Billy

Chapter 1: The Accident

As Billy walked along the soft sand, her long, salty brown hair blew in the wind behind her. She was a 13 year old girl with post traumatic stress disorder and one arm. She hadn't had the best run in life but she was grateful for what she had. She had a beautiful mother, Leia, she had olive skin and blonde hair just like Billy. Billy had a dog as well, his name was Roofus. He was a 6 year old, 50 kilo beagle with short white and black fur. He was blind in one eye and only had 3 legs, he lost an arm, just like Billy. He was a rescue dog, and he had very abusive owners before them. He was a little clumsy and he had some weird habits, like eating veggie mite, but Billy loved him all the same, after all, he was her best friend. Billy used to have a family of 5. Her, Roofus and her mum Leia, her older brother Daniel and her father Luke. Her, her father and her brother all loved going out to the reef off Hinchinbrook Island. She had lived in the same house, on the same beach on Hinchinbrook Island for her whole life. She loved it there, it was right next to the Great Barrier Reef. She lost her arm in a terrible accident. It was quite a cloudy day, physically and mentally. Her mum was making lunch so Billy, Luke and Daniel decided to go out to the reef and get some crayfish. They were putting their gear on. They were all sitting on the edge of the boat when they spotted a huge bull shark. It crashed head first into the boat, knocking all 3 off them off the side. Billy swam as quick as she could up to the boat. She was the only one that made it up. Luke and Daniel were both eaten by the shark. She tried to hurl her brother back into the boat, but he was too far gone. She grabbed his necklace and drove back into shore. She got out of the boat and her legs collapsed under neath her. Everything was black and cold.

She opened her eyes, though she never remembered closing them. She was wearing a stiff blue dress. She knew exactly were she was, hospital. Her mother was asleep on the chair next to her bed. She whispered to her mum, "Mummy, I'm scared." Her mother woke up and patted her head. "It's okay sweetie, your safe now." She started to cry. "They're gone mummy. I couldn't save them." She held out the necklace that the shark left behind. "Oh sweetie." Leia started crying too. "Don't cry mummy," she said, handing her the necklace. "They're with god now." Billy's family were all Christians and they went to church every Sunday. Her mother looked at her. "What happened to them Billy, your father and brother?" She knew what she had to say. "They were eaten, by a huge bull shark mum. It knocked us off the boat, but I'm the only one that survived." She looked around and down at her body. One of her arms had been bitten clean off at the elbow. "Mummy!" Her mother hugged her. "You're okay baby. You're alright." Billy didn't remember having her arm bitten off though. She thought that's probably why she collapsed on the beach. That and the fact that she had just seen her brother and father be eaten by a shark. She sat up as the doctor came in. He told her that she would be okay but she needed to rest. Billy and her mother went home a week later. She sat in her bedroom with Roofus for 2 months solid. She only came out when she needed something or when Roofus needed something. She was only 10 when this happened and she got so overwhelmed by it that she got post traumatic stress disorder. She went to so many different councillors, but none could help her. She had so many nightmares that it scared her to got to sleep. All she could think about, was her family and how empty she felt without them. As the days went on she got stronger and stronger and eventually the nightmares stopped. She knew she would always have post traumatic stress disorder, but she tried to live with it. It wasn't always easy though. Some mornings she would sit on the beach, crying away the pain, but it never really disappeared. She would always remember what happened. How could she forget. Some times she tried to forget but it just kept coming back, replaying in her memory. She missed the way her father would torment her and poke her and tackle her, and she missed the way that her and her brother would talk about how broken the world was, that the government wouldn't recognise how precious the reef was and how much damage the pollution was doing.