He walked confidently, smiling at the locals as he wandered to work. He had a warm smile for everyone that passed and his eyes were full of kindness. His name was William Jones and he worked with the youth of the town. His dark skin contrasted against the white brick building behind him, but matched it in character: covered with graffiti the stories of a thousand lives just underneath the surface. He made his way through the town, feet pattering on the worn out concrete pathway. The street was riddled with small business, on one side of the road was a greasy fish and chip shop, the smell of it made you long for the disgusting blobs of fat and fake meat, while on the other side was a post office that had a sun washed red letter box, a dust soaked wooden veranda and a magnificent gum tree that towered above the township. Every day on his way to work, he would walk past the tree, but first he’d stop and he would look up at the great twisting branches that were slowly peeling, revealing the fresh lively green beneath. Each time he stopped his eyes became distant for a few moments as he thought back to his child hood.

He used to play in the red dirt, the sounds of cicadas, and cackling of kookaburras filling the air around him. He played under the ancient gum trees which provided a sanctuary from the boiling heat and blaring sunlight. When he came back here he was happy. He used to build mud slides with his two brothers and sister. He would stand at the top of the slide in the afternoon sun, wholly open to the world as he backed up and ran as fast as his little feet would take him before slamming onto his stomach, sliding into the murky water, laughter erupted from his tiny being. He didn’t have a worry in the world.

This is how children were supposed to live, for as long as possible, William thought, but his carefree world had been taken away too soon. He had been drawing in the red dirt underneath the towering gum tree when he noticed an unfamiliar shiny black car drive up, stirring dirt as it moved. The car stopped outside the old run down shack he and his family called home. The door of the car flung open at the same time as the shack’s door did and Williams mum hurtled out of the door like a bullet from a gun as two men stepped out of the car.

“Go away!” she screamed “You have no right to take my babies!” she said tears welling up in her eyes.

She argued with the men to not take her children. The man merely replied with an automatic, robotic response;

“Ma’am just step aside, this is for the good of your children and our country.”

Williams’s heart thudded in his chest as he ran to his mum and wrapped his arms around her legs. She continued to shout at one of the men as the other shoved passed her and walked in the door. His mum screamed loudly as she cried hysterically. The man emerged a short while later with William’s two brothers and sister. The man arguing with his mum reached out and grabbed William by the arm. He in turn grabbed desperately at his mother as she reached for him. They lost the battle against the men and before he knew it, William was in the back of the car with his siblings driving away from his mum as she crumbled to the ground, clutching at her chest, tears streaming down her face.

William has no memory of how he reached the new city, all he knew was that his siblings were not there and neither was his mum or dad. He knew he missed them and that he wanted to forget what had happened and be back playing in the red dirt under the towering, twisting gum trees. But that time was long gone and William was being introduced to his new parents.

“Hello there little guy. My name’s Dave Jones and this here is my wife Joyce and our daughter Joanne. We’re you’re new family.”

Mr and Mrs Jones gave him a new name, the name people knew him by now; William Jones. He thought of how far he’d come. His life was once empty; he had no cause, no hope and no future.

Well that’s a long way from the man he is today, the man that knows a kind heart and a warm smile can go a long way.

X          X          X          X

William sighed and rubbed the tears from his eyes as he looked about and saw the busy little town still buzzing with life. He looked up at the ancient twisting tree, his eyes tracing each little bump, almost the way a father looks at his newborn child, and as his eyes grazed over its paved feet he mumbled silently to the tree, “Oh fellow citizen, what have they done to us?”