With a downpour that wouldn’t let up, the waterwheels didn’t need encouragement to keep the lights on in the town below. The side of the mountain was carved with natural streams making their way down the shingle peak. Tussocks of burnt umbra and yellow, spotted the steeper section of the hill forming the foundation of the research lab. As the only metal structure in the landscape, it was less of a sore thumb and more a prosthetic. The collection disc was a modified antenna tilted all the way up. From it’s lowest point of the lab, a network of pipes snaked their way from the bellows down the mountainside.
Sharp barbed, knee high bushes grew wildly where mossy rocks formed with pools trapping the rain. On windy mornings, little purple and green spotted frogs marked the landscape from the gondola way above. They weren’t hard to see once you knew what you were looking for. Between the pools they’d hop and leap and jump and dive, scouring for mushrooms left free to grow in the place of felled trees. It wasn’t natural where the tree-line was forced to stop, but rather the work of the Establishment Committee. When transport to the lab via the muddy old track became the path less trodden, perpendicular metal prongs rose solidly from the graves of the trees, topped with lights to guide the way. Rails tracked gondolas salvaged from parts, that were more than a little rickety. This never stopped Felix Bell from enjoying himself on the early morning trips up.
His watch had timed the ride enough that he’d sometimes think the hands might just fall off. 10 minutes and 32 seconds. Felix was always impressed by the accuracy. Though the crawl could be done at a faster pace, no one dared bump the speed up. The 50m fall wasn’t one that could be survived; unless that was the earth decided to forget the laws of physics and spring the body of whatever was to land back up into the sky like a trampoline. Across themselves the folds of the mountains lay still like fingers interlocked.
Willowsdrop had grown into its name, claimed form the original forestry project run by DeTrunk. The horrendous joke about deforestation became quite fitting for the town where willows wearily wept. The owner had managed to swindle grant funding by letting some land out for government research into mercury levels. Felix worked in that lab, and to him there was nothing better than being perched on a stool looking over the rainy landscape. To call the Standard Living Units ‘houses’ may have been a stretch to some, but the Bells understood that home is what you make it. The kettle was always ready to boil and the place was always warm. When he was younger, Felix’s mother was sick and tired of the same old nothing. In an effort to spruce up the place, colourful fabrics of umbrellas yet to be were thrown across the rafters and when the lights were turned on a kaleidoscope of colour shone out of the shop and filtered onto the puddles in the street.
Willowsdrop was classified as an inhospitable environment, Felix was responsible for making sure that the rainwater changed from the nasty, deadly mess it was, into something usable. When the gondola reached the top it pinged to let him know that it was safe to get out.
It is 10 past 7 in the Morning. The gondola announced. Filtration was vital thanks to the irregularly high levels of mercury in the liquid. Only once safe for consumption could the water flow safely into the centre of the town and more importantly, freely into cups of tea. On its way, Felix was to take samples, track levels and send reports back to higher governance so the town could keep on keeping on. DeTrunk could keep its societal standing and government money could keep circling the toilet that was their little closed economy. At 27 years old Felix had never seen a day with clear blue skies. It was always raining. Sometimes the fall was heavy, others it was lighter. Not only that, but in the last 20 years nobody in the place had dared stepped food into the showers. His parents, Maple and Conway Bell had come to Willowsdrop while they was pregnant with Felix. The five-year job gathering statistical data and analysing findings promised both a mystery and a quiet way of life for the budding family-to-be. His mother was the lead scientist. Dr. Maple Bell had a knack for translating the world around from inferred numbers and statistics into results. She was in her element. His father was a woodworker by trade, as a major player in setting up the Establishment Committee, Conway grew tired of handiwork and mundane madness. There were only so many gutters one man could fix. Taking a back seat was never fun the cards for Conway. Once figuring out material issues with humidity, intricate umbrella handles carved from leftover wood became Conway’s way to pass the time. A very useful way at that. Everyone needed some shelter and their work was like nothing else. DeTrunk had left more than enough offcuts needing to be rescued from their sacrificially, fiery fate. It wasn’t long before he’d hung up a sign on their little house on the corner.
