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Back Things that Fall from the Sky Save as PDF
Chapters (55)
  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. A Walled-In Girl
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  30. The Five Lightning Strikes of Hamish Mackay
  31. The Five Lightning Strikes of Hamish Mackay
  32. A Mermaid Splashing
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  42. And That was The End of That
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I walk a kilometre. Then, without warning, a rushing begins. A wave rising, rising in the middle of this silent forest, and suddenly I’m invaded by the feeling that everything is crumbling. I won’t stay in one piece; I’ll trickle into this shrubbery and all that will remain is a wet patch. Now I make a sound; I pant in the forest. What does that sound like? I find it hard to grasp. How come I’m here, all alone? Help. Help me. I stand there – no, here – in the middle of a sawdust path, and I can’t even take hold of a pine trunk. I stand here – it is here, I’m so totally here – and I don’t know what will happen now. I’m totally here, because there may not be anything else.

Everything is crumbling.

I hold so much water, an entire ocean. The sharp rocks on the shore stab my sides. Sometimes a whole cliff will crumble into the ocean and people will come rushing with their buckets to dig for fossils.

I’m so totally here; everything else has gone.

How can one baby need so many litres? Salt water pushes through my skin and rises to my lungs in waves. A sea creature kicks inside me. The rushing is so loud. Lower the gods! I try to carry on walking but the water rises up from my stomach. I stop by the exercise equipment to gasp for oxygen. Maybe my womb has torn and the water has flowed into my whole body. I press my hand against my mouth to prevent the ocean from coming out.

The baby must have water.

Water’s good.

Luckily, I don’t feel any pain.

That must be a good thing: there’s no pain.

Is it me standing here? Is that my panting I hear, here, next to the gym equipment? Please help that woman now, gods; have mercy on her. How come I’m so alone? Couldn’t someone run past, at least? Come and cuddle me, here by the chanterelle.

The water ebbs. No, this isn’t happening. So that’s how it is. The water ebbs and my skin holds out. This isn’t happening.

This is not my life. Walk. I carry on walking.

And That was The End of That

AND THAT WAS THE
END OF THAT

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Once upon a time, there was a father who went hiking in Lapland. He hiked all alone, even though it was dangerous, because you can break your leg in the forest and then you’re in trouble.