Elsie+Locke+Writing+Competition

By Aarti Rao
 * Limited Water **

 ‘How much longer is this accursed drought going to last!’ yelled Lara frustratedly. The small village of Laryham was experiencing a very bad drought. Lara Flidman was eighteen year old. Her parents had perished is the flood that destroyed her home and left her as an orphan. As she grew up, she became the official healer for the town. She was frustrated because the brought with it a sickness.The sick patients started pouring in, bedridden, sweaty and feverish. There wasn’t enough water to treat them. Without water, they were only getting sicker, and it was only a matter of time until the worst happened.

Lara wrung the last few drops of water out of a tea towel. A tiny drop grew, got heavier and then fell into Henry’s parched mouth. Henry was her sickest patient so far. She walked over to a small bowl of water, soaked the towel, and placed it on Henry’s forehead. Lara sighed. So many suffering patients coming in because of the heat and the water shortage, the towns healing plants were drying up and on top of all that, Lara hadn’t slept in two whole days.

Lara stepped outside to see Mr Durcass, the mayor of the town. Lara explained the situation. ‘I suggest that you use up all your water on Henry. I have asked the other surrounding towns to help. Water will arrive tomorrow’ said Mr Durcass. Lara thanked him and left. Lara would finally have a stocked water supply again. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">She went back to her room and layed down.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lara opened her eyes. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">She felt odd, hot and cold at the same time. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">She checked her temperature. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">oh no, she thought. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lara was sick. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">This is bad. I’m the healer, and I’m too sick to heal myself. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">She began to panic. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lara got up and ran out to get some fresh air.. She couldn’t breath properly, her head was pounding. Everything was swaying. Then the ground rushed up to meet her, she tasted blood and then all went black. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lara woke up in a bed. Everything was hazy. She saw her parents standing in front of her. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">I’m hallucinating, she thought. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">She felt her heart slow down, she dragged air through her infected lungs. Blackness crept into her vision. She blinked and fought for a few more seconds to live, but it was too late. She passed out again, only this time, it was forever.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">‘Lara Jade Flidman was dedicated and polite. We will remember her always’ said Mr Durcass somberly. He lit her pyer. Soon it was covered in flames,lapping at her body,turning it into ash. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">One by one, the mourners left. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Then it began to rain. After all that happened, with the drought and all, the people would have celebrated, but the grief and guilt of knowing she was dead and not bothering to check on her when she stayed with people with a contagious illness. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">Henry stayed with her. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">‘ I owe you so much, Lara’, he murmured. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">It was too painful for him to stay there so he left. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">As per Laryham tradition, Lara’s property was burnt after her, and all the ash was buried.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Shadows Into Light'; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mr Durcass stepped into his office. He wished he had told her, who he was. A tear rolled down his cheek and onto the picture of Lara he was holding. All this time, he had disguised himself and changed his name just to look out for her. After all, that was what he was supposed to do for her. He had failed as her father.

=** H2O **=

By Angela Yee

Stanley caught a glimpse of his reflection in the small puddle of glistening, Space Juice. He almost didn’t recognise himself in his scruffy clothes. He was still the same boy with dark hair, olive skin, and that slightly hooked nose, just unhappy.

“Run Stanley! Survive!” He remembered Mum yelling before she was taken away. Now it was time for him to survive.

“Hmmm… a can of beans, and a bag of chips,and a bottle of H2O! We never see those kinds of things nowadays,” Stanley exclaimed as he stuffed the items in a sack.

“Raise your hands and surrender!”shouted a dull voice from behind.

Stanley spun around, and eyed the bright purple hand, a side effect of Space Juice, holding a plasma-charged taser. He decided that there was no use running. He hung his head down in shame as the police handcuffed him. Stanley loathed himself for not being more careful while he was raiding the houses.

The corrupt police officer shoved Stanley into his hovercraft and started driving towards the police station. Stanley felt as helpless as a deer caught in the headlights. He prayed and prayed for a miracle.

When they arrived, Stanley’s hope died. The big metal bars and sturdy brick walls screamed no escape. “I found another one,” reported the Officer. One of the the guards came over and led him to the cells. He huddled in a corner, reminiscing the good times before Astro Juice Co.

