Mike Dixon

„One day, as he was walking along the beach feeling sad,
a beautiful girl came out of the sea and came towards him.
They fell in love and were married. They lived as man and
wife and had a child. But there was a strange thing about
their relationship. The young woman always wore a bark
cloth that she never removed, even when she was bathing
or making love. The cloth covered her back which was the
only part of her body her husband had never seen. It was
the part she didn‟t want him to know about because in her
back was a cavity and in that cavity there was a tiny skull
and bones.‟
Rebecca turned the drawing towards David and was
shocked by his reaction.
„It doesn‟t last. That‟s what the story is about.‟
„What‟s the matter, David?‟
„There‟s nothing strange about the girl,‟ he sobbed. „She‟s
like all of us. We‟ll all die! We just don‟t like to think about
it. That‟s what the story is about. We all carry death inside
us.‟
He collapsed onto the sand and Rebecca knelt beside
him.
„Tell me what happened, David. You can‟t keep it bottled
up inside of you. It will drive you crazy.‟
Slowly the story emerged. He told her about Tim and
how he died. Then, he told her about Doris and the suitcase.
The story became odder and odder. Rebecca knew her fa-
ther would never believe it. He would say David was a dangerous
criminal and should be handed over to the police.
But, Rebecca believed him. She knew instinctively that David
was the sort of person you could trust.
Telling his story lifted a great weight from David‟s mind.
He wiped his face and stared pleadingly at her.
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