Book - The Tipping Point

Chapter Three

Alister wandered through the pile of rubble which was once known as the Botanical Gardens of Sydney. He brushed his hand lightly over the top of the black water, polluted by everything you could imagine. As he knelt down in shame, completely unaware of his surroundings, a delicate tear ran down his face.

His quiet mourning was disrupted suddenly when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He jumped away in shock and turned around to stare at the face of a stranger.

Alister looked up reluctantly, as he was still crying. He wasn’t quite sure how to control his outburst of emotions. Their eyes met. An indigenous woman was standing right in front of him, with messy brown hair.

“Hello.” she said. Alister was baffled. Some random person had stopped to talk to him. He was intrigued.

“My name is Vera.” She continued. Her smile was slightly strained, but otherwise looked quite optimistic.

“Vera? You seem familiar.” Then he remembered. Vera. The Olympic hurdler. She was famous Australia- wide. Everyone knew who she was. Alister felt like an idiot. “You were an Olympian, I remember now.” He responded. “Yes, well, that’s me!” she laughs heartily. She looked as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t quite find the right words for it. There was an elongated silence, that both found awkward. They looked out at the water with great grief. Suddenly Vera spoke. “Do you want to go for a run with me?” She spoke in a very rushed tone. A clear attempt to distil the awkward mood. Alister nodded, and off they went. She took a slower pace than usual as it was clear that Alister didn’t have her athletic ability. Their surrounding was desolate, ruined buildings, rubbish and pollution melting into one as they ran past. Most of the trees were rotten, utterly devoid of colour. The beautiful coloured plants were lost under layers of thick weeds and layers of garbage. Abruptly, Vera stopped. Alister questioned her, but she didn’t reply. She looked shocked, almost unbelieving. Then the unexpected happened. She dragged Alister a few meters into the untidy mess that used to be a garden, and something usually hidden from view emerged. A small, but green and alive patch of grass. Neither of them could believe it. A million questions were running through Alister’s mind. How could no one have seen this? How had it survived this long? All he could do was shout with joy. It had been years since he had seen anything so gorgeous. “Wow! It’s real grass! This is amazing!” exclaimed Alister, as he pinched his arm to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Everything else blurred. Vera tugged him down and they both admired it. Vera didn’t stay long after they found the grass. She excused herself and continued her running track. Alister wished she didn’t have to, as it had been so long since he had talked to anyone He could almost smell the flowers flourishing on trees and the rich smell of the fertile soil planted with seeds. Alister wanted to help, he wanted to restore Sydney and help it become what he dreamed of. But, how could he? He was just a young man, with no way to start.

He made his way home, just as dejected as when he began his day.