A Change In The Wind

• Lucy Blanks, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2008

I can't believe i'm moving... again! Why did i have to be dragged away from my friends and school? I was quite happy there, in the city, just hanging around like a true city slicker. Now we're all moving down south - the country, for "at least" a year. I had just finished year nine! So, i'm in the city for year nine; now i'm in the country and i'll be starting year ten after the holidays. Will i still be here next year? It's all thanks to Mum and Dad...
"Rachel! We're going down to the beach now!" Mum called.
Well, at least that's one good thing about being here. The beaches are beautiful. The sand is as white as vanilla ice cream and the water is as blue as the sky and often crystal clear - especially on calm days.
"Okay, hang on a sec. I just need to put my bathers on!"
I got the hottest, brightest bathers for Christmas. So i'm hoping i can Christen them (wear them for the first time) at Shelley's Beach.
I'll have to leave my journal here (sorry!), becuase i don't want it to get wrecked as it is very new and great!
I promise i'll let you know how it went when i get back though!
See ya for now... Love Rachel. X

*

Oh My Gosh. I don't know how to say this but... NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! How could this happen to me?!?!?!?!? Something terrible happened at Shelley's Beach. It's going to be so hard to write it on paper as i'm still crying and i just CANNOT BELIEVE IT!!! The wind was surprisingly very strong down there at the beach, and the water was choppy and murky and full of rips. The sky was a dark grey colour, like my uniform, covering the gorgeous calm blue behind it. The sun just seemed to disappear out of the blue, and there was thunder and lightning so loud and frightening.
Dad was out there, in the water, going for a "surf". How could you surf out in that choppy, wavy, shark infested water? He was caught in a rip, that's why he was still out there. I so desperately wanted to swim out there and save him, like a good daughter. ut i just couldn't, Mum wouldn't let me because it was clearly far too dangerous - and i could see that for myself- but poor Dad! It was so cruel to just leave him there, drifting away out into the unknown creepy water. He kept trying to swim out of it, but it was farr too strong so he relaxed to hopefully drift out and then somehow get onto safe land.

Eventually, after called the life guards and a helicopter to go save Dad - they arrived! Not that it did much good anyway... The storm was gradually getting stronger and stronger. Mum and i got our hopes up that Dad would be rescued, just as a giant bolt of lightning burst out of the sky and into the water. It looked really evil and scary, like my Science teacher, with his hairy, bushy eyebrows.
"DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.
At that point i burst into tears and haven't been able to stop, neither has Mum.

It's horrible to think that my life has changed so much in just a few hours. I've still got the rest of the year down here; having to make new friends while going through so much grief - it's going to be hard, but at least i've got friends in the city and my warm, friendly Mum to support me. Oh yeah, i forgot, i've got other relatives to support me - in the city. Speaking of Mum, she's just walked in the room - still crying.
"Hey Mum". i said empathetically.
"Darling, Rachel. Are you still crying? I can't stop." She sobbed.
"I don't know. I was bawling before, but surprisingly i think i'm calming down."
"Oh well, that's good. It's okay to cry you know; now i know you know that but right now it's probably the best thing to do."
"Yeah, go figure. It releases endorphins Mum, but i don't feel ANY happier."
"Of course not, honey. I don't expect you to. We'll be grieving and mourning for a while. I think your father would just love us to reminisce over all the wonderful happy memories we've had together. If you can do that - as well as me, i have to - then you're great."
"Okay, i'll try Mum."
"Would you like a nice hot chocolate, or a cup of tea?"
"Yes please, hot chocolate. Thank you."
"I'll go make them."
"Wait. Do you want some help?"
"No thanks, Rach. I'll be okay." Mum said quietly.
I can't believe i'm leaving her to make two hot chocolates, by herself, at a time like this, after Dad just died.
"That'sit," i said to myself, "I have to be with her."
Mum was leaning on the kitchen bench, with her head down. I'd probably die of shock if she was laughing hysterically, thank God she's not.
"Mum! Okay, calm down. Take deep breathes, in and out. Would you like a nice massage for your shoulder?"
"Oh please, That would be lovely." She sighed.

I think she really enjoyed it (and need it) because afterwards, she'd stopped crying. We gave each other a big hug - the kind you give to a long lost friends. It made me feel better too.
I made the hot chocolates; thought i'd better give Mum a rest. They were perfect, amazingly, just beautiful.

Schools starts soon, in a week. I hope my new friends will be as supportive as my old friends. Of course i don't expect them to, but some sympathy would be quite nice. I feel like i'll be mourning for ages!

*

I've been at school for two weeks and already i've found some pretty nice people to hang out with. It's quite different to my old school but i think i'll get by. Who knows, Mum and i could end up moving back! That would be a shock to my friends but i'd be so happy to be with them again.

Mum is feeling better - not much - but slowly she's coming to accept it. Though it's going to take a while! This is pretty normal considering what horrible event has just happened...
The funeral was typical: rainy weather, droopy low sad heads, lots of tissues being used and huddling together to keep each other warm.

I knew from the moment i'd set foot on this land there would be a change in the wind - for better or for worse.

THE END.