Civilisation was precious to me. I'd just spent an eternity on a yacht, sailing all the way from Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea to New Zealand, and I would be estatic if I never saw another yacht for the rest of my life. The trip had started poorly, for I had been out looking for turtles with my island friend Tanu and her brothers, and on our return we'd disturbed men transferring something to a yacht at two in the morning.

We'd all dived overboard from the canoe to avoid the bullets, but when Tanu had been caught I'd foolishly crept aboard the big catamaran with some idiot idea of rescuing her, only to be discovered and face the same physical abuse as her, albeit in the other hull.

How I managed to get free and how we'd taken over the craft was a story in itself, but eventually we'd sailed as far south as New Zealand, where with the help of people on the radio we'd eventually made landfall here in Mangonui, a small seaside town on the very tip of New Zealand's North Island.

It had been the local policeman and his family who'd taken us in, fed us and put us to bed, pending the investigation of our fantastic story. Last night I'd not cared a whit about any of it, but the bright morning reminded me it would soon be question time...

I ignored the thought and rolled over.

Time to get up, Kelly.

Awww..., c'mon!

Eventually my bladder resolved the argument and I reluctantly pulled the covers back and stood up, then padded down the hall to the bathroom. I found myself attired in light pyjamas and nothing else, and was wondering what to do when another girl appeared in the hall and stopped when she saw me.

"Hello, you're up, I see. Do you want breakfast?"

Breakfast! Immediately my stomach growled and I nodded eagerly. "What about clothes? I can't go down like this." I remembered vaguely that the bedroom I was in was upstairs.

"Don't worry about it, there's only me and Mum in and we won't care." She turned and I followed her down to the kitchen where the Sergeant's wife was bustling about.

"Mum, she's awake."

The woman turned and I had my first good look at her, for the previous night I'd been too beat to register much. She was... I guess the old books would have called her 'buxom', everyone's mother, complete with apron and dishrag hands. Only her eyes belied her appearance as she returned my gaze shrewdly and gestured to the table.

"Vicki, get some plates. And how do you feel now, young lady? Do you have a name or must we call you 'Miss' all the time? What would you like for breakfast, some eggs, bacon? What about a nice omelette? My, my, you do look tired still. Sit down here, that's right, over here. Vicki, hurry up with those things, dear."

The words came too fast for me to respond, and I allowed myself to be guided to the table and accepted a glass of milk. Milk? I never drink milk! My body disagreed and drank it before I properly formulated any serious objections. Finally I got a word in.

"Thank you. My name is Kelly and I'm very pleased to be here."

I looked over at the other girl who had seated herself across from me. "Is it you I must thank for the clothes?"

She tossed her head.

"Yes, they're mine, but you didn't seem to have anything with you so it was the best thing to do. At least you're small enough to fit... the other girl is much bigger. She's got on some things of Dad's."

Soon we were chattering away as if we'd been friends for years, and I learned that their name was Urquart, and that the Sergeant who'd taken me in was one of the resident police officers. Mangonui was a very small place, apparently, and the arrival of 'Twister' was a major event.

"There's lots and lots of city police and other officials here now," Vicki informed me excitedly. "The phones have been going all night at the station, and there's been lots of people climbing all over the yacht, but nobody's told us anything. What's happening, do you know?"

I shook my head, munching on some toast and reaching for more milk.

"I hardly remember anything about last night, I was so tired. There was a heavenly shower and a gloriously solid bed. You don't know what luxury that is unless you've been on a yacht."

Mrs Urquart smiled.

"We're pleased you enjoyed it. Mind you, it looks like you could do with some more sleep." Her mouth tightened. "You won't get it, I'm afraid. I have instructions to inform Angus at the office as soon as you're up, but they can wait for a while yet. Where's the other girl, is she still asleep?"

"Probably. Her name's Tanu and she was the captain on the yacht. She had even less sleep than me, so I'm not surprised she's not down yet."

"What is she, an Islander?"

"She's a Manus Islander, from far up in PNG. Mind you, she spent most of her recent years on Bougainville, the same place I live. Lived." I corrected.

I stopped when I realised they were looking at me blankly.

Let me tell it, Kelly.

OK. I mentally sat back and listened as Myra patiently explained the background to our voyage, leaving out the sticky parts and the whys and wherefores. Myra is my other half, a sort of mental Siamese twin, and a secret from the world at large. We take turns at being me. The audience listened, rapt, and it was me who first noticed Tanu pad quietly down the stairs.

