Strange Friends
Here is an illustrations full of strange friends.
Dawn lives in the outback of Australia with her disgruntled family. For years Dawn's family had lived in the city where they stole the identities of people in their graves. But one of her family members, a clumsy uncle, ruined the whole charade by getting drunk at a bar and telling a pretty girl who was also a P.I. So Dawn and her family disappeared into the dead of night. The only place they could go to be truly hidden was the Australian outback.
Dawn hadn't wanted to move. She had a life back in the city, and friends. She cried thinking of the life she left behind. She scowled at her clumsy uncle. But in her new home in the outback, she made new friends. First she befriended the animals. Kangaroos that paused to stare at her before hopping away. Lizards that scampered up her leg before realizing she was a person, which made them then scamper back down her leg and away into the brush. Dingo's that were wild and hungry but still full of that dog enthusiasm. The dingo's felt more like her friends then any of the other animals. But none of her friends ever talked back to her. Until she met the family of ghosts.
They came to her at night while she sat on her back porch looking at the stars. They had hollow eyes and neutral expressions, but their voices were beautiful. They sung Dawn songs. First there were songs about feelings, then there were songs about people and then they sung songs that were long and elaborate stories. Sometimes the stories were sinister. One time one of the story songs predicted what would happen to Dawn the next day. Sometimes the songs seemed to be about one thing but were actually about something entirely different.
The ghosts always came during the night. She never saw or heard them during the day. But she would think about the ghosts all day. She would hum their songs while she did work around the house, sweeping or baking bread. One day while hanging laundry she sang one of the ghosts songs. Her mother heard her and said, "Dawn, where did you learn such a lovely song?" Dawn replied "Oh, from one of my strange friends."
Dawn hadn't wanted to move. She had a life back in the city, and friends. She cried thinking of the life she left behind. She scowled at her clumsy uncle. But in her new home in the outback, she made new friends. First she befriended the animals. Kangaroos that paused to stare at her before hopping away. Lizards that scampered up her leg before realizing she was a person, which made them then scamper back down her leg and away into the brush. Dingo's that were wild and hungry but still full of that dog enthusiasm. The dingo's felt more like her friends then any of the other animals. But none of her friends ever talked back to her. Until she met the family of ghosts.
They came to her at night while she sat on her back porch looking at the stars. They had hollow eyes and neutral expressions, but their voices were beautiful. They sung Dawn songs. First there were songs about feelings, then there were songs about people and then they sung songs that were long and elaborate stories. Sometimes the stories were sinister. One time one of the story songs predicted what would happen to Dawn the next day. Sometimes the songs seemed to be about one thing but were actually about something entirely different.
The ghosts always came during the night. She never saw or heard them during the day. But she would think about the ghosts all day. She would hum their songs while she did work around the house, sweeping or baking bread. One day while hanging laundry she sang one of the ghosts songs. Her mother heard her and said, "Dawn, where did you learn such a lovely song?" Dawn replied "Oh, from one of my strange friends."