The Umbrella Factory.
***
The day unfolded in the same way it always did for Felix. He ran around a lot doing things that were vitally important, and in the end achieving half, of not much of anything. With a broken sigh, he pulled out his mother’s old little red notebook. Tattered along the edges, it book have been opened at every which angle. He was probably able to recite it word-for-word. Only half of the pages had been filled by her, the others were his work in progress. Though, he was running out of room. Through the years, her words helped him get through tough times. Today it held readings from his home sensor. Felix wasn’t a dumb chap. He loved what he did, and could tell that the mountain readings were wrong. His belligerent lab partner wouldn’t have a bar of it. Anytime the concept that something may in fact be wrong came up, it was immediately shut down by Earnie. This time it would be different, Felix was going to use the readings from custom made sensors that he’d been tracking showing a wildly different story.
“Working hard, or hardly working?” Dr. Earnie Goon had snuck past in Felix’s procrastination. It made him jump as he slammed the book closed. Earnie wasn’t a large man, but the held himself with an air of respect about him. Or at least, he used to. A loosened tie, hands stuffed into pockets and a slightly untucked shirt were the hallmarks of his current stature. Surrounding Felix, his working thoughts summoned their material form. Earnie looked over the chaos on the table. “What a mess…” Earnie began, “I can’t believe you still carry that notebook of your mother’s around with you.” Felix ignored the dig shifting the notebook under a pile of paper. Earnie was retiring tomorrow, and Felix wasn’t in the mood for confrontation. Since his wife had left him apart from poor jokes and un-ironed shirts, Earnie regularly picked up annoying habits. His favourite of late? Reminding Felix that his mother was dead. Hardly charming.
“What time do you call this, old man?” Felix said, “Just because you’re finally getting out of here doesn’t mean you can slack off.” The tortoise rimmed glasses caught a slice of the sun refracted through the rain as the hazel eyes behind them peered over the tops.
“You don’t think?” Earnie let the silence hang for a moment, “Tahiti calls! Margaritas, beaches! As far as you can see. Did I ever tell you about when I went there once when I was younger? No?” With eyebrow raised Felix looked at him, eyes rolling allowing Earnie to continue his indulgence. “Oh Felix it was wonderful, the humidity grabs you by the throat and just doesn’t let go! And best of all, none of this blasted rain.” He was looking out the window rubbing his thumb with the rest of his fingers locked, intertwined.
“What time do you leave?” Felix asked.
“4pm on the dot.” Earnie replied. His smile was warm, the slightest curl at the corner of his lips formed whit and a gentle look washing across his eyes. “I’m actually going to leave from up here, walk the backway- it was an old favourite since way back when, in the days and I haven’t had a chance to revisit in the longest time.” The old track cleared from the backside of the mountain, scarred up the hill, the road was used to drag materials by trailer so the lab could be built. Years of neglect left it grown over wildly. Felix’s mother and father used to take him on walks there when he was younger. The men worked as they had done for years before. Even knowing that this would be the last time they would work together, Felix let his mind dance away from the moment and before he knew what he was saying his mouth began to move “I’m submitting my first report today to the new government liaison. She seems like a lovely woman, Carol Simmons or Simons, something like that. Her husband used to be one of the men working on the forestry project.”
Earnie’s interest was peaked, he asked “Can I take a look at the report?” Felix tried to swallow without making it seem like he wasn’t gulping, successfully doing the opposite. Felix had never confronted Earnie about the incorrect reports. Even today, the thoughts of asking were well quelled at the breakfast table with his coffee this morning. Or so he thought.
“Sure” Felix said handing over the manilla folder for Earnie to peruse. He flicked through the contents. Behind his glasses, Earnie’s eyes narrowed as they reached the beginning of the third page. “There’s a typo in your report.” The man’s tone was short. “They’ll cut your funding more than they already have if you don’t catch these.” Felix’s eyes shifted. His tongue tried desperately to clean the last bit of breakfast stuck between two of his back teeth. Earnie may as well have said he had been pocketing the extra. “And you know what else?” His tyrant wasn’t over yet.“This doesn’t look like the serial number of the mountain sensor. Felix what have I told you about those half-assed, improperly tuned monstrosities that you call inventions?” Earnie’s tone shifted. “For one of the finest young men I’ve had the pleasure to teach, you sure are a worry sometimes.”
