Gum Leaf Tune

Charley had a tight grip around Toby’s waist, as he sat balanced on the thick wooden post, watching the smelly sheep graze. His chubby legs swung to and fro, and in his grasp was some long grass he wanted to feed them with.

Both she and her young son had been staying with the newlywed Johnstone couple.

The days had been hot, and thick with insects, and the unholy fumes of dung and diesel, yet the two newcomers had settled in for their holiday with great zeal.

She had wandered into a paddock which looked out over the rolling hills, with a glittering dam to the right, shouldered by willows, and a winding road from the left, some dozy cows, and huddles of tall grey green gums.

Her little boy was preoccupied with a leaf - his grandfather had been playing a tune with one just the night before, and he was trying to get music to squeak out of his.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances