishing when the meteorite landed. She points to an old tree that has snagged on the bottom and its branches are sticking out of the water.

‘That’s where it landed,’ she says. ‘Your father swam all the way out there, crocs and all.’

‘Why?’ I ask.

‘I don’t know. But everything happens for a reason, boy,’ Nanna says, in between mouthfuls.

For a split second, I feel as though someone is watching us. I turn around quickly. It’s Dad, skinny legs and all. He gives me a big smile and disappears into thin air. Dad’s still pretty fit — for a ghost.

‘He’ll always be watching you,’ says Nanna, still eating her sandwich and looking out towards Lake Moondarra.

‘But — what — how did you know?’ I ask her. How could she know what I had just seen?

Nanna laughs and holds my hand tightly. Her wrinkled brown skin looks ancient against my soft hands. But when her hand holds mine, I feel her wisdom and knowledge. Not the type of knowledge you learn at school. It’s the kind of stuff you can only learn from land and time. I know that I could learn a lot from this great lady.

‘Your dad loved you, Dylan,’ says Nanna. ‘He will guide the way. Just remember to keep your eyes open.’

We walk back along the lake and past the crocodile which is finally waking up. Before we get in the car, I turn to Nanna and give her a hug.

‘Thanks, Nanna.’

‘Keep your eyes open,’ she says, smiling at me.