Carol didn’t reply and Anna cast a quick look at her. The woman seemed to be running on automatic as she continued to minister to the koala. Her face was rigid, her eyes staring at the wall, as if, in the distance, she could see something that Anna couldn’t see. There was a hint of tears in her eyes, and streaks in the soot and ash on her face that suggested these weren’t the first tears she had shed.
‘Carol? Are you all right? You weren’t hurt, were you?’
Carol started, as if the sound of Anna’s voice had torn her from some other place.
‘No. No. I’m not hurt.’
‘Are you sure you’re all right?’
‘Yes.’ Carol’s voice trailed off. She looked at Anna with such a mix of fear and joy that Anna almost took a step backwards. ‘I’m just a bit shaken.’
‘From the fire? I keep telling you to be careful out there.’
‘So did he.’
‘He who?’
‘My son. I saw him today. At the fire.’
Anna blinked in surprise. ‘I didn’t know you had any kids.’ The two women weren’t close but they saw enough of each other that Anna would have expected to know if Carol had family. Anna had always assumed she was alone.
‘I have boys. Twin boys. I haven’t seen them for fifteen years. We … we lost touch when they were seventeen.’
‘And they were at the fire?’
‘I only saw Justin. The oldest. He’s a firefighter.’ There was something like awe in Carol’s voice. ‘Ben was probably there too. They are inseparable. Or at least they were as kids.’
‘Did you speak to him?’
Carol half grinned. ‘He yelled at me for putting myself in danger to rescue this little girl.’
Anna pushed her long hair back behind her ear with one hand, brushing the scar with the back of her fingers. She had a similar memory of her father saying the same to her as he struggled with the shock of the injuries her foolishness had caused.
‘Just like my dad. It was his way of telling me he loved me.’
Carol’s face fell. ‘I’m pretty sure that’s not the case with Justin. But at least I know he’s fine. That’s some comfort.’
Anna lifted the koala into a large cage and placed her in a blanket-lined basket. ‘That’s all we can do for her for now,’ she said. ‘She’s going to be a very sad and sorry girl for a few days, and I need to keep a close eye on those burns. But with luck, when she’s recovered, you can release her back into the wild.’
Carol took a deep breath and nodded. ‘What about my other girl?’
Anna turned her attention to another koala, which was clinging to a piece of tree trunk, blinking at them as it ate some leaves affixed to the trunk with twine.
‘She’s ready to go.’
‘All right. I won’t take her now, but I’ll drop by with fresh leaf tomorrow and I can take her then. I should be going now.’
‘Sure. If you get any more calls about rescue animals, let me know. I’ll be here all night.’ Anna lived in a small, red-brick house behind the clinic. She didn’t really need to say she’d be home all night. She seldom went out.
Carol said goodbye and got back into her car. It seemed to Anna that she was eager to get away. Maybe she just wanted to be on her own. Anna suspected that today’s encounter with her son had shaken Carol more than she cared to show or admit.
Anna locked the native animal hospital and as she turned to walk back to the main clinic, pulled her phone from her pocket. She had several news alerts pointing her to a piece of video. ‘Woman runs into fire to rescue koala.’ Curious, she hit play.
The woman running into the flames was clearly Carol. She was surrounded by fire as she darted deeper into the burning scrub, at times disappearing behind swirling clouds of smoke. The smoke cleared enough to show her throwing a blanket over a koala that was on the ground and obviously injured. The animal wriggled and fought as Carol tried to pick it up. Then a man appeared at her side wearing the distinctive bright yellow protective RFS uniform. He caught Carol around the shoulders as if to help her out of the fire. That must be Justin.
Anna paused the video and zoomed in, hoping to see more of her friend’s son. He was tall and looked strong and confident. He was wearing a helmet and face shield and Anna found herself wishing she could see his face more clearly.
She restarted the video and the camera began to move. The person was obviously filming from the back of a car, now being driven away at speed. The two figures were quickly lost in the smoke haze and the video stopped.
