Water Under The Bridge

• Bethany Medwin, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2022

If I opened my window and stood on the sill, leaning almost all the way out over the bushes two storeys below, I could just see the ocean over the hills in the distance. If I strained my ears I could hear the sound of water breathing in and out. Swissh, shaa. Swish, shaa.
It wasn’t the exact same – the ocean was a bit wild for my taste – but it reminded me of home. I missed running over the bridges and diving into the gentle water, scaring the fish into our traps. I used to spend all the time I could in the water, even doing my schooling right on the edge. I hadn’t slept well since coming to my ‘family’s’ home, with no quiet rippling lulling me into my dreams.
Back home, when it was stormy outside and I couldn’t sleep, my big brother and sister would stay up late whispering to me. They would tell me stories, what they did the day before, what they planned to do the next. When the wind was too loud to hear the rivers, their voices were what sent me to sleep.
Here, there was no one to whisper to me.
When I first arrived, I cried all night, and well into the day. Only the cat noticed. She was my only friend here.
For a family that is renowned for being kind and generous, they were remarkably cold to their newfound child.
My new older brother was pleasant, but disinterested in my stories, or talking to me at all. Only my new little twin brother and sister were very sweet, and very welcoming.
It’s unfortunate that the only thing I saw when I looked at their smiling faces was my best friend back home, the one who would dare me to dive from the highest tree; the same one who cried a river over my broken arm, and didn’t leave my side until it healed. Fin was a bit of a sook, but he was well loved. I bet he wept for days when I left.
I always wanted to go back, to where I knew everyone and all the things to do and see. So I ran away once. All the way home.
There was nothing left. The flood season had been bad that year. The families that survived migrated, and all the houses were destroyed except the highest ones.
That spelt it out for me. I would never see them again. When I was rescued, my twin little siblings wouldn’t let me out of their sight for half a month, and my big brother kept a very close eye on me.
That time was the worst of my life, but also what brought me closer to my new family. The next time I saw my old home, my they were with me. I taught them the games I used to play, and we spent all day doing everything I ever loved. That was how I said goodbye.