Earnie’s hearty laugh had the heft of practice through it’s years. “Your mother would be proud, just please don’t let something is innocently stupid as an incorrect decimal dictate the end of your career, ha!” It almost looked like a glimmer of sadness washed Earnie’s eyes. He pottered around the room and hung his coat up but the umbrella hooks. “I’ve really enjoyed working with you Felix, I may not miss this place, but I think I’ll miss you. That being said, any more meandering and I’ll be late for the date with my travel agent.”
Felix felt the corner of his mouth crack as he asked, “Tahiti calls?”
Nothing Earnie could have said, or done, would have been more embarrassing than the double eyebrow raised, wink-dance that he managed to muster from god knows where. His hand flicked up towards the clock hanging on the wall. It read 6:58pm
“Don’t stay up too late!” Earnie said, stepping through the metal sliding door.
Of course Felix would listen to Earnie. He wasn’t that obsessed with his work. The streams of water flowed down the mountain and he watched the gondola Earnie’s descent. Flowing like the streams time kept gliding on. With his chin resting on the palm of his hand, Felix’s fingers tapped the side of his face in time with the downpour. Dancing waltz’s in the dark, the gods sure were restless tonight. Their tremors shattered the wind, shaking the old gondola creeping its way down the mountainside. It reached the bottom, and after a stop would begin the journey again. Every hour, on the hour, the gondola would reach the apex. Lightning blinded his vision and the roar of thunder sounded a few seconds later. The clock read 10:58pm. Felix let his head fall and packed his things ready for another day in the land of tomorrow. He looked at his partners old coat before taking his umbrella off the lighthook. The lab went dark. Outside the town below glowed and he could see the light of his father’s little shop, the way guided by lights plucked straight from the blackened sky above.
***
With his hands preoccupied it became hard for Felix to hold his umbrella by the handle. If you were a traditionalist like Felix and liked your umbrellas with an Elbrich Nook, it was best practice to be seen cradling it’s neck in the nook of ones elbow. It’s most polite for conversation after all. Felix wished someone had informed the gondola of the political correctness of it all as he held on for dear life. The carriage swung. It was only now that the earlier trip seemed inviting, a bit late for that. The beginning of the journey was a little rougher than usual, but at least he could enjoy it. The gondola now bounded down the tracks. Felix watched on, his skin shivering as the large rocky region dipped below him. He’d been on some bumpy rides in his time, but it was a first to see the screws actually unscrewing themselves in front of his eyes. There was only one way the gondola was supposed to go, and that was down. But, as his father would say, there’s a difference between water rushing down a gutter and pooling in a bucket in the living room. It wasn’t by choice that his hands suddenly forgot what metal should feel like as he flung towards the the weak-end side, sending glass shattering around him. Scrambling to the corner he tried to fix him self away from the wet. He could already feel the rain seeping through his clothes. By their estimates in the lab, it was believed that two minutes of exposure was enough to cause permanent damage. There was nowhere dry inside the cabin. Five minutes was almost certain death. A knock sent him from the corner to the not-so-inviting outside world. He put a little too much pressure on his left foot, it slipping out from under him. The crack of his knee hitting the floor turned out to be as painful is it sounded.
As his body hung out the side of the carriagee, His fingers dug in to the fabric on the upside down yellow umbrella. His smile wouldn’t let his mind off the comedy of the situation. The gooseneck handle began to bend uncomfortably as it held the weight of the boy by the rail. The switch was almost magical. For a moment the umbrella opened and floated delicately in the wind before being swallowed into the abyss below. Felix had to blink a couple of times taking a moment to recover over what had happened. Braced in the corner, his foot wasn’t to move again. He set his back against the bench. With no escape, no umbrella and the feeling of the poison seeping into his clothes. All he hoped for now was that the gondola held up long enough for him to get to his father’s shop.
