The Broadwater Picnic

"When will we get there?" I moaned.

"You’ll see the river when we get there," answered mum.

We had been driving for what seemed like days. How could I be expected to stay in a hot car for three hours? "Now we are here, Mcmullet," dad murmured, using my birth name. And then I saw it. The Clarinse River or if you like it, the Broadwater.

I felt so refreshed and relaxed as the perfect blue of the river shimmered before me. Silastint, my brother had just been fishing. I felt so excited when he said he hadn’t caught any fish, and how triumphant I would be if I caught a fish or two, for it would be my first ever catch!

Before I went fishing, I dug heaps of tunnels in the sand, but when Silastint accidentally wrecked my tunnels, I felt that was the time to fish.

I got into the boat, rowed out in the river, and started to fish as dad had taught me. The fish that jumped before me were sparkling diamonds against the sunlight. The bush snakes on the banks hissed as if in warning. The sweet scent of water was like the honey in a beehive. A few minutes later, mum shouted out

"It’s time for lunch!"

I shouted back "Please can I fish a bit longer?"

"No!"

So I rowed back to the shore.

"Did ya catch any huh? Did ya, did ya?"Asked Sila.

"No" I said.

At that moment, clouds came over. The Gum trees swayed a lot more than usual. The smell of oncoming rain made me sad. I felt disappointed that I hadn’t caught any fish, but there would always be a next time! And as I thought about that the clouds lightened a little.

by: Walter