Steel Drums

by Bob Mills

The landslip took out a pile of trees. Days of rain turned  the slope to a slurry that flowed down to the road.  

Behind it water carved a gully back into the hillside. At  its edge locals and a geo-expert stared at the huge, blue  plastic spa near the bottom.  

“It was the steel drum maker,” the owner said. “From  Jamaica. He made his drums in it to muffle the noise. I  thought he took it with him but he must have just buried  it.”  

Could the spa have triggered the landslip, someone  asked. “Could have,” the expert said. 

I was there.