Stories

To read previous chapters go to Stories Upoko Tuarima I te kāinga, ka pākōkō a Pāpā ki roto i te kuaha. “Paiā! Te kaha hoki o te ua i waho rā!” ...More

I was two years old when I got my first bike It was better than your little trike We found it in the bushes My dad fixed it up for me He welded it ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter One Ari lay on his bed, balancing his sneaker on the tip of his big toe, counting how many seconds he could ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Six In his dream, Ari covered his head with his hands and crouched down, hiding. He could hear people ...More

Take some Milky Way dust Mix in some galaxies Wrench some light from inside a black hole It should be spaghettified and tender Knead in some rusty coloured Mars ...More

Inspiration: “Hide and Seek” by Wongi “Freak” Wilson     I walked across the bustling street, a soft breeze in ...More

Oh bicycle, Oh bicycle, I shall call you Amelia. Amelia, Amelia, I love you so. You carry me around. Amelia, Amelia, Riding you is divine. You are the rea ...More

Zzzzz ….. zzzz ……. An annoying noise was causing hindrance to my much desired afternoon nap. I somehow manage to open my eyes partially, and w ...More

Some relationships are destined to last. Others end in tears, mass destruction or an intractable skin rash. My love affair in the winter of 2002 was doomed from ...More

A pirate ran off with my heart today, stitched it to his billowing sleeve, which was sweet, I suppose. He pilfered my shirt too, refusing to do hi ...More

My garden was always my haven. How could it not be, when I spent half my life in a sulphury darkness? I had a villa, marble and gold, fragrance ...More

My monster is quite unique With a certain frame of mind He specialises in fear, you know The very best of his kind Although he creaks the floorboards ...More

The talk and chatter of my family over the hum of the radio, beneath the conversations of the sheep and the rustle of plants, dancing in the wind. All this tak ...More

Today, my feelings are too big for my body They catch and hold fast in my throat They stream down my face And burn on my skin May they emerge as kin ...More

Find the hidden sequence of words: the first letter of each makes the puzzle answer. e.g. he offers trust = HOT Sometimes fresh air feels like waking up after ...More

Polly lounges in her usual spot at McDonalds, fourth table from the right. She studies the colour of the wall behind her. Red, her favourite colour. Th ...More

Leila stood in the doorway, her little legs shaking in her blueberry pjs. “I don’t want to, Daddy,” she whispered. “Come on, sweetheart,” Michael said ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Seven “Ari,” his father said. “You and I know this water, mate. When I say ‘Jump!’ I w ...More

Miraculously the Yellow dagger Somehow appeared on the Table next to the Elevating bottle Really, this was all very strange Yet, started making sen ...More

Ideas and inspiration to make your Matariki celebrations sparkle. PÕHUTUKAWA Whakamanahia ngā rau kahurangi kua mene ki te pō. E hoki ki ng ...More

Trailing my clackity clack bumblebee Golly in the other hand, I follow the tall back of my Dad down the garden path. Full of questions, I shadow him ...More

Ka moemoeā a mō tana noho huna, tana noho koropuku. