45. TWO TITS FOR A TAT

Mark McGuire took a long, deep lungful of air. He gently rested his skull on his back. He relaxed his chest causing his cheeks to bloat. As he left go of his lips his breath punctured through and escaped to the ceiling. After a few seconds he felt an uncomfortable strain on his neck and, slowly stretching the muscles, returned his head to its normal position.

37. HEAT

Everything was set up for an extraordinary 1999 Australia Post Stawell Gift. At noon, nearly two hundred entrants and a bumping crowd of over thirty thousand spectators were at or near Central Park stadium. There really was an air of unreality surrounding the favouritism of young Layla Parkin in the face of so many leading international and Australian athletes. Amusingly, one larrikin managed to get hold of the public address system and dodododood the Twilight Zone theme tune. It struck a chord with many. What on earth was going on? Well, something was up. The crowd could tell. Hey, even the bookies were edgy; worried they didn’t have access to an important piece of the puzzle. Ravenous and salivating, the throng awaited their entrée. Delicious excitement. The heats had just begun and Layla was up next.

25. PAT-A-CAKE

After the burial, more food and drink was provided, people finalized their mingling and went home.

 

Back at the Jackson’s, Sholeh suggested to Layla that she should come along to the David Hofman lecture at Melbourne Uni in the city that night. Everyone was going. It would be a great Baha’i night out in memory of Tahirih. And her cousin would drive them. And as her parents were staying the night why not?

 

[Layla]:

“Aaahhhh , you are scouting for suitors Sholes and you want reinforcement. I’m feeling a little down to go out tonight. It’s too soon.”

24. PftD

The next morning, after breakfast, the Jacksons and the Parkins made their way to Baha’i House. Both families were glad of the extra numbers. Death may be a joyful messenger to the departed, however, depending on the circumstances, it can be a traumatic transition for those who remain and even a little awkward for those who come to support the bereaved on a most difficult day.

13. THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

On a trip to Israel you might decide to cross Haifa Bay by boat, not on foot because how could you? And then you may wish to walk towards the beautiful Ben Gurion Boulevard. From there, you’d see straight up the slopes of the famous Mount Carmel.

 

Dominating and dug into that mountain, if a wee bit lopsided, is the Baha’i World Centre with its fabulous terraced gardens and imposing Greek-styled buildings. This is the headquarters of the Baha’i Faith.

6. I’M LAYLA AND I’M A BAHAI

Mrs King walked into her 10am Religious Education class. The class stood up, desks and chairs grating. She routinely threw her handbag onto her table and addressed her pupils.

 

“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.

5. ONE ON ONE

Despite a lot of awestruck males St Brigid’s acclimatized to Layla very quickly. Layla was attractive in many ways including socially. A bunch of girls happily surrounded her through school time though none of the year 9 boys had yet mustered up enough courage to say more than a passing ‘hello’.

3. EN ROUTE TO HORSHAM

Layla was born in Haifa, Israel in 1985. As far as anyone could tell there were no major astrological events on the 25^th of January (the night of the birth), a point that some would later bring up. However, it was around that time that Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote “We are the World” which is kind of relevant and did feature many stars.

1. LAAAAAAYYYYLAA

Hello there! Great you could make it. I’m very, very happy to see you.

 

Please, please, come and sit down. Yes, right here beside me. Make yourself comfortable. It starts in a minute.

 

Right now, stop thinking, stop everything. This is going to be the most amazing and incredible experience you are ever likely to have. Believe me it will exceed anything you can possibly imagine. Yes.