Smokey

The air was grey the wind was hot the smell from the smoke left a burning sensation in my nose,It was so hot with my long t-shirt and pants,but I had to wear them just in case we get stuck,so I wouldn’t get burnt.My mother and sister were hugging me tight,I was their protector since dad died,I was their only hope to get out of the fires.I had ran 15 km with my small,young sister on my back and my mother running along side me holding my hand,our dog Kipper running ahead,Finally we found the tractor and moved fast to the beach.

Suddenly the tractor stopped we had arrived at the beach,We will have to stay here until the fires had been put out near the road we have to take to get to Melbourne,We would take the ferry to Devon port and we would stay there at uncle Mike’s house while he is on holiday.We walked on the soft sand,it has felt like it had been forever since I had touched the ground with my feet,Kipper ran straight into the water refreshing her burnt fragile paws,She was so happy to be on land she ran into the fire free bushes,then she started barking,she wouldn’t stop,she ran up to me and started to pull at my pant leg,she wanted me to follow her she suddenly darted back into the bush I ran after her,she stopped in front of a eucalyptus bush I saw an unforgettable sight,

a dead stiff koala,Suddenly there was a little movement in her pouch there was a baby inside.I took off my slightly singed cowboy hat my dad had once worn I carefully placed the joey inside it,I had done a project about koalas in school and knew the koala was about eight months old and was on solid food.His fur was a grey,smokey color so I named him Smokey,Smokey’s paws were singed black and so was his nose,I had to take care of him,I was at the right place at the right time,Smokey was the newest addition to our family.

The salt water helped Smokey’s paws and nose heal we used ripped up sheets to use as bandages on his arm which we soon discovered was broken, in about two weeks`he only needed a sling to support it and the roads were clear from the fires,the next morning we left to travel to Melbourne, but this time we traveled by train,it took us three hours to arrive to the ferry in Melbourne.We slept in a friend’s car who was also traveling to Devon port it took us seventeen long hours to arrive to Devon port.

At Uncle Mike’s house we made a home for Smokey we put a net over a large eucalyptus tree so he couldn’t escape.One day he didn’t come for his evening cuddle I looked for him and found him next to his favorite log he looked lonely.The next day we decided to rescue another male koala from a rescue shelter to keep him company,we named him Ash.Smokey and Ash got along together like a house on fire we would find them cuddling together.One day we found Ash lying on the ground we checked him,It turned out Ash was a girl and she had a joey in her pouch,it was a little baby girl her fur was brick color,we named her Flame.

Years passed and Flame,Ash and Smokey lived together in Uncle Mike’s house,Uncle Mike’s passed away and I inherited his property.

One day Smokey became sick we couldn’t help him,the vet told us he only had days to live.It became unbearable to not be near him,Smokey was a part of our family he had made a new addition to our family to.He was so bonded with me he wouldn’t leave my side although he was sick every evening he would climb into my arms and stay there for hours.His last day was miserable we could tell he would go that day,in the evening he climbed into my arms and cuddled me,he passed away in my arms.

Smokey was my Koala I loved him and he loved me.When the smoke went away I had Smokey he had made a Flame and had loved Ash,He was the fire in my heart.