DAY THIRTY-FOUR

Dear Diary,

We're all rescued.

Now we're in the cabins in the Australian warship.

Andrew comes in, and he brought in some food for me and Bibi.

After talking to me, he went out of the cabin.

Just as he went out, Omar came in, with my ball.

What a relief!

Jamal.

DAY THIRTY-THREE

Dear Diary,

People are screaming and yelling.

Rashida asks me to come up to the deck.

It's the Australians.

They've come to save us.

Jamal.

DAY THIRTY-TWO

Dear Diary,

Me and Bibi are trying to scoop out the water from the ship.

It's clearly not working, but we've got to try.

I can see how exhausted Bibi is. But she still carries on.

I know why.

Her father's a baker.

Jamal.

DAY THIRTY-ONE

Dear Diary,

I'm having a wonderful dream.

I'm dazzling the crowd with my wonderful footwork.

Then Bibi's scream wakes me up.

I see a huge wave crashing down on us.

Oh no.

Jamal.

DAY THIRTY

Dear Diary,

Pirates.

Pirates come on board. And the smugglers join them.

Rashida and Bibi pretend to be boys as the pirates patrol around.

They don't notice that they are actually girls, so our plan must be working.

Instead, the pirate tries to kick the ball.

But I snatch it back.

The pirate gets angry and kicks my hip.

Pain explodes in me.

Once the pain has reduced, i realised what has happened.

The smugglers have abandoned us. Could it be any worse?

Jamal.

DAY TWENTY-NINE

Dear Diary,

Bibi has a fever.

She is sweating so much.

She asks how many days we've been on the boat.

Then, she tells us it is her birthday.

I cannot believe i have forgotten.

We all wish her a happy birthday.

I try to cheer her up by planning her birthday celebration in Australia.

Everyone is feeling better.

Then Rashida mentions that she was born in Australia.

She tells us about what had happened.

She reminds of me of my parents.

Suddenly I'm not so happy anymore.

Jamal.

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT

Dear Diary,

The smugglers come around.

They tell us that that the money we paid is not enough, and that we need another hundred dollars to go to Australia.

We haven't got any money, but, thank god, Rashida saves us.

She passes the smuggler the watch, and it is enough for the four of us.

After they pass us, we sit there and pray that the smugglers get enough in their bucket to continue the journey.

They finally do.

Jamal.

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN

Dear Diary,

I'm seasick.

I feel terrible.

Rashida says it'll only wear off after one day.

This is horrible.

Watching all the people suffer, i can't help but think of Australia.

All the laughing people, the kind government, our parents, and football.

I hope we get there soon.

Jamal.

DAY TWENTY-SIX

Dear Diary,

I am making bread under the deck.

The sailors are watching me, fascinated by what I am doing.

I'm using seawater for the salt in the bread.

I'm not sure if I put in too much.

The area under the deck is full of water.

It's already up to my knees.

I'm worried.

Jamal.

DAY TWENTY-FIVE

Dear Diary,

The girl introduces herself.

Her names is Rashida.

She offers us some food and water, and even sun protection cream.

She' so nice.

Inside her big pink suitcase, I see something.

Something more precious than gold or Manchester United tickets to me, at the moment.

Flour.

Jamal.

DAY TWENTY-FOUR

Dear Diary,

We're on our way to Australia.

Everyone's vomiting because of sea sickness. Especially Omar.

We're all lining up for food, and then i realise that the person giving out the food is the sailor in yellow overalls!

I'm worried that he might not give Bibi a proper serving after he recognises her.

Then the person standing infront us' blanket catches fire!

I grab it, throw it one the floor and put it out.

That's when i see the girl's face.

I've never seen anything like her before.

She tries asking for food again, but the sailors are waving her away.

How rude.

Bibi yells at the sailors, and they decide that we shouldn't get food either.

That is just unfair. The girl stops us.

She tells us getting to Australia is more important than them.

She thinks that they didn't wash their hands before opening the soup packets anyway.

I like this girl already.

Jamal.

DAY TWENTY-THREE

Dear Diary,

We try to ask the sailor for help.
But it's useless. He only angers Bibi and causes trouble.
A smuggler approached him as he was about to hit us. The smuggler told the sailor off and when i tried to tell him that we needed to chase the boat to get to our parents, he started screaming at us.
We go to the deck and a boy approaches us.
It's the one who tried to steal our ball!
I make space for him and let him sit down.
His name is Omar.

Jamal.

DAY TWENTY-TWO

Dear Diary,

I jump into the water to save Bibi.

I finally see Bibi, just a face in the water.

I grab Bibi, but i have no more air to breathe. I need to go to the surface.

Then something grabs me and is pulling me up.

The sailor is grinning at us. Bibi swears at him.

I remember mum and dad.

I yell out their names.

Then Bibi points to the other end if the deck.

It's pulling away from the shore, heading out to sea.

I see them on the boat, searching for people around them.

Then i yell mum and dad.

They turn around and stare. Dad tries to jump over the boat, but mum pulls him back.

The gap between us is wider than two football pitches.

We are helpless.

Jamal.

DAY TWENTY-ONE

Dear Diary,

Everyone around us starts moving.

The smugglers have opened the gates.

I grab Bibi and try to follow mum and dad.

That's when Bibi says that she's going to get the ball. I try to stop her, but I can't.

When i finally get to her, she's lying down at the edge of the dock, trying to pick up the ball.

Then the boy comes and says that he is going to get the ball. He lowers himself into the the water, but then, he slips.

I try to tell the people around me that a boy has fallen inside the water, but no one seems to hear me.

Then i see a sailor. I try to get him to listen to me, but he doesn't understand. I grab his pole to get his attention, but he slaps me.

Bibi kicks the sailor, but he throws her over the side of the boat.

Oh no.

Jamal.

DAY TWENTY

Dear Diary,

The smugglers have left us standing at the dock, where I can see the boat that taking us to Australia.

Bibi had been asking mum and dad too many questions. To distract her, I bring her over to play some football.

That's when I meet the boy who tried to steal my ball.

He tackles me and tries to get it from me but i won't let him.

Then, Bibi yells at the boy. The boy says that Bibi can have the ball if she will behis girlfriend.

Bibi gets really angry and hits him in the leg. He screams, and falls backwards, and drags me with him. Bibi kicks the ball away from the boy's grasp and it falls into the water.

Jamal.

DAY NINETEEN

Dear Diary,

The plane took off.

We should be happy, but we're not.

And while i plane takes off, i realise that now that we haven't got the candle to look after us, we're going to have to look after each other.

Jamal.

DAY EIGHTEEN

Dear Diary,

We get out of the bus and into the airport.

Mum and several people thank god that they're finally getting out of the bus.

I can understand; the bus is hot and cramped.

A policeman stops us to check whether we have any weapons.

I grab mum's rucksack to check whether the candlestick is inside, it's mad eof metal and i'm afraid that they will take it away.

It's not inside the bag.

I realise Mum has sold our candlestick, our precious ancient candlestick that's kept our family safe for hundreds of years.

We're not protected anymore.

Jamal.

DAY SEVENTEEN

Dear Diary,

Dad gave the policemen money.

He tells me that the policemen are going to help us get to Australia.

We're leaving really soon, in a few days.

I tell Bibi about all the good things about Australia.

I'm so happy and excited, we're going to Australia!

But one thing bothers me. Why isn't mum happy?

She probably misses the village. I can understand.

I do too.

Jamal.