Until the Rivers Run Still

"It struck me how much the past - not just the past but history and family - was like the ocean tide. It was always the same ocean, but the waves made it fresh and new each time." Aimee Friedman, Sea Change.

Prologue – The Present

'What a pretty cemetery,' Bruce commented as they parked the car. 'Did you notice the Monumental Mason just outside the gates?'

'No, why?' asked Johanna, looking around vaguely.

'The sign says they do kitchen benches. How handy is that? When you collect the insurance money after I die, you can order a new kitchen bench and a tombstone from the same place.'

'Ha ha, Mr. Chuckles,' Johanna smiled fondly at him as he easily jumped out of the car. Her smile turned into a grimace as she climbed out of the car. The manoeuvre was never a simple one for her as "Henry", Bruce's beloved Land rover Defender, was too high off the ground for someone as vertically challenged as she was. She leant against the car and flexed her arthritic knee, trying to get it lubricated and ready for walking. The doctors told her exercise was good for arthritis, but making her knee bend after sitting in the car felt like opening a gate with rusty hinges; it needed some oil first.

She looked up and saw Bruce wandering down the nearest row, reading the headstones as he went. 'At least it's not a big cemetery,' he called out. 'I was exhausted after the last trip to Rookwood. The history tour was great, though.'

'Mm,' murmured Johanna as she followed him, puffing slightly as she caught up with him. She pulled a notebook out of her pocket and checked the details she'd copied from the Internet.

'Look at this one,' Bruce said, pointing at the closest headstone. 'How awful for them; they lost five children, all less than three years old.'

'It must have been terrible in those days.' Johanna looked up and read the headstone, shaking her head sadly. 'Trying to push Marcus out would have killed us both if he'd been born back then. Thank God for caesareans, I say.'

'It was lucky for me as well.' Bruce smiled affectionately and putting his arm around her shoulders gave her a quick squeeze. 'I would have been left alone to bring up the twins by myself.'

'I don't know who I would have pitied more: you or them.' She grinned up at him fondly. 'Childbirth must have been awful in those days, with no drugs and possibly death at the end of it.' She pointed at another headstone. 'Look at this one. I think this girl and her baby must have died in childbirth since they died on the same day. She was only twenty, poor thing,' she sighed.

Bruce looked around, shading his eyes and surveying the cemetery. 'How do you want to attack this? Do you know what religion they were? If you do, we can start looking in that section.'

Johanna dragged her attention back to their intended mission.

'The family was Church of England. I think they converted from Lutheranism when they moved to Australia.'

'Why don't we go to the main road and look for the C of E signs?' Bruce suggested

'Sounds good.' As they strolled along the road, they passed row after row of white standard roses, bordered with lavender bushes. Johanna pointed at the bush bordering the far side of the cemetery.

'Listen. I'm sure that's a bellbird over there. I love their song. I didn't realise there were any around here.'

'There are some lorikeets too and a flock of swallows.' Bruce stopped and looked up, watching as the screeching group flew across the sky. 'It's a beautiful place to be buried in.'

As they neared the far end of the cemetery, Bruce pointed towards a battered sign. 'Here it is. What about if I start at the furthest row, you start at the closest one, and we can work our way towards each other.'