Another Day

• Emily Ballinger, Grade 6, McDowall State School
• Short Story
• 2015

Excellence Award in the 'The Write Track 2015' competition

My name is Margaret Stewart. I am 26 years of age and a female convict. On the morning of the 15th of October 1787, I woke to the stench of my surroundings and the roar of the wind. Being aboard the Lady Penrhyn was tough and frightening. I was imprisoned below in the darkness of the hull, cramped in with a hundred other convicts.
I opened my eyes and smelt pure foulness again, just as I did every morning. Us convicts were treated harshly. We got a pile of slop chucked at us three times a day, but I'll tell you what - it was better than nothin'. The water was foul - dirty and black, but I drunk it anyway because I wasn't gonna die from thirst. The stench grew increasingly unbearable. I couldn't stand it no longer. Many women fainted from the heat and bellies grumbled. Women urinated as they lost control in fear.
A lump formed in my throat as my only friend, Elizabeth Golding, grew weaker and weaker. Yellow pus burst out of her legs. Her face dripped with sweat. Elizabeth turned to me and muttered, "I need air." I didn't want to ask an officer or guard because I was afraid I'd get a floggin'. So I asked a stranger beside me.
I didn't have much time to bemoan the fate of my dear friend Elizabeth. I heard one of the guards bellow, "I have an order from Cap'n Arthur Phillip that you have been allowed on upper deck." I didn't know why all of a sudden we were allowed up on deck for we weren't allowed up for near five long weeks. Then I realised we were in the doldrums for weeks waiting and waiting for the wind to pick up. The guard lowered a rope through the hatch. Everybody limped weakly up the ladder. I finally had fresh air! I helped Elizabeth stagger towards a wooden barrel. We sat down and wondered about what this new land would look like. Elizabeth rested her head on my shoulder. I couldn't stand the thought of my only friend dying. It caused too much pain. We got a start when the guard roared, "All down below, we're moving." We convicts clambered down the rope ladder obediently.
As soon as we got down below I knew my friend would not make it. Elizabeth's face looked pale. She grew weaker and weaker. She couldn’t even eat. I looked around at the other glum convicts and as soon as I looked back Elizabeth whispered to me… "Thank you for everything." There, laying in my arms, was my only friend, gone.