Barren Land

• Isabella Chau, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2021

The warm autumn wind blew, blanketing me as I swayed in time with it. I peered my head around the corner of my home, and was happy to see my little sister bouncing on stalks of happiness. I could hear the laughter of my friends, playing in the wind next to me, their hands tickling me. All was fine, until the wind died. We all became limp, our happiness gone. Then came the northerly wind, so cold and deadly. It ripped everyone I knew away from me, all of us scattered in the unforgivable grasp of the monster. I tumbled for what seemed like eternity, my limbs bashing against stones and houses. I finally came to a stop, in the middle of nowhere, yet I could see familiar sights. The bushes alongside the grey sticky looking thing, where large shapes on wheels go on were bare. Not a flower in sight. Only then did I realise that I was lost. My bush, my home was always overflowing with flowers. But there was none. I looked at my surroundings, and gasped at the horrifying scene. Countless bodies laid in the gutters, forgotten and unrecognisable. I stood still, wondering what happened to my family and friends. Just then, the northerly wind blew once again, and I gladly joined along with it, glad to be whisked away from the barren land.