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Oblivious to the irony, Ramona plied her walking advertisement through Pitt Street mall, even as the rumble in her tummy intensified. Coming from the blasted north of England, she was ignorant of the history of this once grand thoroughfare, although had she bothered, she would have found herself in the familiar surrounds of urban decay, and promised regeneration.
When she left home five months earlier, she had not realised that a “working holiday” meant just that. She’d had visions of packing around the countryside, traipsing from beach to pub to beach, taking the evening bus bound for the next tropical paradise. She had not factored in the distances, nor the dust, nor the flies and mosquitoes. But here she was walking the city, penniless and hungry.
Not for her the beauty of the Strand Arcade, or the sadness of the decimated Sydney Arcade. She was focussed on one thing only.
A member of the Weekend Writer's Retreat
6 comments:
I love the link between the sign and the girl's story.
Very good - your stories really do pull me into another world besides my own.
This one sent me to google "working holiday" since I hadn't heard of it before. I like your insights into the differences between expectations and reality. I think every traveler has felt that.
Another interesting perspective, Julie. I've noticed a lot of your snippets deal with young people finding their independence - is this on purpose?
BTW - the picture immediately reminded me of Carol Shields' novel Unless. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend. Unlike your picture and story, Shield's young woman looking for herself has chosen to be homeless and sits on the sidewalk with a hand painted sign "Unless". Fascinating story.
what a great idea this is... love the story, but I think you spelt blessed wrong... as in northern england, lol. god's country we call it, but maybe we're biased, mind you there are plenty who go out dressed like that without even putting a vest on, on a freezing winter's night...
What a great photo and what a great job you have done with this piece!
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