Feathers

4. Coming Home

Michael's apartment was on the third floor of an old brick tower block on a corner overlooking a park and a construction lot.

The uber pulled into Bruce Street and double-parked next to a white ute. Michael and Kobie climbed out into the last remnants of daylight.

They walked through a wrought iron gate that had been installed to keep Michael's nervous neighbour in unit 2 happy. The gate wasn't locked. You opened it by lifting a latch that anyone could figure out. It was less of a legitimate security measure and more of a symbolic barrier to the potential forces of evil lurking outside on the street.

The building was solid concrete on the inside. The steps they trudged up to the fourth-floor landing, winding upwards in a chunky spiral through the centre of the tower block, were painted a faded lime green.

Michael lived on the last floor before the communal rooftop. He loved that roof. If he could pitch a tent and live up there instead of in his room he would. It looked over Hamilton, the cafes on Beaumont Street, the dog walkers in Gregson park that you could only see momentarily as they appeared and then disappeared again under the foliage of the last old fig trees still standing in Newcastle.

There was still something exciting that filled him with childlike glee about being high up on the roof of an apartment block, looking down at the little toy figurine people and matchbox cars on the street below, feeling the wind whip through his hair, terrified and excited all at once by the thought of what could happen if he got close to that edge.

Michael unlocked the front door of the apartment with the Bronze number 5 covered in green mould and the welcome mat that said "Come In" laying askew.

He opened the door and they stepped inside the hallway of the flat. Kobie pulled on Michael's hand, twisting him so he was facing her as they stood in the hallway.

"Thank you for letting me stay over," she said and reached up to touch the side of his face, "how are you feeling".

"I'm good" he lied.

It wasn't really a lie, he was fine physically and he was sure the weird visions would fade soon. Everyone's brains were capable of doing all sorts of weird things given the right set of circumstances. It didn't mean that he was slipping into mental illness again. Or falling suddenly into psychosis. He was sure if he just gave it a little more time, his brain would have time to recalibrate. if it didn't then he'd have to tell her. But he'd cross that bridge if he came to it.

"I'm fine," he said again and squeezed her hand.

Kobie squinted up at him, staring at him for a second longer than was comfortable, "okay, if you say so".

From the other side of the kitchen door a distinct thud broke the silence.

"What was that?" whispered Kobie.

"Stay here."

Micahel's heart was racing as he crept quietly towards the kitchen door.

Suddenly it burst open and the seven-foot-tall frame of his housemate Gretchen, dressed in bright orange fisherman pants and a black Bintang beer T-shirt stumbled out of it.

"Hey homie" she shouted and flung her arms around Michael's neck squeezing him into her ample bosom.

Michael gripped Gretchen by the shoulders and pushed her back to arm's length. It was good to see her. But surprising.

"What are you doing here? I didn't know you'd got a flight."

Gretchen had been gone for the last three months, travelling around south-east Asia and as far as Michael knew was still waiting on a rescue flight home after COVID hit and international travel back into Australia became extremely restricted.

"I got one two weeks ago. Been in hotel quarantine. All expenses paid. Thanks, Mr Prime Minister. Like an extra free holiday after Thailand. Bloody lucky."

"You've been sitting in a hotel for two weeks and you didn't think to message me?" Michael put on a pretend pout.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," she said and playfully punched his shoulder "surprise buddy."

She grinned down at him stupidly, and then looked across at Kobie, who was still standing awkwardly by the door and waved.

"Hi there," she said, then turning to Michael "aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Michael could feel his face warming slightly. he didn't know why but this moment was more nerve-racking than he expected. Probably because he hadn't expected to have to deal with it yet. He and Kobie were still in their own bubble of new love. They hadn't introduced each other to any of their friends yet. Out of all Michael's friends and acquaintances, Gretchen was the one who Michael was most nervous about Kobie meeting.

Gretchen and Michael had been best friends for years and Michael adored her. But he knew she could come off a bit strong to the uninitiated. She worked as a burlesque performer and carried herself with the confidence you'd expect of a professional dancer. She was one of the tallest people Michael had ever met at just over seven feet tall. And she wasn't just big in stature, she had the personality to match. Her whisper was a normal person's talking voice and her regular chatting volume was as loud as most people yelling over a crowd at the pub.