The morning sunlight poured in through the thin blue fabric of the tent, casting everything inside in an azure hue. My eyes flickered open.
The children were already up, I could hear them laughing and playing outside.
It would have been such a lovely, peaceful scene, if it hadn’t been for the deep, rumbling snore rising up from the warm lump that lay motionless next to me. Paul was still dead to the world.
Slipping out of my sleeping bag, the slight chill of the morning air raised goosebumps on my skin. Unzipping the door to our sleeping compartment, the canvas wet with morning dew, I made my way into the main area of the tent. The main flaps were wide open, rippling softly in the light, cool breeze.
Rummaging through my bag, I pulled out a pale pink fleece top and blue walking trousers. Once dressed, it was time to get breakfast ready for my adventurous crew.
The morning view outside was something spectacular. The lake shimmered in the early morning sunlight and the sky shone in a beautiful light blue, streaked with light, feathered mare’s tails. I couldn’t see the twins, but I could hear their delightful giggles drifting up from behind a cluster of gnarled and tangled, old bushes.
Smiling, I clicked the black switch on the front of our little camping stove, igniting the gas underneath the small frying pan. Peeling a few rashers of bacon from the cool bag we’d left outside last night, I dropped them in with a sizzle. Glancing back at the open tent, if the smell of cooking breakfast didn’t raise my husband from the dead then nothing would.
“Hey, love!” A few minutes later I felt Paul’s arms wrap around my shoulders and a soft kiss planted on my neck. “That’s smelling good!”
Glancing up at him, his dark hair was a tangled mess, morning stubble roughened his chin. He could have at least attempted to look presentable.
“Where are the kids?” His eyes scanned the banks of the lake.
“Over there, playing.” I nodded towards the stunted thicket where I had last heard them.
A smile crossed his face as he sat down on the hard stony ground beside me, eyes staring out over the lake.
“Mummy, mummy!” My head turned as I heard Sarah’s voice calling to me. Still wearing their pyjamas, the twins came running towards me. Their faces were bright, big smiles stretched from ear to ear as they bounded over.
“Mummy, can our new friend come and have breakfast with us?” Tom asked, voice quivering with excitement.
“What new friend?”
“We just met her over there, Mummy. Just behind those bushes…” Sarah’s words tumbled out hurriedly.
“Her name’s Kirsten! Her clothes are a bit funny but she’s really nice!” Tom butted in, speaking over the top of his sister.
My eyes scanned the banks of the lake, skimmed over the rough, rocky landscape. There couldn’t be anyone else out here, could there? I hadn’t seen or heard anyone, well other than perhaps that child’s cry last night.
My body shuddered, a cold chill seemed to pass right through me. It vanished almost as quickly as it had come, so quickly in fact that I wondered if I had imagined it.
“I don’t think so, guys.” Paul’s voice interjected, “She should probably be getting back to her mummy and daddy, they’ll be wondering where she is.”
“Oh, but…” Sarah’s face melted as she began to argue.
“No buts, sweetheart. You two can play with her again later but now she needs to go back to her family before they start to worry about her.”
Heads down, the pair trudged off, back towards the bushes.
Another shiver coursed through my body, a sudden draught rising up from the deep waters of the lake.
“There’s no one else out here, is there? Have you seen anyone?” I glanced up at Paul. I couldn’t tell you what it was, but something just felt off… wrong.
“Of course there isn’t! Don’t you remember the last time we went camping? When they made friends with the boy from Mars, that one who let them have a ride in his spaceship?” Paul chuckled to himself.
I guess he was probably right but something about all this niggled in the back of my mind.
Once we’d finished breakfast, Paul and the kids went back into the tent to get dressed, I quickly washed the frying pan and then pulled out the GPS to plan today’s route. A leisurely walk around the lake seemed like a good way to spend our first real day out here. It shouldn’t take more than a few hours, that’d give us the rest of the afternoon to relax by the lake.
What was going on in that tent? There was a lot of giggling, but I bet not very much getting dressed happening. Peeking in through the open flap, I could see the twins rolling around on the floor, half naked. Oh, and what a surprise, Paul was in the middle of it all too. He was worse than they were!
“Paul, will you leave them alone so they can get dressed!”
“Yes, Mummy!” Paul replied sarcastically, an irritating grin plastered across his face.
Eventually, my little clan did manage to get themselves ready and we set out. It was a pleasant day, the sun was hazy but warm. The light breeze rippling the lake carried a slight but not uncomfortable coolness.
We made good progress, the path around the lake was flat and although rocky and worn, it was generally smooth and made for easy walking. The landscape was unchanging, the same desolate scrubland seemed to stretch on for miles, rising up into the rugged hills.
It was around 11am when we reached the far side of the lake.
“Right, time to stop for a quick something to eat, I think.” Paul announced loudly.
The sun passed behind a heavy cloud, the water of the lake turned from a bright azure to a leaden black. I pulled my jacket around myself closely.
The rest of the family didn’t seem to notice. The twins crowded around Paul as he dug around in his day pack, hunting for the chocolate bars and bottles of squash that I’d packed for them before leaving the camp.
After a few minutes sitting on a large rock by the water, the children had finished their snacks and were starting to get fidgety. Constantly glancing around behind them.
“Mummy, can we go and play with Kirsten now?” Tom asked me, his eyes wide and hopeful.
“Kirsten?” I repeated the name of their imaginary friend.
“Yes Mummy, she’s behind those bushes over there. She just called our names, didn’t you hear her?” Sarah’s eyes were as equally wide as her brother’s.
Had I heard anything? Perhaps there had been something, but, no, surely it had just been the wind. There’s no way that another child could have followed us out this far.
Another shiver wracked my body.
“You guys go and play!” Paul piped up, his voice light and relaxed. “Just make sure that you let us know before you go off, flying in her spaceship!” A deep chuckle followed those last words.
Sarah’s eye narrowed as she looked at her father. “Don’t be so silly, Daddy! She hasn’t got a spaceship.” Satisfied with her retort, she gave a curt nod, jumped to the ground and charged off towards the bushes. Her brother followed, hot on her heels.
“I wonder where she gets her attitude from?” Paul muttered softly, giving me a slightly sideways glance.
That deserved another elbow in the ribs.