Queensland, AustraliaâJanuary, 1994
âHOW CAN A ROCK be magic?â Callum asked, standing at the base of the huge boulder. âItâs just a bloody big rock.â
âLook around you, dipstick,â Teague shouted from the top of the rock. âDo you see any other rocks like this around here? Gramps said itâs here because it is magic. You stand on top of this rock and make a wish and it comes true. Aborigines brought it here and they know a lot of magic.â
âI think Gramps had a few kangaroos loose in the paddock.â Callum chuckled. âI wouldnât believe everything he said.â
Brody stepped up to the rock. âHe did not. And Iâm telling Dad you said that. Itâs not nice to speak ill of the dead.â
âHe told us there was treasure buried out here, too,â Callum said. âHe even told me he dug for it when he was a boy. Who would bury treasure out here?â
Brody punched Callum in the shoulder. âGive me a leg up,â he said.
âNo, we have to get back. Mum will have supper ready.â
âI want to climb it,â Brody insisted. It was hard enough always being last in line, but he hated it when Callum tried to be the boss. At least Teague liked to explore and have adventures. He treated Brody as if they were the very same age, not eighteen months apart. Callum was always the careful one, warning them off when things got too dangerous. Three years older than Brody and he might have well been forty, Brody thought.
âYouâll fall and crack your noggin open,â Callum warned. âAnd Iâll get the blame, just like I always get the blame for every bad thing you morons do.â
âCal, help him up,â Teague said. âItâs not that high. And Iâll hang on to him.â
âYou donât have to hang on to me,â Brody said. âIâm not a baby.â
Reluctantly, Callum wove his fingers together and bent down. Brody put his foot into his older brotherâs hands and a few moments later, Teague had dragged him to the top of the rock. âWow,â Brody said. âThis is high. I bet I can see all of Queensland from here.â
âYouâve climbed to the top of the windmills. Theyâre much higher,â Callum said as he scrambled up behind him. âAnd you canât see Brisbane from them. And Brisbane is in Queensland.â
âMake a wish,â Teague said. âWeâll see if it works.â
âI have to think,â Brody said. He wanted so many things. A computer, video games, a dirt bike. But there was something he wanted more than anything. Heâd never told his brothers because he knew theyâd laugh. After all, there wasnât much chance heâd ever get off the station.
âCome on,â Teague said. âSay it. It wonât come true unless you shout it out loud.â
âI want to be a footballer,â Brody yelled. âI want to go to a real school and play on a real team. I want to be famous and everyone will know my name. And I want to be on the telly.â To Brodyâs surprise, his brothers didnât laugh. In fact, they seemed to think his wish was a good one.
âThatâs a big wish,â Callum said soberly.
âMy turn,â Teague said. âI know exactly what I want. I want an airplane. Or a helicopter. I want to learn how to fly. Then I can go anywhere I want, just like that. I could even fly over the ocean and see America or Africa or the South Pole.â
âYou could take me to my football games,â Brody said.
Teague reached out and ruffled Brodyâs hair. âI could. But only if you give me free tickets.â He stared over at Callum. âWhat about you?â
âI know what I want,â Callum said.
âYou have to say it.â
Callum sat down, draping his arms over his knees as he took in the view. âHow do you think this rock really got here?â
âI think itâs a meteor,â Brody said, sitting down beside him. âIt dropped out of the sky.â
Callum ran his hand over the smooth surface of the rock. âMaybe the Aborigines did move it here. Maybe it was like Stonehenge. You know, that place in England with all the rocks.â
âAnd I think a giant prehistoric bird took a crap and it fossilized,â Teague teased as he joined them. They all laughed, lying back on the rock and staring up at the cloudless sky.