Una Platt

• Anneka Peeters, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2019

Una Platt had always loved dark West Philadelphia with its brawny, bitter black forest. It was a place where she felt calm.
Once, she had even rescued a poised old lady from a house on fire. That's the sort of woman she wished to be. She truly was a scruffy nobody. She was told she wasn’t worthy of living with her family because she had never won a Nobel Prize.
Una walked over to the window and reflected on her wet surroundings. The termites teased like starving aardvarks.
Then she saw something in the distance. It was the figure of Forest Blunder. Forest was a fast, wild, power-hungry shapeshifter with scrawny fingers and elegant thighs, whatever form he took.
Una smiled. Is this her chance to prove she was worthy for her family?
As Una stepped outside and Forest came closer, she could see the old glint in his malicious eye.
"I am here because I want power, and nothing but power," Forest declared, in a handsome tone, tinged with mystery. “According to ancient legends and folk tales, there is a powerful talisman in the area that you live in.” He slammed his fist against the ground with a force that reminded her of her dead father. “You will find it and give it to me unless you want me to destroy you.”
“I have definitely got a clue where it is,” declared Una. “NOWHERE!”
"I don’t want to hurt you, so we can do this the easy way or the hard way, Una."
Una looked back at him, even more bold and still fingering the treasure that had slipped into her hands as he was speaking. "Forest, you could never beat me," she replied.
They looked at each other with sly feelings, like two teeny tortoises drinking cautiously in an earth worm home, which had medieval music playing in the background and two drunk beetles shouting to each other.
Suddenly, Forest lunged forward and tried to punch Una in the face. Quickly, Una grabbed a short, stumpy branch and brought it down on Forest's skull.
Forest's scrawny fingers trembled and his thighs wobbled. He looked surprised, his body shaking like an elated, energetic electron.
Then he let out an agonising groan and collapsed onto the ground.
Moments later Forest Blunder was dead. Suddenly Una’s vision blacked out and she knew nothing more… Una Platt woke up, head throbbing from a lump on her temple. She went back inside her fir tree cabin and made herself a refreshing drink of pineapple, mango, passionfruit and peach juice.
She then told her family the happenings of the past few hours and they applauded her. She had finally won her family honour.
The End