I can’t tell you a ghost story. Moggi story. Murri too scare. Sound like Mookai girl eh, but no. Different. Wrong way.
— Can I? Can’t I? Can I? Can’t I?
— No.
— All right. This one then.
Old granddad, not the real one, blood one. Still. Old fella pass away. Lucky Missy there. Come in from truckdrivin, eh lookout! Old fella on the floor, oh poorfella! Room all flies, Spittim out pah pah! Put that old man in shower, clean him up onetime. He happy then, not by heself. Missy siddown, hold his hand. He reckon up:
— You go longa missus now, longa that old girl. Go be together now, Okay? I go and make ya cuppa, roll a durrie.
Old man happy now. Lie in bed, all clean, goodsmell. He throat going arrgh arrgh. But he happy. Not alone. Missy go outside, make cuppatea. But when he go inside, ah too bad. Finish up.
Missy he never go funeral. Too sorry, too cry. He stay home. Everyone else go, biggest mob. I go, put my arm round Mum. Flowers. Gum flowers. Murri one, not that Migloo shit.
Next time we go past the dead place, Missy and me. Truck he going boom boom, black smoke. Plenty jahjam there. Ratbag mob. Sittin next that old grandad rock. Dey sniffin. Sillyfella business. Missy he go all red in the face, truegod. He stop that truck dreckly SSCCCRREEEE. Binung go owowowow! Sillyfella dey go jump all over. Oh yeah shoulda seed that leg travel orright! They flying …
Missy bin catch one kid. Fat one, McDonalds, KFC. Oh poorfella. He lay into him alright. Bang! Bang! Kid go all crai, crai, crai. Missy reckon youfla never go see Uncle when he old and sick, eh? Why youfla fucken bother him now he pinish up! Gorn, puck off home! Don’t let me see you in the dead place again. Leave that old fell a in peace.
Fat kid go owowowow down the track. Missy rub him hand on that trouser. We go truck. Got sheetiron to deliver.
No more kid in the dead place.
Melissa Lucashenko is a multi-award-winning Bundjalung novelist from Brisbane. She is a Walkley Award winner for her nonfiction writing and a founding member of human rights group Sisters Inside.
