Many Families

• Isabella Davis, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2009

Many Families
By Isabella Davis

In a tribal area in the African Jungle, there was a boy called Luke. He had short orange hair like the striped leaves of a palm tree. His eyes were blue like the light shimmering on the ocean. Luke’s mother had died and Luke did not know who she was. He was only six years old. Luke’s father always used to say, “Luke’s skin is olive like the African snake river”, that was filled with territorial crocodiles that would swarm around looking for something to kill and eat.

Luke’s father was a fisherman and often went out sailing in the deep blue sea. This made Luke unsure if he would come back. Luke was sad and lonely. He had no friends, but for a kind monkey who would comfort him when he was lonely. The monkey, named Ooka, only had a father too. Ooka had tried to find his mother, but never found her.

So, Luke went to find Ooka to tell him his idea, “Ooka, we should make a wooden canoe out of a palm tree and try to find my Dad and your Mum”. Ooka wasn’t sure if that was a good idea, but he did it anyway. So, the next morning Luke and Ooka set out to make their canoe. It took them three hours to make. Finally, Luke and Ooka set sail. They both survived on salmon, pink like the flourishing coral, and water that had a tangy, sweat smell of salt water.

They sailed for days and days; weeks turned into months, but there was nothing in sight. Suddenly, a huge storm came and Luke said in a frightened voice, “We might sink, or, worse, drown”. After one hour the storm cleared away, the boat had three small holes. So Luke turned the boat upside down and sat on the top with Ooka.

In a scared voice Like said, “One more day and this boat will sink!”. Just as Luke said that a boat came in sight. The crew spotted Luke and Ooka on the top of the capsized boat. They quickly approached them and let Luke and Ooka onboard. One of the crew members said, “Our ship is going to Australia, if you want you can join our crew”. Luke and Ooka replied, “We would love to”.

So, Luke went to Australia and got a job with the ship’s crew. Luke, the crew, and Ooka sailed around the world going to different places and discovering islands, while continuing to look for his father and Ooka’s mum. All the time Luke felt like part of a family again and Ooka enjoyed new friendships and the feeling of belonging too.