Kala-Nerida, Lost At Sea.

• Amy Fitzsimons, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2013

Kala-Nerida ran, Kenji the dingo dashing alongside her - the huge tsunami pursuing them. The area flooded. Kala-Nerida and Kenji were engulfed by the swirling mud of the tsunami. The last thing Kala-Nerida heard was her father calling out to her, “Neri! Kala-Nerida! “. Before it all went black.

Earlier that day, Kala-Nerida had woken up and gone outside. Leaving a note to let her dad know where she was, she finished her chores and fed Kenji. Grabbing her net she rushed down to the crystal-blue ocean. The water felt cool and refreshing as it lapped round her brown ankles. It was the perfect day for fishing.
Suddenly, the water began to retreat. As it rushed back from Kala-Nerida, hundreds of fish were left silently choking as they flapped up and down like Jack in the Boxes. Kala-Nerida grabbed her net and thought to herself, “My lucky day! Fish jack pot!” As she started to gather the stranded Flathead fish, she heard a roar which shook the trees down to their roots. On the horizon she saw one wave getting bigger and bigger. As it rocketed towards the shoreline, like a charging rhinoceros, one word entered her mind, TSUNAMI!
Kala-Nerida began to run back up the beach. She unlocked Kenji’s pen and soon he was dashing alongside her towards Devil’s Peak. They weren’t fast enough, for Kala-Nerida and Kenji were soon engulfed in the terrifying, churning, inky liquid. The last thing Kala-Nerida heard was her father calling out to her: “Neri! Kala-Nerida!” Before the world became a swirling mass of black darkness.
Kala-Nerida felt the sharp nip of Kenji’s teeth as the dingo grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her up towards the surface. Then she saw it. A small island in the middle of the swirling water. As Kenji pulled her up onto the island, she coughed out water. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. . Neri started to cry - she was crying so hard, she didn’t notice a gumtree float slowly past. “Don’t cry Neri, Daddy’s here.” came the soft, comforting voice. “Dad!” Neri screamed as Kenji’s tail wagged. Neri’s dad climbed onto the island. “When the water from the Tsunami recedes, we will wade to safety on higher ground,” he instructed.
As the water level fell, the destruction of the monstrous wave became evident – it had left a sad trail of heart- broken lives. Neri’s Dad said “Don’t look Neri, I am going to carry you towards Devil’s Peak.”
Neri wondered if there was anyone else who had suffered the same troubles and survived like they had or were they the only people left alive? As they climbed up the side of the mountain, Neri’s Dad exclaimed “My Flower of Fire shall burn for eternity as my daughter.” And Neri replied ‘”My Father shall forever flow as the everlasting river of joy and happiness.”
As they clambered up together, they both knew that they would never be alone in the world – they had each other.