Family Forgotten

• Shayla Hymus , Grade 9, Chanel College -
• Short Story
• 2022

Excellence Award in the 'Summertime Fun ONLINE' competition

“SILENCE” The King bellowed
“Can we not simply wait another 10 years until the girl is old enough to take the throne as princess” He continued standing up “We don’t even know for certain she is the girl of the prophecy”.
A few of the creatures nodded in agreement but there was one in particular that looked quite upset. She stood up above all the others.
“If I may, father,” She suggested in a soft tone. The King rolled his eyes but she continued anyway.
“Her visions are getting worse, whenever she comes remotely close to the sea the girl sees straight into Atlantis.” The creature clicked her tongue
“It is quite possible she is watching us right now”


Another webbed creature stepped forward holding a clipboard. “Yes, my King , I have reports that her Doctor has diagnosed her with a mental issue, describing she will completely lose consciousness and dream of the Ocean ''
My heart began to race as an alarm blared in the courtyard and the King demanded to know what was going on. He slammed his Trident into the ground and the alarm stopped. A blinding light blocked my vision, when I could see again I realised a spotlight was directed at me.
“Impossible!” The queen screamed as The king cursed and snapped his fingers. Then the world dissolved into shadows.

I woke with my sister shaking my shoulders
“Coral! Wake up!”
I sat up, rubbing my eyes, feeling nausea settle in my stomach. I looked over at my dad as usual, casting another line into the water, the dolphins breaking the surface in their own playful manner. I’ve never been a fan of fishing. Something about it always felt wrong to me. I’ve always felt the need to defend the sea almost As if it was my home.

Being caught in my own daydreams I hadn’t realised my dad viciously screaming at me. I looked up at him and everything seemed as per usual apart from the Black clouds racing towards our boat followed by an amazingly high tidal wave. I quickly strap myself into the nearest seat next to my sister. We started skidding away at a gentle speed as the salty mist hit my face causing my eyes to sting. The engine roared and the boat stopped. my father swore and went below deck. The storm lingered above us. The boat began to violently shake a sickening feeling settling in my stomach as I looked over to my sister. The shadow crossed over the boat, the title wave consuming it and all its contents as the worlds went dark.

I woke up surrounded by unfamiliar faces in a moist room tied to a bed with a spotlight suspended above drowning out the world. A loud voice caught my attention as it lingered towards me. a small creature bowed turning to the figure
“Your little wave worked Sir, the Princess is home”