‘Diary Entry’
Diary Entry
They were fearful, but still inquisitive, I could sense it. I beckoned again, “Come,” motioning to the open field in front of them, (making sure my eyes were averted, as Ludvyenko and Morris had advised). One or two shuffled uneasily, the others remained still, clearly uncomfortable, possibly even in a kind of shock.
The light was fading, and I was running out of options. I vaguely remembered Cartwright mentioning in his journal about using music to attract a similar group of saplings in the western country, but these were ghost gums, a breed all of their own, and up till now, never before encountered in the wild. A discovery like this would ensure me a seat at the table with The Royal Society. My future was at last within grasp.
I noticed one or two of the group edging away, and in a fit of what I can only describe as pure panic, I began with the only song I knew, I was a botanist after all, not a crooner.
‘It’s only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea’
My voice was flat and the tune, unrecognizable, but in the half light branches softly shushed and shuffling ensued, were they leaning in towards me? I continued …
‘But it wouldn’t be make believe
if you believed…’ and in the tiny gap between lyrics, a deep baritone voice from somewhere towards the back of the thicket, ever so softly finished the line,
‘…in me.’