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claustrophobic, as if they were looming over her and accusing her of
being an interloper in their world of unruly beauty. Slowly she taught
herself to view the trees as a wall of green, protecting her from the
pain and distress which had sent her packing her bags and driving up
into the mountains in the first place. However, her indifference
towards nature turned to dislike when it came to creepy crawlies, the
way they would surprise you when you walked into the kitchen in
the morning, staring at you (you couldn’t actually see their eyes- they
were too minuscule, but Naomi L. could feel them), watching your
every move and waiting for the perfect moment to drop onto your
shoulder. The only true comfort she found in nature was the thriving
bridal veil creeper, a noxious weed which had found it ways into the
Wollemi wilderness from South East Asia. The creeper formed
tangled masses, scrambling across the soil and climbing up the
Bloodwood trees. Although listed as one of Australia’s
20 weeds of
national significance
, she found the alien weed strangely attractive. The
twisting stems, shining green leaves, fleshy white-petalled flowers as
well as the burgundy-coloured berries filled her with a longing for
something foreign, something romantic.
Every day, Naomi L. would stick to the routine that she had
created for herself. Wake up at 9am, perform her morning pushups,
have a shower, eat breakfast, watch the 12pm daily sport overview ,
eat lunch, complete a cryptic crossword from the book she had
found in the cupboard, have a nap, perform her evening pushups, eat
dinner and go to bed. Once a week she would drive into the nearest
town to stock up on food and magazines, but she didn’t like to spend
a lot of time there. Locals would stare at her, as she pushed a trolley
down the supermarket aisle. A thirty-something year old woman in
the Hazelbrook supermarket wearing some old tracksuit pants, ugg
boots and faded hoodie was clearly not a local. She felt like an
outsider
,
always expecting calls of obscenity and abuse but they never came.
‘
On returning from her weekly visit into town one evening, Naomi L.
discovered another car parked in the garage. A forest-green ute with
‘Total Tree Carers’ painted on the side, looking like it could use a great
deal of repairing work. The lodge was designed for two guests, but
she had presumed that a shabby lodge in the middle-of-nowhere
would not attract any visitors apart from herself.
A young man stepped out of the sliding door and onto the
A Wall Of
Green
12