A Sticky Situation

• Annabelle Carrington, Grade 3, Toorak College
• Poetry
• 2022

Excellence Award in the 'Unleashed 2022' competition

As the flowers danced with the wind, Amber Aslam ran out of her dilapidated cottage eager to start the day. The adventurers from Crystal Creek were always on the lookout for mysteries to solve. Amber loved swimming and gardening little did she know that her love of gardening would soon get her in grave danger.
The robins tweeted away happily as the golden leaves tumbled down. Autumn was Amber’s favourite time of the year. She was planting aloe vera plants in the spare bed. Just as she was transferring the last plant it started to squirt sticky liquid everywhere! Amber’s heart began to race…
Amber couldn’t believe her eyes! There was goo everywhere! It was green and slimy and passable for snot. The first thing she tried to do was swim to the door, but her legs were rooted to the spot! Then out of the corner of her eye, Amber spotted a glint in the sunlight. She reached out and was just able to grab the shovel from the table. She began to shovel the green goo into the wheelbarrow. Soon enough, she was able to clear enough space to get to the door!
From that day on Amber never forgot the sticky situation. She vowed never to plant aloe vera plants again. But by then she had long forgotten about the Venus Flytraps from her grandmother…I wonder, did Amber keep her promise?