Tracy Buchanan - The Atlas of Us

‘You probably saw the flowers on the way here,’ he said, reaching for one of them and handing it to her. ‘Bell heather. They thrive in full sun,’ he said, peering up at the sky. The clouds were gliding away now, rays of yellow sun streaming into the valley. ‘They smell lovely too, Holly has them in her room for their scent.’

She lifted the bloom to her nose and breathed in its sweet tones. She then tucked it into her bag for her own room and glided her hands over the others as she closed her eyes. All thoughts of Ben and their future – her future – disappeared.

There was just now.

She opened her eyes to find Milo watching her, the look on his face making her very aware of the space between them, the thump of her heart, the background sound of violent waves.

She broke his gaze and looked down at her bag, taking her camera out. ‘It’s beautiful. Really beautiful,’ she murmured. ‘I must take some photos.’ She put her camera to her face, pleased it was covering her flushed cheeks. ‘Is that the sound of waves I can hear?’ she asked after a while.

‘Yep, you can get to Hope’s Mouth just through there,’ he said, pointing to a small archway in the distance.

‘Great, I wanted to take more photos of the sea yesterday but a whole bunch of tourists turned up. Shall we go?’

He tensed. ‘You go. I’ll stay here with the dogs.’

‘I don’t have to.’

‘No, please do.’

So she did, walking through the archway in the cliff, surprised to find herself at the barrier where she’d been the day before, the waves crashing against the rocks below. It was even more beautiful than it had been yesterday, hints of hazy blue in the sky now, the sun sparkling off the waves. She took out her camera and started taking photos, doing what she always did when a situation unnerved her: slipping into travel journalist mode, hiding behind a camera and notepad.

After a while, she heard footsteps and turned to see Milo approaching with Archie and Blue. He looked nervous, eyes flickering towards the sea then back to Claire.

‘Decided to come up?’ she asked him.

‘Your dog was whining for you.’

She laughed, leaning down to cuddle Archie. When she looked up, Milo’s gaze was focused on the sea, face very sombre, eyes glassy. She looked at him in surprise.

‘You okay?’ she asked.

‘Just the wind.’

Was it really just the wind?

They were quiet for a few moments then he nodded towards the cliff edge. ‘Shall we walk to the edge? You’ll get much better photos from there.’

‘Past the barriers?’

He nodded.

‘Is it safe?’

He smiled. ‘Are we going to have another river episode? Aren’t you the girl who travelled off the beaten track when she was a kid?’

‘That was then.’

‘And now?’

She avoided his gaze. ‘I have tour guides telling me where to go.’

‘Then consider me your tour guide. You won’t fall, I’ll make sure you won’t.’

He put his hand out to Claire. She glanced at it, heart thumping, then reached her hand out too, raising her gaze to meet his.

Then she heard a cry for help.

‘Did you hear that?’ she asked, letting her hand drop back to her side.

Milo nodded and shielded his eyes with his hand as he looked in the direction of the sound. Then he whispered a ‘Jesus’ under his breath. Claire followed his gaze to see two blue ropes tied to a solitary tree nearby, one of them broken off.

‘Looks like someone’s tried to abseil down the cliff face,’ Milo said. ‘Both those ropes should be securely tied around the tree.’

He ran beyond the barriers and stared over the right side of the cliff edge. Claire hesitated a moment then followed him, looking down to see the cliff plunge dramatically into the violent sea below, jagged rocks jutting up from the waves like teeth. And there, pressed against the cliff face about a metre above the rocks, was a man, his face twisted up to stare at them.

‘The rope got stuck,’ he shouted up to them, his voice carried along by the wind. ‘I can’t get up. I’m getting bloody married on Friday, Sarah will kill me if I don’t get killed by the rocks first!’

‘Don’t tell me he’s the one getting married at the inn,’ Claire said.

Milo shook his head. ‘What an idiot. He has no idea of the danger he’s in. It’s not the kind of cliff you want to climb at the best of times, but a few days before your wedding?’

She reached into her bag. ‘I’ll call—’

‘No reception, remember?’

‘Then we should go back, call from the inn.’

‘The tide’s rising, see?’ Milo said, pointing to the waves that were lapping at the man’s feet now. It was coming fast. ‘I’ll need your help. Tie Archie’s lead around the tree.’

Claire did just that as Milo shrugged his coat and jumper off to reveal a black T-shirt, tanned arms. He slipped his coat carefully under the rope.

‘Have you got something on under your jumper?’ he asked, his eyes running over her.

She felt her cheeks flush. ‘Yes, a T-shirt.’

‘Take your jumper off then.’

‘Why?’

‘To protect your hands. We’re going to have to pull him up via the remainder of the rope.’

‘Isn’t that risky? What if it breaks too?’

‘It shouldn’t, not with my coat protecting it from the friction caused by the cliff edge. The risk of us doing nothing is greater.’

‘Right,’ she said, pulling her jumper off to reveal a Bob Dylan 1984 tour T-shirt. She looked down at Milo’s hands. ‘What about you?’

‘I’ll be fine.’

‘Don’t be silly. We can use some of my jumper too.’

‘Are you sure? I’ll have to tear it.’

She tried not to think about the fact Ben had bought it for her. ‘It’s fine, really.’

Milo helped her tear off an arm of the jumper and wrapped it around his large hands before running back to the cliff edge.

‘What’s your name?’ he shouted down to the man.

‘Matt,’ the man shouted back up.

‘Right, Matt. You’ve got yourself into a dangerous situation here. We’re going to pull you up via the intact rope. Can you give me some slack please so I can take some of the rope?’

‘What if it breaks?’ Matt asked, his voice shrill now.

‘It won’t. My coat’s beneath it so it won’t get damaged.’

‘Hundred per cent sure?’

‘No. But I’m a hundred per cent sure the tide’s rising enough to drown you soon if we don’t try to get you up.’

Matt didn’t answer but Claire could imagine his face. She heard movement and saw the rope had slackened. Milo crouched down, taking hold of it.

‘Right,’ he shouted down to Matt. ‘You need to help us by pulling yourself up via any bits of rock you find on the way. But be careful not to swing. I’ll shout when we’re ready to start.’

He ran back over to Claire, feeding the rope through with his hands.

‘What if he’s too heavy and one of us stumbles?’ she asked him. ‘We could go over the edge.’

‘I won’t let that happen.’

‘But—’

‘I need you to trust me.’

She wanted to say How can I, I barely know you! But instead, one word popped out of her mouth. ‘Okay.’

‘Good.’ He lifted her hands up, tangling what remained of her jumper around them until they were protected by three inches of wool. ‘I need you to take hold of the rope there a few metres away and pull when I say – like a tug of war, right?’

He headed to the cliff edge, stopping about half a metre away from it. He then crouched down, taking hold of the rope as he dug his heels into the ground. Claire did the same, heart thumping.

‘Ready?’ Milo shouted down to Matt.