Story A story

This is a story I wrote, entered in a competition and got through:


The desert is a calamitous land full of unforseen dangers, and maybe, sometimes even natural beauties.


The sunlight danced on my face, the sweat dripped down my body like a waterfall. Every step I took into this dry, desolate land was another heart destroying reminder that I may never escape this place. I looked up at the sun; it looked like a plate of liquid gold frolicking in the sky. It was probably having more fun than me!

Starting off with as much water as I could carry and a few bits of food for a good hike I quickly realized that I was indeed lost and running low on supplies. I’m down to my last drops of water in just two days.


A plethora of thoughts filed into my head, and I started to seriously panic. I’ve come upon many rocky outcrops and when I peer into the vastness all I see is much of the same.


I ran through the low grassy mounds and natural elements that were contained within this environment. With every step I tried to dodge the sunlight and hide under the gumtrees but it offered little reprieve.

The red soil was vibrant in colour. With the suns changing light the landscape shifted from a harsh intense sundrenched desert scape into a wild light that intensified the depth of colours of the earth and sky.


I looked up at the horizon and I saw the crescent shape of Australia’s most alluring and breathtaking natural wonders, Jim Jim Falls. A smile bigger beyond compare lit across my face in a matter of seconds. I was saved, with an astonishing burst of water hurling off the side of the mountain. It almost looked like the rocks were crying, due to the overspill of water.

With my head tilted upwards, I didn’t see the man with a wooden bowl kneeling next to a puddle of clear blue water. I was astonished, once again, it was an Aboriginal man. With a simple “Hello” I beckoned his help. But he didn’t reply, so I said again, “Hello” “I’m lost, can you help me?” I was also trying to signal with my hands that I was lost and needed help. I think he understood it that time though, and he motioned for me to follow.

As he navigated me throughout the land, the healthy green bushes and the old gum trees and rocks I felt a spiritual connection with this place. When we stopped he finally spoke in a raspy voice. “I am born from this land, I will forever know where to go to guide people when they’re lost or how to hunt for food. It’s in my blood, the nature owns me. Follow the river and you will meet the outskirts of a small village.”

With those words, I walked a long route to the village; from beginning to end I had gained a stronger connection and appreciation for this untamed land.

“I will survive,” I said.