The Opal Desert (42 page)

‘Then why are you here?' demanded Shirley.

‘Shirley, it's a long story,' interrupted Kerrie. ‘After our last visit, when you told me all about Stefan, I just knew that I had to find out what had happened to him, so at least you would have some peace. Not knowing what happened to the man you love seemed so strange as well as terribly sad. So I decided to try and make some enquiries on your behalf. Through his art, Milton knew many important people, including a dear friend of his from Croatia. I contacted him and he referred me to a man who was experienced in finding out what happened to people who disappeared in Yugoslavia during the communist regime. So an investigation began. This man not only found out what had happened to Stefan, but he found someone who was with him when he died.'

‘That was me,' said Goran. ‘Kerrie asked me if she could fly me to Australia so that I could personally tell you what I know about Stefan. So here I am. I met Stefan when I was still young. He was wonderful to me. We became friends.'

‘Where was this? In Yugoslavia?' whispered Shirley, tightening her hold slightly on Goran's hand.

‘Yes, in Goli Otok,' he replied, giving a little shudder. But the name meant nothing to Shirley so he continued. ‘It was a terrible place, an island, a lump of rock, in the Adriatic Sea, not far from the Croatian coast. Goli Otok means naked island and it is isolated and the vegetation sparse. Tito turned it into a political prison, to house those people who were still Stalinists, or who might have had pro-Soviet ideas. Later, when Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian or Albanian nationalists tried to make their voices heard, they were also sent there, as well as common criminals. I was imprisoned there with Stefan.'

‘Stefan in prison? Why was Stefan in prison?' Shirley's eyes blazed, demanding answers.

‘Shirley, wait. Goran will tell you the whole story,' said Kerrie gently.

‘I can't believe it . . . after all this time. If only I'd known before . . .' Shirley sighed.

Goran shook his head. ‘You could have done nothing. It was a very difficult time. Most Yugoslavs never knew of the existence of Goli Otok. A few tourists go there today. It is all just rotting away as it was left.'

‘Why was Stefan in a political prison? He was only interested in becoming a good Australian. He didn't have any political or nationalistic ideas,' said Shirley.

‘Yes, I know. He didn't but I did. I was young, passionate and reckless, and I protested and was arrested and ended up on that fortress island. That's where I met Stefan. Sometimes I think it was meeting him that saved me. We shared a cell for a brief time and laboured together in the stone quarry. It was such heavy work, but Stefan was used to hard labour and he would do his work and then help me.'

Goran turned to Kerrie. ‘It was hellish on that island. The winters were freezing, the wind like cutting ice, and the summers hot, like a fire. There was no shade and when we looked to the sea we wanted to jump from the cliff just to cool ourselves. How I longed to see a forest or a lake. The prison was a whole township where we were forced to work in the quarry and workshops. There was a section where the solitary confinement cells were that had a chamber where . . .' He glanced at Shirley and lowered his voice, ‘where unspeakable acts happened.'

‘But I don't understand. Why, why was Stefan in that terrible place?' asked Shirley. ‘He had only gone back to Yugoslavia to see his dying mother.' Tears welled up in her eyes.

Kerrie began to wonder if bringing Goran to meet Shirley had been such a good idea. His words were like a scalpel opening up an old wound.

‘Stefan told me that he was arrested at the airport as soon as he left the plane. He was told by the authorities that they knew he was a subversive who had been plotting against the regime. It all happened so quickly that he had no chance to contact anyone, family or friend.'

Shirley shook her head vehemently. ‘There's no way that Stefan could be involved in that sort of thing. He was honest and he despised the others in Lightning Ridge who were hanging on to the old battles and ancient prejudices instead of getting on with their lives in their new country. Stefan was a good man.'

Goran nodded. ‘Yes, he was a decent man. I liked him very much.'

‘Please, go on with your story, Goran,' said Kerrie.

