Chapter 1
Missy’s rambling farm nestles itself in the middle of similar properties with green, flowing fields outside the tiny township of Smithton. Unlike the neighbouring modern brick homesteads, the farmhouse is two-storey, wobbly, unremarkable and dressed in grey sun-kissed wood. Staring out are two pensive-looking windows that have surveyed the dirt road for more than fifty years. Most days, ten-year-old Missy and her deliciously creamy and dreamy dog, Sunny, loll lazily on the thick grass in front of the rickety stairs.
Every day after school, Missy races from the bus in her grey school dress, her fiery red hair trailing behind her, as she scampers down the dirt driveway.
‘I’ve missed you!’ She veers towards Sunny, who enjoys a belly rub, his fluffy tail wagging with delight, before she darts up the front stairs and tosses her schoolbag on the floor. Missy pauses for a moment to consider greeting her mum, Wanda, but decides against it, drawing in a deep breath and racing out to her best friends in the whole wide world.
(an excerpt from Chapter 1, The Wonderful Land of Alice)
Laura Morris - Writer 