I secured the day off work, so that I would be around for the call from the police. Mum kissed me on the hair before going to her own...

“Is it alright if I go out with Tallulah again today?” I asked Mum. I’d come up behind her in the kitchen, while she spread Vegemite onto...

Mum, Dad and I were getting ready for work this morning, in the kitchen. “Is there anything that I can help with?” I volunteered....

This morning I went to work, because I’d been rostered on. I felt sick to my stomach as I rode my bike, unable to reconcile the...

When my alarm blasted this morning, I needed to reacquaint myself. My name is Jumilah Fioray. I am going to go to work at Woolworths. My...

I felt warm and snuggled when I woke up this morning, the room bathed in golden light. We’d need to get out of bed eventually, but for...

I woke up with a smile on my face, even though the phone was ringing. It really felt quite fancy to get a wake-up call, in preparation...

Congrats Sloane! The message came through to our work group chat. I didn’t know the context behind the message, so I left it on read and...

Thankfully, the airport hotel provided a wake-up call, dragging us out of bed before dawn. Getting into our clothes for the day, we...

Nanek assured Mum that she had her passport, her ticket, and the belongings she’d brought. She nodded her head and, stepping out of the...

Patrick and I finished our shifts around the same time. We packed up in the staffroom, ready to head off. “Are you doing anything...

Mum and Dad were already home when I came back from work. “Hello,” I greeted them, sitting in the loungeroom with Nanek. “Don’t be...

The bright sun stayed high in the sky. Nanek told me that she wasn’t used to it being sunny and this cold at the same time. I laughed...

I raised a tall, thin glass of orange juice to my lips this morning and took a sip. I was standing in the kitchen, wearing my work...

“We need to find small things which bring you joy.” I was sitting on the steps, out the back of work. When I’d finished my shift, I’d...

As soon as my alarm went off, I snoozed it. I must have drifted back off to sleep. It went off again nine minutes later, this time waking...

I woke up to the soft sound of conversation. This would be the end of the road, at least in terms of staying on the Cocos Islands. Reuben...

I was tying my thin white shoelace. After completing the double knot, Reuben scurried through the house behind me. “Are you ready?” he...

Mum, Dad and I sat around the breakfast table in our regular positions. In front of us, we all had matching plastic colourful plates of...

“Good news, Jumilah,” Reuben greeted me. I’d returned to the couch where I slept in the house near the quarantine station. The humidity...