THE AWAKENING OF A GIANT - J. E. Powell

CHAPTER ONE

He sat in the corner of the bar in Mavis Bank Square in deep thought, a bottle of beer in one hand a cigarette in the corner of his mouth.  It had been two years since he had purchased the parcel of land on the Blue Mountains with the intent to mine for precious stones and metals.  Ever since his friend had showed him some stones he had found in the hills years ago, he had been obsessed about mining.  The going was rough, though.  He faced opposition from the villagers who had wanted the land for farming and thought what he was doing a waste of time and good farmland.   

The Bartender had told him moments ago that he would be closing soon. He downed the last of the beer, bade the barkeep goodnight and exited the bar still dragging on his cigarette.

These were bad habits that he had tried to give up but still found it easy to revisit when he was stressed.  Lara had hated both his visits to the bar and smoking and would call him a bar fly when she was upset.

As he stepped out in the dark and cold he buttoned up his jacket to keep the cold air out.  It could get quite chilly in the mountains especially when the night brought the winds from the peak with it.  He lived twenty minutes away and, when he had set out earlier, walking seemed to be a good idea, now the daunting journey back caused him some amount of regret. 

Eventually his mood lifted as the moonlight replaced the sparse streetlights and he started humming a familiar tune.  The hoot of an owl in a nearby tree frightened him and he stumbled a little.  Perhaps it was a good thing he had not driven to the bar since he was so unsteady on his feet.  Falling off the mountain is not an experience he would like to have at any time.

Twenty minutes later, he trudged up the steps to his front door and fumbled for his key.  Sometimes the loneliness got to him and he missed his family.  He wondered if all the time he had put into his work was worth the sacrifice.

Three years ago his wife of ten years had walked out on him taking the three children.  His work as a Volcanologist and everything seismic had him traipsing all over the globe leaving little time for family life.  He had known things had been bad but he had never realized they had been so bad until she had walked out.

He sighed as he prepared for bed.  The self-recrimination would have to wait.  Right now he had to make a return on his investment and make preparations for his children to spend the summer with him.  He smiled as he thought of them.  The eldest Nina was ten and was very protective of her siblings, John, who was five and Dara, three.  Nina was big for her age and loved taking charge of things especially when her mom was not around.  He drifted off to sleep with that smile on his face. Thoughts of his children always put him in a good mood.

The next morning he woke at four o’clock which gave him a lot of time to think about the many chores he had and the order in which to do them.  In an effort to appease the villagers he had started a poultry- farm which provided an income by supplying eggs and chicken for consumption.  He had planted a bigger than usual kitchen garden in addition to some staples like bananas, yams and potatoes. 

He had felt that that would keep them off his back for a while.  However, since he did not know much about farming, he had to hire Joe who turned out to be quite handy in the general upkeep of the property.  His wife, Mabel, took care of the housework and since a caretaker’s cottage was included with the purchase, they lived conveniently close to him.

At five o’clock Martin got up, showered and prepared to meet the day.  Mabel would have been up already and preparing the usual breakfast fare.  She believed that in order to get through the day you had to start with a substantial meal. She was so reminiscent of his mother.  He smiled as the aroma wafted to his nostrils identifying his favourites. 

“Morning, Mabel.  Your breakfast called and I am answering,” he said to her with a smile.

“Morning, Mr. Edwards.  A fix yuh favourite, sah,” she responded warmly while she bustled about cleaning up the kitchen. 

His breakfast was already on the table so he pulled out his chair and sat down to enjoy it.  He was ravenous after an early dinner the day before and his beer-drinking into the night.  Mabel was a woman of few words which he did not mind since that allowed little or no interruption while he ate.

He liked the idea that it was an eat-in kitchen which was always warm and was much appreciated in the early mornings when the fog was at its densest.  He knew he would need water boots as the grass would be as wet as if from a light drizzle.

He heard the dogs barking signalling the arrival of his friend and colleague from the university.  They both worked in the Geology & Mines Department and he was the only one who had supported the idea of mining in the hills.  Everyone else looked more than a little amused at what they called his ‘madcap’ idea.

Martin checked his watch and realized that it was quarter to six.  Hmm, Randolph was very early, he thought seconds after he heard the doorbell ring.

“Neva mine, suh, I’ll get the door fo’ yuh.  You keep eatin’ yuh brekfass,” Mabel said as she dried her hands and hurried to the door.

“Mornin’ Mr. White, how you doin’ dis fine mornin’ sah?  Go right through to the kitchen, Mr. Edwards is dere having his brekfass.”

“Morning, Mabel.  It seems like I came at the right time.  Thank you,” replied Randolph as he entered and continued to the kitchen.

“Hi Randolph, have a seat and help yourself, man.  You know every time is the right time for Mabel.  She always has something cooking and it is always enough to feed a whole tribe.”

They discussed the location in which they would work over the week-end while they ate, among other things.  Since they were both employed full-time at the university they had to make use of the time they had, hence the early start.  They also had to avoid the searing heat of the mid-day sun so they usually break about eleven o’clock and resumed about three in the afternoon.  They used the four hours in between to run errands or to relax and past time.

They finished their breakfast and set out about six-thirty, armed with their tools and the mid-morning feast that Mabel provided. In no time they were at the site and they worked comfortably for a few hours before stopping.  They had created a nice picnic area under a tree, whose cover provided the shade needed for their respite.

So far they had had no luck in finding neither precious stones nor anything else of value and they seemed to be proving the villagers correct in their reference to them as ‘dem two madman.’ 

“You know, Martin, since we are down to five feet perhaps we could consider where next to start digging,” said Randolph as he wiped his mouth with his napkin.

“Well, I thought we would continue digging another foot or so before starting a new dig site,” responded Martin.

“Sounds like we’re digging our grave,” said Randy a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. 

“We could go west about a hundred yards from where we are digging now, right in that area where there is an indentation,” continued Martin, the joke by no means lost on him.

“Okay.  I was thinking the same thing, actually,” said Randolph as he got up and stretched lazily.

“I am going to rest awhile to digest my food before digging some more.  Oh, and I won’t be able to make it tomorrow because the wife has some friends coming over for dinner.  Sorry Marty, I tried to get out of it without any success so you’ll be on your own tomorrow.”

“All right, no problem.  I’ll do all I can by myself.”

Despite the hot sun beating down on them, they managed to resume work by one in the afternoon.  They worked in companionable silence through the afternoon until dusk before packing up and calling it a day.

The next day it rained so Martin spent his time going over his research material to make a presentation to the Ministry mid-week.  He had to do this once a month to justify his position at the university.

Later on as he prepared for the week ahead he thought about the dig over the week-end and looked forward to starting at the new site next time.  He shivered with excitement.  He felt deep in his bones that the new site was going to bring changes he could hardly imagine.