Sally's Story

Sally's Story — page 7
Glad for Mum to acquiesce and pull out the older heavier coats hanging in the hall cupboard Now sitting on the hospital verandah I smiled as I remembered the way Nan had rocked my sleepy body back and forth to wake me up I finally came up for air and murmured dopily What is it It’s so early Nan do ya have to wake me so early Ssh you’ll wake the others Don’t you remember I said I’d wake you early so you could hear the bullfrog again and the bird The bullfrog and the bird how could I have forgotten For the whole week Dad had been in hospital she’d talked of nothing else With sudden decision I leapt from my bed and shivered my body into an old red jumper Then barefoot I followed Nan out onto the back verandah Sit still on the steps she told me And be very quiet I was used to such warnings I knew you never heard anything special unless you were very quiet I pulled my hands up inside my sleeves wrapped my arms around my legs and waited The early morning was Nan’s favourite time when she always made some new discovery in the garden A fat bobtail goanna snake tracks crickets with unusual feelers myriads of creatures who had for their own unique reasons chosen our particular yard to reside in I wanted spring to last forever but it never did Summer would come soon and the grass would yellow even the carefully nurtured hospital grass wouldn’t look as green And the giant nasturtiums that crowded along 11