Year 8 Letter Writing – Amy Megalaa

“Dearest Willow”

8 March 2025 

Miss Willow River of Choralmere House 

26, Violet Rd, Havenfield Valley. 

A Sunshiny Sunday 

My dear long-lost friend, Willow, 

I have decided to send this letter to you, regarding the riverbanks. Riverbanks are put down so often. The first thing that pops in your head when someone says riverbanks, is a swamp, with loud squawking birds. People think of them as muddy, horridly smelly places. 

They are not. 

Last Monday, no, it was Saturday. Actually, I think it was Sunday? 

Never mind. Last week, my family and I went for a little ‘picnic in the wilderness’. 

We picked a little river nearby. It was one of those small, secret places that you feel no one else in the world knows about. It was so silent. No human seemed to interfere. Only the sounds of nature could be heard. The swish of the leaves of the willow trees, dangling into the water, like hair dangling onto a little girl’s face. The water didn’t seem to mind, neither would a little girl. The gentle bubbly giggle of the water was another sound that broke the silence, in a way that was welcome. As it trickled along, bumping into stones or sticks, now and then, it sounded like the laughter of a tiny child. 

The riverbank didn’t smell bad either, it smelled wonderfully fresh, like the water that dominated it, or the leaves that tickled it. 

We lay down a checkered blanket and all clambered-on top. We were very hungry; we hadn’t had breakfast and it was already eleven o’clock.  We unpacked the wicker picnic basket and munched happily on the food inside. 

You may wonder what we ate. 

We had cheese and ham toasties, with cheese that had spilled onto the outside and formed little ‘chips’. We had a big bottle of creamy, foamy milk that, when we drank, left us with ‘milk moustaches’. We had crisp apples, a cherry pie, with a wonderful shortbread crust, and ANZAC cookies, that we crunched and crumbled. 

When you are sitting there, enjoying what you are eating and where you are, you find that moment to be true happiness. 

The riverbank was such a peaceful place to relax, nothing like how it is portrayed usually. The tall willow trees were a playground to the children, the soft grass was a carpet to our feet, and the clear, clean water was a cooling bath to us. Little pink and purple flowers peeked out between all the wild plants. We even saw a fish jump out of the water! 

We thoroughly enjoyed this day; we even came up with a joke about it. 

Where do fish deposit their money to keep it safe? In the riverbank! 

I definitely think it was on Sunday. 

Sincerely, 

Amy