Soul Place

‘Soul Place’ is an Australian Young Adult (Aus YA) short story about female friendships, first love, and growing up bisexual in an idyllic coastal town.

The story was one of the top 10 finalists in a short story competition for emerging writers from the Clarence Valley, northern NSW on the lands of the Yaegl, Gambaynggirr, and Bundjalung people. The 2018 theme was ‘The long way home’ and the shortlisted entries were published in a locally-printed book called The Long Way Home 2018 – Stories From The Clarence Valley, edited by Erin Brady and Claire Aman.

You can check out a PDF version of ‘Soul Place’ here!

The girl and I had friends in common, and we sometimes sat at the same lunch table. It was strange how we could eat together, but not speak directly. I no longer met her gaze when she spoke. When the bell rang at the end of lunch I would hurry to the art block on my own, rather than wait for the girl. I was sure that if I tried to walk with her she would find a reason not to be alone with me.

[Image description: Two teenage girls wearing colourful shirts and black sneakers lay in the grass side by side, gazing intently at one another. They are pictured upside-down with their faces foregrounded. The girl on the left is Caucasian with long, dyed pink hair and the girl on the right is of South-East Asian descent with shorter black hair. Sourced from Unsplash.]