***
It is 10 past 11 In the evening. The tinny, robotic voice announced as the safety bell chimed. In their own time the doors opened. By design, they were only capable of doing so upon arrival under cover at either end of the trip. To keep their schedule, they stayed at the bottom till just before the hour. Although initially innocuous the time proved invaluable when winter came storming through and darkened hours of the night, indistinguishable. Felix pushed himself up and managed his way to the back room. A DeTrunk logo was embodied on the shoulder of the dark grey hoodie he saw poking out of the side of a locker in the back room. It wasn’t his style but he didn’t particularly feel like exposing himself to anymore toxicity. Although his results had contradicted the other sensor exposure levels for a while now, hope that he was in fact right about his wild conspiracy was all he had. Earnie was in for an earful before he got to go anywhere near a beach. There was no reason for him to still be alive right now according to the official reports. He collected some plastic packaging surrounding the boxes and fashioned a temporary cover for the missing side of the gondola. It wasn’t like anybody else was going to do anything about it. He’d ask his father for a hand once he managed to get dry.
The umbrellas that lined the entrance were all a dark green. Felix didn’t recognise the handles personally, but they were definitely the work of Conway. Carved, frozen in motion, two lions and a bear roared wildly toward Felix. He grabbed the bear and popped the top. He couldn’t directly see the house from the gondola stable. Chosen by his mother as to be the furthest one away from the lab, it was placed behind the willow. When he rounded the bend and the house was in sight, he stopped for a moment. When people are in shock, they often get asked to wriggle their toes. Wiggling is innocent. Babies wiggle. When a doctor asks of you such a trivial task, it does more than just make sure all your connections are all in place. Being able to balance, to teater on the edge of action. He could move, if he wanted to. That’s not what you do with a fridge ajar at an odd hour in the morning. Or in this case, an open home. You don’t often get to take it all in. Either hunger or forgetfulness brought brought along the initial journey. The trip from bed to kitchen isn’t that usually that arduous. Even when filled with sharps, bits and bobs all ready to skewer, stab, and carve- the danger is managed. The knife is in the block. Anything can happen in the hustle and bustle of a kitchen in full swing. Paella on the floor, cinnamon on the celling. But why start thinking now? What good would wondering who left the damn thing open in the first place, and why not just close the door open in the rain?
It was only when he got close to the shop did he hear the thwack of a fist rocking flesh. His pace quickened, but it wasn’t as fast as the knife he heard slice through the air. The kitchen was alive. not quite able to grasp the scene inside Felix reached his arm out to the door just as it burst open knocking the sky out of his horizon. Umbrella knocked into the air, his atmosphere had changed; all the wind was all gone. The boot landed in the puddle splashing the water into his face. Swiping at his eyes Felix tried to clear the mud that had taken over his vision. The smell was putrid but the stinging was worse. Propped onto one knee he managed to clamber his body upright and towards the steps of the house. With his eyes regaining their function, horror shook him as he saw the situation inside. The western window in the kitchen and the wooden floorboards had been redecorated with the dark tacky blood of the body’s mainline. The knife wasn’t in it’s place in the block. It was in his father’s chest.
Felix screamed. At first for help, and the sound echoed through the wooden house out into the darkness. When seeping blood stopped beating into the floorboards, he cried out in languishing agony. Those that came just in time to see the aftermath, had been turned away by Earnie, who put a blanket around Felix’s shoulders, moving him to another room. His face was red. Had he been crying? Felix felt terrible. He’d ruined Earnie’s retirement. A static ringing raced across his world and though his mind. His face stayed slack as he struggled to get up. He needed to see, he needed to look closer. It must have been a mistake, it can’t happen like this. It was only when he fell that he began to wonder if it was the exhaustion, the rain or the knock to his head outside that proved too much for hime. Either which way, up became down and down he knew well.
***
The children had wrapped their necks in scarves and covered their hands in gloves. Like an autumnal stream flooded with masses of leaves, umbrellas marched their mournful pace. Between the cobble below and the weeping clouds above, candles held their flame safely under cover. The sentiment was admirable. Each hand did their part, large or small clutching tightly a piece of the man they were trying to remember. A bit of his soul, bounded to a promise of safety from the rain. Conway would always let the customer choose the colour. But the handle? That would be all him. Heads of animals immortalised in exquisite technique, capturing moments regularly only glanced. Felix was unsure if he was the shark in the tank that everyone was looking at, or if the whole event was its own kind of creature. All the faces sang the tune of sadness. Jumping back repeating the same melodies that gets hummed when death happens. The reserved smiles that look down with pity and conversations that glorify their memories like an overly enthused taxidermist. After the procession the colours broke off and disappeared into the darkness. Felix found Earnie who was inspecting the handiwork on the gondola. There was a slight horror to him, he hadn’t yet seen the boy and it wasn’t until Felix cleared his throat that Earnie turned around. He was a little startled, he entered himself enough to say. “I’d ask how you’re doing, but I don’t know if I could ask it better than anyone else.” Felix wasn’t in the mood for jokes. Was he trying to be funny?
The broken glass cleared from the boy’s throat before he asked. “When are we going to do the autopsy?”
Earnie gulped. “Felix, I…” his throat worked dryly. “When your mother died, your father was broken. I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re feeling. Conway and I, we didn’t always get along. But if there was one thing we did agree on, it was doing what was best for you. I don’t think that this is a good idea. ” Their eyes didn’t break contact, neither of them flinched.
“What happened to your glasses? “ Felix hadn’t noticed till he was looking him in the eye that he wasn’t wearing his glasses. They were much more yellow than he remembered. The bridge of his nose held the indent from whey they rested.
“They’re at home.” Earnie changed the subject. “Initial findings are showing time of death somewhere between 9 and 10pm. But,” the man let out a sigh. “Unless you remember something more Fe, I don’t think anything useful is going to show up during procedure.”
Felix let his head fall towards his feed. Suddenly his laces seemed to be the most interesting thing in the room.
“That doesn’t mean I’m not going to do my job. Go home Felix.” Earnie said. “I’m not going to bring you on this gondola with me, let alone allow you to autopsy your own father.” Earnie hadn’t just struck his fingers with a cane. He’d let the lid of the piano fall down on him. “Go and mourn. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” A woeful smile came across his face. “Last day and all.” Earnie’s eyes were tired, on his skin the bags had tinged with darkness. He didn’t have the strength to fight, and neither did Felix. The boy spun slowly on his heel and began his trip home. He did have a lot of work to do. The blood on the floor and walls weren’t going to clean themselves. Different bottles filled with stains and minerals inhabited the cupboards in the house. Used in practice to prepare and lacquer wood, he needn’t worry today how much he went through to cleanse the space. He wasn’t going to use it for anything.
No matter how hard he slammed the cupboard doors they never fully closed. Around the shop he wandered, illuminated by the moonlight; caged like an animal. Half-finished projects lay strewn around the room. If there was any order to the chaos, his father would be the only one to know. Even without a life-ending struggle to complicate his cleaning, Felix knew his father well enough to know that this was the norm. The clock in the kitchen read 9:27pm. It wasn’t right. It had been stuck like that for years. Another thing left by his father that he was to one day get to. This time it was his jaw that decided to betray him as it began to shake uncontrollably. His father wouldn’t get to it. Not anymore. He let his body slump down to the floor, and it was only from the peculiar angle did he see it. If not he may have missed it entirely. A pair of glasses just under the corner of the table. He didn’t know how on earth he didn’t see them before. They were right there after all! Then he worked out who they belonged to.
