Sandcastles

• Jess Richardson, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2014

Sandcastles – A Short Story by Jess Richardson

Lucas opened his sleepy eyes and grinned. Today was his 5th birthday and for the first time that week, the sun was pouring in his window. He could hear the flow of Melbourne traffic outside the 3 bedroom house he lived in with his beautiful mum, probably the nicest person in the world, he thought, and dad, who was his biggest hero. Dad, he thought, could do anything! He pulled back his sheets and put his warm feet on the cold floorboards, and rushed out to find mum.

‘Mum. Mummy! Am I five yet?’ he called.

‘Yes. You sure are!’ she said with a chuckle. ‘My little boy, all growing up.’

Lucas looked around. Where was dad?

‘Mum. Where’s dad? Can I tell him I is five now?’ he asked with pleading eyes.

‘Well Sweetie, firstly its I am five now, and second....’

‘No mum. It’s I that is five. Not you silly!’ Lucas said sweetly.

Mum looked at him with a small grin. Lucas couldn’t tell if she was happy or sad. So he decided to find his dad.

‘Dad. Where are you dad?’

‘Lucas. He’s not home yet. He went out last night and he might have had too many drinks and couldn’t make it home.’ Mum said with a small smile.

Lucas thought about this for a while and then nodded.
‘I do that sometimes. Like when I have two bottles of lemonade with grandma, we can never make it home in a hurry ‘cause I always wet my pants.’

Mum looked at him with a sad smile in her eyes. She was sure that he knew something was really wrong. Why was his dad never home? She figured he wanted to believe that everything was ok. Her smile then turned quite real as she remembered Lucas’s birthday present from her father.

‘Lucas. Go outside and look at the surprise from Grandpa Miller’. She said.

Lucas ran outside with eager eyes. He got to the back door and his eyes opened wide with surprise. There was a dancing light inside them that mum loved to see. Slowly his mouth opened wide. He got that tingly feeling deep inside, as if it was a dream.

‘MUMMY! For me?’ he gasped.

‘Yes darling.’ She said laughing. ‘Grandpa dropped it off this morning’.

Lucas’s little eyes struggled to take in the beauty of this amazing sandpit. It was the shape of a tractor, a beautiful John Deer green colour, and it was filled with the most amazing smooth sand he had ever seen. He ran and jumped in. So much to do. So many castles to build!

He was busy building his third castle – or maybe it was his fifth. He couldn’t count that well yet, but it was a lot – when he heard a muffled yell from the house. He looked up slightly fearful. It didn’t sound like a happy yell.

Inside he could see his dad with his hands on mum’s shoulders.

He grinned. ‘Dad’s home’ he told his precious sand castles. ‘I have to go and see him, but I promise I’ll be back’

He ran to the back door, but as he got there, he heard his dad yell words he knew he wasn’t allowed to say. He shuddered and stood silent and still at the door. His eyes glued on his parents. Next came the worst thing he had ever seen. Dads hand was raised. Next thing it came down on mum, and hit her. Lucas was terrified. Silent tears poured down his grubby face as he watched dad continue to hit mum.

Whack. Whack. Slap. Punch kick. Spit. It didn’t stop.
Lucas started to sob as his dad started yelling again. He couldn’t make out many words as they sounded funny. Sort of like he couldn’t talk very well.

Lucas couldn’t help it anymore. He burst inside and yelled at dad.

‘DAD! STOP IT NOW! Don’t hit mum. Oh please don’t hit her.’ He sobbed.

He tried to get in between them and push dad away, but dad just yelled at him.

‘Kid, get out of here’ he said with a swipe across the face.

Lucas stood back and watched as his mother fell limp to the ground with blood coming out of her eyes, mouth, nose and ears. By this time he was hysterical.

‘Daddy. What have you done?’ he screamed.

Dad picked up a bottle of strange smelling stuff and drank it. He never answered Lucas’s question.

Lucas then did what he was never allowed to do. He ran out the front door, and up to the busy road. He was crying so much he forget to look.
Lucas ran. Cars sounded their horns and swerved, people shouted.

But Lucas couldn’t hear anymore. He never got off that road.