At Our Gate

A new mural welcomes visitors to Sheppey with local landmarks, a hard-faced mermaid and a joke about the SS Richard Montgomery. Then offerings begin to appear beneath it. Birds die against the wall. People vanish.

The Quiet Service arrives to decide whether an old goddess has returned, a modern image has acquired an audience of its own, or everyone is asking the wrong question.

The first of three linked Sheppey stories about boundaries, recognition and the dangers of giving something a name.