Amongst a row of unimpressive, worn-out shops fronting the sea in Castleton was a modern, clean, well-lit tour office.
Unlike the grey fish & chip shops, the Fisheries Union and the local MP’s office, Highlands Ecotourism had a cheerful, ruddy cheeked young woman in an office suit with the name tag “Deborah Cleary”. After talking to Deborah (who was from tiny Moss Creek up north) about spending a weekend in a log cabin in Glenharrishaven, or a cruise through Loch Learmont and up through Esk River or perhaps even a tour of Huon Castle and the surrounds (including various energy conservation schemes such as a manure-driven generator), you would book your choice of excursion and pay by 1 of several methods- all major credit cards, cheques and traveller’s cheques were accepted. You would then receive a beautifully printed full colour itinerary in Times New Roman and a warm smile and handshake welcoming you to the Highlands.
Early in the morning a gruff man called Finlay Smith would pick you up from where you were staying- The Hermitage, Loch & Forest Inn or Castleton Backpackers’- and take you in a Jeep on your tour.
It was all very well done. Very professional. Conformed to the new European Union Standards and was highly rated in all the UK tour books. Of course this was all to do with the man who ran it. “Highlands Ecotourism” was one of several rather successful enterprises owned by the County and founded by none other than Huon Learmonth, Earl of Glenharrishaven to stimulate the local economy while conserving the environment.
Like most of the County initiatives, it was successful, low key and not particularly controversial. Neither did Castleton residents like or dislike it. Rather, they paid it no mind.
Toru and Megumi Takayasu shivered in the early morning darkness. Even though it was only autumn, the temperature was close to freezing; only streetlights lit them. Toru put his arm around Megumi tightly. It did a little to warm them. It was their first trip together since they had been married. They had made the decision to no longer work together at the magazine when they got engaged but hadn’t anticipated just how little time they would spend together as a result. The next decision they made was almost on a whim- to travel together to Europe, to some of the most obscure and far-flung parts of that ancient continent. And it was on a similar intuitive whim that they decided on Castleton, or rather on the Loch and the forest. While they openly spoke of its unique and peculiar place in history, it was something unnameable and unplaceable that compelled them. Something almost haunting, beautiful.
Finlay, a towering, broad Scotsman, arrived on schedule to pick them up from outside the Castleton Backpackers’ in his camouflage Jeep and they got going. The dim streetlights only lit the main roads in the town, all else was deathly dark and quiet. It was even too early to be hungry and too cold to really be sleepy. Finlay explained tersely that they had 3 more passengers to pick up and that then they would head for the cruise. He fell quiet abruptly, his hungry eyes devouring the void.
Toru glanced over at Megumi who was shivering in her too-thin hooded jumper. He smiled involuntarily and put her cold hand in his, rubbed at it and she leaned into him.
It was amazing just how dark and quiet it was. There was a bareness, a nakedness to the morning. As if everything unnecessary was stripped away, leaving only the simple raw truth of what existed, what was. That feeling of truth.
They picked up a young English couple from outside Loch & Forest Inn, both whispering, pale, reserved, and then from outside the Hermitage, an older English man in a suit jacket, shirt and khaki pants who looked dressed more for business than a river journey.
So away from the grand stone Hermitage, down the cobbled street, onto Harris Street, right onto Castleton Road and then onto Learmont Road. Past the worn houses and roads of Dunmore and down, quickly, quietly through the forest. It darkened around them even as the dim grey sky started to lighten behind the trees. Finlay turned off the radio and dropped the windows an inch. There was the low call of an owl, a subtle rustling, the smell of wood and leaves. A slight hint of petrol from the engine. After awhile the road became a dirt track and veered right. Suddenly the roof of the world opened up and a huge river was in front of them. They stopped. The passengers shuffled out.
Megumi looked up. The sky looked almost as if it were full of a multitude of transparent jellyfish lit dimly from above. It was an odd sight, and it chilled her.
Lifejackets were handed out, instructions were given. They were to board the small rowboat and keep completely silent. They would be handed binoculars to see the wildlife of the Loch where Finlay indicated. With a firm, serious smile he said that it would be unforgettable.
He helped them each into the boat, sat at the front and and pulled out two long oars. He flicked the loop of rope off the pier and silently rowed the boat into the water. Every minute or so he would point something out and explain in a low voice what it was. Owls, eagles, rare pine trees, a tall red deer, otters, a large sandy fox, a gigantic hare. As they proceeded down the river, the forest became more and more exotic. The trees ranged from enormous conifers to huge ferns and some sort of flat leaved, short bush as well as trees that did not look like they belonged here. There was something that almost looked like a leopard, and a huge white stag. Some of the trees they came across later were easily hundreds of metres tall and their branches and leaves had a dizzyingly complex, unusual structure. There was the constant hum of activity. Birds and frogs chirped, and there were the calls of various animals. As the sun rose, there was an otherworldly, golden glow. They were filled with a deep bliss.
Over time they felt themselves becoming one with a great awe, an enormous love that seemed to radiate from the forest. They were speechless.
And then suddenly the world went silent. The boat began to accelerate upriver. Finlay tried desperately to row in the opposite direction. The sky went dark…
A dense, dark pure sound like a massive low bell filled the air. They looked up.
A gigantic reptile looked at them menacingly, its head a hundred metres above them, its neck rising sinuously from the river. It stayed still for an eternity.
It lunged down, massive head hurtling towards the boat. It stopped suddenly, huge head a metre from them, yellow eyes fixed on the man in the business suit. He had gone pale. He just stared back. The monster gave another melodic hum that sounded like a snarl. At that moment Toru felt that his life was soon to depart from his body. Then as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished with a huge splash, throwing them back down the river and soaking them. Chilled to the bone, they made their way back in silence.
Though the rising light was golden, the chirping of the birds was nothing but a quiet threat.
