Over the next month we will be sharing memoir from our writing classes, online students, and highly commended entrants in the Write On Keep It Real competition. The competition winners will be published in Write On 57: Believe It or Not. ( launch Dec 7th)
Wildlife
by Avani D, year 6
Brmm, Brmm! The wildlife scene was set as my family traveled down a rickety Sri-Lankan lane. Our trusty chauffeur, Nishantha was driving us along in his van. As soon as we arrived, I jumped out of our van and sprinted to an old cavern that looked like the closest thing to a lobby. I had absolutely no idea what we were doing until a big shadow towered over me. It got closer and closer.
I looked up, afraid of what was coming next. Slowly lifting my head I realised that it wasn't a beast after all, it was a sociable elephant. His name was Strike and he had floppy ears, bulky tusks the size of my legs and an elephantine body. He was very playful, interacting with anyone new. I looked around and I was completely flabbergasted that there were three more elephants!
What I noticed, after the huge wave of shock, was that the elephants were wearing some type of gear, similar to what you’d put on a horse. Exhilaration was bubbling inside of me, ready to pop! When my sister, mum and dad finally caught up they told me I was going to ride elephants! After I cooled down from ebullience, I happily noted that all the elephants were very cheerful because of how well they were looked after. But I was worried that they weren't getting enough free time in the wild. Thankfully I was reassured when the owner of the elephants told me, “ They have a few hours of roaming and another few for lunch without taking anyone out into the jungle''.
As soon as I regrouped with my family we zoomed to the counter and had a prompt guide through. The guide talked us through every step. “ To safely board the elephant you must climb the ladder to the platform and carefully secure one foot onto one side of the elephant and then pull your other leg over” and “when you're on the elephant stay secured until your instructor is there.”
Then we were away! To my surprise my family got to ride Spike (don't tell anyone but he was my favourite!). Spike started cheerfully trotting along, carrying us, his first stop was the river! On the way there the instructor let us sit on the upper back of the elephant and feed him!
The tranquil river instantly fragmented as the elephant charged into it. Spike was ready to have a wash, but my family had no idea about that. It was my sister's turn to sit at the front of the elephant to feed him and guess what? She got showered with water! It was just as the elephant had planned.
Everyone was so happy after that, except for my sister who was covered in water! After a long trek through the forest we finally headed home, three dry and one wet!
Avani is an online student from Auckland. We loved watching this piece develop with detail added and sentences smartened up. Well done, Avani.
(c) Write On and Avani 2021
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