Day 34

Andrew was on the warship. He gave us some food that wll last us for a few hours. He apologised for coming late because of some paperwork. I could see that he cared a lot for us. I did not want him to go. I tried to ask him questions to make him stay. We were united with Omar once again and we were glad that all of us were safe and sound..

Day 33

Rashida called for me from below the boat. I had no energy to respond. There was a warship heading towards us. People from our boat begged them not to shoot as there were babies on board. I wasn't panicking. I knew who were they, i recognise their warship's flag, they are the Australians. They are here to rescue us.

Day 32

I've lost Rashida and Omar. Now we are only left with Bibi and I. We were trying as hard as we could to scoop the water out of the boat. We were almost out of strength, starving in the cold oily water. I tried to keep on by thinking of my ancestors, suffering more than i do. Everyone was amazed that Bibi could hold on for such a long time despite the tiring work of scooping the water. No one knew the reason, only i do, it is because her father was a baker.

Day 31

My hips hurt a lot but i tried very hard to concentrate on my footwork. Bibi's scream broke the silence of the atmosphere. A huge dark wave came crashing on us. .

Day 30

A boat drove near our boat, and it was not dad and mum's boat. There were no one on the deck except some men standing with automatic weapons watching us. We found out that they were pirates! They shook hands with our smugglers. I thought that they were just friends chatting away. Instead, they dragged people and taken all their valuables. Omar was right, he knew that we would have been abandoned. But i came to know thta they are not after money but instead after girls who are without their parents. I was afraid that they would take Bibi and Rashida along. Bibi and Rashida wore hats and shorts on their heads posing as boys. We played football with our knees as only boys can play football well with their knees. I made him trip when he wanted to kick my ball away. He was teased and laughed at. That moment, he was very angry, he kicked me in my hips and it hurt a lot. Luckily, Bibi did not fight back or they would be exposed. After that, they left the boat and gone away, leaving us on the horizon with a boatful of starving people. The worst has come.....

Day 29

Bibi was already impatient, she did not want to stay on the boat anymore. The food and water on the boat ran out. And today was Bibi's birthday, i had completely forgotten about it. I tried to comfort her that when we get to Australia, people there would help her celebrate her birthday. We chatted about the food we liked so as to kill time. Bibi told us about her saddening story. She looked very sad after her story as i could see from her eyes. After these, Bibi's birthday did not feel happy anymore.

Day 28

I woke up feeling awful. But i realised i'm not seasick anymore. The engine has stopped, the atmosphere was silent. The chief smuggler came out, trying to cheat us that we needed to pay another hundred dollars to go to Australia. At that moment, there was chaos. They threatened to turn back. At that very moment, Rashida reluctantly handed them a watch. It was a valuable, the chief accepted it and continued going around collecting money. I was so grateful to her and her dad. The watch was a present from her dad using his savings. I started to think about dad and mum, wondering what would they pay the chief if the chief smuggler also comes out collecting money.

Day 27

Omar loved my bread. But i did not felt proud as i was too seasick. The waves have gone bigger. There was still five days to go and i must persevere. Rashida took great care of me as i was feeling horrible. Omar was sick too, but Bibi suspected that he was just jealous of me. There were many children and old people suffering even more than us..I hoped we would get there soon.....

Day 26

The sailors did not stop me. I was baking bread on a diesel engine. I tried my best to cook it as fast as i can as Bibi was still up on the deck. The sailors were very impatient, they kept rushing me to bake the cake quickly and their impatient face made me stressed. It was really smart of Rashida's parents to put flour in her bag for emergency use. And hence they waited quietly for the bread to be ready.

Day 25

Everyone stayed away from us. A woman came offering us a bowl of soup. I wanted to pass it to Bibi but i realised that she was staring at the big pot of soup instead with longing and hatred. The teenage girl introduced herself as Rashida and explained that she had taken her brother's name after ha had passed away. I could see from her eyes that she loved her parents a lot too. She was also starving. She opened her bag and took out a can of sardines and a bottle of water. She gave Omar, Bibi and i each a sardine. She passed Bibi the bottle of water and said that the taste would not be as bad with the water. I promised that i would repay her when we get to Australia, and i taught her some of my soccer skills like bouncing the balls from knees to knees. We were still very hungry, i decided to peer into her bag to check if she had got more sardines but she did not. But i spotted something even more precious than gold, there was flour in her bag.......

Day 24

We were sailing towards Australia. It was very squeezy, i prayed that no one vomits. Bibi and i was starving and we were starting to miss our parents. Two of the sailors dished out noodle soup from a metal pot. One of them was the man who quarreled with us, i was worried that he might not give us a proper set meal. I spotted fire from beneath the person in front of us, the person's blanket was on fire. I dragged the blanket and managed to put out the fire by jumping on it. When i returned it to her, i was shocked that she was a teenage girl and was not covering her face and hair and was even wearing makeup. The sailor accused the girl for starting the fire and we started helping her protest as well. I wanted to step forward to confront him but the teenage girl pulled me, telling me that it is not the worth to fight with them as the one ending up losing would be me. At that moment, i realised that i was in love with her.......

Day 23

I had to move fast, i tried to look for a smuggler at that moment. I realised that we were on the wrong boat. I asked the sailor for help once again. All he knew was spitting on the boat. He ignored us, we were so angry but we had no choice as he was the only one that could help us. Bibi grabbed an umbrella from other crowd. The boat was about to move within seconds, i begged the sailor to send a radio message to the boat mum and dad was on. He merely told us to sit down and walked. I am not so patient this time. Before i wanted to think of any idea to get down the boat, the boy who snatched my ball shouted from the camp. He got onto the boat as well and sat beside us. He introduced himself to us, his name was Omar. He comforted us and i realised that he was always by my side when i needed help. He said that we would be united with our parents in Australia if we're lucky .His words comforted me...

Day 22

I tried to struggle to near the water and jumped into the water . A face appeared before me and i realised it was Bibi,i could not reach her, and i felt was something hurting my back. I was being pulled up and was lying on the deck of the boat when i opened my eyes, my lips were all numb and salty. I tried to look around for mum and dad, i spotted two figures which looked very alike to them, it was really them. I was so lost at the moment, they were on the back of the boat shouting for us. The boat they were on was pulled away from the shore, i so much wanted them to stop the boat, I was so frightened.....

Day 21

Everyone was rushing around, i thought that they were after my ball, but it's not, they were going on board. I spotted them after looking for a long time. We struggled through the crowd. But before we reached mum and dad, Bibi suggested that she is wants to go grab the ball. Even befor she went, the boy who grabbed our ball in the morning appeared and decided to help us get the ball. But he could not get his balance and eventually dropped into the water. I tried to search for help but no one seemed to understand. I grabbed a pole from the sailor which is perfect for rescuing people, but he slapped me on the ground. In my giddiness, i could make out that Bibi was actually fighting with the sailor, i wanted to help but i can't even get on my feet....