I stood by the side of the road and watched the car disappear down the hill and around the bend. I didn't even bother cursing the driver. In a way, after all, it had been my fault. A long haired, bearded hitchhiker, wearing scruffy denims and a gold earring should know better than to argue with someone who's been good enough to give him a lift. Even if that someone turns out to be stupid, bigoted and narrow minded. Especially if that someone decides to hold forth to a captive audience on the touchy subjects of war and religion. Well, next time I'd know better. That way I'd end up in some town or another, instead of sitting beside the road in the middle of nowhere. It was late in the afternoon. I knew that if I waited, eventually, someone else would come along. And maybe my appearance wouldn't be too much of a deterrent. Maybe I'd get a lift to the nearest town, wherever and whatever that was. But then I realised I really didn't give a damn whether or not I got a lift. It simply wasn't that important.

There was silence all round me, the still of the bush, that after a while was not silence, but filled with innumerable small sounds on the edge of awareness. I put my knapsack down, dumped my sleeping bag beside it, and sat on the gravel of the road verge. I let the serenity and silence that was not quite silence wash over me. The anger that had been with me when I'd got out of the car dissipated.

For the poor middle aged sod driving it I felt no longer antipathy but pity. He had been such a fool, such a narrow minded idiot that I had been unable to keep wisely silent. So he had stopped the car and told me to get out and walk. He had told me quite a few other things as well, but most of them I didn't care to remember. 'Scruffy yobbo queer' was one phrase I hadn't cared for at all. I am not gay. And if I had been, it shouldn't have been anybody's business but my own.

I suppose I must have sat there for nearly fifteen minutes before I realised that there was a gravel road leading off into the bush. Roads weren't generally made without reasons; perhaps this one led to a farm. I wasn't particularly disappointed that no one else had come along to offer me a lift. I felt I would spend a night in the open rather than find myself passenger to another narrow minded idiot who felt his mission in life was to impose his opinions upon me. I didn't have any deadline to get where I was going. As a matter of fact, I didn't even have anywhere definite to go...

So I humped the bundle containing my sleeping bag onto my back, picked up my knapsack and started off down the gravel road. Actually I rather think I was dignifying it by calling it a road; it was much more like a track. As I reached the corner I was astonished to see it actually had a name. Great Black Bunyip Walk.

Great Black Bunyip Walk? Well, I ask you! It was truly irresistible. I blinked once or twice and then started along the track... road ... whatever. It was wide enough and to start with in passable condition for a vehicle, had I had one to start off with. Possibly it had been graded within the past couple of months. The bush stretched away in all directions and the way twisted and turned among the trees. By this time it had definitely deteriorated to the status of a track, and not a very good one at that. No farm lay at the end of this walk. I wondered just exactly what did. I walked for nearly half an hour, while the sky dulled overhead and the air chilled. Ahead of me the track forked and there was a dusty sign. To the left was Nerrilyup, and to the right Deep Black Bunyip Pool and the Willow Spring. As the distances were fifty kilometres and half a kilometre respectively I had no difficulty deciding which way to go. And I have to admit the bunyip concept had me fascinated.

Less than ten minutes later I found myself by a deep pool, isolated and unexpected among rocks and trees. In spite of everything I was simply not prepared for such a sight and for several moments stood and stared, open mouthed. I had come down a slope, and the deep green of the pool lay before me. Under the shadows of the towering trees the water was almost black on the far side.

It had to be nearly a hundred metres across, roughly circular, and from the rocks to my left I heard the tinkling of a creek. Investigating, I found the source of the pool; a spring welling from the rocks and running down the slope to gather in a deep natural depression. This then was the Deep Black Bunyip Pool. I dipped my fingers in the water and drank appreciatively. If ever water could be compared with wine, then this was it!

It had been a long hot day. Though the air had cooled a little, I still felt hot and sweaty. Lacking company, I stripped to my skin and went to the edge of the pool. My green wavering reflection looked up at me and I slipped easily into the water. It was cold, like iced velvet as I struck out towards the centre of the pool. Idly, I lay on my back and looked up at the sky. It was a pale greeny blue and a few stars were beginning to show, sparkling against the infinite deep. Later, I knew, there would be a pale crescent moon.

