Goodbye

• Amaya Apsari Abeysinghe, Grade 6, Fleetwood Primary School
• Short Story
• 2022

2nd in the 'Unleashed 2022' competition

“I’m scared.” That was the understatement of the year. I closed my eyes and watched my life flash before my eyes. The ghosts of my pasts were swimming as I blinked back tears. I watched as darkness and despair engulfed me. It all faded to black, and I felt all the warmth and colour that I had disintegrate. My fingers wobbled and I collapsed.
Through heavy, deep breaths I picked myself up and opened my eyes. My whole school life was about to come to an end. Everyone I loved, my friends, I felt like they were disappearing. The pain and anguish I felt, the thought of losing my friends, was torturing me, tearing me apart. I remembered my first day of school. I gazed admiringly at the Grade 6s back then. I thought that I would never be like them. So big, so dignified, so serene. I remember watching assemblies and sports competitions that they always participated in. One day I would be like them. I blinked and saw a small Prep skipping along merrily. She waved at me and smiled. I smiled wanly back. And now I was them. I envied the little ones, I wished upon my heart and soul that I could be in Prep again, having years to look forward to. But this, this was my last hour. I was one of the oldest students present. The most ancient branch of our Family Tree, about to be chopped of.
But then, I remembered that old branches of trees weren’t cut, they grew. They grew and stretched out to the clouds, waiting for a bird of opportunity to land on their sturdy branches. Though, they grew far from the base, they were always connected. Like no matter how thinly blood is spread, it’s still blood. As I stepped forward to say goodbye, I realised that no matter where I dwelled, no matter what golden opportunities I would choose to pursue, I would always call Fleetwood Primary School my home. Because this was where my family and teachers watched me grow, watched me fall and bounce back up. My friends and I had always kept thriving and prospering, no matter what woodcutter approached us with a chainsaw. He never could cut a branch so beautiful and strong. I held hands with my friends, and we walked slowly into a new life. We crossed the horizon of future together. I turned around to wave goodbye. But it wasn’t really a goodbye, it was a see you later. Because this was my home that I would never truly leave. This was my life.