I live in absolute poverty

This shack is all that I have ever known

There is as you can see much decay

Only three families now survive

Did a railway once pass your home

Yes long before I was born

These lines used to carry freight

The tracks can still be seen

This was a busy commercial area

And then it was destroyed in an earthquake

Was that the earthquake of 1971

Yes

My late father showed me this photograph

Would you like to see it

It was taken from this balcony

Which is now unsafe

I have asked for it to be demolished

But nothing happens

Even as you can see the rails remain

This is a forgotten area

If you look to the right

You will see the last remaining floodlight tower

There used to be fifteen towers

You can see many of them in the photograph

Are those your parents

Yes

They were asked to pose for a magazine article

The rebirth of this once important port

Who is the figure in the background by the signal cabin

That is my aunt or at least the ghost of my aunt

She appeared in many of the photographs at the time

Will you ever leave your home

Where would I go

There are various schemes

Both my parents lived and died in this shack

I was born and as raised here

Why would I want to leave

I know that it is slowly falling down

Each large storm weakens the structure

And I do not even consider another earthquake

I have enjoyed your company

Please do call again as I am always here

Sometimes I feed the birds depending on the season

The door is very easy to open

I usually leave it unlocked

Nobody steals anything

There is nothing to steal

In time the city will swallow this area up

But this will not happen

I am sure of this fact

Sometimes I see strangers in suits

They carry very little

Their assistants take photographs

And then they leave and other faces reappear

There is a girl of tender years

Who sometimes visits me

She is an assistant

And like the others she takes photographs

Her fathers father worked on the railways

And this is I believe what attracts her