Beautiful.

It suddenly struck me as I lay there that this was a place of beauty but one that was rarely visited. A sense of loneliness began to steal over me. Vague disquiet, but without any undercurrent of fear. I made for the shore to dry and dress myself. When I had found an area of rock and bare soil I made a small fire. It was quite dark by then and I sat huddled in my jacket and sleeping bag by the fire, looking out across the now totally black water. The hot coffee mug was comforting in my hands but the sense of loneliness which I had lost while I'd been busy, presently stole back again.

Lonely.

I don't think I'd ever felt lonely before. I was a loner by choice and although I enjoyed the company of other people at times, I did not miss it when it was not available. If I'd woken up one sunny morning and found myself the only person in the world I doubt that it would have really bothered me overmuch. But here, sitting by the deep pool fed by the Willow Spring, I felt an acute need for company. Foolish, I thought to myself, there probably wasn't another human being for miles around. I'd just have to survive the night alone. I leaned forwards to put some more branches on the fire, and out of the corner of my eye caught a glimpse of movement.

Not ten feet away from me, something large and black and dripping with water was rising from the edge of the pool. I blinked, gasped and dropped the branches. Then I hurriedly grabbed a blazing brand, leapt to my feet and backed off. Loneliness had disappeared, ousted roughly by fear. Had I been that desperate for company?

The blackness from the pool advanced slowly, resolving itself into a more or less humanoid shape. It was big. Oh man, was it big. Twice my height and I'm not exactly a little man. Bulky with it, and with arms that would have made a sumo wrestler green with envy. Its eyes were red, above an enormous mouth which opened to show triple ranks of pointed white teeth. Water, or more likely slaver, dripped to the ground.

I wasn't exactly a gibbering wreck, or at least I like to think I wasn't. But when that fearsome mouth spoke I nearly dropped on the spot.

"You swam in my pool."

"Ah... yes... " I coughed to clear my throat. "Yes, I did. Did I... disturb you?"

"No." The voice was deep and resonant. "I rise at sunset in any case." The creature dropped to the ground between my fire and the pool. "Why are you afraid of me?"

"Afraid? Me? Well... "

It laughed, a noisy raucous sound, like a mob of demented kookaburras.

"Most humans are afraid of bunyips." There was regret in its voice. "They're afraid, and they run away, and we never even get the chance to talk. Or they try to harm us, and we have to run away."

I hesitated and then moved back towards the fire. I still held the burning brand in my grip. "You want to ... talk?"

"Why not? It's lonely being a bunyip. Most people don't even believe in us, and those who do, think the very worst of us. We bunyips have a very undeserved reputation for nastiness."

"I... can't imagine why." I put the branch on the fire and sat down. "Are you hungry?"

"Yesss." Sibilance, almost a chuckle. "But I'll have a snack... later. It's too early yet. I'd rather just sit and talk with you."

"Talk? Hmm, yes." I frowned. "How come you can talk, and in English? I never knew bunyips could actually speak. Come to think of it. I never even thought they actually existed."

"Most people don't know very much about us. We're a much maligned race. And people who do meet us seldom talk about it afterwards." It sighed, and an enormous tear fell from one eye.

"Do you want a drink of coffee then?"

"No." Scornfully. "Bunyips don't drink coffee." I decided I wasn't going to ask what they did drink.

"Well, you won't mind if I have one, will you?" I filled my mug again and squatted across the fire from the monster. No one was ever going to believe this, I told myself. I'd be accused of tripping or hallucinating, in spite of the fact that I'd never touched drugs in my life.

People just didn't believe in bunyips nowadays. Most likely the person who'd named the road and the pool had done it for effect and not because of any belief in such creatures.

"Why did you come here?" the bunyip asked, and I pulled a wry face.

"I was hitch hiking. But I had a disagreement with the last driver who picked me up. So he told me I could get out and walk. It was late, and I thought that if I went down the road I might come to a house or a farm. Instead I arrived here."

"I see, I see." The monster wriggled to ease its bulk on the stony ground. "And are you going anywhere in particular?" "Not really. Just having a long and idle holiday."

