Scales

• Kate Bayley, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2014

There was once a tribe who lived near the sacred land by the lake. The tribe was hungry because there weren't many men to hunt for food. On one sweltering day, two young koolyangara asked their parents if they could go for a swim in the lake. The parents of the koolyangara warily told them they could, but they couldn't swim far into the lake because they would cross into the sacred land. When the koolyangara got into the lake, they forgot what their parents said and agreed that they would race to the other side. One of them was wary but didn't want to seem childish and scared so he kept his mouth shut.

The koolyangara ran into the cool, refreshing water and started swimming as fast as their short legs could. Suddenly, dark clouds loomed in the sky and the water became choppy. The koolyangara instantly regretted their stubbornness and wished they took what their parents said seriously. A dark figure with angry, flaming red eyes rose form the water and started towards the terrified koolyangara. "Swim!" one yelled to the other. Their careless splashing made the figure's eyes even more red and angry. "You have failed this land and have lied to your parents" the dark figure's raspy voice spoke. "You will repay them by giving them the food that they need to survive on". The koolyangara then started to shrink and grow scales, they were turning into fish. For a while they swam together frantically, wondering how they could turn back into the young koolyangara they once were. After a frustrating few hours, they accepted that this was their fate and punishment for not listening to their parents and entering the sacred land.


By the time that night came, the parents were worried about their children's wellbeing. When the few men in the tribe went to hunt at the lake, the parents asked them to keep an eye out for the koolyangara. When the men arrived at the lake there was no sign of the koolyangara ever being there. In the hunt, the men caught two huge shining Red Emperors which would give the whole tribe a feast. The parents suspected that the koolyangara had trespassed into the sacred area and something had happened to them. Assuming the koolyangara were dead, the tribe mourned as they cooked, and ate the delicious, juicy fish by the camp fire. Little did they know, they were eating their beloved, stubborn koolyangara.