Beyond the Crushing Waves by Lilly Mirren

Author:Lilly Mirren [Mirren, Lilly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Lab Press

27

January 1954

Harry

The sun hung over the horizon. It climbed steadily through the bright blue morning sky, chunks of sunshine slanting golden over the sheep paddocks and into the slaughterhouse. Harry pressed against the timber fence, arms folded and one foot propped up on the lowest railing as he watched the sheep traverse the chute. A group of fifteen- and sixteen-year-old boys pushed the sheep up the chute, bleating and kicking to where two boys waited to butcher them. They would serve as dinner for the children and staff that evening.

Beside Harry, Max studied the sheep with a cigarette between his lips. He pulled it free, exhaled a cloud of smoke and squinted into the sun. He turned to lean his back against the fence as he took another drag.

“That’ll be us in a few years.”

“Trainees?” asked Harry.

Max shrugged. “Yep. No more schooling, no more history books or maths problems. Just butchering sheep, milking cows, feeding chooks, harvesting wheat, baking bread and picking peaches in the orchards.”

“It’s not so bad, I guess,” replied Harry. “What else would you do with your life?”

“What do you mean?”

Harry peered up at the sky and watched a fluffy white cloud billow into various different shapes, transforming in slow motion. “I dunno. If you could do anything at all, what would you do?”

Max glanced at him, his eyes dark. Then he looked away. “Don’t laugh.”

“I won’t.”

“I’ve given up on the idea of accounts. I’m terrible at maths. I’d make films.”

“What?” Harry faced him with narrowed eyes.

“You know, like at the cinema. I saw one once, on that big ship that brought me here years ago. It was in black and white and there wasn’t much to the storyline, but still… it made me feel good. Every now and then, Forrest takes us all to Orange on a Saturday and lets us watch a reel at the pictures there. The room is all red velvet and plush seats, we can eat popcorn until we’re sick from all the salt, and I feel for a little while as though I’m somewhere exotic living someone else’s life. I can be someone different, someone who’s got a family, someone with a future other than —” He waved a hand around at the village. “This.”

Harry knew what he meant. There was something special about watching a film. He’d seen two in his life, and both had left an impression on him. “I think that’d be grand.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, you should do it.”

Max didn’t look up. “I’ll get right on that. I’m pretty sure they let high school dropouts make films. Right?” He laughed, pushing away from the fence with a heel on the railing. “Come on, let’s go before we’re late for cricket practice. Forrest will have a kitten if we lose this game to the town kids.”

Max flicked the butt of his hand-rolled cigarette to the ground, then picked up a rock to smash the end into the dirt. They jogged together back through the village, laughing and joking, stopping to chat along the way.

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