Callala Beach Jetty

Callala Beach Jetty, originally uploaded by Auslady.

Somewhere to just hang out

The aftershock - short story

I never thought I would be in this situation. I had been living my life happily as the middle child of three, alternatively causing grief for my siblings and playing with them for 13 years. I loved my parents but also hated them sometimes, they never understood me or what I thought and often didn't take the time to listen to me, even though perhaps even if they listened all day long that would not have been enough for me. Anyway .. it was another day in our household, just like any other we got up before the dawn lit the sky and got ready to catch the bus to school. We live out of town, so have to leave early to get to school on time. My brother and I attend the highschool and my youngest sister the local primary school. We left for the bus waving good by to Mum, Dad was still in bed as he had worked through the night. Little did I know that would be the last time I would see my family as it was. I headed off without a second thought and met up with my friend Gracie and waited for the bus. It was on the way to school that the weirdest thing happened. The bus slowed and all of a sudden I realised that there was no bus driver. There were cars stopped by the side of the road empty save for one with a baby in a booster seat that was crying. I looked around the bus and everyone from Years 9 and up was gone too. There were only us 13 year olds and 12 year olds left with the little kids from the catholic school in town. I looked at Gracie and wondered what we should do, the kids started to cry so I suggested to the others that we gather everyone together and start back home. I opened the car with the baby in it and grabbed the pram that was in the boot and moved off back to our little village.

Along the way kids were stumbling out of their homes shell shocked. It seems the adults had all disappeared at once, as if someone had pushed a button. The village was desserted save for those who were our age and younger and the kids were starting to wail with despair so I spoke to Gracie and one of the Year 8 boys, Shane, and we decided to go to the local supermarket and get them something to occupy them. We grabbed some chips and some drinks and took them to the park. While they were playing we tried to work out what we knew. After a while it was pretty apparent not one of us had a clue what had happened, until one of the 6 year olds overheard us and whispered "didn't you see them they all flew up in the sky". We looked with shock at the child. The day was spent keeping the younger ones happy and finding them things to eat. All the electricity seemed to work, so we set to work making things that didn't require much work, sandwiches and milkshakes and then settled them all down for the night in the community hall with sleeping bags borrowed from the hardware shop.

It was now 2 months since that first day of abandonment and we had formed into a tight knit family. Occasionally kids would wander in from other suburbs and sometime they would join us, other times they would keep on looking for their parents or older siblings. The food had run out from the shops and we were now learning who was the best fisherperson. My younger sister had proved quite good at landing fish and Shane and she would clean them all and cook them each day. Each child had a job to do, and no one complained, that was the best, imagine all these small children and no complaints. The worst thing was there were no more disposable nappies for the baby (who we had named Angel) and I had learnt how to put on cloth nappies, I and Gracie took turns in looking after her.

It was while we were fishing that day that I noticed the rainbow and some strange shapes floating down the colours. Then along the beach the adults and older children all came running towards us, they couldn't tell us where they had been, or what had happened to them .... life was never the same after that.

A new year dawns - short story

She walked into the sunset on the dawn of a new year. It was 2007 and so much had happened in the last year, a move of 3 hours, a new school and a loss of friends. She shivered but not from cold, it was a balmy January evening and the setting sun pooled golden kisses upon her body. She shivered as she thought of the year ahead. What challenges will she face. She takes a deep breath and inhales the sunset as if were a magic elixir. The rays penetrated to the depth of her being and she felt the warm glow tingle to her toes. What will the new year bring, happiness and sadness, new friends, renewed friendships and a greater understanding of life. The hormones coursing through her body often made it difficult for her to express her feelings, the anger and dark clouds sometimes over ran her and she felt the curtain drop. Again she draws in a deep breath to feel the healing magic of the setting sun. Lifting her arms she stretches and allows herself to feel the pull through her arms, abdomen and legs. Turning around she heads back to the fishing family she had left for some time alone. She runs along the beach her wet hair hitting her back gently, legs delighting in the movement she screams a scream of joy and is enveloped once again by love.