Myra. Tanu. She'll notice. Smoothly I turned and watched her roll into the kitchen, her gait showing her body's attempt to adjust for ocean swells no longer there. I grinned to see someone with the same problem as me.

"Good morning, everyone," she started.

"Tanu, this is Mrs Urquart and Vicki. I've been telling them about our experiences"

She laughed with a rueful note. "I don't think they're over yet, judging by the number of policemen around last night."

Everyone relaxed and smiled and Mrs Urquart provided another massive breakfast while Vicki looked on, wide eyed. Tanu was clearly her first Melanesian.

"Now, what are we going to do about clothes for you both?" asked Mrs Urquart. "I know. I'll take you into town and get you outfitted. Meanwhile Vicki can take Kelly upstairs and fit her out with something for today while I ring the Claremonts. Their Gloria must be about Tanu's size. What do you say?" and she beamed at both of us.

Tanu looked at me uncertainly, and Vicki looked at her mother in horror.

"Mum! Dad said Inspector Dowd wanted to see them as soon as they were up!"

"All in good time, child. I'll ring your father right now. Go on, up you go. Tanu's alright with me, isn't she?"

I spent the next half hour in Vicki's room choosing something to wear. It began to strike home to me that we had nothing, not even underwear, and here was a family that thought little of buying clothes for us, or loaning them as necessary.

Vicki was taller than me, but in the end we managed to dress me in underwear, jeans, and a warm top, and to fit me with some of her jewellery and clips for my hair as well.

Not too bad for a shipwrecked sailor, Kelly.

Vicki was delighted.

"Fantastic, Kelly!" she hesitated. "Are you really sixteen, same as me?" she asked in a quieter voice.

"Well, seventeen, nearly eighteen now. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged.

"It's just that... well, I don't think I could have done all the things you were telling us about. You seem much older, somehow."

There wasn't much I could say to that, and we went downstairs again to find Tanu in the last stages of pulling on clothes. She wore dark jeans and a light woollen pullover and looked like a million dollars.

Shortly afterwards several cars pulled up the driveway and the familiar bulk of Angus Urquart entered, followed by Dowd who looked just as he had the night before, only now his correct clothing was awry and crumpled and he had the air of a refugee.

"What's this about..." he began, then he saw us in our new clothes. "Hmm... that's an improvement, I must say. Good morning Mrs Urquart, good morning Vicki. When can we talk to you two young ladies again? Auckland's becoming insistent."

"Not before they've got some clothes of their own and had another sleep, Inspector. You look like you could do with some too. Have you had breakfast? No, I bet you haven't. Well, sit down then and have a drink. Tea or coffee? Vicki, get some more bacon."

Under this onslaught Dowd stalled completely. He looked helplessly around and then sat down heavily in the chair I pulled out for him. More policemen appeared from outside and soon they were all comfortably sipping tea and looking around with frank curiosity at us, the house, everything.

Mrs Urquart took charge from the start.

"Angus, what's the situation with these girls? Do you really need them right now? I suppose you'll be sending them off to Auckland soon but surely even you can see they need clothes. I thought we could drive over to Kaitaia shortly and kit them out."

Sergeant Angus Urquart looked at his wife and then at his superior and his face lit up with a smile.

"What do you say, Sir. There's still work to be done on the yacht and you've been up all night. Why don't you take a break and have a sleep, and tomorrow morning we'll be ready to take everything back south. We could get Doctor French to make that medical examination while they're in town, so there'd be no untidy bits left to be done, and all of us fit for the journey."

"There's plenty of untidy bits left, Urquart, and a lot of questions I want to ask these girls before I face Head Office," Dowd growled. "But there's something in what you say." He passed a weary hand over his face.

"Very well. We'll do it your wife's way, the boys could do with a break and nobody's running away. Ring French and make the appointment, explain it's urgent and we'd appreciate it done today."

He turned to us.

"Just remember, you're technically under arrest, so I'll have to send a constable in with you. Please make sure you're available by four this afternoon for further questioning. There's quite a few things that aren't at all clear, and oh, by the way, Miss Weber, we contacted your father. He's on his way over but it'll be Sunday night before he can get here."

He stood, and with a final glance round and a nod to Mrs Urquart stomped out to his car. His men hurriedly drained their cups, and murmuring their thanks followed him.