Finally, a guard arrived, holding a cup of Space Juice in one hand and in the other hand a spatula, glowing red hot. “Drink or burn,” he declared, emotionless. In a flash, Stanley devised a plan. He grabbed the bottle of H2O from his sack and splashed it at the spatula. He missed and the water slapped the guard’s face.

The natural colour of his iris returned and his skin started to turn more humanlike. “Wh..wh..wh.. what just happened?" The guard stammered. "Uh...." Stanley was unsure how to take this.  “Hey, err...kid, would you mind telling me what just happened?” he inquired, still kind of confused.  So Stanley explained how he had survived Juicing when the water came in contact with his face.

“ I think we have finally found a way to counter Space Juice!” exclaimed the man, who introduced himself as Kevin. "Now we just have to take that H2O to one of the secret Anti-Juice labs.” "I’ve heard of those labs before..."  "I used to work for them before I was Juiced. Now follow me," Kevin commanded. The duo snuck out the back entrance and sprinted down the abandoned alleyways.

Finally, they halted at a phone booth. "What’s so special about this phone booth to make us stop?" Stanley asked. "You’ll see," Kevin grinned. Then he fidgeted with the phone for a bit. Suddenly, the ground underneath parted and they started falling. They kept descending until something soft broke their fall. Stanley jumped off and saw that they were in the lab. There were about fifty white-clad scientists dashing around. Kevin started talking to one of the scientists. “Of course! H2O was the most important resource to us humans. Ever since they replaced it with space juice, life’s never been the same.” the scientist exclaimed.

"All these years we have dedicated our work into Space Juice and defeating Astro Juice Co. and now we could finally succeed!”Another scientist cheered. Kevin’s lit up, as relief flooded his body.  “Now, kid, are you prepared for the biggest H2O fight of the century?” he asked.  “Sure thing!”

=** The Secret Waterfall **= by Eurodias

It was a hot day in the Sahara Desert. The sun glared down on the scalding and glittering gold sand, as the bronze-coloured camels stalked around, carrying people.

“Mother, could I have a cup of water?” I pleaded hopefully, my eyes wide. I prepared myself for the usual answer -a shake of mother’s head. I wasn’t surprised though. I lived with my older sisters and my mother in the Sahara Desert, and there was never much water. I caught a glimpse of my mother’s distressed look, her face weary from a tiring day. “Er…...of course! You do deserve it!” Mother chirped, attempting a smile. As I gulped down half a cup of cool water, I resisted the urge to tell mother that she wasn’t convincing me at all. Things didn’t use to be this way.

I forced myself to remember the time when my father, Henry, still lived with us. We were the perfect family- inseparable, unbreakable, united. My mind flash-backed to the horrible moment when father made up his mind and packed his suitcases. I remembered my older sister, Joy’s continuous pleading, my twin sisters Carly and Sarah’s piercing cries, and worst of all, my mother’s sobs. When dad left, the closets became empty, the drawers were bare and there were no sharp black shoes on the shoe rack. Everything was empty, just like our hearts.

I shuddered at the memory. As I savoured the last sip of water, I decided that I was going to find more water for us, especially for mother- her broken heart needed fixing.

I remembered the legend father used to tell me before he abandoned us. It was about a secret waterfall located right in the middle of the Desert. Once, there was an explorer named Winston Smith, who lived in the desert. He loved finding new things, searching for legendary buildings, and helping the world to a better future. One day, he happened to wander past an odd looking rock. Winston was looking for a place to rest. He plopped down on the rock and took out a flask of water. Suddenly, the rock jolted to the side, giving way to an ancient looking cave filled with sparkling gems. Winston knew he had struck gold. But there was something MUCH more valuable on the other side. There was a waterfall. It was filled with the clearest water Winston had ever seen. Winston knew he needed to keep this secret to himself- the people of the world would be much too greedy and would claim it for themselves. Winston declared to the people that whoever found it would forever own it. But once Winston passed away, the world gave up hope, and the secret was forever kept a secret.

I felt a chill run down my spine. Maybe I could find the waterfall?

That night, I crept out of the house, equipped with a waterbottle and a flashlight. I shut the door silently and wandered into the oasis. I flicked the switch on the torch. Goosebumps prickled my skin and the light beam on my torch landed on an odd looking rock. I grinned to myself and took a seat on the rock. Suddenly, the rock jumped into action, swaying roughly to the side and giving way to a cave filled with gems. It was the right cave. I ran to the other end. And there, was the most breathtaking, most stunning, most magnificent thing I had ever seen. It was exactly how it was described in the legend. I, Corinne Garcia, had uncovered the secret of The Waterfall.

=**Water**= By Katie PROLOGUE Drip… drip… drip… I can’t sleep without the sound of the taps leak: drip… drip… dr- But one day it stopped. One day, the taps didn’t work. One day… We didn’t have water. A dam blocked the river that donates ninety percent of our water supply. Nothing but a couple of litres came through a day. Nothing. We would have to survive ourselves. I’m Emily, and I’m a survivor. Only ten percent of our population survived, all others have died from dehydration, and some have committed suicide or been murdered by people who have gone crazy. But I survived, and I’m going on the quest to find water.

Our Quest Begins

Dear Diary, I had nothing to do but try. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. I can try tofind water, we need water, we need life. With a lack of water, we have lack of life, lack of police officers, lack of safety and lack of law. Everyone relies on my twin brother Will and I for life sustainability. I’m hoping we can find the dam… It is at least 100 kilometers away from us. A long days worth of walking. ‘It’ll take around 10 days to get there on horseback.’ Will said. We get ready, taking a bit of food and some of our only water. ‘You’ll need it.’ The lady smiled. We set off at a slow pace making sure not to tire the horses.

‘Time we should get to sleep aye sis?’ Will asked. ‘Sure is.’ I smiled after a long days work.

The Challenges That We Faced

Dear Diary, It’s Georgia here. We are hardly there, we have long to go, we have nothing to do but random conversation and well… ride to the dam. But either way Will is leading the way… Again. I’m parched and he has the water. We need to get there. And soon. We need to get the village water. They relied on us to get them more life, they gave us the last of the water so we could get it back to them, except more, more than they ever had. ‘We need to make camp here,’ I said but he just ignored me. I don’t know why he is being so stubborn. The sun had set and the horses had gotten tired long ago. I need to tell him. He was determined to get to the dam. I stopped. ‘What are you doing G? We need to get going.’ He nearly growled. ‘The horses are tired, I am tired, YOU are tired. WE NEED TO STOP!’ I shouted. ‘You need to stop, you stop. I’ll go and they can thank me and make ME King!’ He screamed. ‘Males greed is stronger than any girl’s speech. You go. You go and DIE on your own. I don’t needfame. I need water.’ ‘Fine. we’ll stop.’ ‘You know. This is seperating us. We were so close.’ I announced. ‘I know. And I’m sorry.’ He answered. With that, we fell asleep.

Found

Dear diary, Me again. We awoke. We rode… Like normal. We rode, more… and more… and even more… until now. Now we are at the dam unblocking it to get our water back! Sticks, stones, anything! We unblocked it! We finished our job… Galloping back, we were excited, we went as fast as the horses could take us.

We got back to a heavenly sight, rivers full, wells almost ready. We did it! And that made us realise, we can help the village. Two teenagers can save the day. It’s not too hard, just do what you need to do and go with it.

Saviours

Dear Diary, Finally, I can sleep. And all because of this little story. Georgia and Will save the water, save the village… Save the world… Drip… Drip… Drip...

=** 14 B.C **=
 * By Puja **

I felt the breeze hit my face as I looked out, with memories flooding my mind. Deep down in the remote land of Egypt, the soft, orange sand swivelled around as the dapple of sunlight, shone like a diamond in the clear sky. The dry crust of the banks became more crackled and fragile like an ancient fossil.Ten years ago,in this very place, two bonded brothers, who were three and five years of age, were broken apart like a cracked glass, which could never be fixed.The parents of the brothers, Amen and Ali separated like two pieces of a heart because of some misunderstandings. Their poverty stricken village of Eronia, split into two rival villages, both fighting over the river Nile.

I, Ali am telling you my story of the fight for the Nile.

“Amen come with me. Let us go to Belara.We don’t need your father or Ali.”

