Koa Wood

• Natalie Lim, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2009

Koa Wood
There was always a drastic change to Bundeena according to the seasons. People came and went, some never came back. Cooper Riles found a special solace on Bundeena. Some days he would be playing beach cricket with the sun beating down on him as if he were an ant and the sun a magnifying glass, other days he would isolate himself on the most northerly cliff of Bundeena to watch the mundane humdrum of the Bundeena ferry bring a plethora of different people. On the most southerly cliff of the island, a gargantuous oak tree peered over the edge, clinging to the dry earth above the frothy abyss of the ocean.

***

Cooper’s mum wasn’t around anymore. It was a rainy Saturday when the moss plaguing the rocks left Cooper only a father who seemed to care more about the outcome of the NRL than his only son. Cooper wanted to be a musician. Armed with his koa wood guitar, he would sing his melodies across the vast ocean hoping that they would reach the other side.

Despite the pelting sheets of rain that day, Cooper could hear his father on the phone. He was never good at talking quietly, or maybe he just never bothered.

“He’s an embarrassment; only fish he’s ever caught in his life is a 10cm minnow, not even worthy bait. I offer him a 6 pack of Bundy’s to take to Kinster’s but he’d rather play that damn guitar all day.”

Cooper had to get out. He plucked his raincoat off the door, guitar off the stand and left, heading straight for the cliff. The rocks were extra slippery that day.

***

It was six thirty when the sun began to peep over the clouds. Its rays protruded across the skies, lighting every damp rock crevice in sight. The parakeets, with their papaya seed-like eyes, squawked a cheery song in tune with Cooper’s gentle strumming. Cooper was never a religious boy but at that moment his heart told him to leave.

***

“$2.70 please” the ticket master said with a smile, “going home eh?”

‘Home’ had no longer become a word in Cooper’s dictionary. The familiar connotations of a cosy fire, a delicious dinner and loving parents were conjured but the thought was broken by a hoarse shout.

“Cooper, if you dare I will …”

The jetty was a slippery place. The moss clung to the wood as a child clings to their ice-cream the first moment they receive it. At that precise moment, on the most southerly side of the island, the mud slid from the cliff leaving the gargantuous oak tree with no support. It fell into the ocean, engulfed by the wrath of the waves.

Fishermen always say that the calmest seas come after the fiercest of storms. The gentle waves caressed the ferry towards the shore. Although he didn’t know which way he was going he looked down at his koa wood guitar, the only memory left in his heart of where he’d come from.

Natalie Lim
15
PLC Sydney
yr 10
88 Pennant Pde Epping