"Oh. So you have friends you will visit? A family to return to afterwards?"

I opened my mouth to say there was no one, but caught a curious eager gleam in those red eyes and instead took another mouthful of coffee. The creature, that after its first horrifying impact, had seemed almost amicable, had begun again to take on a sinister aspect. Then I said carefully, "Actually, I'm due back next week. My... brother is expecting a telephone call from me tomorrow. From Nerrilyup."

The faint gurgling sound from the creature could have been either amusement or disappointment. "You'll be off again in the morning then?"

"Yes." I hoped so anyway. "He - knew I'd be along the main road either today or tomorrow. He's got friends in Nerrilyup and he let them know to expect me sometime. I'll... drop in on them on my way." Isn't it wonderful how we can all lie so creatively when we think we have need to?

"Oh." The bunyip made another gurgling sound. It seemed to have huddled in on itself at my words. For a moment, I came close to feeling sorry for it. "I... was hoping you'd be around for a while. It's lonely out here." It sniffed.

"Sorry." Another lie. But my feeling of uneasiness had grown, if anything. It was cold, and I put some more wood on the fire. The last of my stock. If I wanted some more, I realised suddenly, I'd have to get up, leave that bright warmth and go forage for more. And I did want more wood, believe me!

The bunyip sat up and regarded me hopefully, wistfully.

"Would you like to go for another swim?"

"No!"

"Oh." It drooped in misery. "Sometimes... people do like to go for a swim. At night." It sniffed again. "No one's been swimming in my pool in ages. Only you."

"Only... me. Oh. Well, it is a little out of the way." I paused. "Do you like people swimming in your pool?"

"Oh yes. At night time anyway. During the day it's not much use. I'm asleep then. Bunyips only come out at night, did you know that?"

"I... thought so. But I wasn't sure."

"And people only swim here in the daytime." Another tear squeezed itself from one eye and splashed onto the ground. "I'm so-o-o lonely."

And so hungry too, I'll bet, I told myself as I watched it. But it was no longer terrifying. That is not to say I wasn't still scared of it. Lonely or not, it was big enough and strong enough to make short work of me if it felt so inclined. I pulled the sleeping bag up around myself.

"Are you tired?" There was something approaching concern in that unhuman voice.

"A bit." Not that I was likely to sleep, but if I could convince it that there was no more conversation forthcoming, it might, just might, decide to leave me alone. Unless it had plans of making me that 'snack' it had mentioned earlier.

"Oh." It started to rise, stretched and towered over me. "I'll go then. I'm going to have something to eat." Me? "Goodbye."

"Goodbye." I think I managed to get the word out; I'm honestly not too sure. When the creature slid noiselessly back into the deep black waters I hurriedly jumped up and gathered a great pile of dry and fallen branches and stacked them near to me. In spite of my words, I had no intentions whatsoever of sleeping. Not that night. I kept the fire fed, about as high as it had been when the bunyip had left me, not daring to let it die down. And certainly not daring to relax and drift off into the sleep I felt waiting to claim me. The idea of packing my belongings and making a run for it occurred to me, but I knew I had far more chance of getting lost in the dark. It had to be the lesser of two evils to stay where I was. Fortunately I had recently bought a new jar of instant coffee and there was plenty of fresh water in the spring. I spent most of the night huddled to my nose in the sleeping bag, watching the fire - and beyond it - and drinking black coffee.

Eventually, however, around three or so in the morning, my determination was overcome by fatigue and I fell into a doze. The empty coffee mug slipped from my hand as I slid down into a deep black dream.

It was a dream of loneliness, of sheer panic as I ran through featureless corridors and up and down flights of grey steps, pursued by something nameless and formless and horrible beyond belief.

I woke to darkness, to the glowing embers of my dying fire, and a colossal blackness the other side of that fire. A blackness that moved, showing glowing red eyes and white teeth in the faint moonlight. I think I screamed, and was jerked back into full awareness momentarily before I feel down into the darkness again.

Infinite shame for a grown man to admit to fainting.

