Shortlisted
The Road to Condo
Belinda Donald
The water shimmers and glistens in the distance. A young girl and a boy walk on the long, straight road towards the magical and alluring water. Although they are both used to the heat, their lips are cracked and dry, their weary feet are grimy and dusty. It’s further away than they thought.
Her name is Christine, but she is called Tinsy because she is delicate and small with dandelion hair. His name is Angus. He is also small. He has no shoes, and his hair stands on end with dirt. Tinsy wishes she had asked her mum to drive them. Or that she had brought a drink. They had come this far now. Too far to turn back. She takes off her sandals and gets some relief. She only wears her sandals to school. It is the only time any of the kids wears shoes – except for Angus. Angus never wears shoes at all. The soles of their feet are leathery and used to savage bindies and scrubby grass. There is no relief from the rough and the dry. Nothing soft or green out here. But the water still beckons on the horizon.
There are twenty-three students at their school because it is such a small town. Tinsy and Angus are the only kids in grade two. The rest of the kids are in different grades all the way to year six. The school has two classrooms, a small canteen that the mums open on a Friday, a house where the married couple who teach there live, and a gravel playground with a small, corrugated shelter for assemblies. As well as the school, there is a pub, a small general store with a petrol pump, and a police station. A tight community. Whether they like it or not, there is no escaping the closeness of each other.
The Friday before the two walked the long red road, Tinsy and Angus were emptying the bins out the back of the canteen.
What you got there Tinsy?
Twenty cents.
Why is it tied in that hanky?
So I won’t lose it. Mum gave me twenty cents to get a hotdog, and a chocolate milk. Are you going get something from the canteen?
Nuh.
Oh, what have you got for lunch then?
Nothing.
Aren’t you going to get hungry?
I had a big breakfast. Do you want a go on the swing?
What if we get in trouble?
Just a quick one. Come on. I’ll push you.
Ok, Angus.
Angus spent the whole of lunchtime that day near the school fence. He saw Tinsy go to the canteen and then sit in the shade of the shelter shed to eat her lunch. He watched as she quietly ate her hot dog and drank her milk. His stomach roiled, and he turned and took off for the bubblers. Tinsy sat neatly and opened the paper around her hot dog. She bit into it. It was flavourless and watery. Hot dogs were always disappointing, but she would never miss the canteen day lunches. She decided that next week she would ask her mum for another twenty cents so she could buy Angus lunch.
The following Monday, Tinsy asked her mother for an extra sandwich.
It’s for Angus, mum. He never has any food.
Poor kid. Is he from the mission?
What’s the mission?
The Aboriginals live out there.
Aboriginals?
The blacks, Tinsy. They all live together on a place past the big water tower.
Oh. Can we go out there and visit?
No, we can’t darling, and don’t you go asking Angus. I’ll make you another sandwich. But listen, don’t make a big deal about giving it to him where everyone can see.
Isn’t it allowed?
It’s allowed my beautiful girl. I’m just sure he won’t want the attention, that’s all.
Out on the road, Tinsy feels a pang of regret when she remembers that conversation. She thinks about her mum and how worried she was about Angus. Maybe she was worrying now? They hadn’t told anyone that they were going. She feels the sun burning her shoulders. She should have brought her hat. Never mind, they will be swimming soon, so it will all be worth it. Tinsy has seen pictures of people diving and swimming in pools and rivers. She imagines jumping into the cool water and how good it will feel on her sore feet and hot body. They have tank water at home, and because there is a drought, she has to have a bath with just the smallest amount that barely comes up over her legs. Her mum uses a little jug to wet her hair and back.
Are you going to use the diving board, Angus?
I reckon I will. What about you?
Not sure. It might be really high.
Yeah, it’s really high. My cousin Lewy told me. He’s been there.
To the pool?
Yeah. He said there are two diving boards. One is much lower so maybe you could go on that one.
Well, I would definitely like to have a go. Did Lewy say how far this pool was?
Nuh. He just told me it was in the next town. We sure have been walking for a while. I can still see the water down the road, though. It has to be the pool.
Great. I hope it’s not much further. I’m sick of walking.
It doesn’t look much further.
When Tinsy took the extra sandwich to school, she made sure there was no one around. Even then, Angus still seemed embarrassed. He took it with his head bowed, looking up through his brows. She suggested they go over to the fence because that was where he usually stood at lunchtime. Angus was shy about eating in front of her, so she kept her eyes on her own lunch. When they finished eating, he said he had something to show her, so they headed off to the outskirts of the oval and under the fence. Between the fence and the beginning of the trees was a thick wall of shrubs. It seemed impenetrable, and none of the students had ever been curious or bothered by it, so it was uncharted ground, but Angus disappeared into the mass with ease. It enfolded around him, and he yelled out for Tinsy to follow. Tinsy gingerly pushed into the shrubs. It scratched her face and caught her clothes. She could not see ahead and was momentarily panicked until Angus called again. She shielded her face and pushed through towards his voice, and a space opened up. Angus was sitting in a burrowed-out cocoon. He had squashed the foliage into a small round seat. It was shady and cool.
If we squash it a bit more, we can fit you as well.
