The Start of a Friendship
The plane descended its wheels touching the tarmac and coming to a screeching halt. I looked excitedly out of the small windows of the airplane. The serene white landscape of Australia calmed me. Our house wasn’t bad either. Since it was the month of September we wouldn’t need to live in Eskimo houses rather we could live in a little quaint cottage. Around the house yellow fragrant honeysuckle grew. When dad told me that he had gotten posted in Antarctica, to do his job his job as a reporter, I was very and apprehensive about the temperature and the lack of contact with the outside world. Once we had gotten settled. Dad proposed that we go and meet our neighbors. Our street a clearing amidst an icy road, housed three families.
The third house was empty for now so we proceeded to cross the clearing and knocked on the bright red door across from us. A boy of my age opened the door. He too like us was dressed in at least four layers of clothing. Over the next few weeks I got to know Nash, the boy who live next door. I went over to his house almost every day. We played board games and checkers. One day as I hung my jacket on the rack, I asked Nash if there were any animals around, after all weren’t cold places supposed to have penguins and stuff? “Ogden’’ he said, in a whisper, “there is one place, but my parents say that young boys like you and I aren’t allowed there” “But why?” I asked. I really wanted to do something at least before school started. “Meet me tomorrow morning at 6 o’clock on the big rock near the third house.”
The next day I jumped into my clothes. I was going on an adventure. How thrilling! I sneaked out of the house as quiet as a mouse and stood patiently near the big rock at 6 o’clock. The sun shone just above the horizon stretching its yellow arms wide as though aroused from a deep sleep. Nash joined me two minutes later and tugged on my sleeve “Let’s go Ogden”. I followed him into the thicket of trees surrounding our houses. Our boots crunched on the ice and the cold air made the tip of my nose numb and cool.
Into the forest Nash guided me through a pathway that was seemed to be well trodden on. Gradually, the sound of beach waves hitting rocks reached my ears. After a while of walking, the trees thinned and my eyes met the beauty of the sun’s hues reflected in sparkling blue water. I gasped in awe as I saw hundreds of penguins waddling around on the ice surrounding the calm waves. It was an expanse of serenity. We both sat there until the Sun shone body in the sheer blue sky. Little did we know that this was only the start of Ogden and Nash’s Australian escapades.