“Ali, come here with me .I will nurture you with great love and affection in Rionia “. My bigger brother and I, left as tears were running down our young cheeks, as we went to our separate destinations with our heads hung low. We had only one thing as a secret memory; our precious diaries. Our diaries were beige in colour. The leather was wrinkled like a grandmother’s skin. We both wrote to each other each day in our diaries, thinking we would know what we wrote to each other. We lived our lives because of our diaries, without each other for ten whole drastic years.

When I was thirteen and my brother Amen was fifteen, a very tragic thing happened. One dark morning, two groups of youth started fighting with swords over the small remains of the drying river. Within a flick of time, hundreds of villagers joined the war. Some angry villagers torched the river bank.

Flames were racing down the banks as villagers fell to their death. Still both sides refused to halt.

Once the war died down, the people of Riona and Belera rushed to help their fellow villagers.

Dead bodies were scattered everywhere.

After the day ended, the corpses were taken to a pyramid. Nearly all of the children were orphans and several people were badly injured. Amen and I saw each other for the first time in ten years and hugged for comfort.

“Everyone! Haven’t you seen our mistake? Don’t you all think we should work together to save the Nile?”shouted both boys.

Everyone reluctantly agreed and

Eronia worked together as one the very next day.

At last, they won the battle for water. As soon as everyone started happily sharing the water, a stuck of lightning shone and after a century a drip of water fell down the clouds.Rain started falling heavily.Smiles returned back on everyone’s faces as rain dancers danced throughout the night.Everyone filled their clay pots. They had enough water again in the Nile.

Everyone shared River Nile, and they lived happily ever after.

** By Joseph **
Fu Murdo stood over the dehydrated dirt. “No hope,” he muttered, as he searched for what he desired. After a while, he stood still sweating uncontrollably as the dust wind slapped his face. As he returned to his confined hut in the middle of the desert, Fu peered into his pot hoping to find any last specks of food or water. He sighed with disbelief. "How will I survive in the desert, like this?" He lifted his bottle over his mouth trying to sip every last drop to quench his parched throat.

As he slept through the night, he dreamt of the time that the rain would finally break through the thick clouds and turn the solid dirt, into slimy mud.

“Hello young boy,” screeched an old man, waking Fu from his excellent sleep.

“Who are you?” questioned Fu in disbelief.

“Me?” “I’m the Water Finder, but you can call me DK, short for Daragon Knight” answered the mysterious man.

“ You mean, you can find water?”

“Of course, in fact I have just discovered just very close to your house, there is water that will recover someone’s thirst. You want to follow?”

So off they traveled to find water. Time stood still as Fu’s throat called out for water. “How long until we get there?” Fu questioned.

“Not long. It’s just right up ahead,” the old man replied.

A few minutes later, they saw some people digging into the solid ground. “What are they doing?” Fu wondered.

“ They must’ve tracked down the water before me,” DK replied.

“ So what are we going to do?”

“We’re going to try and trick them into thinking that we have water,” They discussed their plan and decided to proceed.

“WATER!” Screeched Fu as he looked towards the group.

“Sir, did you hear that?” questioned the soldier.

“What?” The Captain called.

“I think I heard someone scream out water.”

“Nonsense, there would be no more water in this empty desert.”

“Sir look up ahead.” As the captain looked up Fu started to jump and scream to grab the Captain’s attention.

“Go get him soldiers.”Commanded the Captain, as his army of humans charged at Fu at full speed.

“Um DK, I think you could go now because they are running at me like crazy,” Fu stressed.

So off DK went sneaking past the soldiers without being seen.

“Captain there’s water here,” So off the captain went oblivious of DK. Quickly, the captain walked over to the puddle of water. As he looked at it he realised that the water didn’t even move even though the wind was pounding the the ground. Suddenly, he realised that he had fallen into a trap, a trap where he was lured to this fake puddle. Slowly, he looked back and he realized that Fu and DK had gathered there whole tribe and were using the water as a resource to recreate their water fountain.

As the captain and the soldiers came marching down, Fu was prepared to speak up.

“How dare you steal our water.”

“Is the water yours?” “Because if so, then the water that you stole was also ours.”

“Don’t speak nonsense we didn’t steal water?” Screeched the Captain

“Well that is what you think.”