New York

• Kobi Murray, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2017

I breathe in the air of New York. So the rumours are true, New York is a magical place. I look around me, the bustling city people all wearing their winter coats, the yellow taxi’s pulling into the curb every minute to have someone jump in, and the bright lights of Times Square just miles up the road shine brightly. The scent of vanilla and coffee fill my nose, and I smile. That’s until I feel a snowflake land on my nose, so I cover my head with my hoodie and do my scarf up tighter.
I walk up the road a little bit, until I feel my stomach rumble. I enter the first café that I see, and I take in the warmth as I step in the door. It smells of croissants and coffee in here, a weird mixture, but it works. The room is lit up with warm white string lights, and there are at least 7 brown-cushioned chairs spread everywhere. I order a latte and sit down.
When I walk back out of the café I realise that everything is different. The scent of vanilla and coffee has been replaced by the smell of sewerage and garbage. The once smiling faces have now been covered up by doctor-looking like masks, so they avoid getting sick from the pollution in the air. There’s no trees in Central Park anymore, instead tall buildings stand. People don’t ride around on bikes, they get around in cars and motorcycles.
In almost an instant this world has changed, and once the damage has been done it can’t be reversed. Be the change in the world that you want to see. Don’t let pollution take over our beautiful world.