take a run up to get
to the top and then slowly and carefully go down sideways. When we
were at the top of a rock dune we could see forever. It was like
being on top of the world because the ground below was so flat and
went on and on. The Olgas, another famous Aboriginal sacred site,
looked like a pile of random rocks in the distance. Every now and
again there was a miniature mountain of stones, like someone had
made gifts for any visiting aliens. We kept going up and down, up
and down.
Finally, we saw a few people crowded round a
fat stone post. We ran to it. Harry touched it first. Beaten by a
seven year old again - embarrassing, I know. There was a brass
plate with lots of arrows pointing to places.
Harry said, "Let's get to the end of the
rock."
We ran off and danced in circles while we
whooped as loud as we could. We'd done it! We'd reached the top. We
probably should've got in Guinness World
Records for the fastest ever time for two kids to climb
Uluru.
I stopped because I got dizzy from going
round in circles. Then I realized we were the only ones on the top.
Everyone else had gone back down. Suddenly it felt spooky. It was
too quiet. That sort of quiet there is when something bad is about
to happen.
Harry was still running around in circles
like a maniac. "Come on," I called out. "We should get going."
He yelled back, "I like it up here."
I couldn't be stuffed arguing with him. I
did what Mom used to do with me. "Fine," I said, "but I'm going
back down." I turned my back to him and walked back over to the
path of broken white lines. For several seconds, I heard nothing
and then ...
"WAIT!"
I stopped. Then I heard a sound that stopped
my heart beating.
8. THE
HERO
I heard a long piercing
scream, then a thud. I turned and ran back to Harry. He was face
down and wailing at the top of his voice. His foot had caught in a
deep gap in a rock and he'd fallen flat on his face. A broken
branch had pierced his shorts and there was blood seeping out. The
branch must've stabbed his thigh as he fell.
He turned his head so I could see his face.
"My leg, my leg."
I kneeled beside him and freed his foot.
"You'll be okay."
Tears streamed down his face; his wails
quieted to sobs.
I stood up and looked round. There really
wasn't one other person on the top of Uluru. We were alone. I felt
sick. Real sick.
"Harry, I'm going to roll you onto your
back. You're bleeding; we've got to stop it." He was too terrified
to move. I was real gentle, but he screamed a few times. Still, I
guess he was pretty brave. His leg had a bend in it that shouldn't
have been there, but I didn't tell him.
"I don't suppose you have one of those big
grandpa hankies in your pocket?" I asked.
"Nooo," he moaned.
Of course he didn't. I had no choice. I took
off my Manchester United shirt, cleaned the wound with it and tied
it tightly around the very top of his leg. Harry made a couple of
sudden movements, but like magic, the bleeding stopped. I tried not
to wonder if Mom would be able to get the blood out of my shirt.
Near us, I found a rock that I put under the foot with the broken
leg. And then I put my backpack under his head and gave him a few
sips of water.
"Thanks," he whispered.
I knew there was a reason I'd broken my leg
last year. Maybe Nanna was right: Everything
happens for a reason. But there was still one thing to
do. The problem was that if I did it wrong I might make things
worse. I thought hard and decided I had to try.
From the bottom of Uluru you'd never know
there were small trees on top. The aliens must've put them there in
case someone broke their leg and needed a splint. I broke off two
branches. They weren't perfectly flat like my splint had been. The
cord from the surf jacket that I carried in my backpack would have
to do to tie the splint. It wasn't long enough, so I used one of my
shoelaces as well. Harry asked me if I knew what I was doing, so I
told him the story of how I broke my leg.
"One day," I said, "I told my
to the top and then slowly and carefully go down sideways. When we
were at the top of a rock dune we could see forever. It was like
being on top of the world because the ground below was so flat and
went on and on. The Olgas, another famous Aboriginal sacred site,
looked like a pile of random rocks in the distance. Every now and
again there was a miniature mountain of stones, like someone had
made gifts for any visiting aliens. We kept going up and down, up
and down.
Finally, we saw a few people crowded round a
fat stone post. We ran to it. Harry touched it first. Beaten by a
seven year old again - embarrassing, I know. There was a brass
plate with lots of arrows pointing to places.
Harry said, "Let's get to the end of the
rock."
We ran off and danced in circles while we
whooped as loud as we could. We'd done it! We'd reached the top. We
probably should've got in Guinness World
Records for the fastest ever time for two kids to climb
Uluru.
I stopped because I got dizzy from going
round in circles. Then I realized we were the only ones on the top.
Everyone else had gone back down. Suddenly it felt spooky. It was
too quiet. That sort of quiet there is when something bad is about
to happen.
Harry was still running around in circles
like a maniac. "Come on," I called out. "We should get going."
He yelled back, "I like it up here."
I couldn't be stuffed arguing with him. I
did what Mom used to do with me. "Fine," I said, "but I'm going
back down." I turned my back to him and walked back over to the
path of broken white lines. For several seconds, I heard nothing
and then ...
"WAIT!"
I stopped. Then I heard a sound that stopped
my heart beating.
8. THE
HERO
I heard a long piercing
scream, then a thud. I turned and ran back to Harry. He was face
down and wailing at the top of his voice. His foot had caught in a
deep gap in a rock and he'd fallen flat on his face. A broken
branch had pierced his shorts and there was blood seeping out. The
branch must've stabbed his thigh as he fell.
He turned his head so I could see his face.
"My leg, my leg."
I kneeled beside him and freed his foot.
"You'll be okay."
Tears streamed down his face; his wails
quieted to sobs.
I stood up and looked round. There really
wasn't one other person on the top of Uluru. We were alone. I felt
sick. Real sick.
"Harry, I'm going to roll you onto your
back. You're bleeding; we've got to stop it." He was too terrified
to move. I was real gentle, but he screamed a few times. Still, I
guess he was pretty brave. His leg had a bend in it that shouldn't
have been there, but I didn't tell him.
"I don't suppose you have one of those big
grandpa hankies in your pocket?" I asked.
"Nooo," he moaned.
Of course he didn't. I had no choice. I took
off my Manchester United shirt, cleaned the wound with it and tied
it tightly around the very top of his leg. Harry made a couple of
sudden movements, but like magic, the bleeding stopped. I tried not
to wonder if Mom would be able to get the blood out of my shirt.
Near us, I found a rock that I put under the foot with the broken
leg. And then I put my backpack under his head and gave him a few
sips of water.
"Thanks," he whispered.
I knew there was a reason I'd broken my leg
last year. Maybe Nanna was right: Everything
happens for a reason. But there was still one thing to
do. The problem was that if I did it wrong I might make things
worse. I thought hard and decided I had to try.
From the bottom of Uluru you'd never know
there were small trees on top. The aliens must've put them there in
case someone broke their leg and needed a splint. I broke off two
branches. They weren't perfectly flat like my splint had been. The
cord from the surf jacket that I carried in my backpack would have
to do to tie the splint. It wasn't long enough, so I used one of my
shoelaces as well. Harry asked me if I knew what I was doing, so I
told him the story of how I broke my leg.
"One day," I said, "I told my
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