Heat and Light (18 page)

I see the dried blood on the concrete and the swarming flies. A tennis ball, open, still. Scary is on the ground on her side, irreversibly dead. Blood everywhere.

Directly above me in the house are my brother’s footsteps, pressing against the floorboards. His heels touch before his toes. I keep my eyes half-shut and my hands around my cheeks as I turn to walk out of there, back onto the street before he notices. The gate creaks when I touch it, and I can’t find the energy to pull it shut.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to these people and more. My family – particularly
my parents, for their support. Bec Jessen, who has been there for every step. Sue Abbey, for her belief in me. Melissa Lucashenko, Krissy Kneen, Inga Simpson and Sharon Phillips for reading and encouraging.

This started from a little story (‘S&J’) – that got published in a big journal (
McSweeney’s
) – thanks Chris Flynn and Jordan Bass for seeing something in my writing. Judith Lukin-Amundsen, for her editorial insight and reassurance. Everyone at UQP, in particular, Madonna Duffy and Jacqueline Blanchard. And the Queensland Literary Awards, for continuing the David Unaipon Award.

Stories from this collection have appeared in the following journals:

McSweeney’s Issue 41
, (July 2012) and
The Best of McSweeney’s
(December 2013) ‘S&J’.

Ora Nui Special Edition: A Collection of Maori and Aboriginal Literature
(2013) ‘Hot Stones’.

First published 2014 by University of Queensland Press

PO Box 6042, St Lucia, Queensland 4067 Australia

www.uqp.com.au

[email protected]

©
Ellen van Neerven

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978 0 7022 52938 (pdf)

978 0 7022 52945 (epub)

978 0 7022 52952 (Kindle)

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