Island (Description of a Place)
This is part of a collection of short pieces all focusing on a specific type of writing. The description of this Balkan island village is modelled on Mali Losinj in Croatia where I spent many summers before moving to Australia. It also contains some features of Greek islands. Ms Purvis (Year 11) gave me A+ for this work.
Riding the tide, the filthy, worn-out fishing boats conclude their daily trek around the surrounding islands, bringing with them the squawking of over-optimistic seagulls. The soft afternoon sun catches their glistening white feathers as they flock around the busy anglers, hoping for a feed. A warm, summer breeze blowing over the crystal-clear Adriatic is greeted by the row of palms dividing the dock from the countless small shops reaching into the nearby hills. From the narrow alleyways of the village comes the buzz of tourists, unsuccessfully attempting to reject offers from the parasitic local merchants. “T-shirts, T-shirts, good T-shirts!” “Fresh bread buy here!” “Leather shoes, very, very cheap!” The unmistakable aroma of perfectly baked wood-fired pizza wafting down from a nearby shop is accompanied by the scent of a truckload of fresh fish further up the coarse bitumen road. Navigating around the brightly-clothed travelers, starving strays hunt desperately for discarded food. Occasionally a sympathetic passerby tosses a piece of his meal to one of the animals which quickly darts out of sight of his comrades. Deep orange pouring into the seaside windows illuminates the contents of each of the spartan concrete cottages. On the balcony of one of the more prominent structures, sit an older couple drinking coffee from minute cups and discussing the years passed, watching the sun slide down behind the sea. The chatter of every tongue imaginable rings in the air as day on the small Balkan island slowly draws to a close.
Copyright © 1999 Andrej Bece
