eg, Cait, David, Jess and Sam trudged up the mountain, concentrating on keeping their footing in the slippery mud.
"Remind me again why we're doing this?" David complained, catching hold of a tree to steady himself.
"Because the rain has stopped, and they'll likely have Search & Rescue out looking for us. If we can make a fire up there, they'll find us easily. And if there's no shelter up there, and they don't find us, we'll just go back to the cave," Cait explained, tying another red thread pulled from her t-shirt to the tree.
"Do we pause for lunch soon?"
"Yeah, I'm starved, and my watch says it's almost 4.30."
"Uh... Yes," said Meg, who was in the lead. "I say we pause right about now."
"Why's that?"
Meg stopped, and the others soon joined her, looking down the ravine at the raging river hundreds of metres below.
"Oh, boy."
Then, as one, they looked at the rope and wood bridge spanning the ravine.
"No way," said Jess. "No way, no way, no way."
"Shit."
"Jess, Mum and Dad will be there," Cait whispered.
"No way. You know that feeling of dread I mentioned I had? It was all about this bridge. I hate this bridge. No way."
"Well... I suppose the first thing to do is to see if it falls down by touching it," David said. "Sam, grab hold of my jacket."
"No," Jess protested, but the boys ignored her.
David vigorously shook the bridge and then, when it didn't fall down, stepped gingerly onto the first plank. He then jumped up and down, causing a collective gasp of shock from the girls. They breathed a sigh of relief when David stepped back onto solid ground.
"Well, it didn't fall down, David said. "It's well made and it seems sturdy. What do you think?"
"I don't like it."
"I don't either, but I want to get to the other side," Meg said.
"Right," said David. "I'm the heaviest, I'll go first. If it doesn't collapse under me, it'll hold the rest of you. Wait until I'm all the way across before you start."
"David, wait!" Jess exclaimed, but he stepped onto the bridge, stepping confidently along the bridge.
"Just don't wait too long on each plank!" David called, making his way across the ravine. "And don't look down!"
"Oh my God," Jess breathed.
They all watched as David made his way across the ravine, and Jess sagged against Meg in relief as he made the other side, and waved at them. The crossing had taken about three minutes.
"Alright," said Sam. "Who's next? Me? Or do you girls want to go next?"
"Jess, you should go next. Get it over with."
"I don't want to."
"C'mon, Jess," coaxed Caitlin. "David's waiting for you."
Meg and Cait shared a smile as Jess' shoulders straightened, and she started across the bridge. They watched in silence until she reached the other side, then cheered for her as David wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"Right, my turn," said Meg, and started across the bridge.
Ten minutes later, they were all across and the girls were hugging each other in relief.
"That was the most terrifying thing I've ever done," Jess said. "And I still hate that bridge."
"Me too," Meg admitted. "But I knew we had to cross it."
"I'm not doing that in the dark," Cait added, and they exchanged looks.
"We'll stay by the fire, if we have to," David said. "Come on, let's eat something, and continue on our way."
Cait carefully tied a larger piece of her t-shirt to the bridge, to match the piece on the side they came from, then they moved away from the bridge to eat.

***

"Are we almost there, love?"
"Yes," Kat replied, nibbling on a small piece of chocolate. "We go right at the fork with the rock that's shaped like a bear, and then it's maybe 15 minutes."
"It feels like we've been walking for hours."
"We have," Kat laughed. "Admittedly, I was 16 or 17 the last time I did this walk, but I remember it being much shorter."
"I'm impressed you remember it at all."
"So am I, after the amount of alcohol that was consumed up there," Kat smiled.
"Drinking at 16, love? Tsk tsk."
Kat smiled at him, putting her water bottle away.
"Ready to continue?"
"Lead on, illustrious leader."

