Everlasting fields of green grass.

The perfect home, gone.

All I have ever wished for, gone.

I blame it all on the malicious drought. The drought struck last January on our multi-talented cotton, wool, dairy and beef farm. It was a perfect home for farming. The horrible drought had made the previously overflowing lake filled with fresh water and fish disappear, so all that was left was the stink of rotting fish. This gave us no choice but to move.

We had everything we wanted there, my family and the farm. My mum, well she is the most beautiful and kind mum in the whole world. My dad was the strongest man in town and he always gave me a kiss good night unlike all my friends’ farmer dads at school. We always had the newest machinery. That machinery, like our farm has now atrophied.

We packed up our belongings and precious possessions ready to leave the farm and hopefully come back. We set out past the everlasting brown fields, past, what we called ‘the bush’. From a place, that I called home, to ‘the city’. Everything was different and at first, bad. We slowly came to like this place, the place we called ‘the big smoke’, but more often ‘the city’.

Everything was different, especially school. I thought it was ‘bad different’ although my parents were ecstatic at the high quality of schooling. There were also good things about ‘the city’ like the amazing beaches, great cafes or even better the newly opened Casino buffet. At the buffet we saw an exciting piece of technology that we did not have on the farm called a ‘TV’. I’ve only been there once for my birthday but I really enjoyed the experience.

We finally saved up enough money to buy ourselves a TV, so we went to the shops and bought the cheapest one. We set up the TV and turned it onto the news. The first thing we heard was that the drought on the farm was finally over after 3 long years. We thought that the decision would be so easy but now it was hard. We sat around the dinner table talking for hours but we couldn’t decide.

We didn’t know whether to leave the city and its beautiful coast, where we were making money and doing well or go back to the relaxing and exciting farm. My parents had become attached to their new mechanic shop where my dad runs the mechanic part and my mum runs the adjacent café.

After everlasting lists of pros and cons, we chose to make the most courageous decision…

Ruby Tuesday Cogan
Year 5 at Claremont College, 10 years old

I entered this in the Lionel Bowen writing competition.