Monologue written and performed by Jah Metanoia
QR code located at Bankstown Library, 80 Rickard Rd
Hear From Outloud
Outro
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This is the end of Route A. If you would like to walk Route B and hear the rest of the stories, please return to The Bankstown Arts Centre and click here
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Route A
1) Pho Minh Temple | 2) Marion Street | 3) Bankstown Gospel Hall | 4) Bankstown Library | 5) Bankstown Library | 6) Paul Keating Park |
Route B
7) Bankstown Arts Centre – RS1 | 8) Amitabha Buddhist Association | 9) Bankstown Train Station | 10) My Dads Work | 11) Bankstown Centro | | 12) Bankstown Arts Centre – Gallery
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Transcript
[Theme music and intro]
SFX: crickets at night
It was a night unlike any other, the sky was a canvas of dark clouds, and the moon hid behind them, casting an eerie glow.
SFX: rainfall
Rain was pouring down, a soothing symphony against the leaves of the restless trees. The city was quiet, cocooned in its rainy shroud as we exited the library. I stood beside my best friend, my sister, after we had just spent the day studying. As we stepped into the rain, I watched her face light up with glee. The rain seemed to dance on her face, tracing the lines time had drawn. She looked at me, and for a moment, I saw the mischief igniting behind her eyes. We began walking straight, in silence, letting the rhythm of the rain fill the spaces between us. It was as if each drop was a note in the melody of our shared past.
SFX: cautious footsteps as rain and crickets fade out
A mere few steps onwards, the comfort in the air was squashed by a sheik in the bushes to our right. We shared a look containing the understanding of people who learned of this place together. We had grown up together, with this park. We had found a certain peace in understanding the temperament of the park. It would teach, and protect and care, when we needed it, but was scattered with brief moments of trench coat warfare. We had learned to dodge the crossfire early on. A strategy that was tried and true.
We knew the sound of freshly straightened hair being ruined by mother nature. Normally, a scream wouldn’t be anything to worry us, but we knew something was different. As two females, we were aware thchaces of the situation being one we’d be able to intervene in immediately was slim.
SFX: cautious footsteps
We turned, and began walking right, headed to the stairs. We heard a man’s voice bellowing as we passed, and a woman’s cries. Still unable to visualise the situation, we descended the stairs, eyes straining in the darkness. Through the foliage we spotted only two figures, which was all we needed.
The decision to intervene was prompt and unquestionable. There were two of us, and a police station within running distance, against one man. We understood the decision was reckless, but felt it was our duty. We turned left at the bottom of the stairs, around the corner and catch the full scene. A woman was sat on the ledge to the left, curled so far into herself she almost blended into the bush. He stood atop her, striking her repetitively.
SFX: rainfall returns
We were not heroes in any grand sense, but we were friends who knew right from wrong.
SFX: self-assured footsteps
We approached them, our steps a series of resolute splashes under the pouring rain. I called out, my voice shockingly steady against the rain’s relentless patter. The man glared at us, but we stood our ground. Outnumbered and cornered with witnesses to his action, he eventually backed down, fleeing into the shadowkissed night. Not before lobbing a small object at the woman, which missed her and disappeared into the brush.
It was that night that my childhood friend and I came to the realisation that the crossfire we had spent our lives avoiding was necessary. If not for our own protection, lessons and care, than for others’.
SFX: rainfall fades out
We are no longer small enough to avoid the park’s crossfire. Nowadays, we don our holster belts everywhere we go.
[Theme music]