"Well?" Kat asked. "There it is. What do you think?"
"Gods, what a view," Marc replied, looking out over the valley.
"Pretty impressive, huh?"
"And then some. Imagine owning this."
Kat squirmed.
"Well, actually, love..."
"What?"
"Uh, we do. Technically. Michael... willed it to me."
"What?"
"Creepy, huh?"
"Extremely. He willed it to you?"
"Yeah. Dad told me when I called him to tell him about the girls."
"You didn't know?"
"No. I gather the letter got sent to the House. And Dad thought it would upset me, so he took care of it."
"Gods."
Marc wrapped an arm around Kat, kissing her hair.
"Let's build a fire."

***

Jade stopped, staring at the thin red thread that Mark had found.
"Is it my baby?"
"I think it's likely. Look at these tracks. They're heading up the mountain. And they're recent."
"Well, let's follow them!"
Mark picked up a radio from his belt, and spoke into it for a few minutes. Jade heard her sister reporting that they were at the tree, but the kids weren't there yet, and heard Mark reply that he could only just see the smoke from their fire, and that they should put some more green on it. Jade was impatient. She felt like she was burning up, running out of time. She hopped impatiently from foot to foot, completely missing James and Malcolm's worried glances. The second Mark put down the radio, Jade sprung forward.
"Going?"
"Yup, we're going. Stay behind me, don't foul the tracks," Mark instructed, then started walking, slowly, following the tracks on the ground.

***

Kat and Marc sat, watching the late afternoon sun slip towards the horizon. They had put up three tents on the grassy slope, leading back towards the house, started a fire, and were drinking tea, with one eye on the sun and one eye searching for the girls.
"What do you want to do about it?" Marc asked.
"Well, it is a lovely area," Kat replied, taking in the view. "Just... That house. I hate it. And being here... I don't know. It's like Michael is everywhere."
"We could knock it down and build a new one."
"We could. It might help."
"It's not like we don't have the money to do it, Kat. Even if you couldn't stand it and we subsequently sold it. It would probably be worth it. We could do all those energy efficiency things we've been talking about."
"Well now, that's an idea," Kat mused, looking down the valley. "The sun's setting."
"It's okay. We have a big store of firewood. They'll find us."
Kat and Marc sat together, watching the magnificent sunset.
"It's so beautiful," Kat breathed, watching the mountains catch fire.
"It is."
"Oh my Gods!"
Kat dropped her cup, and leaped over the fire, running down the hill.
Marc glanced down, and picked up the radio.
"We have them. Repeat: We have them."
Then he placed his cup and the radio back on the ground, and followed his wife.

***

Jade stood at the edge of the bridge, listening to Mark talking to Marc.
"I want to talk to Jess. Let me talk to my baby!"
Mark conveyed her request, and a moment later, Jess' voice came over the radio.
"Mum?"
"Jess, darling, are you alright?"
"Yes, Mum, I'm fine, we're all fine."
"I'm so relieved," Jade laughed, crying. "It was stupid, I thought I'd never see you again. Darling, I love you so much."
"I love you too, Mummy."
"How far from the bridge are you?"
"Not that far. We stopped for lunch on the other side, and then it took maybe... half an hour to find the top of the hill. It would be less, if you knew where you were going."
"Come back to the bridge, I'll come over."
"I don't like the bridge, Mum."
"If you all crossed it, it will be fine," Jade laughed.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Mark was saying, looking at the bridge. "It was well made, but it's got to be over 30 years old."
"Look, there they are!" James exclaimed, waving to his sister.
The others all waved back, smiling and calling to each other.
"I don't care. If we go back to camp, and then drive to Michael's, and then walk to the tree, it will take about 6 or 7 hours, and it'll be full dark, and we'll all get lost. This way I can be with my daughter tonight. I'm not staying on this side."
"Aunt Jade is right," Mal said. "This is much faster."
"I'm not saying that it isn't. I'm questioning the safety of the bridge."
The people on the other side were talking, and Jade looked yearningly at her daughter.
"You don't understand, Mark. I thought I'd never hold her again. I have to go."
Mark sighed.
"Well, you're an adult, Jade. I'd forbid it, but I know it wouldn't do me any good."
"You're right, it wouldn't."
Jade focussed on her twin.
"Kat, I'm coming over."
"Do you think that's wise? The bridge doesn't look very stable, and it'll be dark soon."
"All the more reason for me to come now."
Jade stepped on to the bridge.
"Wait, Mum, let me go first!" said James, stepping forward.
"James, love. I'm the parent, not you. I'm meant to take the risks. I'm going first."
He frowned, this time not hiding his concern from her.
"Mum, please."
Jade stepped off the bridge, and wrapped her arms around her son.
"Jimmy, my darling, I love you. I have to go to your sister, don't you see?"
"Mum, please. I don't like it. It feels wrong."
Jade paused, and looked up at her son.
"I'll be fine, sweetheart. Trust me."
Jade stepped away from her son, and back onto the bridge.