They spent the rest of lunch sorting out the space, only reluctantly leaving when the bell was rung.
Tinsy’s mum kept on sending extra sandwiches so that by the end of the week, there was barely any awkwardness at all. Tinsy named their space the nest, and they spent all their snack and lunchtimes roaming around the school looking for things to bring back to it. Scratching at the dirt to see what creatures might be buried in holes or under rocks and logs, they collected good-looking feathers and stones.
Can I ask you something, Angus?
Yeah.
How come I’ve never seen your mum?
I don’t have one.
Doesn’t everyone have a mum?
If I did, I don’t know where she is.
What about your dad? Can’t he tell you where she is?
Well, he’s not around much either.
Who looks after you?
My cousin Lewy. He looks out for me. Makes sure I get to school every day.
I’m sorry you don’t have a mum or dad, Angus.
It’s alright. Lewy and me are family. He’s gonna get a job in Condo, and then we can get a house together. Get off the mission.
Does that mean you’re going to move away?
Yeah, probably, but you can come and visit, Tinsy. There’s a swimming pool there, you know?
There’s a swimming pool at your house?
No, it’s in the town. In Condo.
Where’s Condo?
Just straight down that road you go on with the water tower on it. Lewy said it was about an hour away.
I have never been to a pool.
Me either.
The next morning before school, Angus is waiting at the fence for Tinsy when a girl from Year 6 approaches and stands very close to him. He is scared but does not feel like he can walk away.
Who you waiting for? Her tone is cold.
My friend.
You mean Tinsy.
Yeah.
She’s not your friend.
Angus drops his head down below his shoulders and concentrates hard on moving some dirt gently with his foot.
Haven’t you noticed that you don’t have any other friends? She just feels sorry for you ’cause you’re from the mission.
Angus keeps his head down, and she eventually leaves.
Tinsy finds him sitting in the nest. He is more quiet than usual, so they just sit together until the bell rings. When Tinsy gets up to leave, Angus doesn’t move.
Aren’t you coming to class?
I don’t feel like it.
What are you going to do? Are you just going to stay here? You’ll get in trouble if they find you.
Nah, I think I’ll go.
Where are you going?
I think I’m gonna go swimming.
Angus shoves out of the nest and walks off towards the bush. Tinsy stares after him, and then just before he disappears into the trees, she runs.
Out on the road, the sun sits directly above the two small children. They’ve been walking for hours and now move slowly with their heads down. There is no shoulder, and the sides of the road slant down to red dust and the scattered, spikey spinifex.
I don’t want to walk anymore, Angus. The road is too hot, and my feet are real sore. I’m gonna sit down. I don’t think we should have come. I know you said it was only an hour or so, but I feel like it’s been much longer than that.
Ok, Tinsy, sit down there. We’ll have a rest and then when you feel better, we’ll start again.
Angus?
Yeah.
Can you still see the water?
Yeah. At the end of the road. Doesn’t look too far away now.
I feel a bit sick, Angus.
I’m pretty sure it’s not far. You don’t think you could go a bit further?
I’ll try.
Tinsy gets up shakily and starts walking, but stumbles and has to sit down again.
I’m really thirsty, Angus, and my legs feel wobbly. Do you think I could stay here and wait? You could go up ahead and get someone to drive back?
I don’t know anyone in Condo. What if I can’t get anyone to come?
Well, what about if you go back home and find my dad?
I don’t know your dad. How would I find him?
That’s easy, Angus. He’s the policeman. Just go to the police station.
Are you sure you can’t come with me? I really don’t want to leave you out here.
I can’t, Angus. I’m sorry. I just want to lay down.
Okay, well, I think you better have my shirt. You can put it on the ground. Don’t go anywhere. I’m gonna be real quick.
We left so long ago, Angus. I’ll just have a sleep. I’m so tired.
Angus starts back down the road. He gets about a kilometre and looks back. He can just make out the small body on the side of the road. The heat shimmers off the road and all around her. And though he knows she is not moving it looks like she is swimming. Angus wants to lie down as well, but he suddenly feels an urgent need to run and find Tinsy’s dad. He lurches down the road until his lungs as well as his feet are on fire. He makes it another kilometer before the ground suddenly rises up to meet him, and his tiny body crumples to the dirt. The sun stays brilliant in the silent sky, and the road seems to hum with the heat.
At the pub later that afternoon, the phone starts ringing. The woman working answers it, listens for a bit, then signs off.
What was that about Betty?
It was Ziechy.
Jeeze? The copper? What does he want, ringing the pub?
He says his kid’s gone missing. Possibly with another kid off the mission. They’ve been gone since this morning. She didn’t come home, and the school said she wasn’t there today.
Tinsy? Shit! What does he think happened?
He doesn’t know, but they want everyone to come help with the search. They’re gonna do a sweep of the bush around the school, then go from there. Let’s hope like hell they haven’t wandered off in this heat.
That’s what I was thinking. Nowhere else to go, really. Condo is a good hour drive from here. They wouldn’t last long.
Belle Donald is a high school teacher with a passion for storytelling. She writes in her spare time, favouring short stories and plays. In her writing, Belle aspires to capture the authentic and compelling.
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