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air brush their cheeks. Apanie turned to Jason, one arm pointing to the starry
sky.
“See that shape over there, that cluster of stars?”
Jason squinted, and sure enough he could see a patch of stars scattered across
black night. Apanie glanced at the ostrich sleeping soundly beside her, and then
back at the stars.
“That’s the emu in the sky. It’s another story my grandmother would tell me.
He’s running, see? His neck is stretched out, there,” she pointed a finger to a
thinner cluster of stars.
“And there’s his body, and his legs. He’s like our ostrich. Our emu in the sky.”
Jason was enthralled, in awe of this girl with so much ancient knowledge. He
stared at the emu in the sky for a long time, before finally replying.
“What’s the emu’s name?”
But Apanie had fallen fast asleep curled in the corner of the tray, chest rising
and falling steadily.
Jason glanced at the clock on the dash. It read 20:30. He lay back down and
stared up at the stars that winked back at him, as if communicating in a
language he could only dream of knowing. Soon, he too had drifted fast asleep.
CHAPTEr four
The three friends drove across the never-ending desert, occasionally seeing a
tree, bush or other signs of life. Suddenly, in the far distance, they spotted a
large mound, almost a mountain. Trucks and other machinery, as well as some
makeshift homes, loomed in the distance. In hope of discovering water, they
headed in that direction at a fast pace. Jason pressed hard on the accelerator
and they sped across the desert, dust billowing in clouds behind them.
'I see it! I see it!,' Jason shouted as they got closer and closer to their destination.
They made it and realised something was oddly wrong with the place. There
were dark pits everywhere and large heavy machinery scattered across the land.
A loud bang shook the ground, and another huge hole formed, smoke and dust
engulfing the place. It was almost eerie, and everything seemed to be shrouded
in dirt and cold metal.
"Are these mines?," Apanie asked, confused to why these large holes were taking
over the place. Her usually curly brown hair had turned black from the smoke
and dust.
"Yep, this is what is ruining and poisoning our drinking water," Jason replied,
knowing that these horrible pits were the causes for the lack of water.