Yellow Brick Road

Yellow Brick Road by Witi Ihimaera arrive the icteric brick demeanor, Follow, follow, follow follow, Follow the yellow brick passage Were almost there Almost at hessian, the Emerald metropolis Me and dad and mom and Roha, we been travelling for two days now in our auto which pa bought from Mr W each(prenominal)ace last week. No dents and honk honk goes the horn. Dad, he said I could gain a drive of it myself when we left Waituhi provided if then it conked show up on the Wh areratas and that made him change his mind. I told you we wouldnt enamour to Wellington in this, Mum said to him while he was fixing it up. Well play there. exactly I deprivation to land there in one piece Mum answe cherry. Throw some of your junk start then, Dad told her. Our car indisputable as shooting is wealthy pass any right. Mums ingurgitate is in the boot, some belongings are tied under the opinion poll on the roof and theres even some squeezed in here with us. Boy. exclusi vely you wont conk out now, ay car? Theres solely one hill to go and well be there. So up we go, up the hill, slowly but surely. And who cares if cars desire up behind us They can beep all they resembling. We got as overmuch right to be on this bridle-path as they got. Road, road, yellow brick road, yellow with the headlights sweeping across it.Just the likes of in that book omit Wright, my apprizeer, gave me originally we left Waituhi. A neat book. About the straw man, the hind end man, the cowardly lion and the Emerald City and were almost there I bounds up and down on the berth. I cant confront to see all the sparkling green towers glittering in the dark forward of us. Matiu, you just sit tranquillise Mum maturatels. Whats gotten into you, ay? Sorry, Mum. Poor Mum. Shes very tired and still unhappy more or less leaving Waituhi, our whanau, our family. Her eyes are still red with the crying when all the people had waved goodbye to us like poor flags fluttering far forward.At least she hasnt cried as often as Roha has for sharpen though Roha and Hone, they went round together and once I saw them having a pash. Eeee I grin at my big sister. never mind, Roha. Plenty opposite boys down. inWellington and you can pash up large with them when we get there, ay. What you grinning for, Smarty? Roha snaps. Im allowed to grin if I want to, arent I? I ask, suddenly hurt. All right, all right, you dont build to scream. I make a funny face at her. It would teach her a good lesson if even the pakehas didnt want to pash with her Lots of pakehas in Wellington. non like in Waituhi.Makes me scared to come back about it. Dad, will the pakehas like us in Wellington? Dad? He doesnt answer me because he is driving carefully. He has to lean forward to see the road in front of him. It has started to rain. Wish I was older and knew how to drive better. Then I could give him a rest at the wheel. I press against him and he puts an arm round me. His face loo ks tired, just like it looked when we were go to a garage yesterday after our car ran out of petrol. There we were, miles from anywhere, walking on the road while car after car sped medieval us without s primeping. Some of them blared loudly at us.Others made a traffic circle of dust come over us. And always as they passed the faces would be smell back and staring at us. I felt puzzled. Why dont they stop, Dad? He had shrugged his shoulders. Were in a different country now, son. I began to dislike those faces. I wanted to throw stones at them all. But things will be different when we get to Wellington, wont the? And we will be happy, wont we? Course we will. You just wait and see, Dad. Well make lots of money and be rich as anything because Wellington is where the money is. And you have to go where the money is, ay Dad. No use staying in Waituhi and being poor all the time, ay.I lean back in the seat and burrow under the blanket. It is getting cold and there is a draught com ing through a hole in our car. I aspect my bag of lollies in my pocket. You want one, Mum? You want one, Dad? Roha? I pass the bag to Roha and she takes two, the greedy thing. I put one in my mouth and count whats left. Seven. Boy, these are the dearest lollies I ever bought. When we stop at the shop yesterday I gave the man thirty cents and he didnt give me any change. When I asked him for it, he told me thirty cents was how much these lollies cost. But he was lying. He was a thief and he stole my money.How would he like it if someone rooked him? Whats more, these lollies stink, just like him. I watch the road as it twists ahead through the dark. Every now and then, there is a loud whoosh of a lush car passing us. Those fast cars dont like us. Were too slow for them. Suddenly, I see two lights ahead like eyes glaring at us. The eyes open wider, bob up larger, looking like the eyes of a Dad I yell, afraid. A big truck descends on us with its headlight blazing full. I seem to se e taloned fingers reaching out to claw me. damn hell, Dad mutters. He swerves. The car kicks gravel.The truck thunders past, screaming in the breaking wrap up. I look at Mum. Her face is shaken. I better keep both my hands on the wheel, Dad says. He lifts his arm from me and I finger suddenly alone. I begin to think of Waituhi, our whanau, and that makes me sad. All our family was there and Emere was our cow. Haere ra, Emere. And haere ra to you, e Hemi. Youll always be my ruff mate. I start sing to myself. Quietly. Follow the yellow brick road, Follow follow, follow, follow Miss Wright, she taught us that striving at school. A neat song. We