Cold feet, wet clothes and muddy paddocks

Tu Tangata, Issue 36, 1 June 1987, Page 28

Cold feet, wet clothes and muddy paddocks

PAKI WAITARA

A short story for children illustrated and written by Kingi McKinnon

I felt good. It was Friday night and I was lying in front of the fire, drawing pictures in an old school book. My puku was full of brisket, puha, spuds and motumotu. On top of that, there was no school the next day, or the next. All the whanau was crowded into the sitting room. My father was reading a book, my mother mending old clothes, my two sisters were arguing quietly over a comic, and my two older brothers were mumbling to each other in the corner. Boy! I was so warm and contented. “Did you order any candles, Mum? It was my brother Mutu. ‘Oh no!’ I thought, ‘surely they’re not thinking of torching for tuna’, and I wished hard that my mother had forgotten. But, to my disappointment, she said “Yes. Have a look in the top cupboard. My heart sank. I knew what that meant. Cold muddy feet, wet sleeves, barbed wire fences, and miles of walking through muddy paddocks. It had poured for the last two days, and the river and swamps would be flooded. Anyway, they only wanted to go so they could smoke their heads off. They both went to high school, and knew my father would boot them if he found out. Mutu went to check out the torches and the ripis, while Rewi got the candles. I let out a loud yawn. My mother looked at me and said, “You better not

go if you’re tired, Roha.” “Course he’ll be alright,” my father added, “there’s no school tomorrow.” By then Mutu had returned. “Na! We won’t be going very far up the river. Get a sack Roha.” “Well put some warm clothes on then,” said my mother. Gawd! How I wished they’d mind their own business. Off we went, and by the time we’d gone a hundred yards across the first paddock my socks were sopping wet from puddles and the dew that had seeped through the holes in my old hand-me-down gumboots. Mutu and Rewi walked ahead, smoking and talking excitedly. I almost had to run to keep up. When we got to the first fence, they climbed over easy, but me, being much smaller, had to climb through the wires. In no time, Mutu’s old coat that I had inherited and that was much too big for me, was hopelessly caught on the barbs. By the time I had disentangled myself, they were well ahead, and all I could see were their lanterns bobbing along. I ran as hard as I could, and I could hear them sniggering ahead. They knew I was scared of the dark, but that was only because they’d made me that way. They loved telling me ghost stories and talking about vampires. Suddenly, I couldn’t see their lights anymore, and ran even harder. Straight into another

fence. They both laughed and asked me why I was running, then relit their lanterns. My relief at seeing them was short-lived, because they were both on the other side, and this fence was higher, and had even more wires. Mutu must have felt a bit guilty though, because he stopped and helped me over. Soon we were at the old barn, and the boys stripped down to shorts and old jerseys, then went down to where the river had swelled out into the paddocks. They waded in until they were knee deep, then began shining their torches around. There were tuna everywhere, and before long, Rewi had hit one with the steel ripi and thrown it out onto the bank, “don’t lose that one,” he ordered, “it’s a whopper.” Sploosh! Now Mutu had one, and threw his out also. “Boy! There’s heaps around,” he yelled excitedly. I picked up the eels and slid them into the sack. My hands were covered in thick, sticky slime. I barely had time to wipe it off, when out came another, then another, “they’re having all the fun,” I mumbled to myself, and wished I was home in front of the warm, friendly fire.

Out came another one, but this time it landed short of the bank, and slid back into the water. “Hurry up Roha!” Mutu yelled, “quick before it swims away.” I jumped down from the bank, and slipped in. Luckily the eel was still stunned, and I grabbed at its glistening silver belly. Unluckily, the water had seeped over the tops of my gumboots,and they were sodden. Also, my sleeves were ringing wet. I put the eel into the sack and emptied out by gumboots, then I took off my socks and started wringing them out. Just as I’d started on the second sock, out came another eel. “Have you got it, roha?” yelled Rewi. “I’m wringing out my socks!” I yelled back. “Well, get that bloomin’ eel first!” he yelled, “that’s more important than your socks!”

So I dived for the eel which was trying to wiggle its way back to the water, and stood straight on a dumb of thistles. By now I was almost crying with frustration and temper.

Now we moved on further. For the boys it was easy going as all they had to do was follow the river. Me, I had to climb more fences, dodge clumps of gorse, and the large ponds that had built up in the paddocks. I had no torch as the boys thought it was a waste of candles, so that made things tougher still. On top of that, the sack was half full and heavy, and every time I heaved it, it would rub against my pants legs, soaking them. I stumbled through a clump of gorse which tore at my face and clothing, and looked back down at the river. There was no sign of a torch anywhere. For a moment I panicked, then Mutu’s voice rang out to me from amongst the willows. “Roha, are you 0.K.”

“Yes,” I lied. “Well, wait there!” he shouted. “We’re just going for a look through here.” Suddenly I was alone, standing on the bank of the river, cold, miserable and sleepy. My clothes were dripping wet, my gumboots ful of mud and slush, and I fought to keep my eyes open. I was so miserable. I didn’t care anymore if ten ghosts or a dozen vampires got me. I listened to the sounds around me. Above the rushing of the river, I could hear the plaintiff cry of a morepork from the distant bush. The occasional lowing of cattle came from surrounding paddocks mingling with the cries from pied stilts which frequented the swamps. I could hear the eels writhing in the sack, so I stepped forward and sunk my boot into the hateful things. Suddenly, a pheasant flew up from the long grass almost under my feet, its wings whirring and flapping frantic-

ally. I almost fainted. Now I could see the torches making their way back towards me. Mutu and Rewi climbed out and made their way over. “Here Roha. Hold the sack open ” said Rewi. They had one more. They wiped their hands on their jerseys, and gave me one of the torches to hold. I watched as they lit cigarettes, and puffed out the smoke. The smell of candle wax and the heat from the tin lamp made me feel good, and made me think of home. “Let’s go on a bit further, said Rewi. Mutu thought for a while, and looked at me. “What do you want to do, Roha?” he asked. “I want to go home,” I said. “I’ve got prickles in my foot, and my clothes and gumboots are sopping wet. I’m sleepy too.” “Yeah, blow it, so am I,” he said. “Let’s go home.” I looked at him gratefully. Rewi thought for a while then said, “Yeah, alright. We’ll come out earlier tomorrow night and go further up.” I didn’t care about tomorrow night. I just wanted to go home right then. Rewi carried the sack and I carried his ripi, and soon we were back at the old barn. My gumboots sloshed, the prickles in my feet hurt, and the slime had dried and held my fingers stuck

together. But I didn't care. We were going home. Home to the familiar kitchen smells, the comforting snores of our Father and our warm beds. It seemed to take hours but at last we had reached the last paddock. Our house stood out sharply amongst the trees and hedges surrounding it, and I quickened my pace. “That’s the fastest I've seen you move all night!” sneered Rewi. “Don't you like coming with us, or would you rather stay home and play hopscotch with the girls?” “No,” I mumbled and slowed down. I kicked my muddy boots off at the door and made straight for the bathroom. First I scrubbed the slime from my hands, then washed my feet. Thankfully the water from the cistern was still warm, and made it easier. As soon as my head touched the pillow, I was asleep. It seemed like only seconds when I felt myself being shaken awake. It was Rewi. “Roha, go and get the cows in.” I blinked my eyes open, and it was broad daylight. Mutu was still asleep, and Rewi had climbed back into bed to glean the last bit of shut-eye he could get. “Oh well,” I thought, “I’m glad there’s school on Monday.’ Slowly I dressed and made my way out.