Paradise

• Jayden Agapiou, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2014

Tears rolled down his eyes; tears of excitement. George had just heard he would be going to Africa the next week. All his life George had wanted to fly to Africa and experience a safari in the African savannah. Taking photos of the hairiest lions and the largest elephants, making memories of the tallest giraffes and the smelliest wildebeest, watching through his binoculars as cheetahs and ostriches sprint past, George’s imagination ran wild. He imagined travelling in the little safari golf buggy with the wind flowing through his hair and George couldn't stop smiling.
The day had finally come, the day he would go to Africa. Rushing to the airport, George ran to the check in and waited for his mum to place the luggage on the conveyor belt. Next was customs. George hated customs. He always remembered the day when the metal detector starting buzzing and the security guards tackled him. George's favourite part of the airport was the plane. He loved watching the hilarious TV shows and movies like ‘Come Fly With Me’ and ‘Jonny English’. Sitting in the window seat he could watch the glorious views of the sea below.
George had just finished watching ‘Real Steel’ when he coasted his eye out his window. He wasn't quite sure where he was until he spotted a rhino jumping into the water inches away from a hippopotamus. Up and down George jumped out of seat. We must be landing, he thought excitedly. George and his family strolled out the airport and hopped on the next taxi there was. The name of their hotel was The Lioness. Two tall skin coloured hotels joined with a bridge. Under the bridge was a dome. It was as if a spaceship had landed in the middle of the lake at the centre of the hotel. It seemed to float on the surface of the water, a black pod, surrounded by a gleaming aluminium frame with silver rods criss-crossing in a dazzling pattern. Inside the hotel was even better. Red and white curtains draped along the walls. Reception on the left and a restaurant on the right with a performance of classical music, George knew he was in paradise.
The next day was the safari. George sprang out of bed and leaped right onto his Mum's and Dad's bed. Breakfast was delicious, pancakes with butter and honey, topped off with some whipped cream and strawberries. He knew what was next. He sprinted out of the restaurant, leapfrogged onto the golf buggy and soon they were driving through the savannah, gazing through his binoculars. Snapping pictures of the most colourful flamingos and birds, George felt free. Seeing the meerkats popping up and down out of their holes and hearing the hyena’s wail their evil laugh, George was on cloud nine. The next thing happened in a flash. A lion lurched onto the buggy and grabbed his mum, tearing at her arm. In a flash, George's eyes opened. Tears were rolling down his eyes. It was all a dream. Today George was going to Africa.