Wavering Thoughts

• Shanaya Mendis, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2015

I walk along Noosa beach. The golden sand is moist beneath my feet. Every time I take a step, I can feel the sand compress underneath my force and as I raise my foot an indented mould is left behind. Whispering the stories of the sea, the cool crisp air flows through the curls of my blond hair. I stare out at the horizon. The mesmerising sunset is a combination of yellows, reds, purples and pinks that have been softly etched into the sky and been blended into one by the hands of a great artist. I close my eyes and lose myself in the soft rumbling of the ocean ahead and the whispers of the breeze telling me everything is going to be okay.

I open my eyes with a jolt as I remember the reason I came here in the first place. A shiver runs down my spine. He’s gone…. he’s gone is all I can think I crumble to the ground. I shrivel up into a small ball of nothingness, allowing the waves of tears to overpower me. For what seems like ages I just sit there letting the icy, cold fingers of the tide tickle my feet and my tears encase me into a cocoon of misery.

At last, I stand up and face the ocean. The waves are like a gallant horse, it charges smoothly towards the shore and when it has achieved enough momentum it pounces up and crashes down with such an immense force that I can hear its impact from here.

The waves are relentless and unforgiving. They are willing to destroy anything that comes their way but they are fighters that never give up. They conjure as much force as they can and then crash down on the shore again and again never ceasing to stop the attack even though they know their goal of destroying the shore is almost unreachable. They remind me of Brumby, my horse. Even though our dream of winning the Queen’s plate seemed unreachable he never gave in to the thought of losing. We practiced every day and every night, just continuously sprinting the course over and over again trying harder and harder to beat our previous times. However, one day while Brumby and I were training he stumbled and fell. At once I started to scream because I knew the verdict for horses with broken legs, but Brumby was fearless, just like the waves, and his calmness and strength disintegrated my fears just like he always had.

Now whenever I am scared I come to the beach and watch the waves as they remind me to be strong in the face of defeat and fear and to be persistent and unwavering when facing the impossible just like Brumby was and Brumby will always be. Because now, when I look at the waves, I realise that Brumby hasn’t gone but that he just lives amongst the waves now and soon enough I will join him too.