"She's coming over," Kat said, to Marc, stepping forward.
"I hate that bridge, I hate that bridge," Jess whispered.
Kat looked at her niece.
"So do I. I don't know why. I just do."
"Me too," Jess whispered. "I thought it was going to collapse under me as I was crossing. I hate it."
David moved forward, and tentatively put an arm around Jess' shoulders, sneaking a glance at Marc to check if he disapproved. Finding Marc concentrating on Jade's progress across the bridge, David tightened his arm. Jess leaned into him, turning her face up to him, and smiling.
There was a loud creaking noise, and Kat stepped forward.
"Jade!"
Jade stopped, in the middle of the bridge, and looked down. She froze. The water was gushing below, a raging torrent from the storms, crashing against the rocks violently. One would never survive the rapids, even if one did survive the fall, she thought. Not that one would survive the fall. Jade looked towards the far side as the bridge creaked loudly again.
Kat was screaming something, but Jade couldn't quite make out what it was. Tea soothing? Yes, but what did that have to do with anything?
"KEEP MOVING!" Kat's voice blasted into Jade's head, and Jade took a startled step backwards at the force of it, almost losing her footing.
"Keep Moving, Keep Moving, Keep Moving!"
So that's what she was saying.
Jade took another step forward, and looked at her daughter. She loved her so much. Jade stepped again, and the plank broke beneath her foot, and she gasped, jumping backwards, frozen in place again.
"Mum!" Jess screamed, breaking out of David's embrace, stepping to the edge of the bridge. "Come on!"
The bridge let out another loud groan, and Jade looked back towards the side she'd started from. It was about equal distance, perhaps slightly further to go back. James, Mal, and Mark were all shouting at her. Shouting something that Jade couldn't hear. Jade turned back, and stepped over the gap left by the broken plank.
Strange, Jade thought, I still feel like I'll never hold her again...
Without any further warning, the bridge gave way at the far end, ropes finally giving in to the strain of the crossings, and Jade standing on the bridge.
"Jade!" Kat screamed, running towards the bridge.
"Mum!"
David wrapped his arms around Jess, turning her face into his chest.
Meg and Caitlin screamed wordlessly as the bridge broke, and Sam reached for them both. Caitlin allowed him to pull her back, but Meg shook him off, watching, horrified, as the bridge held for a second longer, then snapped and slowly dropped out from beneath her aunt. She saw her mother step past her, and then Marc dived past, tackling Kat, pulling her to the ground.
"Kat!"
"Jade!" Kat screamed, hands flung out towards her twin.
The girls felt the power lashing from her, felt her trying to mend the bridge, levitate her twin, save Jade.
"No!" Kat screamed, staring at her twin.
"I love you," Jade thought, looking at Jess, held in David's arms, Meg, watching, Caitlin, watching from Sam's arms, James and Mal, screaming, Marc, holding Kat to the ground, and Kat, her twin, screaming, reaching out for her.
Instinct made Jade reach out to Kat, though she knew they wouldn't touch.
"I love you, always. Look after my children. I see him, waiting for me."
"NO!" Kat screamed, and Jade closed her eyes, feeling like she was flying.

