art by Agata Maciagowska
The Refugee
by Meg Everingham
When the other boys ran out of rocks they vanished into the thickening night. Henry came out of the trees and made his way carefully through the dunes down to the shore, where she was washed up in a bloody serpentine knot. He dug a hollow in the crush of sand and shells and laid her inside, crustaceans crawling in her slender broken arms. In time the tides would drag her up again, but by then she would be safe. Remains of ancient woman eaten by whale. Remains of ancient woman strangely at rest with the delicate smashed bones of a fish.
The End
This story was first published on Wednesday, December 5th, 2012
