Year 5 Writers and Year 6 Illustrators

Drifting Away

By Elizer Sang

2nd Place, Wilberforce

The meadow was quieter now. My mother’s flowers, which had once bloomed, were gone. I remember the time we sat near a small river by our house; it was a beautiful moment. The air pressure felt like it was collapsing on me.

Mist filled the air like never before.
My mum had once said, “That one sure looks like a rabbit, doesn’t it?” I would squint up at the clouds, trying to make out the shapes she saw. Our hands had reached into the sky, tracing them. The clouds drifted lazily, like the world was giving us space to breathe.
To think.
To be.

Life had been great with her by my side, and then everything changed. I was eight when my mother passed away. They told me it had been sudden, that it had happened quickly, but the whole world slowed around me. It felt as though I had drifted off and found myself caught in a nightmare. 

I count the clouds, awakening myself to reality. The cloud inside my heart has gone from light and delightful, to a heavy nimbostratus cloud.

Everything felt different.

Years passed, and seasons shifted. I found myself on the hill again, lying back in the grass, my eyes drifting up to the sky. I gazed up at the clouds, and felt the grass tickle the backs of my legs, and for a moment, I almost forgot she wasn’t lying there beside me. The world around me hadn’t changed at all, but mine had. Now that she’s gone and I’m all alone, my world will never be the same. I remembered there used to be a small rabbit burrow near the creek. It is still there. The clouds hovered above me.

I lay still, listening to the quiet rustle of leaves and the soft hum of the world around me. The clouds moved above, slow and deliberate, as if they had something to say. There was no rushing, no hurry. Just the peaceful drift of the sky, rolling over itself in soft layers. And then, I saw it.

A cloud began to shift and form. Slowly, it took shape, becoming more distinct with each passing minute. It took the shape of a rabbit, just like the ones my mum used to point out. Not perfectly, but enough for me to know. My heart clenched. I felt tears coming, plummeting down my cheeks as I struggled to fight them off. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. This moment of messy, snot-covered, hyperventilating, gargling sobs was ultimately relieving. I knew that the clouds felt the same way as me when they became heavy and couldn’t hold it in either, releasing as a torrent of rain.

As the rain came to a stop, the clouds gave me a gift I wasn’t expecting. My mum wasn’t gone. She was there, in the vapor of the air, and in the soft drift of the clouds that formed bunnies, just for me.

The wind began to pick up, and the clouds shifted once more. The rabbits I saw moments ago, disappeared. Some broke apart, dissipating into the blue sky, while others gathered in new patterns, forming layers upon layers, as if the sky itself was knitting a blanket for me. My mother had liked to knit; she had said the serenity of it gave her peace of mind.

At that moment I understood that love doesn’t disappear or evaporate. It lingers. It might drift away and be hidden by the night sky, but it always returns. For the rest of my life, I will always see her in the clouds that drift on before a storm, illuminated by sunsets, or glowing pink as the sun rises in the morning.

The Magic Secret of Skyville

By Mariam Ireland

Highly Commended, Lewis 

In the village of Skyville, there was something magical about the sky. The village sat on a high plateau, with houses made of light stone and roofs were covered in shining tiles that sparkled in the sunlight. The villagers didn’t just look up at the clouds; they lived with them as if they were a part of their daily lives. They had soaring bridges made of clouds that connected different parts of the city, and the market stalls sold fresh and tasty cloudberries and all sorts of fruits that grew only in the sky.

Among the villagers was a curious and adventurous boy named Leo. Leo loved to climb higher than anyone else, scaling the tallest trees and the steepest hills to see just how far he could go. But there was one thing he would always wonder about; the mysterious floating islands he had heard stories about. They were said to be far above Skyville, beyond the reach of the tallest bridges and the highest hills, where only the bravest could go.

“I’m going to find them,” Leo told his best friend Ella as they watched the evening sunset from the edge of Skyville.

“You’re crazy,” Ella replied with a laugh. “No one has ever gotten past the clouds. It’s too dangerous.”

But Leo wasn’t afraid. He had always felt a strange pull toward the sky, as though something waited for him up there. That night, after the stars began to twinkle and the moon rose high, Leo decided he would go beyond the clouds, no matter what.

The next morning, he packed a small bag with snacks, a notebook, and a rope, and set off toward the tallest tower in Skyville, known as the Skyreach. It was the only place that touched the clouds, built by the first settlers of the village who had dreamed of reaching the stars.

As Leo climbed to the top, the wind grew stronger. The higher he went, the more the clouds seemed to swirl around him. It was as if the sky itself was trying to pull him in, urging him to climb higher. And then, just as he reached the very top, something amazing happened.

The clouds parted before him, and a narrow path of glowing light appeared, leading into the heart of the sky. It was the staircase he had heard about in the stories, the path that only those with a true desire to explore could find. Without a second thought, Leo stepped onto the glowing steps and began to climb. The further he went, the more the world below him seemed to disappear. Leo found himself soaring through a sky unlike anything he had ever seen. The air was brisk and cool, and the stars shimmered like diamonds, lighting the way.

Leo finally reached the top of the staircase, sweat dripped from his forehead and the sound of huffing and puffing was all you could hear. There were floating islands everywhere, some small and others as large as mountains. They hovered effortlessly in the sky, connected by bright beams of light. The ground was soft and bouncy, made of fluffy clouds.

“This is it,” Leo whispered, his heart racing with excitement. “This is the place!” He wandered through the islands, amazed by the beauty around him. As he explored, he discovered that each island had its own unique secret. One island had trees that grew upside down, with their roots reaching toward the stars. Another was home to glowing creatures with wings that sparkled in the dark. But the most extraordinary discovery came when Leo found a crystal-clear lake in the centre of one island. The water was so still it looked like a mirror, and when Leo gazed into it, he saw something fantastic. In the reflection, Leo saw Skyville below, but it was different. The village was glowing, its houses and bridges shimmered with light, and the villagers were smiling up at him. But there was something more; he saw himself, standing in the clouds, surrounded by the mysteries of the sky.

“You’ve found the secret of Skyville,” a soft voice said, and Leo turned to see a figure made of light and stars. The figure was tall and graceful, with wings that shimmered like the Milky Way.

“Who are you?” Leo asked in awe.

“I am Arthur, the guardian of the sky,” the figure replied. “You’ve discovered the true sky, the one that exists beyond the clouds, where all dreams and possibilities live. This is the place where your adventure truly begins.”

Arthur smiled. “You are the first from Skyville to reach this land, and you will be the bridge between the two worlds, the one below and the one above. The skies are always open for those who seek the unknown.”

Leo felt a thrill of excitement. He had always known there was more to the world than what he could see, and now he understood. The floating islands, the glowing bridges, and the creatures of the sky were part of something much bigger, a world full of secrets waiting to be uncovered. And he was the one who would uncover them.

After spending what felt like days exploring the floating islands and learning from Arthur, Leo knew it was time to return. With a heart full of new knowledge and a head full of dreams, he descended the glowing staircase, carrying with him the magic of the sky.

When he returned to Skyville, the villagers were amazed by his story. As Leo looked up at the clouds, he knew that the sky was no longer a mystery. It was a world he would always be connected to, a world full of adventure, magic, and endless possibilities.

From that day on, Leo often climbed the tallest tower, not just to look at the sky, but to listen for the whispers of adventure that always seemed to come from beyond the clouds.