Nature's Furnace

• Annaleise Armstrong
• Short Story
• 2009

A very typical family in the dry bushland in Victoria were extremely happy with their life. The happy family contains a loving Mum, a courageous Dad, a 14-year-old girl, Louie, a 6-year-old girl, Katie and a 4-year-old boy, Benjie. The dad was clearly known as the strong man in the family, just while Benjie was young, then Benjie would replace that role, but at the moment, Benjie was a little bit to immature and needs to learn when play time is over. The Mum was loving and compassionate, as I would expect every mother would be. Katie was cute, but very annoying to her big sister Louie, who was the smart and intelligent type who when faced in danger, she would think what the sensible and smart thing to do in the situation.

Louie was sleeping soundly at approximately 2am, as the sound of rustling and spitting awoke her. She looked out the window and jumped out of bed. The only thing she could smell was the smell of burning. She was sure it was a fire that awoke her because she felt the sweat running off of her forehead. The amount of sweat she was producing, she could fill a pool. She immediately ran to the drawing room screaming to awaken the rest of the family. She saw an unlocked that was exiting in the opposite side of the house that the fire was heading from.

She opened the window and jumped out, still screaming to awaken her family because she was still unsure of whether they were awake. She ran past the outside of her brother’s room and shouted, “ GET UP BENJIE! IT’S A FIRE!” She ran to the street, as she knew it was one of the only open places that didn’t have any dry grass or trees that could catch fire, and I crouched on the gravel.

She felt the extreme heat from the flames roll over my back. Next thing she knew, she’s in hospital lying on her front with a numb back and can hear the doctors and nurses rushing around her. She suddenly screamed with pain. The doctors and nurses ran to her as she said, “Where are my family?” The doctors replied that her whole family hadn’t survived the fire. When she was told, a tear ran down her face and she burst into break down. They also said she would end up in a children’s shelter.

Two months later, Louie was released from hospital with minor burn scars on her back. They took her to the local children’s shelter and she got quite a surprise when she was welcomed. Her brother, Benjie was there. She was really excited and ran to him and hugged him. She was so thankful and cried more than when she found out that all of her family didn’t survived the bushfire.

5 years later, Louie got married to a very nice boy, whom she’d loved ever since she’d got to the shelter. They then had a family and moved to north Queensland in Cairns and themselves had 2 children, Katie and Amanda, named after her mum and sister, to whom died in the bushfires and those children reminded her of her mum and sister for the rest of her life.