***
His sleep was far from pleasant and the weather was nothing nicer. Waiting for the gondola the next morning Felix could see his breath. Thanklessly, Earnie had pushed his retirement plans back a day to perform the autopsy. Planning to leave after filling out the paperwork required, he had already packed his bags There wasn’t much to carry. Earnie didn’t own much of anything that Felix knew about. Knowing the incredible lasziness that surround the man, it wouldn’t surprise Felix to find that Earnie had left a mess to be cleaned up. The morning birds of Willowsdrop began to stir, their sullen tunes echoing throughout the surrounding woods. As the gondola grew closer, Earnie inhaled. His throat teased, though just as he was about to speak, it seemed he thought better of it.
Felix could hear the blood running like a bull past his temple, bitterly his mouth chewed working to summon the words “Last trip up,” Felix noted “Should we play spot the frog?”
Earnie was a little less than impressed. “You know what, I think I’m sick of gondolas now. I’ll be alright If I don’t ever have to ride one again.”
It is 10 to 7 In the Morning the digital voice chanted through the concrete shelter.The pair stepped into the gondola and the doors close behind them. Earnie carefully made his way over to the bench that spanned the lab and willow sides of the carriage. Again Earnie took his time to admire the patchwork respectfully finding a seat as far away as possible. After they were past the very rocky rocks and before the even rockier pools, Earnie checked his watch. They were probably about half way up by Felix’s estimate.
With a deep breath Felix collected himself. “Something funny happened to me last night.” The words suffocated air between them, Earnie let out a concerned sigh.
“Come on now Fe, you have to let yourself feel. Don’t just try to push this all away. It’s ok to cry, to let out how you’re feeling.” Earnie replied.
“I know you’ve been tampering with the reports.” Felix said. His eyes broke their contact with Earnie. ”I thought I was going to die. It was horrible. I haven’t felt the rain in the longest time.”
Confused Earnie began. “That? That’s what you mean? It was all a mistake! A typo that I just didn’t double check and, well Felix, If I’m truly being honest. The mercury levels? They were normal, they always have been, but when that cheque came in from Head Office, you know how hard we’ve struggled, Felix. What harm does tucking away some savings for a rainy day do? I work hard! You work hard to.”
“You’re unbelievable” Felix spat the words out. Earnie’s shoulders began to hunch, and his face filled with disgust. His nostrils flared and his yellowing teeth ruggedly jorted out of his snarl. The kind man was gone. “You ungrateful little boy.” Earnie’s words cut into his spine. Felix just looked at him. For the first time he saw the laboured wheezing that hung off each breath. “You weren’t supposed to make it off the gondola the other night. This would have all been so much easier if you’d just died like you were supposed to!” Earnie’s fingers were splayed at his side.
“You killed my father didn’t you?” as Felix began to speak Earnie sprang up yanking him by the collar towards the opening. Felix’s arms flew out to his side, sending the bloodied spectacles flying out into the chaos. Felix’s fingers flexed, working to catch the ruggard edges of the carriage where the glass once sat. Earnie was leaning his weight into Felix, pushing him beyond to the flurry outside. The water was cold as it lashed into his back. The fingers on his left hand began to slip and thanks to the old bastard trying to kill him, all Felix could do was push them both back to safety. Earnie reared up and threw his fist towards Felix. Then, like Humpty Dumpty, Doctor Earnie Goon lost his balance. Felix saw his opportunity and pushed Earnie towards the plastic sheet. The snarl remained on the mans face as his shoulders were thrown back into oblivion. His arms scratched at the air, ferociously thrashing. His legs kicked and backwards, he dived head first out of view. It was all quiet for a moment.
Stumbling ungraciously, Felix ended up on the floor of the cart, the spectacles had crunched under his weight. He sat and watched the frogs go by for the rest of the journey. When the gondola arrived at the top he felt the damp humidity hit his throat. The ground was splattering up towards him. He looked over the mountains. He wandered, in his own time, to the entrance and noticed Earnie’s bag. He picked It up and opened the door to his lab. Felix made contact with Head Office. And as like all the days that’d come before, reported on hospitable levels of mercury remaining ever-present in the rain. More funding should be required to research more in-depth analysis. Felix didn’t forget to let Head Office know that Earnie was safely on his way either. Or that his was to be the new account for the research funds. He could just tell, it was going to be a very productive year.
Fin.