Whisper Beach

• Bronte Sotiropoulos, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2017

Worst Day Ever! I can’t believe that Mum made me move to this deserted little town! The car ride felt like a century, I wanted to go home. The only thing I knew about this place is that it had a huge beach.
By the time we arrived it was afternoon, I went inside, looked through the kitchen window and realised that the beach was just behind our house. I wanted to smile because I love the beach but I was still so mad at mum for making us move. I went upstairs to find my room, it was nice but I missed my old one. I left my bags on the floor and decided to walk to the beach.
The beach was eerily empty, I walked down to the water and let the sea lap at my feet. I felt calm, everything was still. Suddenly the wind picked up and I heard whispers but there was nobody on the beach. A cold shiver went up my spine, I wasn’t alone. My heart was racing, before I knew it I was already halfway up the beach and heading for home. I ran up to Mum and gave her an enormous hug. I then hopped into bed and logged on to my laptop to look up the beach. I found a newspaper article talking about how everyone in the town knows that during the last ten years you hear whispers at the local beach but no one knows why. Because of the whispers people stopped going. Strangely the atmosphere of the town has never been the same since the whispers began. I was determined to find out why.
The next morning I went back to the beach. Once again I heard the whispers. This time I stayed and listened to what they were trying to say. 'Look inside the hollow of the big fig tree that is where you’ll find me…' I set off to find the tree, I thought that if whatever was inside was restored to the heart of the town the whispers would go away. In the centre of town I saw the most beautiful fig tree in the world.
I reached inside the hollow of the tree and pulled out an old, golden pocket watch. Just as I held it up to get a better look a frail woman walked past and cried out “Oh you found it! You found it!” Confused I looked at her and put it in her hand. She sat me down and told me the story of her Great Grandparents who were the founders of the town. The watch was handed down from generation to generation but had been stolen from her ten years ago. She had felt empty ever since.
The next day, the town was sunny, happy and everyone was at the beach having a great time. The town was restored to its former glory. I got a strong feeling that this town would soon feel like home.