FIRE AND ICE 

By Tessa Harvey


    Stefan spoke from his own lonely, unloved childhood, but he was also selfish. Inside he was thinking, "I thought she had got over that fairy tale nonsense about God years ago." He was annoyed. A professional needed personal emotion to take a back seat - a very distant back seat. To him this was essential.
    Olga saw the plans for the New Zealand dig. It was a place where the Maori (native people) had once lived. The whanau of extended family had developed the hill sides into visible shelved sections like wide steps for crops to grow. She remembered the amazing rice terraces she had seen in rural China.

    There were pegs on detailed sketches where the interesting finds had been carefully unearthed and pegged - Obsidian cutting tools, a buried waka or canoe!
    Excitement rose as they boarded a light plane. Olga already saw the darker skinned people climbing an extinct volcano to find the wonder of obsidian. She saw it so vividly, it felt real. What they both failed to see were flames suddenly leaping from an engine to a wing. The pilot cried out desperately, trying to spiral to safety.

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