“A small girl had darted out from the trees, made her way barefoot to the bay and then clambered onto the jagged rocks as easily as if she was wearing shoes. Rebekah could see her face quite clearly, an elfin face. She had a light coffee complexion and almond shaped, green coloured eyes. What a pretty child, Rebekah had thought, but kind of strange, too. Her hair was a tumble of tight curls tucked under a turban cap. And her dress – Rebekah had never seen anything like it. It was a roughly made dirty white shift. The child’s head was on one side and she was smiling at something she could see in the water – a fish, an angel fish perhaps.”

Extract from A Dark Iris – included in the showcase