Eyes closed. Listen. Can you hear the sense of loss in her voice? Some say she lost her lover to the sea a millennia ago and will cry every day until the time he returns to the shore.
Sit still on any Sandgate beach and the She-Oak Tree will fill your ears with long sighs and wails.
During my time anchored on the olive green liquid, I regularly saw turtles, dugongs, dolphins, and other marine life. I have fond memories of everything I experienced on the water, but the one thing that has stayed with me is that sound—the whispers of a dry, lonely wind passing through a saddened She-Oak Tree.
I’d circumnavigate the tiny island of St Helena twice a week, becoming more intrigued with it every time. I saw the transmission masts on the northern end. I knew about the ruins of the old penal settlement in its middle. I wasn’t prepared for the relentless cries of the Island’s She Oaks when I finally went ashore.
A chorus of the dead sang their special song of sadness into the breeze. It was depressing yet comforting.
When we moved into the new Mandurah property, I heard that sound again and smiled. It turned out we owned a couple She Oaks!
I had to keep them!
Now, when the wind picks up at home, I have my lonely, whispering She-Oak trees to remind me of how far I’ve come.
It’s poetic but in no way poetry.
-Michael Forman (author of Dark Fiction, see below)
‘Forman’s writing style is artful, with the protagonist Mitchell’s warped thought processes masterfully exposed. The author has a powerful and vivid command of language and his word pictures are stark and disturbingly real.’
Linda J Bettenay, author of ‘Secrets Mothers Keep’ and ‘Wishes For Starlight’
Discover more from Michael Forman – Author of Dark Fiction & Drama
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