Delegate NSW, August 1931


The girls were up early. Already the bread was in the oven and the large kettle was on to boil. The men would gather here soon, to resume the search.

The kitchen was warm, steamy from the kettle coming to the boil, and the smell of the baking bread was a comfort. The lamps glowed, pushing out the pre-dawn darkness.

“Do you think they will find her, Peggy?” asked Irene.

“Oh, don’t ask me, Irene,” replied Peggy shakily, “I can’t bear to think of that jolly little girl out there in the dark amongst the trees. She was just here the other week, toddling around this very kitchen.”

Peggy sniffed as they resumed their work in silence. Ernie Bryant’s two year old girl, Joyce, had gone missing yesterday. Ernie, who had worked at Balgownie for over a decade, had been fetched home urgently by his teenage son. Mr Walcott had offered the station as a meeting place for the search parties.

The land surrounding Balgownie station was pleasant enough on a warm spring day. There were rolling hills and the light under the forest trees was playful. But spring hadn’t come yet. With a little girl missing, the countryside was cold, dark, and hostile.

The sound of horses jolted the girls from their sad thoughts. Hooves crunched across the frosty yard.

“Les!  What are you doing here?” exclaimed Peggy.

“Me and the other lads from the rugby club are helping Ernie with the search. Thought I’d just come ahead to see ow you’re doing.”

________________ 
This piece of flash fiction or palm-sized fiction was written for week 2 of the Writing Family History unit at University of Tasmania. BM

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