Summary

The short story “Sea Defences” by Hilary Taylor starts by introducing Michael, the first-person narrator, who is in the police station. Michael recalls that his mother usually waits for him while he is in the police station, but she is not present this time. 

Michael notes that his mother tried to save him after their house was damaged by a storm and by coastal erosion. After the landslide, Michael’s mother noticed a red shoe on the floorboards of Michael’s half-destroyed bedroom and suspected that Michael had done something bad. Michael then says that it is his job to protect children because of something that happened to a girl named Hannah Bird 29 years ago. He mentions that his mother tried to reach the shoe from the remains of the house, but instead fell onto ...