narratorAUSTRALIA Volume Three

  ~~~

  A man and a woman got up from their deck chairs on the beach and walked to their daughter making a sand castle. They each took a hand and led her to the surf where the waves fizzed and tickled her feet. Sally looked up to her parents and they all smiled and laughed together as screeching sea gulls swooped over their heads. They walked back to the chairs and Sally’s mother lay out the luncheon. Sandwiches, cake and lemonade for everyone.

  Chimpanzees swung through the trees and Peter laughed with them and his father took a photo of him with his mother as they stood outside the chimpanzee exhibit at the local zoo.

  Elsewhere, Jodie smiled as she looked up at her father with his arm around her mother. He leant over and kissed her on the cheek and she laughed. Jodie’s father had bought tickets to see Peter Pan at the local movie theatre.

  The little old man smiled as he observed his work and set about leaving for a new town. There were indeed many parents who needed to become aware of the life changing possibilities in the old man’s ever changing cover of The Book of Dreams.

  Wednesday 25 September 2013

  Shadows

  Felicity Lynch

  Katoomba, NSW

  Why is it that

  The most beloved

  Die before time

  Haunted by loss

  Fragmented like dandelions

  Blown hither and thither

  By unseen winds

  Touch

  Acceptance

  Belonging

  Comfort of a hug

  A big smile

  The feeling of being part

  Of a family

  Lost

  The little cat died today

  Companion for 15 years

  Little black bundle of love

  With golden eyes

  Soft black fur

  A swinging tail

  Expressing her many feelings

  Her chirrups, her happiness

  A lost but found little waif

  Belonging to no one

  Now so loved

  So important

  So part of our family

  So missed

  Wednesday 25 September 2013 4 pm

  Childhood Lost

  Ruth Withers

  Uarbry, NSW

  In the cool of early morning, in the quiet of my room,

  With the children all still sleeping in their beds,

  I’m reflecting on the years gone by and those still yet to come

  And on folk I’ve known and others that I’ve met.

  And on wasted years and bitter tears and sadly squandered love

  And faded dreams of mountains never climbed;

  On survival and the value of the efforts that we make

  And how fleetly fly the trudging feet of time.

  Where is the purple-footed child who played in the frosted dawn?

  Who was mostly alone and seldom without a friend?

  A friend who simply was; who shared adventures and shared pain;

  Who walked and talked and laughed with her back then?

  Where is the pudgy, plain-faced child with the pudding basin hair,

  Who found the greatest joy in the simplest things?

  Who flew, on a thought, with the birds through the clouds,

  To faraway places, without need of wings?

  Gone is the child. Usurped! Driven out! Never again to return.

  Her hopes and her dreams, long derided, have fled.

  Her friend disappeared with her songs and her laughter

  And nothing of substance has come in their stead.

  And I, the unwilling and graceless usurper, at times catch a glimpse

  Of the child who once was in the children who are.

  Forgiveness denied me, I watch from the edges and yearn for the time

  And the child that is mocking me now from afar.

  Thursday 26 September 2013

  The View From Here

  John Ross

  Blackheath, NSW

  It was hot. Humid. The tall vegetation was dense. Almost impenetrable. Beneath the canopy of green the light was dim. Occasional brilliant shafts of sunlight broke through, which only accentuated the general gloom.

  I had been sent out to forage for food. For a long time now it had been hard to find. Many generations ago there had been an abundance of food and we had thrived. Now empty bellies and futile hunting trips were the norm. Because of this I had ventured out much further than I had ever been before. I had travelled in a huge arc but was now headed back home.

  Nearly at the limit of my strength, faint from hunger and almost ready to give up I had discovered an area where food was plentiful. I had eaten and rested for as long as I dared. Now loaded down with as much food as I could carry, it was becoming increasingly hard to push my way through the vegetation. I was beginning to feel very tired again and knew that I was also very vulnerable to attack by an enemy. The food that I had eaten had given me some new energy but I knew that I would not be able to defend myself for very long against an attack by a fit, well nourished, opponent.

  Instinct told me that home lay straight ahead; I would have to cross an open rocky desert area to get there. This barren stretch of land littered with huge boulders was a forbidden area. I knew this, but was eager to get home to receive the praise for finding so much food. To circle back the way I had come would take much longer. Still in the back of my mind were the stories, passed from generation to generation, of the time when the gods ruled the world. This is where they had lived and dreadful things had happened to anyone who had violated their land. The gods had made the very ground tremble with their wrath and one’s body shake at the sound of their voice.

  I stopped for a rest, had a drink from water collected in the hollow of a low lying plant, readjusted my load and started out again.

  I had only taken a few steps when I heard it; the nearby rustle of something very big moving through the vegetation. I froze and could do nothing other than wait. It passed very near but did not see me. Trying to make as little noise as possible I continued.

  In due course I reached the edge of the stony desert. It stretched out in front of me, seeming to continue on forever. I knew that somewhere in the distance it must end just as abruptly as here where it started. On the other side were many markers that warned of danger if the taboo was broken. Here, where no one had ventured before, there were none.

  For a moment I paused. Was it wise to break the age old taboo? My courage nearly deserted me. The knowledge of what this new source of food would mean strengthened my will. Adjusting my load into a more comfortable position I lowered my head so as to minimise the glare from the rocks and started out.

  It was so different from the cool shade that I had just left. The sun was hot on my back and my feet hurt from the sharp rocks. Exhaustion was slowly creeping over me. The effort of climbing over the smaller boulders and constant detours around the larger ones was sapping my strength.

  Surely by now I must be at least half way across.

  Without warning it started.

  A horrendous noise. So loud that I felt my body vibrate.

  I dropped my load of food and fell to the ground.

  It was unbearable.

  Then just as suddenly as it had started it stopped.

  I had angered the gods.

  I was going to die.

  Fear energised me; made me run for my life.

  The ground started to tremble and I heard the thunderous noise of the approaching gods.

  ~~~

  The bell, signalling the start of the new school year, had been rung. It was time to go to the classrooms. The excited children ran out from the playground, along the gravel path, past the bell tower and towards the main building. They did not see the small black ant.

  Friday 27 September 2013