What makes people do graffiti? Why does Taeko feel that she must share her undying love for Mark on a tree in a National Park? The following week she might be carving James instead. Perhaps it is better to carve into a tree than to get a tattoo?

I would prefer that Taeko doodled her fancies on her guidebook instead but life isn’t perfect. If Keith Haring didn’t start with graffiti we wouldn’t have his legacy of paintings that he left behind. So maybe Taeko is an amateur artist, the next Matisse? Picasso? Or not.

Eucalyptus trees, or gum trees as they are locally known, are hardy trees and shed their bark so I wonder if this graffiti will disappear with the next layer of the bark or will it remain as Taeko’s shame?

Maybe Mark was a “gentleman” and put Taeko’s name first and he in fact wrote it. Maybe they are still together and make a pilgrimage to this spot each year. Maybe it was a passing fling. Maybe Taeko has never spoken to Mark. We will never know.