The second wakening was to the bright flames of my renewed fire, and a soft velvet touch on my forehead. The monstrous creature from the pool loomed over me, coffee mug of clear spring water held carefully in one huge sharp clawed hand. Paw. I blinked and took the mug, drinking deeply and staring up at it. Whatever I had anticipated, this was not it.

"You were having a nightmare. Crying out. Are you in pain?" There was an odd, unhuman gentleness in the voice. I struggled to sit up, pushing thoughtlessly at the restraining arm... or whatever it was. The bunyip moved away from me, resuming its earlier position on the far side of the fire. The fire that it had rebuilt for me. I sat for a long time, clutching at the mug until my hands had stopped shaking.

"I'm all right now." It was an effort to force my voice to be calm and level. "You... brought some more wood for the fire."

"It seemed to comfort you, to have it there." There was an edge of mockery in the voice. "As you tried to stay awake all night to keep it burning." A pause. "Are humans then so truly afraid of bunyips?"

"I... didn't think so. But then I'd never met a bunyip before."

"Nor I a human being." It pulled a face, grotesque on its monster expression. "I told you we were much maligned."

"I... thought you might have been planning on making a meal of me."

Again, the raucous kookaburra laugh. "Certainly not."

I put the cup down and rested my chin on my hands and looked at the creature thoughtfully. "I'm sure I must be dreaming. Bunyips don't exist. And if they do, they eat people, not converse with them."

"Eat people!" A softer laugh this time. "No, certainly not that. Never that." But the laughter was suspiciously like a sob and I was mystified. And fascinated.

"Then tell me."

"Tell you?"

"Why did you want me to stay? Is it just because I'm the first human being you've ever met? Or is there some other reason?" The glowing red eyes blinked and lowered. The creature huddled into itself and seemed to shiver and grow smaller.

"There is... a legend. You... will laugh at me."

"No. Of course not." I wouldn't dare. "I promise."

"In the Dreams before the Dreamtime. Before the awakening of man... " The voice was sonorous and mesmeric. I sat very still. "In that distant age the bunyips ruled the world. But one of our forefathers did an evil thing. Unspeakably evil. And the gods of that time punished him. Not only him, but all his descendants for ever. We were made ugly, repellent and horrifying, so that humans would hate and fear us. The myths about us told of our wickedness and that we should always be shunned and feared. But it is not true." The red eyes opened wide and looked across at me and the bunyip continued. "If any one of us is able, without deceit or magic, to speak with a human and convince him or her of our innocence, then we may take on human form and dwell in the real world."

"Is that all? You can become a human being now? If I say that I believe you?"

"No." The word escaped the monster like a tear. "For a human being to say that he believes is not enough. It must be proven."

"Oh." I found myself almost convinced. After all, it could have dragged me down into the water while I was asleep, or unconscious. It hadn't. "Go on, tell me what I have to do." Well, why not? I could always say no.

"You must come and swim in the pool with me." It was an unwilling murmur.

"In... the morning?" I suppose I was being hopeful.

"Uh, no. Now. In the hours of darkness. But it must be your own choice. I cannot make you do it."

"Hmm. But you want me to, don't you?" "Yes. I am ugly, monstrous and frightening. If I were human, I would be none of these things."

"And... if I say no. If I won't help you?" I asked that one out of sheer curiousity, I think. Even at that moment my mind was made up.

"There would be nothing more I could do." The creature stood over me. "I could drag you down unwillingly into the depths of the pool. If I were to do that then you would drown. And I would remain as I am. For ever. I would be cursed for killing you. Believe me, others of my kind have tried that. The legends tell of bunyips taking humans. But it never worked out that way. It must be your own free choice. I cannot force you."

There are times when I think I'm a fool. Like when I argue with people who give me lifts, or when I go swimming in the middle of the night with only a bunyip for a companion. Ah well... I stood up, wriggling out of the sleeping bag. I piled more wood onto the fire. It was very cold. Afterwards... if there were an afterwards, that was, I'd be freezing. And so, most likely, would my companion be. If the legends were true, that was. I was intrigued too as to what sort of a man the bunyip would become. Curiousity is a foolish thing, isn't it?

