Silence Is Golden

A steaming mug of cocoa appeared in front of him. Virgil blinked. He took it from his grandmother's outstretched hand, warmth immediately seeping into his fingertips. Inhaling deeply, he flooded his senses with that comforting chocolaty scent, beautifully sweet. It was plain, just as he liked it – cream and marshmallows were for snowy mornings back in Kansas, and it just never felt right on the island. She'd put it in his favourite mug, too. It had a cartoonish print of Thunderbird Two on it and had been a present from Alan two Christmases ago.

'Thank you,' he murmured, taking a small sip.

'You're very welcome, dear.' Grandma sat down opposite him, folding her hands in her lap. 'So, what's eating at you?'

Virgil blinked. 'Um… nothing. Why?'

'Well, you've hardly said a word the past two days, and normally I'd find you squirrelled away in your studio or hammering out some fancy new tune at the piano. Instead, you've tucked yourself away in the roundhouse so you can stare out the window. So, what gives?'

'Nothing, Grandma.' He sighed, placing his drink on the table beside him. 'I'm fine.'

Grandma tsked. 'You boys should know by now that the 'I'm fine' routine doesn't work on me. Now, Virgil, you better start talking, or I'm going to have to tell Scott that he's right.'

'Right about what?'

'About you. I've only just convinced him that you're fine and he doesn't need to worry about you. So, that's your choice. Me or Scott.'

He had to hand it to her, Grandma was good. The Scott-card was a great play. Phenomenal, even. He loved Scott, he really did – it was just that when Scott worried, he worried. Things got blown way out of proportion. For someone who was pretty stoic in his own life, he made mountains out of molehills when it came to his brothers. Grandma, on the other hand, was calmer. She still worried, but she listened and she reasoned. That was what Virgil needed right now.

'I've been thinking about a rescue we went to the other day,' he said, 'the one in the Waipoua forest.'

'I remember. Gordon couldn't stop talking about it after you boys got back, and now that I think about it, that's when you started going quiet.'

Virgil grinned. 'Gordon's motormouth started long before we got home. It was pretty much activated the moment we got there. He was so excited.'

'And you weren't?'

'Are you kidding? I took so many mental pictures while we were there, there aren't enough canvases in the world for all the ideas I had!'

'So, you enjoyed the scenery, didn't mind your brothers babbling, and as far as I can tell it was a successful mission. What's the problem then?'

It had been a successful mission. Massively so. They'd had to take a quick hike through the forest to get to the accident zone, where a group of tourists had fallen into a massive hole. Virgil and Gordon were treated to an armed escort because it wasn't clear if the hole was natural or man-made. If it was man-made… well, who knew what it was for? Luckily, they never found out. It was a nice easy rescue for once, and they even had a moment to talk to the victims about the dangers of going off route in an unfamiliar area – and how to stay safe if they did. It was nice, cheerful even. They'd left the accident zone in great spirits.

'It wasn't the rescue as such,' Virgil explained. 'It was after. It was the girl.'

On their way back to the ship, they'd stumbled across a young woman. She was dishevelled and malnourished, and when she saw them she flung herself at them, sobbing. Eventually, they were able to get out of her that she had been separated from her group, and she'd been wandering around the forest for a week. She thought they were part of the search party. Explaining to her that they weren't, that this was simply a stroke of luck, was difficult. Not that she minded; she just wanted to get back to civilisation. Virgil and Gordon took her to a local hospital, and even stayed with her until her family had been contacted. They almost volunteered to go and get them for her, but it turned out they were already on their way to help organise more search parties.

'I just – I started thinking about how, if we'd left the rescue site even a few minutes earlier we wouldn't have found her,' Virgil said. 'Like, it was just luck, you know. But then, the more I thought about that, the more I began to wonder… what if… What if there have been times when we've left a rescue, and suddenly someone comes stumbling around to where we were, just to find we're already gone. What if there's been other people to rescue, but we've just never crossed paths with them. What if… what if there's people out there, waiting for us, that we don't even know exist.'

Grandma sighed, pushing her glasses higher up her nose. 'Kid, you can't get hung up on the 'ifs and buts'. If you go down that path, you'll never stop.'

'I know, but –'

'There is always, always, someone else to be rescued. There's always someone else in need of help. But you boys, no matter how incredible your machines are, no matter what technology you have, are not gods. You can't see everything. And you can't save what you can't see.' Grandma smiled. 'But what you can always do is try your best. Just try your best and pray for luck. That's all any of us can do.'

'I know, Grandma,' Virgil replied with a sigh. He picked up his drink and took another sip.

'I know it's hard,' she continued, 'but just think – you reunited a young girl with her family. They are whole because you boys were at the right place at the right time. Isn't that something? The stars aligned, and you were there for her when she needed you. You know what her family would call that? They'd call it a miracle. And so do I.'

He blushed. 'Thanks, Grandma.'

'You're welcome, sweetie. Now, do I need to drag you out of here, or can you use your own two feet?'

'I'll be fine.' Virgil laughed. 'I think I'm gonna stay – just until I finish this amazing cocoa. Besides, there's a book in here somewhere about tempera that I wanna take a look at. I think something like that'll really help me capture the forest floor.'

Nodding, Grandma stood. She dropped a quick kiss on the top of his head and departed with a final warning. 'If you've not left in the next two hours, I'm telling Scott.'

He drowned his chuckles in a mouthful of cocoa. She was formidable. He'd better find that book, fast.