The Sergeant and his wife smiled at each other.

"Make sure you get back in time, dear. That's the first time I've seen that man lost for words, but it won't always be that easy. He's been working all night."

So saying he kissed her lightly on the cheek and was gone, stopping only to detach one of the younger constables to travel with us.

We hurriedly did the dishes and prepared to leave, just in case Dowd should change his mind and call for us anyway. We needn't have worried, for there were no other policemen in sight when we all climbed in the family car.

To my surprise the sky was all clouded over and a brisk breeze came up off the water. The earlier cheerful sunshine was over and in its place was a thin yellow light. Tanu also scanned the sky, frowning but saying nothing.

Kaitaia proved to be quite a long way from Mangonui, and we drove for nearly half an hour between incredibly green fields with cows and sheep and horses. Even around Brisbane it isn't that green. The township itself was smaller than I expected, nestling in a cleft in the hills, with one main shopping street and no high-rise. Most of it looked old, but had the same comfortable appearance of similar towns in Queensland.

The doctor's examination was brief and embarrassing. When I came out there was heat in my face that Tanu must have been able to see, for she frowned at me. It was clear that Doctor French hadn't been told the reason for the urgency or any of the background, because his manner was almost rude and his methods left me without a shred of dignity.

I saw that Tanu felt the same way when she came out, holding her head high and her jaws clenched. I think I'll cross Doctor French off my Christmas card list...

We went on a shopping spree. At first I was reluctant, thinking of the money these people were spending on us, but I soon gave in to the glorious opportunity to get what I wanted rather than what I thought Father would let me get away with.

Tanu did almost as well. Wherever she went she caused heads to turn and shop assistants tended to rush to serve her. It must have been her beautiful head of frizzy hair, for I saw a number of ordinary people with the same brown skin as her.

I'm always the wrong size for off-the-shelf clothing and in Australia I always had to modify and refit any clothes I bought, but here they seemed to have a better range of sizes, so for most of my purchases there would be no homework.

Vicki stuck to me like glue. She seemed to know most of the shop assistants and she clearly enjoyed the mystery surrounding us. She also had a better clothes sense than me, and I soon found myself accepting her choices. This didn't impress Myra at all, and I reluctantly let her make some choices. No problems. It happened that she had the best taste of us all, although Vicki was looking somewhat confused by the end of it all.

It was two in the afternoon when we finally got away, much to the relief of the constable with us. He was young and seconded from Auckland and it was written on his face that he would never let his girlfriend or wife loose like that!

The drive back to Mangonui was difficult, for we were driving into a blustery wind that rocked the car alarmingly. The sky was now a leaden grey and when we reached the coast we could see the bay was a seething mass of whitecaps.

Tanu was most concerned.

"Kelly, I think this is our storm, the one we ran away from. I'm glad we're not out in that in 'Twister'." We looked out at the frothing bay and a thoughtful silence prevailed for the rest of the journey.

Vicki's father greeted us at the house.

"Well, how did it go? Spend lots of money?"

"Of course we did, Dad!" retorted Vicki. "Tanu's got some fantastic gear." 'Fantastic' seemed to be one of her words.

Tanu and I thanked the Urquarts very much.

"I'll be able to pay you back as soon as my father arrives, and of course that includes Tanu's things."

They would have none of it.

"Vicki's our only daughter, Kelly, and it gives us pleasure to be able to do this. Besides, what would the Department have done otherwise? Don't worry, most of this will be paid for by them. They have a special fund for it."

He turned to Tanu.

"And what about you, young lady? Do you know if your family will come over?"

"They can't do that," she answered quietly. "Nobody in my family has even got a passport. I think Kelly's father will have contacted them with the news, though."

There was a horrified silence, then Mrs Urquart spoke.

"Angus, get on the phone at once and try to get hold of her family. The least we can do is let them talk to her. What's your home number, Tanu? For that matter, Kelly had better call home as well."

Tanu turned to me, tears in her eyes.

"Kelly... what do I say..." she hesitated and spoke carefully in German.

"What can I say to them, Kelly? What if they ask me about Samson and Moses, what do I say then? And what do I tell them about..."

I took her hand.

"I'll speak to them first, Tanu, to ease the way. I'll tell them how it happened, and I won't tell them anything else. OK?"

She nodded hesitantly, and I signed to the waiting Angus to carry on placing the call with the information I had given him earlier.