While the rest of the world...

here we was fucken great. There's jist us here now.

I think it was Daz who finished ‘em off - I thought might ‘ave been Trent but he's a lazy bugger and can hardly be arsed to git off lounge unless they’s food involved. An he’s mostly off his face smoking any shit he can find. So it must ‘ave been Daz. He’s the one who most gives a crap about keeping the land vermin free. Weren’t me - I jus been here in the after times - lucky to git taken in. Must ave bin tweny days give or take, wandering in the desert - ya’ couldn’t live in towns unless you had a wollap of cash only fat cats is there and thems that wait on ‘em.

Quite frankly, we are doing as well as can be expected. Yes, there is no denying that being an island unto ourselves has its drawbacks. We miss skiing in Japan, touring the grand old cities of Europe, most of us would even settle for Bing Tang in Bali. And we haven’t seen the children since they migrated a decade ago - well, not in person. We used flash-fam weekly, and they still check in at least once a month - if we have capacity. It’s getting spotty even for us.

I chucked it in - when the schools all shut and we was supposed to learn by phones. Wasn’t doing too bad before then but we was on the fringes. Ma wasn’t doing too good, she’s got the shakes so I left before she went down hill - couldn’t watch that again. Took her cashcard, weren’t likely she’d need it for long. I’d use the pittance welfare till it ran out. Stole away i by foot for a bit, then train but I didn't know it was heading to a dead-end depo - stopped way out there, middle of nothing - was automated too - not even a driver for help - in the night i couldn’t see she was a rust bucket. Good riddance sez i and found a tap filled every container i could find, heaps of old plastics around, heavy as hell but what choice did I have?

The biggest change for us? - well, we’re fine. Financially, it’s been fantastic because everyone is forced to buy local but others haven’t done so well. And you should see the numbers of the homeless, the parks are all campgrounds now. The government has given up on shifting them. It wouldn’t be so terrible if they’d just keep the place clean. Do you know I saw a woman washing nappies in the fountain? You can’t blame our government - with so many unemployed they don’t have the taxes and the rest of the world has turned away. Funny, I remember when the pollies made a big deal about turning the boats back and now people are fleeing here to get to NZ or even Indonesia. A family from the west - I think they were Pacific Islanders, attempted to cross the ditch in a zodiac but the NZ officials refused them entry and they sank on the attempt to get home. Shame it seems as if the world has gone heartless.

The old station had been ransacked once or twice over but i figured there might be something around. Worth a look, travellers got to be crafty, always on the lookout. The office had nothing but the bedsit had a few treasures. Under the mattress was somebody’s loot - an envelope with some paper money (not sure if anyone would take it but it looked nice anyhow and a photograph of a pretty girl (not that I’m picky) and this necklace with a heart. Some love token i figured - it’s old, dinged up, probably cheap tin or whatnot but it meant something to somebody so now it meant something to me.

It is the poor kids who have it the worst. Public schools shut down, they tried to save money by teaching on phones. Soon after that drug use and crime went right up. We had three break-ins before we hired our own security company. It was all insured but I can’t replace the sentimental value. My father gave me a silver chain with a heart shaped locket when I turned eighteen. It was an antique, not that valuable but it meant something to me and they took my paper money collection. It's not even currency anymore.

Don’t ask me how I lived so long - i got food here and there scavenging - cooked up once some god awful carcass after scaring off the dingos. A body can last a lot longer than you’d think. I was pretty much a skeleton when Daz drove by me perchance and give me water and some grub and took me here. He don’t look like he got much of a heart but he hates to see kids and dogs suffer. Lucky i was still a kid.

I worry that it is not healthy being locked out of the world. I fear that we’re sliding backwards and things feel dangerous. Our suburb still retains that air of a civilised past but the same cannot be said for the city (We don’t go there anymore) . It's a disgrace, grubby, grey seems like a urinal. Forget hearing kookaburras, it's all sirens day and night. And don’t think that going bush is an option, I’ve heard the country towns are turning feral, you can’t trust anyone. People go missing. My neighbour's daughter, she’s only fourteen, has been gone for weeks.

It's a big place out there and not many people around, even before, but now we are on the endangered species list - Daz sez it's a good thing. He gives me the news from his travels - he goes to the town alone, at night, to gather supplies and whatnot. He won’t risk me or Trent or the girls. He specially wants to keep them safe - the mothers he calls ‘em. He’s Adam - they are his Eves. If he finds a new girl in trouble he rescues her and brings her back. Last month he says he found a poor thing running from the fat cats - she’s been (Daz’s word) ‘convalescing’ for a couple weeks - we won’t see her till she’s well enough. Shell shock he says like the war. He takes real good care, doesn’t leave them alone - they love him so much. I give him the necklace and the money for thanks. The first Missus, she wears it - I think the others are jealous. Anyway story goes it was Daz who got rid of the fat cat family that was here before. Real bad folks - ruining the land with their filthy cows and sheep. He saved their girl - she’s the Missus with my heart necklace - the one ready to pop with baby number two. Daz is gonna heal the land, we are the new owners. Starting fresh.

But there is no point in worrying. I should stay positive after all, life goes on. I remind myself that shops are full and the sun is shining. I've got my health. I’m blessed with a good husband and plenty of friends. There is nothing really to worry about because everything always works out in the end and if it hasn’t worked out it isn’t the end!