‘I’ll have a medium serve of couscous salad,’ he said.

Eyes down, she spooned a generous portion into a tub.

‘Nice town, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘Do you get out to the forest much?’

‘Once a week.’

‘I’m going up there today.’

Miki glanced at him, unable to contain her curiosity. ‘Have you come to see the eagles’ nest?’

‘Yes, but there’s another tree they want me to look at too. An old forest giant not far from the nest.’

Miki’s breath caught. ‘Why do you want to look at it?’

The man smiled again. ‘I’m into big trees, and this one might be the tallest in Tasmania. We’re waiting for a film crew to come with us. If you watch the news tonight, you might see the tree.’

‘I know that tree,’ Miki said.

‘You do? Well, I’m going to make sure we save it for all Tasmanians. It’s part of my life’s work to fight for trees. And I get the impression you might understand. Am I right?’

Miki nodded. She had worked it out at last: this was Bob Brown. He loved nature, like her, and he wanted to stop logging. He wanted to keep wild places wild and stop humans from destroying the Earth—she’d heard him say something like that on TV one time.

He winked as he left with his salad

That night, Miki’s tree was on the news as Bob Brown had promised. She was in the kitchen spooning stew into bowls when she heard the story come on, and she rushed in to see him standing in front of her tree. Kurt was scowling at the TV, arms folded across his chest, a dark frown on his face.

Bob Brown was staring into the camera, hands clasped in front of him, fingers interlaced. ‘It’s fantastic to find this big tree so near to town,’ he was saying. ‘It’ll help raise awareness of forest issues. Because it’s time for us to do more to protect our forests. This tree is a symbol of our past and our future, and it belongs to all of us. To our children, and to our children’s children—that’s how far ahead we should be thinking. A tree like this has been here longer than whitefellas have been in Tasmania.’

Kurt’s lips tightened, but he didn’t say anything. When the report was over, he switched off the TV and went to his room.

Miki wasn’t quite sure how to read her brother. Since he’d been stung by those bees, he’d been more unpredictable than ever. She knew he must be concerned about strangers invading the forest, but was that the only reason for his present bad mood?