***

Kat stood on the porch, waiting, watching. The sun was setting, and Jess and David would be coming in soon. Megan and Caitlin were inside, laughing as they prepared the salad for dinner, and Malcolm was in his room, studying for a test - or so he said. Marc was collecting James, and he'd be back soon too. A car on the gravel drive was heard, and Kat turned to watch her nephew and husband alight from the car.
"Aunt Kat," James said, bending to kiss the top of her head.
"Jimmy," Kat smiled, and he slipped inside, the house, the banging of the door swiftly followed by excited squeals as Megan and Caitlin were likely attacked by their cousin.
"Not in, yet?" Marc asked, quietly.
"Not yet."
He wrapped his arms around his wife, and together, they watched the sunset.
"Are you content?"
"She would have loved it here."
"I know, love."
"Come in, love. They'll be in soon."
Kat caught sight of a flash of yellow up the path, and smiled, allowing herself to be led inside.

Jess paused on the path, looking down at the house. It was enormous, and it sprawled - that was the only word for it. The stone walls, the gleaming woodwork, the cheery windows, the welcoming air it had... It all spelled home, and yet...
"Alright, Jess?"
Jess looked up at David, and smiled, a little sadly.
"Alright. Just thinking how much Mum would have loved the house."
David wrapped his arms around her, and they stood in the stillness of the night, listening to the crickets chirping and the occasional laughter echoing from the house.
"It isn't exactly what I'd call the traditional definition of a cottage," Jess smiled.
"Your family isn't exactly traditional," David smiled.
"That's true. You know... I thought I'd hate it here."
"Because of you Mum?"
"Yes. That, and what Aunt Kat told us about Michael and all that creepy stuff. But I think we've made it ours now. And I think Mum would have been happy here. I think she would have liked us all to live together, but we just couldn't do it in either of the other houses."
Jess looked at the climbing roses twining up the trellis on one side of the house, smiling as she remembered Uncle Marc saying they would deter any late-night visitors, as he planted them beneath her, Meg and Caitlin's bedroom windows and the windows of the "craft" room, where the sweet scent of Jade's favourite rose permeated their rooms on warm summer nights.
"She is there, you know."
"What do you mean?"
"Your Mum. There's the photos, her pictures, the flowers, the art room..."
"Oh, yes, I know. Aunt Kat would never let any of us forget her - not that we would. But it's nice to know that there's someone else who misses her as much as I do," Jess said with a catch in her voice that David had come to recognise over the past 12 months.
David wrapped his arms tighter around her, and kissed the top of her head.
"Come inside?"
Jess nodded, and they went inside for dinner.

Jess and David stood in the kitchen, putting the tea and biscuits away, listening to Megan and Caitlin laughing with James and Malcolm, with the occasional restrained comment from Marc or Kat as they finished clearing up from dinner.
"Coming to bed?" David asked, glancing towards the doorway which led from the kitchen to the lounge, before splitting off in various directions, both upstairs and downstairs, to form 8 bedrooms, four bathrooms, the art room, the craft room, 4 studies... It was easy to get lost, in a house that size. But they all loved it, and it suited their needs perfectly.
"In a moment. I want to get something from the garden. Go on, I'll only be a minute."
David kissed her again, and moved down the hall towards Jess' bathroom and bedroom, and Jess slipped out the kitchen door onto the veranda, and then stepped into the herb garden, brushing her hands over the mint bushes to release the scent.
"Mum? Are you there?" Jess whispered.
A warm summer breeze rustled the leaves in the trees, bringing with it the scent of Lilac.
"I miss you."
The breeze gently caressed Jess' face, brushing her hair against her cheek. Jess heard a step, but didn't turn, recognising her Aunt's step.
"Is she here?"
The breeze blew Kat's hair back from her face, then went on its way, taking the scent of Lilac with it.
Kat sighed a moment, tasting the night, then put a hand on Jess' shoulder.
"Alright, my love?"
"Alright, Aunt Kat. I think she's happy."
"I think so too. Coming in?"
"Yes, coming in."
Kat and Jess turned towards the welcoming glow of the kitchen lights, and moved inside.