Best Australian Yarn: Breathe by Tim Ryan

I breathed her in. She was sickly sweet, clear and relatively strong, given our circumstances. I had held her in my arms for what felt a long time, but it had only been part of one dark night by ourselves at the edge of that lonely track. The accident seemed like ages ago. I knew the darkness of the night would end, sometime.

“Where does the sun go at night?” I had asked Aunty when I was a young boy. I knew I had to wait for the answer, for Aunty usually took some time to think of appropriate answers to my questions. Aunty looked after a few of us. We just knew her as Aunty. She was the best to all of us. For some reason, I was the one who asked the most questions. I also ran the fastest and could swim like a barramundi. I loved my Aunty.

“The sun goes to breathe,” she said. I knew what breathing was, but the sun- breathing? My puzzled look required further explanation. “The sun works hard all day, warming plants and animals and helping things grow and live. Without the sun there would be no life. She needs a rest - a breather- after a long day’s work. The sun likes to work and help the earth but in order to do more the next day, she takes a rest - a breather.”