‘Stefan had a trial, of sorts. The authorities presented their case and he had no way of defending himself, so he was convicted. That was not unusual. Anyone who was thought to be opposed to the regime could be imprisoned with very little chance of justice.' His expression softened. ‘We talked about many things. Our homes and our family and how we hoped that things would change. He told me about Australia, that it was a good place. He talked about his Shirley, and how living with you was the happiest time of his life. He told me how he met you, and the fun you both had camping in the bush and living in a cave. I found this last part very strange, but Stefan said it was true.

I liked to listen to his stories. You both seemed to be so free and independent, living the life you truly wanted.'

Shirley closed her eyes and a tear slowly slid down her aged cheek. Kerrie reached out and gently touched her shoulder.

Goran went on in a quiet, steady voice. ‘We both talked about our dreams, and how we hoped our lives would turn out. One's life can change so quickly and for unexpected reasons. That prison was a horrible place. But Stefan was always sure that one day he would get back to Australia and to you, Shirley.'

‘What happened to him?' asked Shirley flatly, her eyes still closed.

‘I'm sorry, Shirley. He had been away from Yugoslavia so long that he was no longer used to the harsh winters. One winter he became ill, but the prison authorities ignored him. He was forced to continue the back-breaking work in the quarry, although he was not fit to do so. He collapsed and although he was taken to the prison hospital, he died of complications from pneumonia.'

Shirley took this in, then shifted in the bed. She folded her hands on top of the sheet, tears streaming down her cheeks. ‘My poor, poor Stefan. How could I have ever doubted him? I can't believe that anything so terrible could have happened. My poor darling man.'

Kerrie smiled at her. ‘Now you know that Stefan never stopped loving you.'

Shirley nodded. ‘I suppose so, but when I think that I didn't trust him. How could I have had such thoughts? Kerrie, I don't understand, Bosko told me that Stefan had got married. How could he be so cruel as to say that?' Shirley's eyes narrowed. She suddenly understood. ‘Stefan was set up, wasn't he?'

‘Yes, he was, and by that man Bosko,' replied Kerrie. ‘The man I hired to trace Stefan's records was very lucky. Many files had disappeared, but he found Stefan's papers and it was clear that the person who had falsely accused Stefan and alerted the Yugoslav authorities of his arrival in Yugoslavia was Bosko. It seems that Bosko was really an agent provocateur. While he was supposedly recruiting Croats, Serbs and Albanians in Australia to work against the communist regime in Yugoslavia, he was really working for the UDBa, the Yugoslav secret police. So far from supporting these nationalist groups, he was making sure that the Australian authorities thought they were terrorists. At the same time, the money he extorted from the opal miners went to the communist regime, and not to the people that the miners really meant to support. He was a very busy man.'

‘I suppose he hated Stefan for not buying into his lies,' said Shirley.

‘And from what you've told me, Shirley, Bosko might also have been worried that Stefan could have gone to the Australian authorities over his extortionist activities. I suppose that when he knew that Stefan was going back to Yugoslavia to see his mother, it was a good opportunity to get him out of the way. I'm so sorry, Shirley,' said Kerrie.

Shirley turned to Goran. ‘And you flew out to Australia to tell me all this. Thank you very much. What happened to you, Goran?'

‘I survived my sentence and things began to change in Yugoslavia. The prison closed down entirely in the late eighties.'

‘So if my Stefan hadn't died from pneumonia, he would have been released eventually? It's so hard to believe that such a terrible thing happened, but at least now I know. And you found this out for me, Kerrie. How can I ever thank you?'

‘Shirley, you've been such a good friend to me, it was the least I could do. If the same thing had happened to me, and the love of my life just disappeared into thin air, I would always wonder what happened, just as you did.

I had the means to hire someone to do the search and then to fly Goran out here, and I am so pleased that I could,' said Kerrie. She leant over to hug Shirley.

Shirley looked at Goran. ‘Thank you for being a friend to Stefan. See what good friends I have, too.'

‘If there is anything else I can do to help you, please let me know. I was in bad shape when I came out of Goli Otok. I was sad that Stefan had died. Perhaps I should have tried to find you, but I wanted to pick up the threads of my life again. Australia is such a long way away and there were too many Shirleys to look up.'

‘Please, it's all right. I'm so grateful to you. All those years I spent wondering and now I know. I wish I could thank you properly. If I was home in my dugout I could.

