Facing The World

• Tamanna Dahal, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2018

Before school, a young girl stood beside her white plastic bucket, waiting for her daily water ration. She wound through the tent to reach her parents who were cooking breakfast on the wood fire. She drew the old blanket around her to save herself from the cold air. She greeted her family members who were gathered together. They had all experienced many dangers - bush fires, flooding and also elephants coming to the camp at midnight. The flames of the fire ate all her belongings which made her really sad. Her family were everything to her and she would do absolutely anything for them.
As time passed by, she started going to school with a huge smile on her face, making some new friends, day by day. But there was one day when she cried a lot, thinking of what might happen next. One night, when everyone was asleep, the silence of midnight was broken by barking dogs. Everyone thought that they were fighting, however their constant barking made everyone walk outside. There was a giant elephant and a little baby elephant standing and trumpeting loudly into the darkness. Everyone started making noise and running away saying, “Wake up! Run away! Save your life! Save your life!” Some people gathered clothes and burned them to frighten the elephants away.
After all the problems and dangerous situations, there was a day of happiness for her and her family. One day an organisation came into the camp saying that people who wanted to go to a foreign country could sign up their names in a nearby office. That was the news that she heard at her school from her teachers. She quickly rushed home to share the good news with her parents. Jumping and rushing she guided her parents to the nearby office. She could hardly contain her excitement. Her parents went in and talked with the people of the organisation. After months of anxious waiting, the good news arrived. It was finally the day for them to go to Australia to join the rest of their family.
That was the best moment of her life! However, the young girl still experienced difficulties. She couldn’t speak the language and it seemed that everyone was speaking so fast. She wondered if she would be able to fit in with this new world, which was so far from her previous home. Finally, she made some new friends and began to feel as if she belonged. Her friends and teachers helped her get through the days of difficulty. She never ever thought that there could be a better place than her small camp, even though it was hard. Now, she realised that there were other places in the world that could give her different opportunities to fulfil her dreams. And guess what? The girl that had to face these problems is me. Surprised? Yes, this girl is me and now I am working really hard to fulfil my dreams.