Neddy tumbled down the steep side of the gully, the sharp rocks and brambles scratching and pulling at him as he hurtled past. He rolled and skidded all the way to the bottom and landed with a bump.
For a moment he lay there, staring up at the blue sky—his heart pounded and he wasn’t even sure if he could move. The tears welled in his eyes as he tried to sit up; everything seemed to hurt. Looking down he saw that his pant leg was torn and a big red scratch arced up his shin. He hands were filled with dozens of tiny cuts and nicks where he’d tried to grab on to anything as he fell.
Hot tears splashed down his cheeks. He wrapped his hands around his legs, and rested his head on his knees as he cried. Slowly the tears began to subside but the feeling of wanting his mam’s arms around him didn’t. The warm breeze blew over him, ruffling his hair as it passed.
Neddy looked up and wiped the tears away with the back of his hand. The gully was narrow with tall sides running along its length, the ground was dry and rocky with only a few straggling plants trying to cling to life. A ribbon-thin trickle of water splashed its way through the almost dry creek bed. In winter the creek would have gushed its way through the gully, probably all the way up to where Neddy was sitting, but this was summer and the fact that there was still water was a miracle in itself.
At the end of the gully was a clump of wattle trees, and on the other side of the creek a series of rocks that stood higher than Neddy’s father against the far gully wall. Not far from Neddy was a tangled bush of blackberries. Another puff of wind blew against him and he could smell the sweet scent of the sun-ripe fruit.
He glanced at a fragile everlasting daisy, which seemed to be growing against the odds in such a hard place. He reached out and touched its pink petals but left it alone. Normally he would have picked the flower and given it to his mam because she always said that they were her favourite. But this time he left the little daisy; his mam wasn’t here but somehow it made him feel that maybe she wasn’t that far away.
Neddy slowly stood up. The scratches were still stinging a bit, but other than that he was fairly certain that he was all right. He scanned the gully and wondered just how hard it was going to be to get out of it. As he turned around he spied his friend the rabbit not far away.
‘Did you fall down too, Peter?’ Neddy asked as he walked towards the rabbit. He expected it to hop away like it had done for most of the afternoon, but this time the animal stayed put. Encouraged, Neddy slowly edged his way closer.
‘It’s all right, I won’t hurt you,’ he said quietly. ‘I promise.’
The rabbit went to hop but it was clear that one of its legs was hurt and made it impossible for the animal to scurry away.
Neddy scooped the rabbit up in his arms. It struggled for a moment but then settled down.
‘I’ll look after you. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be scared,’ he cooed as he patted it gently. ‘We’ll be fine, I promise.’ Neddy said the words but maybe they were more for him than the rabbit. The sun was dipping and the shadows were beginning to lengthen. All he wanted was to be home and show Mam his new friend—and hoped that she’d let him keep it. But the night was coming and he wasn’t sure which way was home. Staying here by himself was scary but walking around in the bush at night might be even worse.
He patted the rabbit. ‘Well, Peter, what should we do?’
Neddy walked over to the trickle of water, there were a few little clumps of long grass. He picked a couple of blades and held them up to the rabbit, which nibbled on the end of one.
Neddy smiled. Even if they stayed here tonight, at least he wasn’t alone.