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One morning as Olivia walked through the town centre, she saw
one of her students, Moree, sitting dejectedly on the footpath. Atop
the concrete in front of her rested a small canvas hat filled with only
a few pieces of loose change. Moree had once told her that her name
meant water or a spring, and Olivia could see why. In this land of
dirt and dust, Moree was a tranquil river. She seemed to be
untarnished by the squalor around her, her eyes always sparkled
with a hunger for learning. Yet here she was reduced to begging on
a footpath, treated as a ghost by passing legs. How many of the
others lived like this? Darri, Eerin, Jarrah, did they spend their
nights begging too? The sight of this young girl seemed to grip
Olivia’s heart, but she didn’t approach her. Instead, she let herself
fade slowly into the throng of patrons, as much of a ghost as Moree.
That night Olivia couldn’t sleep. The image of the young girl
haunted the darkness, creeping into her mind just as the first lull of
sleep would wash over her. Beneath her back grains of sand rubbed
her skin. They were always there. No matter howmany times Olivia
shook out the bag once she got back in there was always more of the
grit inside. Finally, after hours of tossing and turning she kicked out
of the sleeping bag and ripped it from the bed. She made her way to
the thin wooden door and opened it forcefully. Her face was slapped
with a sudden burst of cool night air and into the darkness she threw
the bag. ‘Jesus Christ enough with the sand! Enough with all of this!
If you like sand so much just stay out there.’ As her heart slowed in
its racing and nothing but silence answered her screeching, Olivia
realised that she was, in fact, shouting at a sleeping bag.
The following morning Olivia arrived at the school early to set
up. She walked through the rusted gates and admired the sky above
her. It was the first time since she had arrived that the day was cold,
sky overcast, and air heavy with moisture. Even the school building
itself, which had previously been a vivid red brick seemed drained of
colour. How fitting! The glum exterior matched her interior. Once
the class started Olivia took it upon herself to study every child
closely and imagine what their home life was like. Poverty, abuse,
squalor, there was not one person who Olivia believed had a happy
home. If they had, they wouldn’t be here. Yet still they came to
school everyday and laughed in the yard during lunch. Adoni,
Gannan, Darri, Moree, Eerin, all of them, despite where they had
come from. For the first time in her life, Olivia felt truly ashamed. It
Of Dust And
Dirt And Other
Godly Beings
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