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air had quite a bite to it, something Susan M. wasn’t accustomed to
yet). After months of non-stop playing her bow had slowly started
to disintegrate and each day she only continued to shred the horse
hair away. For some reason she had expected her special priority
package to be delivered by someone whose waist was increasing at
the same rate his hairline was receding, not the younger man who
stood before her. ‘Susan Mulherin?’ he smiled as he handed the
clipboard over for her to sign. As she scribbled she was pleased there
was no hint of recognition about her name. After she handed the
clipboard back and received her package, the transaction complete,
she watched as he continued to stare into the distance.
‘Those Viper’s Bugloss can be a real pain. You ought to get
someone out here to have a look at them.’
‘The what, sorry?’ She had never heard that name before.
‘The weeds, the purple ones. Can cause a real mess with the
livestock.’ He strode forward to where some of the Paterson’s Curse
reached. ‘Sorry to be intrusive, I’m part of a wildlife conservation
group.’ He moved back and introduced himself as Adam Johnson.
Susan M. didn’t quite know what to make of Adam Johnson, she
had not expected any postman to be so fascinated with weeds or
anything other than mail, yet she was quite content with any human
interaction at all. After what felt like ten minutes discussing the
nature of these particular weeds Susan M. could not hold out
unpacking her new bow any longer.
‘I was wondering what that was.’ Adam Johnson remarked.
‘So you’re a musician, what’s a musician doing in a place like this.’
‘I’m a conductor actually,’ she replied, looking up from the bow,
the new extension of her limb.
‘Not much to conduct out here.’
To her relief the silence was permeated with the sound of an
insect buzzing past (Susan M. was thoroughly used to the sound
and sight of creepy crawlies by then). Adam Johnson took a number
of tentative steps backwards.
‘Are you scared of bees?’ She asked.
‘Not scared. And that’s no bee. That there is a European wasp.
They can be quite dangerous. This one is on its own but there could
be more somewhere. I’ll give you our card in case you need any
help.’ He handed over a business card,
Wildlife Conservation
, and
lightly grazed her hand with his in the process. The first human
contact in quite some while.
Sea Of Purple
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