made a long line, fall in by our hands, and danced crazy patterns over the playground andThere is a snapping give way and the flapping of canvas. Whats that, Dad? He pulls the car over to the side of the road and steps out. Mum winds down her window. Whats wrong? Ropes snapped, he yells back. You better get out and help your fath er, Mum says to me. I jump out into the rain. Boy, its sure wet and cold out here. Dad is struggling in the wind to pull the canvas back over our belongings. All this junk Dad mutters. No wonder the canvas came apart. He takes a box from the top and dumps it on the side of the road. My books spill out and the pages fly away like birds in the wind. Dad. No, DadI expelling out into the road in panic because those are my school books and among them is my best book. My best book. Matiu proceed off the road Mum screams. My best book. In the wind and the rain. My best book. Matiu. And there it is. Lying there on the road. I run to get it and car brakes scream in my ears. But I have it in my arms and hold it safe to me. And I dont care if I get a hiding. I dont care Mum hits me very hard. -What you want to do that for, you stupid kid. But I dont care. I dont care And the device driver of the other car is saying angry words to Dad What the crashing(a) hell do you think youre up to, eh?Letting your kid run out like that, whats wrong with you Look, never mind about flaming(a) arguing. Christ, you shouldnt be on the road at all. Your cars bloody dangerous loaded like that. And why the hell didnt you pull further off the road, eh? Oh, whats the use. You Maoris are all the same. Dumb bloody horis. He steps back into his car and roars off. Dad comes towards me and his face is full of anger. Go ahead, Dad. Hit me. I merit it. But he doesnt. Instead, he hugs me and asks You all right, son? Yes, Dad. Im sorry, Dad. That man That bastard. Never mind about him. I clutch my book tightly.I carry it into the car with me. Mum starts to get angry with me again. Tuni tuni, woman, Dad says. Its all over now. Lets bequeath it. It wouldnt have happened if youd tied down our things properly like surface-to-air missile told you to do, Mum answers. Sam is my uncle and we stayed at his inject in Hastings last night. Uncle Sam didnt even know we were on our way to Wellington. Down to that windy place hed said. You fullas better tie yourselves down or youll be blown away Dont you know how cold it is down there? Brother, its liquid sunshine all the category round We dont care, Id answered him. Were expiration to make lots of money down there.Not much room left for pa living anymore. Thats what you said, ay Dad. Dad had looked at me inappropriately. No more jobs back home, he told Uncle. Plenty of the seasonal work, yes, but me and Hine had liberal of that. We had enough of shearing, the fruit-picking and the going down South to shear some more. No, bulk of work in Wellington. Plenty of factories. Who told you that Uncle snorted. Jim, Dad answered. Uncle Jim is Dads brother. He lives in Petone and were going to stay with him until we find our own house. Uncle Sam had shrugged his shoulders.. Well, Jim should know, hed said. I want us to have a good life, a new start, Dad seek to explain. A new start for my kids. Me and Hine, weve always had not hing. But my kids? Theyre going to grow up with everything. Ill fight for it, because they essential have it. But Id seen Uncle Sam hadnt understood Dads words. Hed simply shaken his head and wished us luck. And in the morning before we left hed told Dad to tie the canvas down tight. Otherwise that wind will get under it and before you know it youll be move into Wellington Dad had tried his best with the ropes. Hed said to Mum How about getting rid of some of this junk, ay?Shed answered him This junk is all weve ever had. Im not throwing away one piece of it, wind or no wind. It sure is windy all right, outside the car. The clouds are rushing in the night sky just like the Winged Monkeys. The wind moans and chatters and cackles among our belongings, and I must close my eyes and put my hands to my ears to shut out the sights and sounds of this night. Then, suddenly, all the noises stop. Even the car has stopped. There it is, Dad says. I open my eyes. uttermost away are the li ghts of Wellington, streaming with the rain down our window like glistening towers. And it looks so o beautiful. Just as Id imagined it to be. Just as Id pretended it would be. Emerald City. Isnt it neat, Muni? She stares ahead. Her face is still. Roha? I ask. My sisters face is filled with a strange glow. Dad? He looks at me and smiles. You and your dreams, son. He starts the car. We begin to drive down from the hill. I look at Dad and Mum and Roha, puzzled. How come Im the only one to be happy Cant they see this is where our life begins and this is where our dreams begin? And dreams, they come true, dont they? Dont they? I look out the car. I see the sign STEEP GRADE.All along the yellow brick road there have been signs like that. STEEP GRADE. commute DOWN. ONE WAY. LIMITED SPEED ZONE. ROAD NARROWS. STOP. WINDING ROAD. GO. CONCEALED slide by TRAFFIC LIGHTS AHEAD. GREASY WHEN WET. NO EXIT. NO PASSING. NO STOPPING. Many signs, all telling us where we have to go and. I begin to disembodied spirit scared. If ever we want to, will we be able to find our way back? I begin to sing to myself. Not because Im happy, but because I think I want to feel sure myself everything will turn out alright. It will, wont it? Follow the yellow brick road, Follow, follow, follow, follow, Follow