Leon laughed: a pleasant sound that rolled off the corrugated-iron walls of the toilets and rippled away over the heath. He was so different from Kurt, so much more relaxed and human. Not a tiger at all.

With two of them on the job, it didn’t take long. The end result was a bit rough, but Leon seemed happy. ‘That’ll keep the boss off my back till they can get a professional painter.’

It was lunchtime by then, and Leon offered Miki hot chocolate from his thermos and half of his sandwich. ‘It’s a bit soggy,’ he apologised. ‘Lettuce and cheese. There wasn’t much in the fridge. And I couldn’t buy a pie—the takeaway was closed.’

They smiled at each other, sharing his joke.

Miki discovered she didn’t mind soggy sandwiches. She hadn’t realised how hungry she was. Working outside, you built up an appetite; she was never hungry in the shop.

When they’d finished eating, Leon packed away the paint and brushes. ‘Okay,’ he said, ‘you’ve saved my arse today, so I’m donating my afternoon to you. It’s on National Parks. I’ll be tour guide. I thought maybe I could take you to the sky walk. What do you think?’

Miki hesitated for the briefest of moments. ‘I’d like that.’

‘Hop on in then,’ Leon said. ‘It’s a bit of a drive.’

At the sky walk, they left the Toyota in the car park and bypassed the visitor centre. Leon paused to wave at someone inside then led the way down a raised boardwalk through wet eucalypt forest. A rain shower had just passed through, and everything was fragrant and dripping.

The boardwalk descended to a gravel path that wound down to a broad inky river. Miki stopped on the bank and contemplated the swirling water. The current was swift and strong. She could hear the voice of the water as it gushed through. She could smell the water too: fresh and clean, a hint of tannins and earthiness. As she stared into the depths, it seemed the river was alive with power. She wondered what it would be like to fall in, imagined coldness sufficient to take her breath away, the grip of the current pulling her under, brown water pouring over her head, the hint of light way above as she sank.

They walked across the concrete causeway, and Miki paused to dip her fingers into the river. She was mesmerised. Everything seemed to be drawn towards the water, magnetised by its energy. Thickets of lime-coloured scrub and tall white-trunked trees crowded the banks, as if trying to leap in. It was the movement that captivated her. The sense of the river going somewhere. Purposeful, as if it understood its reason for being.