Riddle of the Bones

She lies curled up as if only asleep, knees drawn to her chest, arms wrapped around them, tucked snugly in a nook between the coral boulders. But this woman is long dead, and her bones are as white as the coral branches that have crept among them like tree roots. Around her, lying in other cavities in the sharp rock and covered by volcanic ash, are the resting places of more human bones, all arranged in different positions of repose. Bats wheel above on the wind, which rushes through the coconut palms and sets the blue tarpaulin covering the graves flapping...