Please

I lean over the railing and gaze down at my reflection in the dark blue water. So much has happened in the last few weeks, it feels like months. My light brown hair is unwashed and tangled. My brown eyes look dark and sad; it's hard to believe I am the same person as 12 months ago.

"Charlie, what are you doing?" I hear a small voice say from next to me. I turn and look down at my 5 year old sister, Layla. Smiling, I pick her up and hold her up to see her own reflection in the water. She stares down at her reflection like I had and smiles when she sees a fish swimming past.

Layla is the brightest thing in my life, and I sometimes get jealous of how happy and optimistic she has stayed through everything that has happened recently. Even so, I know I am one of the lucky ones, I still have a family and good friends, enough food to survive on and freedom.

I put Layla down on the floor with our Mum, who is talking to another woman. I decide to leave them and go sit at the back of the boat by myself, and soon I find myself imagining what life would have been like if there was no war in Australia. If I wasn't on this cramped boat trying to get somewhere we might not even be accepted. If I could have stayed in school with my friends and even gone to university. None of that was going to happen now, I could only dream.

***

The sound of shouting and sirens was deafening as I tried to keep up with Mum as she rushed down our street. We were on our way to a bomb shelter, with Layla clinging tightly to my arm. I thought about my Dad off fighting as a pilot in the war, and hoped that he was okay.

Mum pulled us towards a ladder, and we descended into what looked like a cellar along with about 15 other people. The trapdoor closed over us and it was suddenly pitch black, and everyone was silent. I grabbed Mum's hand and tried not to cry, it was terrifying.

The sirens stopped, and I could vaguely hear the bombs crashing to the earth. I could picture them falling from the grey planes flying overhead, whistling as they fell and tearing up the neat rows of houses and carefully tended gardens owned by innocent people.

Mum was muttering to herself, and when I looked at her she whispered in my ear the words that changed my life.

"It's not safe here anymore. We have to leave, as soon as possible."

***

I heard someone speak, bringing me back to the present.

"What are you thinking about, Charlie?"

It was Jordan, who was 15, the same age as me. We had become friends as soon as we got on the boat.

"Do you ever imagine what life would have been like if there had been no war?" I asked him. He just smiled sadly and pulled me into a hug.

"Of course I do," he sighed, his curly brown hair tickling my neck.

We sat like that for a while, simply enjoying each other's company, before getting up to collect our rationed dinner. We were starting to run short on food, and the already meagre meals were getting smaller every day. Dinner was the only meal we got. Luckily it had rained last night, otherwise we would have run out of water. I went to sit back with my family and Jordan with his. Layla was playing with Mum's hair and putting it in pigtails, making me smile. She made me smile lots even under our circumstances.

I sat next to Mum and we ate in silence. The sun was starting to set, casting an orange glow over the calm water, reminding me of the last sunset I saw in Australia.

***

We trudged along the path, gravel crunching under our shoes. We had been walking for the whole day (we would have been too noticeable driving), while Mum and I took turns carrying Layla when she was too tired to walk. Our dirty brown clothes blended in perfectly with the dusty, barren landscape littered with the remains of farms and patches of dying grass. Every so often we would pass piles of rubble, making me think about the innocent people who used to live there, and the thousands of lives lost because of the war.

We reached the top of a hill just as the sun was starting to set and suddenly I could see the ocean, a mass of rippling, dark blue water reflecting the pink and orange sky. It was amazing, its beauty seeming to come from another world away from the destruction that was Australia, 2086. I could see the small waves breaking against the sand, flinging white foam into the air. The wind whipped through my hair, bringing with it the salty smell so different to the smell of dust and sweat we had become familiar with over the last few days.

This image is framed in my mind like a treasured photograph, taking pride position at the front of my mind. When I think about that moment it makes me both happy and sad, as it was the moment I left my home country, possibly forever, but it was also the start of what could be an amazing journey, and the start of a better life.

***

"Look, I think that's land!" I heard someone shouting from the front of the boat. It was almost dark now, with just a faint glow still lighting the sky. I made my way to where the shouting was coming from and sure enough I could see a dark shadow dotted with lights that could only mean our final destination.

I was excited, but also anxious, as I went and stood next to Jordan. What will happen when we land? Will we be accepted, or turned away? How will life be different? There are so many questions, and I know that our future is now in other people's hands. I know my family, friends and I will always support each other, but now we need the support and compassion of others. Hopefully they will never go through what we have; all the uncertainty, storms and hardships we have endured to get where we are now. Please understand, please make the right choices.

Please.

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Note - I have had different opinions about whether Charlie is a boy or a girl. When I originally wrote this story, Charlie is a girl, but if it works for you to imagine Charlie as a boy, feel free.