Crows

She heard them crowing, black crows were flowing above her while she walked on the sidewalk towards the milk bar. She was only ten years old and did not understand why they were swarming up above on this sunny January day. She looked above her and they flew in circles like something was not right.
She entered the milk bar and saw the little bald man Mr Garner behind the counter with his chewy tobacco hanging from his mouth. She grabbed the milk and bread her mother had sent her to get and she put them on the counter. He didn’t even say hello, as he always did he just said, ‘that will be four dollars.’
She handed him the money and left the store.
When she walked out the door she saw them again hovering above. Big ugly black crows. Her heart raced, and her gut felt like jelly, she was frightened. There were twelve of them, she stood still and counted. Her body tingled as one came straight down and sat in front of her.
She stared at him and quickly looked around and asked ‘What do you want crow?’
He stayed on the ground and let out a loud ‘Bark,bark,bark’
It was as if it was talking to her, trying to tell her something. She looked at him oddly and decided to continue to make her way home. As she walked they followed from above with that same one staying close by her side.
She reached her street which had a little playground she played at with her friends. She noticed a man he was tall with dark hair and was wearing a long black waistcoat. The crows flew towards him and she watched as they all swooped down on the ground around him. He saw her watching and turned around. Before she knew it they had all flown into his big black coat and disappeared. She ran the five houses down the block to her own and couldn’t believe what she had seen. She was frightened, scared and her face turned a pasty white.
She put the items away in the kitchen and heard her mother and brother in the other room laughing. She raced to her room and closed the door. She was in shock absolute horror.
She pinched herself to see if it hurt, she didn’t feel a thing, her body was also in shock.
‘Emma’ her mother called.
‘Emma, Are you back from the shops?’ she called out again.
Emma thought she better quickly respond ‘Yes mum, I’m here in my room.’
She sat on her bed and realised that she better quickly get the memory of what she had just seen out of her mind. She grabbed her iPod and stuck the headphones in her ears and pumped up the sound.

The Letter

Dear Sam,

I wanted to share with you what I learnt today. It started with me awaking like any other day. As I showered and dressed I felt the oddest feeling. It was a tingling sensation on the top of my head. Like someone was patting me on the head.

I rushed out the door and into my car when all of a sudden I heard a whisper in my ear. I couldn't make out what it was. I then felt it again, that tingling feeling.

I was listening to the radio driving along when stopped at the traffic lights I noticed a young boy waving to me. I found it odd as I didn't know this boy. He waved and I drove off thinking what was that about.

I then made my way into the carpark and parked my car in the usual spot. As I walked towards my office I noticed a huge white feather. I thought to myself this morning is so odd!

Got to my desk and again I felt that tingling feeling. A few hours passed while I worked away, had my lunch and before I knew it it was the end of the day.

I got in my car remembering the mornings events. Again in the car the tingling began again, the whisper in my ear.I thought I was going crazy Sam. Could you believe that your dear friend thought he was going crazy.

I was approaching the traffic lights that I had seen the boy that morning when all of a sudden a speeding car went through a red light. It happened so fast, I put on my brakes and covered my face. It felt like I was being hit in slow motion. Not even a second passed when I noticed my car was driving along without a scratch. Then I saw him, that little boy. He waved again & with a blink of an eye he was gone.

I pulled over to the curb. I couldn't believe what had just happened. Who was this boy, what had just happened!

Sam, it was a miracle I'm still here. The speeding car crashed into a pole, the driver dead. I believe the boy was my angel.

I think back now to what happened and still can't comprehend it. Did the car somehow go through mine or was my car lifted in mid air and put back on the road? I don't know how, but it all happened in a second.

From Daniel

Tuesday morning

It was Tuesday morning at 8am, a cold winter morning, with the air cold. Her long straight hair was dyed black and she wore a red dress with black tights. The lipstick she wore was fire red and stood out against her pale skin. She entered the old building down the road from her apartment. Inside was a little cafe that made the best coffee on the block. She ordered a coffee and sat at a table with a window view. She loved watching others on their morning journeys. A tall man wearing a brown trench coat was crossing the road with his daughter in her school uniform. It looked like they were in a rush as it seemed he was tugging her along and she looked annoyed that he was doing what he always did.

‘Amelia wake up’ he mother shouted. ‘If you want me to get you ready you need to get up now as I have to go to work’. Amelia awoke quickly and put on her blue check dress, which was her school uniform. ‘Mum I want pigtails today’ she said. ‘OK’ her mother responded and quickly did the little girls hair while thinking about all the things she needed to do when she arrived at work. Amelia was five and could see her mother wasn’t really there. Her mother’s mind was always thinking about work. Her father entered the room and gave Amelia a huge hug. “Hello sweety, did you sleep ok?” Amelia replied “Yes daddy, are you taking me to school again?” Her father replied “yes sweety, and we must hurry up as i’m running late”. Her mother fed them both farewell and rushed to her car. Amelia hated her mother always working. But her mother reminded her that she wouldn’t have the nice things she did if she didn’t work, like her toys or her expensive dancing lessons. Amelia didn’t really understand why her mum didn’t stay home like the other kids mums at school. Her mum couldn’t come and help in the class like the other kids. Amelia sometimes felt older than the other kids in her class too because she was an only child so her parents always spoke to her like an adult. Amelia wanted so badly a sibling but her parents were so busy working. She wondered sometimes if she was a burden to their busy lives. Her father grabbed her bag and they rushed out the door taking the same route they always did to her school.

The coffee arrived and the girl wondered about that little girl, what her life was like. She was twenty and in her second year of university studying Art. She was thinking back to when she was in school and how she hated those morning ‘s. Amelia hated that her parents were both lawyers and workaholics. Her mother was never present when she was home and her father was always annoyed that her mother worked such long hours. They were both always trying to get her mother’s attention. As soon as Amelia finished high school she begged them to allow her to move in the city and get an apartment. Her parents were not pleased that she was an Artist either, but it allowed her to paint what she felt. She was able to express her emotions with her paintings. She enjoyed sitting and watching others every morning while drinking her coffee. This is what gave her inspiration for her work.

The meaning of life

The meaning of life 13 6 14

He spoke of what the meaning of life meant to him to the room full of people. What are these to you? Family? Friends? Love? Do you know what these are for me? He said with a sly smirk. They are the three things that give me the drive to live. They are the things that make me who I am.

Firstly is to laugh. We always need to have fun he said. Without laughter life would be a bore. We need to be happy. It is important that you are not resentful of the life you live. The choices we make help us to decide on our happiness. The audience looked up, he had their attention. Number two is to cry. Yes to cry he said. A girl in the crowd looked over and wondered as he looked her straight in the eye as he said these words that her troubled soul had cried many nights herself to sleep. The man then said we need to cry to feel emotions, happy or sad. This helps us to feel our souls emotions. The third thing is to be yourself. Never try and be someone you are not. Be authentic even if people don't like it. You will not be content if you are not true to yourself. The important thing here is that these are my three things which are the meaning of life to me. Everyone has their own things that are the most important things to them.

A boy looked up from the crowd and put his hand up. The man looked over and pointed to the boy. Sir I'd like to ask why you think there aren't more than three things that are the meaning of life. The man looked over and said 'some people only might have one thing' but I have three, you might have two. The audience listened to the mans  response and were confused. He sensed the confusion in the air. People the reason I am telling you this is because the meaning of life is not love, money, career or things that always come and go throughout your life. These things can be there one day and gone the next. The answer is for you is what is it that moves your soul? What is it that is true from your heart? For me it's laughter, tears and authenticity. The lesson here is to make sure that your life is full of these things or what's important to you in life that is free and makes you the person you are.