The sun went down in a smear crimson. We carried him to the sea, through the dunes and across the deserted beach. The tide was ebbing; the waves were steel-colored in the soft dying light. We set the bird down in the water ; something happened. It had ended . Silently, the great head fell forward into the waves. We buried him at the dunes where the sea could wash over him. The tides would never reach this far.