Playing In Backyards

We grew up together, living only a few streets apart and going to the same school. Her name is Jenny. A beautiful soul who is kind and free spirited. I remember how young we were when we met, only just old enough to be at school. We used to learn ballet together. We shared a love for the dance that soon blossomed into a friendship that has lasted most of my life.

The town where we grew up was small. Everyone knew one another, and everyone cared. The town was hot and dry. Come summer time you could taste the heat, but that never slowed anyone down. I can remember sunset, standing on the driveway with my family, looking at the Kangaroos in the field opposite our home, grazing in the long sun burnt grass. A chorus of lions could be heard roaring in their not so distant home. If I closed my eyes it was easy to imagine I was in Africa, exploring and discovering great things. When I opened my eyes, I was always happy to find that I hadn't left, and that my hand was still in my father and mother's, their smiles warming my heart. They were my home, and I was not ready to leave.

Jenny and I were wild with imagination. We could run about, exploring and dreaming from morning till night, never tiring, with smiles painted on our lips and stories in our eyes.

I can remember the summer heat, clinging to our flesh as we ran around her enormous back yard, creating new stories and adventures to excitedly play out. When the heat became too much, we would eat ice-creams, our feet dangling in her pool, with colourful streaks of ice-cream running from our elbows, the sun reddening our cheeks. Those summers were magical and free.

Then one summer it was over. We moved from the dry little town soon after the flames from bushfires tore most of it down. Our childhood home had changed. We had out grown it and the little town was forever changed. We left, but not before seeing the lush buds of green emerging from the ash.

Although my dear friend stayed behind, I would never forget the little girl who I used to dance and play with. The young free spirit who shaped my childhood and set my imagination free. My friend. Sometimes I am lucky enough to spend a day with her, to run around, playing in her backyard once more.

This editorial, as well as an interview was plublished in 'The Unexposed' magazine (Issue 5, 2012). I am featured from pages 18-23. The online edition of the magazine can be found here.

Model: Jenny Glynn

Photography: Caitlin Sclater