Trapped

Hi my name is Maddie Rose Simpson and I am 11 years old. This is my diary of my dad getting trapped in the mines.

I live in Australia in a small town called Sovereign Hill which is in Ballarat. In my family I have a younger sister named Mackenzie who is 4 years old. My Mum is called Linda. She is 36 and works as a chef. She owns one of the best restaurants in Sovereign Hill. My Dad’s name is John and he works in the mines. He is 38.

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Chapter 1 1882…. Day 1 Tuesday December 12th

It was a sunny day in Sovereign Hill. The birds were singing the sun was shining. It was such a beautiful day. I was lying in bed looking at all the birds singing and dancing around when I heard a loud voice scream, “Maddie, get up and get ready for school.” So I got out of bed, got dressed and headed to the kitchen.
As I was walking down the hall, I could hear my mum and dad talking. “ I wonder what their talking about?” I said. I quietly walked to the door, crouched down and put my head on the ground to listen to their conversation through the little gap. I could hardly hear anything so I put my head closer, when I heard Mackenzie yell, “What are you doing?”I turned around and stood up and said, “It’s none of your business!” She looked up at me turned around and headed back to her room. After that I moved to the kitchen to have breakfast. I sat at the table and ate my toast. After I finished I went to pack my bag for school. Then I saw dad come out of his room with one big bag and a mini bag on his back. I saw him about to open the door when I yelled, “Stop stop, please wait.” He dropped his bags and looked at me. I ran towards him and gave him a big hug. As I was hugging him I just remembered that today he was going to work in the mines. I let go and helped him with his bags.
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Chapter 2
My mum, my sister and I walked my dad to his carriage. I gave him a big hug before he left. We waved goodbye and then he was gone. I went back inside to get ready for school. I grabbed my bag and waited outside for my mum and my sister. As I was waiting I saw some men wearing the same clothes and were all heading in the same direction. In the background I heard the door open and loud stomps walking towards me. Then I heard my mum say, “You ready Maddie?” I turned around and nodded. As we were walking to school I saw the same men wearing the same clothes and all heading in the same direction. In my head I was still thinking, “Why are they wearing the same clothes? Maybe it’s dress the same day?” I went up to my mum and asked “Mum why are they wearing the same clothes?”
“They’re heading to the mines where your dad is,” mum said. “Then why are they wearing all the same clothes?” I asked. “Usually when you’re going to work in the mines you have to wear something comfortable and appropriate for mining, so most of the men usually wear the same thing,” mum explained.

After about 10 minutes we finally reached school. We walked up the rocky hill and opened the gate. I said goodbye to my mum and sister and headed to my classroom. I opened the door and walked inside. As I was putting my bag down I saw my two best friends Ava and Aubrey sitting on the table. I went over to see what they were doing. I asked “What are you two doing?”
“We’re reading the newspaper”. I walked around the table to have a look. I started to read the first sentences when the bell rang.
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Chapter 3
Later on that day I was at my table gazing through the window and hoping my dad was going to be okay. “RIINNNNGGGG” the home bell went. I grabbed my bag and headed out the door. I ran down the rocky hill and saw my mum. I ran towards her and gave her a big hug. I looked up. She looked very sad and disappointed. I asked, “What’s wrong?” She just smiled and started to walk home. As we were walking I was trying to figure out why she was so sad and disappointed. I was wondering if I upset her or if there’s something going on that I don’t know. When we got home mum opened the door and walked inside. I followed her and saw my grandma, grandpa and my little sister Mackenzie sitting in the lounge room all looking sad. I sat down and asked, “What is going on?”
My grandma replied and said, “ This morning at 5:30 am some water managed to leaked into the mines and has flooded the area where the miners were.”
“Ok but why are you guys sad though?” I looked at my grandma and I could tell what was wrong by the look of her face. My dad was in the mines. I felt a tear drop fall down my face my heart stop. I looked up at everyone and ran into my mum’s arms and balled my eyes out.
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Chapter 4 Wednesday Day 2
The next morning my mum and I went down to the town hall to buy some food. All the ladies were wearing their nice dresses and were dancing everywhere. I wondered how they could so happy. I went up to one of the ladies and asked “How can you be so happy?”
“The 41 miners have all survived.” I felt my mouth drop. I ran to my mum and told her. Then we went into a cafe and had some lunch.

After we had finished we left the cafe. When we were walking down the street the same lady I spoke to a few minutes ago looked very sad. In fact everyone looked sad. We went back home and headed I straight to the kitchen to put the food away and the went to my bedroom. In my bedroom I laid down on my bed in silence. A few seconds later I heard a knock on my door. “Come in,” I yelled. The door opened and I saw my sister Mackenzie in the doorway. “You can come in you know.” Mackenzie laid on my bed beside me. I couldn’t help thinking about my dad. I turned around a looked at Mackenzie. She fell asleep right next to me. I wonder how she’s feeling about this situation. I wonder if she knows about our dad and the water leaking into the mines and I wonder how she sees it from her point of view.
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Chapter 5 Day 3, The saddest day of my life
The next morning I woke up next Mackenzie who was still asleep on my bed. I walked into the kitchen. “Morning Maddie” mum said. “Morning,” I replied. I was about to sit down at the table when mum asked if I could get the newspaper from the letterbox. I went outside to collect the paper when I saw a letter on the ground. I bent down, picked it up off from the ground and opened the letter. It said,“Dear family, I wrote this letter for you guys because as you may have heard some water has leaked into the mines. Unfortunately I won’t make it back but I’m wishing you guys the best and I hope you have the best time of your life, love John”.
“Hi my name is Fred. I am one of the 5 men
who survived the leak in the mines. Before John died he asked me to deliver this message to you guys. I am so sorry for your loss. My Heart dropped. I felt my eyes start to water. I slowly walked inside but was still staring at the letter. I walked into the kitchen where my mum was. “Maddie are you alright?” mum asked. I looked up at her with tears dripping from my face. I handed her the letter. I was staring at her face and saw a tear drops dripping down her face. She looked down at me and and we both gave each other one big hug.
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Chapter 4 In the future/ Monday
About 4 years later we moved house. We now live on a farm. We have horses, sheep, chickens and cows. I am now in high school and Mackenzie is 8 and is in primary school. Everyday we go to the mines where our dad died and put flowers there. We haven’t forgotten him and we never will.

End of dairy 🙂
Ella k.c