The bunyip moved heavily to the edge of the pool and splashed down into it. I shed my clothes and moved to the edge. I could feel the goose bumps rising, and not just from the cold. Gritting my teeth, I slid into the water and swam out towards the deep blackness of my companion. As I paddled by it the long claws brushed along the length of my spine. I shuddered and then felt its huge bulk beneath me. Red eyes stared into mine, and the water splashed around us. "Are you certain?"

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. "Hold onto me. We must dive deep into the pool. Do not let go." And then, so very softly I thought maybe I had imagined it, "Thank you." I nodded, past fear, and took a deep gulp of fresh cold air. Then we were going down, down into thick blackness. The water was icy, cold as a tomb. Down, down... it seemed forever, and then we were buffeted and jolted about. I clung tightly, certain that I was either dead or dying, or maybe just wildly hallucinating on the shore. The blackness changed to red, and a whirling maelstrom of colours and darkness. I felt a change in pressure and hoped we were on our return to the surface. I couldn't hold my breath for much longer, surely?

And then the stars were above me and I floated alone on the surface of the Deep Black Bunyip Pool. Of my monstrous companion there was no sign. Feeling a numbing sense of anticlimax I pulled myself wearily from the water and staggered to the fire, where I collapsed in a heap, leaving the warmth of the flames to dry and soothe me.

It was full daylight when I woke again. I was stiff and sore and cold. But I was quite alone. There was no one there, and no one came. I dressed myself and lit the fire again. Even the coals were dead. I sat there all morning, with my eyes scanning the surface of the pool.

Nothing. It must have been a dream. It must all have been a dream. But I stayed there all day, watching and waiting for I didn't rightly know what. I was still there when evening fell again and I maintained my lonely vigil until the stars again shone overhead, bleak and cold and glittering. Loneliness again stole over me. But this time there was no gentle monstrous visitor, and no ripples marked the surface of the black water. I was truly alone. Finally I drifted off to sleep, angrily denying the wetness on my cheeks.

Have you ever lost a friend before you even got to know him?

Next morning, I made myself swim, just to wash, in the pool. But I stayed close to the shore, fearful of what might or might not lie beneath the surface. My back itched, and when I felt with my fingers I found the slight ridge of a healing shallow scratch along my spine. I half smiled as I pulled my shirt back on. Maybe it hadn't been a dream after all. I might never know ...

The main road seemed further than it had when I'd walked in the opposite direction, but when I got to it I decided to keep walking. It wasn't long before I got a lift, and was dropped off in the little town of Nerrilyup, where the driver had been headed. He had given me a queer look when I'd mentioned the deep pool along the gravel road, but had said nothing else until I got out. Then he'd leaned across to look up and out the window at me as I lifted my bags.

"It's a lonely place, the old Bunyip Pool. Didja see... ah anything strange out there?"

"No." I made myself look straight at him. "Nothing. Nothing at all." The wind sighed in the ghost gums and sent a flurry of gravel dust down a side road, and I also let out a deep sigh. He shook his head, winked at me and drove off. Nerrilyup was a little place. There were a couple of streets in either direction, a pub, a church, a school and half a dozen shops, with a scattering of weatherboard houses, roofed with corrugated iron of varying shades. In front of the tiny local post office stood an old fashioned red telephone box. I smiled a little as I passed it, remembering my frightened self defensive claim that I had to ring my brother from this place. Just beyond it, a woman stepped seemingly out of nowhere, and we nearly collided.

I caught at her to prevent her falling, and she looked up at me. Deep black eyes, with laughter in their depths, met mine. Her hair was a silky black curtain and her nails were long and smoothly red. The rest of her, caught in my arms, matched beautifully. We both regained our balance and I started to apologise. She however looked straight at me. She was almost as tall as I was.

"Your brother will be waiting for his telephone call."

"What?" I caught my breath and stared at her. "I... don't have a brother. I... " And then I broke off.

She murmured gently, "No. Well, somehow, I didn't think you had."

My eyes went wide, and as she continued to regard me, the smile wide and gently mocking in her serene dark face, I knew then that the bunyip legend was true after all. And true in a more wonderful way than I had ever imagined possible.