I loathe being in here,' she said crossly, sounding more like the Shirley of old.

Kerrie smiled. ‘Goran is happy to stay a few days, seeing as he's come all this way and you're in hospital. We'll take him out to Opal Lake. Then he can see the “cave” you live in. Now, Shirley, do you want to rest? I'll pop back this afternoon and we can talk if you like,' said Kerrie, standing up. ‘Goran, let me buy you lunch.'

*

Shirley walked stiffly, using a stick, but she was already feeling better and had renewed energy, so she decided to take a few slow laps around the hospital corridors. It was days since the visit from Goran, which she sometimes felt she'd dreamed, but her general sense of peace and wellbeing reminded her that the encounter was real.

She thought she'd like to look at the orthopaedic section of the surgical ward because it was where she used to work all those decades ago.

A passing nurse paused and asked, ‘Can I help you?'

‘Now that I can walk, I know that I have to keep exercising. I used to be a ward sister in an orthopaedics unit years ago, in Sydney. I bet things have changed since my day.'

The nurse smiled. ‘Yes. We try not to immobilise people for weeks on end these days. We've only got a few orthopaedic patients in at the moment, mostly knee and hip replacements.'

They chatted as they walked.

‘You look like you're recovering well,' said the nurse.

‘Gallbladder. Glad it's over. Everyone has been very kind and efficient here and looked after me really well, but I don't plan to come back any time soon. Any patients here with broken bones that I could have a look at?'

They moved further along the corridor until they came to a private room where a bored-looking policeman was sitting outside a closed door reading a newspaper.

‘The patient in here is under arrest. I don't know why they bother with security,' the nurse said to Shirley in a low voice. ‘He's got broken legs. He's not going to run anywhere.'

Shirley stopped. ‘Could I look in on him? I'd like to see how you treat such patients now. No more high traction you said?'

The nurse spoke to the policeman who stood up and folded his newspaper before nodding. The nurse opened the door to the room. Shirley paused in the doorway.

‘You have a visitor. A former sister who knows all about broken bones,' said the nurse to the patient.

Shirley ignored the modern equipment. She was staring at the occupant of the bed. Calmly she said, ‘Good morning, Davo.' He turned his head away from the window and his eyes widened. Swiftly he brought his one good arm up to shield his face.

‘You know him?' asked the nurse quietly.

Shirley walked slowly to the bed and stared down at Davo.

‘Why'd you do it, Davo? Why? What were you thinking of when you took off, not just with my opals, but with Anna?'

‘Dunno.' Then he mumbled, ‘Sorry, Shirley.'

‘You stole my opals, went through my things and hurt that girl,' she said angrily.

‘I don't think that we should be talking to him,' said the nurse in a worried voice.

‘I dunno what happened. Everything was going bad. I thought the business would fold and then what would I do?'

‘You could've just asked me to help you. You were supposed to be my friend,' snapped Shirley. ‘Now look at the trouble you're in. You're a big disappointment to me.'

‘What's going on in here? Do you know this man?' The policeman bustled into the room.

‘We're just going,' said the nurse. She took Shirley's arm.

‘Am I going to jail? What'll happen to me, Shirley?' Davo whined.

‘Do you expect me to care, after what you did?' Shirley turned away.

‘Are you the woman he robbed?' asked the nurse, looking incredulous, as they headed back down the corridor.

‘I thought he was just a bit stupid, but he was a ratter, and ratters can be very violent when they're after opal,' said Shirley. ‘He took my opals, but he did more than that. He took a young girl against her will. Now he wonders why he's in hot water.'

‘I thought you were very decent, under the circumstances,' commented the nurse.

‘He'll have plenty of time to think about what he's done. I'd better go back to my room. I have a friend coming to visit any time now. Thanks for the tour.'

*

The hotel was closed. Anna finished cleaning and wandered into the sunshine out the back where Mick was busy with his buckets of rough opals. Anna sat in a chair and stretched her legs as Mick stepped away from his wheel and studied the opal he was holding for a minute before sitting beside her.