Mum had to rush me into the hospital, so they could use ice to bring it down, and make sure it wasn’t spreading. When we got home about four hours later, Cam’s face was white and Sholto had been crying. ‘I’m really sorry,’ my big brother mumbled. ‘I didn’t mean to.’ And Sholto said: ‘You can choose the TV programmes all next week.’

I told them it was OK, and that night we watched Royal Rumble! It was quite funny, these enormous guys called The Big Boss Man and Hulk Hogan chucking one another out of the ring. I enjoyed it, though I didn’t let on.

So, like I say, my brothers do care about me. It’s just that they’re boys, so they haven’t evolved very much, and they can’t help the way they are.

The evening after the mad magpies, Marama came over and said she and Marika wanted me to wear the little greenstone bat for a few days. ‘It heals,’ she told me. ‘It protects. And from what I hear, you need protecting!’

The bat isn’t the only greenstone being worn by Maori people in our valley now. Since Grandad Alan’s friend Tipene, plus his sister Finola, helped start up a carving centre at Waimoana Marae, a lot of marvellous pendants and ear-rings and other things have been made. In the foyer at our primary school, there’s this amazing carving of a ponga frond ready to uncurl that Tipene and others did. You see people with carved tiki or koru shapes around their necks. It’s great.

One time, Marika and Marama took Mum and me to watch while a block of pounamu (greenstone) from the South Island was brought onto the marae. There were prayers and speeches, and this beautiful, glowing green boulder was placed on a woven cloak in the middle of the meeting house. It looked magic. So I believe that Marama and Marika’s bat can heal and protect. I believe it can do anything.

There are other changes in our valley. Farming is different now. People don’t eat as much meat and cheese as they used to. Wool and leather aren’t as important for clothes and blankets. So farms around Waimoana can’t rely on just sheep and cattle.

Grandad Alan keeps goats, for their special milk. The Rosses tried farming alpacas, but Kylie Ross said they got tired of being spat on! So they changed to deer. Some farm cottages have been turned into bed-and-breakfast places. If I stay on in the valley (and if I live long enough: I have to keep facing that, but I’m going to make it!), I wonder what it’ll be like then?