The Rivals

• Geetha Deepak, Grade 6, Westmead Public School -
• Short Story
• 2022

Excellence Award in the 'Summertime Fun ONLINE' competition

The Rivals
Waves ferociously slammed onto the rocky surface of the shore to break it down. The bank stood firm, not ready to give away any of its particles to the ransom sea. Beyond the reef, diverse trash floated around:

Plastic bottles, tin cans, plastic bags, and many other toxic substances joined the crew. CRASH! In goes a piece of land! Laughing maliciously the water continued its fierce battle against the bank, now more confidently than ever. Crabs scurried to the assistance of the land. Right now, the land yearned for relentless help! My eyes scanned across the reef once more to find my treasure. No. Still more plastic floated around. Plop! In goes a little crab which sacrificed its life for the wounded shore. The sea let out a ferocious grumble in anguish, which let a few crabs back away with fear. Right then, something caught my eye. Something bright. Something golden. Without letting an opportunity to escape out of my hands – well wings – I held my breath and made a dive down to the watery monster.

Inside the colourful sea world, a school of krill was heading my way. WHOOSH! A current swept us through. Many of my treasures were stuck onto my beautiful pearl white feathers, now soaked with water, saving me job of chasing them. I backflipped into the water just in time to whack my head on an unexpected rock. I felt myself descend to the seabed. Despite the tiredness that blanketed me, the nerves were charged and were sending solutions to the brain. My eyes opened wide, searching vigorously, looking for something to grab on, to halt me from falling to the trenches.

However, my body, plugged out of energy, smacked onto something unbreakable, rough, and it was just large enough to cover up my whole body. It was the piece of land that fell minutes ago. In a blink of an eye, I realised that I was drifting up to the sunlight zone of the sea. The warbling racket of my seagull family soothes my ears as I know they’re there, waiting for me to rise out of the ocean surface. In spite of the battle, both sea and land guides me guardedly to the bank where my family waits anxiously.

I am safely boarded onto Earth’s rocky shore; I am greeted with a red carpet with my family as we devoured the treasure that I risked my life for. It was all worth it!