In Search of Adventure

 

Chapter 4

IN SEARCH OF ADVENTURE

 

Like every Monday morning, the shop had the appearance of having been shut up for  a long time. Perhaps the air of unreality was due to the antiquity of the things tucked away there. Camette, a woman with long honey-coloured hair and green eyes, had inherited it from an aunt who had begun the business by selling off the family valuables. Camette’s late aunt had shown her everything she needed to know about antiques, besides sending her away on courses. To Camette’s eyes the world of the past was much more interesting than the modern. Even the men she went out with were usually twenty years older than her.

The sunlight hardly penetrated the tiny window panes. So as to make the atmosphere in the shop seem more authentically in the past, Camette’s aunt had placed imitations of nineteenth century shop windows instead of the large single pane of modern shops. It was a sure-fire success and even more so with an antique bell on a cord which rang when the door was opened. It rang as Camette opened the door and went in. Inside reigned a complete mess. In spite of having made several attempts to put everything in order, either in historical order or by classifying the articles as furniture, porcelain, carpets, lighting, books, and magazines, Camette had to admit she hadn’t managed to, yet. But all this mess formed part of the charm administered by the most attractive single woman in the district.

Every week magazines about antiques, fairs, archaeology, anthropology, geography, and history arrived at the shop. After a quick look through, Camette kept those that contained an interesting article, and the rest she threw away. As well as having a good variety of antiques on sale, there were also different kinds of buyers. Every day Camette had to face an interminable number of problems, from dishonest sellers, to difficult customers. Cleaning and looking after the shop gave her a lot of pleasure and like all antiquarians she dreamed of discovering something that would make her and the shop famous.

The magazines that Camette enjoyed reading were the old ones that she sometimes bought from fixed clients. She had cut out many articles about strange or inexplicable things which she had stuck onto a cork notice board on the wall in her study at home. Every year she travelled to the most unusual places in the world in search of something mysterious and rare which she had read about in one of the magazines. Every year she returned home with one more disillusion to add to those of previous years. In spite of her continued failures in her search of adventure and the discovery of  something of incalculable value, Camette kept on thinking this year would be the decisive one.

Sitting in front of the switched off television, Camette was reading and cutting out articles from both old and new magazines. The only light in the living room came from an antique lamp which stood on an antique table. Even though it was a flat, it had an imitation fireplace with false logs to give atmosphere to the living room, which was  a faithful reflection of Camette’s business. There was nothing modern in her home other than the television, the electric fireplace, and the electricity.

The stele of the temple of the sacred fire fish caught her attention. The magazine was five years old and told the story of the island’s history, the fishermen, and the fish. Photos of different places of interest on the island accompanied the article. It mentioned that the islanders would have forgotten all about the fish if it hadn’t been such a money maker from tourism. What stood out in all the photos was the small size of the island with the sea as the background. This gave the reader the impression that they could explore and get to know the island well. Although it was just a small island it had a very personal and original myth, this story of the stele and the fish added something to its attraction instead of taking anything away from it.

Situated in the tropics it enjoyed a warm climate. Camette thought about what there was in her life. A woman with no more responsibilities than the shop, she could go on holiday at any time of the year. She reread the tourist information about the island. There was just one return flight a week. There were no accommodation problems as the hotels were well-priced.  As far as the island gastronomy was concerned, you could eat everything " except fish. The islanders hadn’t forgotten the story even though they no longer practised any worship. There were several beaches where there was the possibility of diving. The partly restored temple, which had served as the base for worship to the sacred fire fish was the most important place for visitors. The museum included various different steles, pieces of jewellery, and examples of local craftsmanship. Camette underlined this last item. On all the articles of craftsmanship, from stone ashtrays to clothing, everything carried a picture of the fish on the stele in the temple.

The stele that was in the entrance to the original temple had aroused her desire to go to the island and see it for herself. The following day, Camette went to the local library in search of more information. There was nothing new referring to the myth, only in one book did it say that a group of archaeologists were digging on the island and were hoping to do more extensive research. She looked in second-hand bookshops, just in case. The fish had her bewitched. Every day, after she had bought old magazines or books, Camette looked through all of them to see if she could find an article about the island, the fish, or any information however insignificant it might seem. All of a sudden she lost the desire to eat fish. Once she had a surprise on buying a vase from a woman, because there was the drawing of a fish on one part. Camette asked her what it was for, and the woman said it was for keeping sardines. Camette was losing all interest in the shop, seeing it as a hindrance and no longer as a pleasure. She wanted to go to the island, practise tourism, and at the same time acquire an antique with a reproduction of the sacred fire fish on it.

 

Irving was a lover of rare things. He just had to attend the most unusual events. The discovery of an ancient civilisation animated him so much that it wasn’t long before he arrived at the quoted site. He dedicated himself to writing for magazines that specialised in matters that were inexplicable - even for scientists. In his job as researcher he had heard a lot about the sacred fire fish and for a long time he had been fostering some ideas about what he would like to do on the island. Mainly he wanted to see a real sacred fire fish in action. It didn’t occur to Irving that no one had actually seen it perform. Not one piece of information about the story had made it clear if the fish made the fire or if it kept the fire in a hiding place.

Before going to the island, Irving went to see a friend who was an expert in marine biology. “Is there any possibility of the existence of a fish that can make fire?” He asked looking closely at his friend. 

“From the logical or technical point of view it isn’t possible that a fish like that exists. Are you thinking of a type of dragon that can swim?”

“Yes, even though I have to admit that I too think it’s quite ridiculous.”

“Irving, you mustn’t forget that the sacred fire fish is a myth. There is no existing evidence that a fish can emit fire.”

“Yes, I know. Anyway, I’m going to the island to satisfy my curiosity. After all some of my theories have proved to be reliable.”