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Beyond the wire fence and high walls of the Camel Yard with its 550 sculptures, the oaks glisten green and gold and give voice to the wind. Miss Helen became increasingly shy as as she grew older and shunned the company of other people. Finally, at the age of 78, with her eyesight failing and the light literally seeping from her world, she swallowed caustic soda. It was Koos that found her and local legend has it that being unable to speak she wrote something on a piece of paper and gave it to him. Koos, being unable to read, handed the letter to the local minister when he arrived to take Helen to hospital. He pocketed the note and its contents remain unknown to this day but cause for much speculation. It took Miss Helen three days to die. She left specific instructions for her burial, wanting her ashes to be mixed with ground glass and used to decorate Oswald the Owl. However, some years after her death, her ashes were finally sprinkled over the Camel Yard. Oswald remains unadorned. Copyright © 2002 Laurianne Claase. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of the author is prohibited. | 
