Rusted Purpose

• Ibrahim Anwar, Grade 9, Australian Islamic College of Sydney -
• Short Story
• 2019

Excellence Award in the 'Just Keep Writing 2019' competition

The mechanical whirring of my movement drones my hearing system, the steam from my combustion leaving a trail of grey clouds behind me. The oil on my gears has long since dried, causing each footstep of mine to make loud noises of mechanical easing. If I hadn’t destroyed my artificial pain receptors, this would definitely have caused me pain. Although even if I did feel it, I would keep on going, I would persevere, for a reason still unknown to me. I have been searching for something, something which without, I would have no meaning, no purpose. This was all I knew.
I trudge on through day and night, keeping no track of time whatsoever. The ground is a dull brown, like mud, but firm. An endless fog surrounds me, combining with the clouds of steam I produce to form a thick cloud of misery. No sign of life can be found on the ground nor in the air, mechanical or human. There was the rare uneven levelling of the ground but that was all. I have accepted this as the norm across the entire world, as it is the only picture I have in my memory. After all, I have no recollection of where I was before this, or where I am going.
Recently, I feel that I am getting closer to the reason I had started on this journey. I look around my orange body, searching for a clue, even though I know it is hopeless. As I glance at my rusted feet, I notice that the ground had become more vibrant and that there are small colourful flowers growing around them. The gears in me make an extremely loud noise as if straining to remember something… Home. The reason I have been travelling for so long is to find my home. However, no matter how much I try, I cannot remember it.
My head droops with the sadness of not remembering my home. The fog thickens as my heavy feet move forward. It was a moment of happiness, a spur of life, only to be replaced by extreme sadness. I notice that I had been travelling uphill. The grass is getting greener, and I can see larger flowers and some small insects. Life. A thing that gives hope. As I contemplate this, I am overtaken by a sudden rush of power, my entire body almost floating from the force. My whole field of vision gets covered by a giant cloud which sweeps past me, knocking me off balance, making me land on the ground. The cloud goes almost as quickly as it comes, and I see a structure that I immediately recognise. The castle in the sky. It reignites the fire in me, clearing the cloud of misery that had formed around me. I stand up again, smiling for once, and head towards it.