Reflecting light

Featured in

  • Published 20211102
  • ISBN: 978-1-922212-65-8
  • Extent: 264pp
  • Paperback (234 x 153mm), eBook

DAYS FROM NOW, when the ship pitches so hard Jesse is woken being tossed from the bed, he’ll remember his first moments on board. He’ll know the placement of furniture in the tiny room by memory, and in the dark, his eyes still adjusting, he’ll find his life vest, his mobile phone, his water bottle, remembering everything he’s ever heard about dehydration being the biggest killer at sea. He’ll fill the silver bottle in the bathroom sink and drink the water down in gulps before filling the bottle again. He won’t know how late it is but he’ll assume it’s after midnight by the way the water sloshes in his empty stomach. On the way out of his cabin, he’ll grab his weatherproof coat and his lanyard and it won’t be until he’s in the hallway that he’ll realise he needs to decide where he’s going. His parents’ room is just next door. But they are no longer the only people on board that he cares about. He needs to decide, if he’s going down, who he should be with.

 

Already a subscriber? Sign in here

If you are an educator or student wishing to access content for study purposes please contact us at griffithreview@griffith.edu.au

Share article

More from author

Whale station

FictionI SPIED THE bull turning circles an hour out from Yellow Patch. I was alone on the Looma, the cool August air settling on...

More from this edition

In America 1979

PoetryIn America, I was no longer who I thought I was; one time in America, I was a white person helping an elderly black...

Welcome

FictionFROM THE TIME Kurt Talker disappeared, presumed drowned, people began to claim him. They named his parents, his extended family, even whose Old People’s...

Away from the edge

Non-fictionMY MOTHER EMIGRATED to Australia on the SS Australis in 1967 as a ten-pound Pom. I first opened my eyes at 1.42 am in the...

Stay up to date with the latest, news, articles and special offers from Griffith Review.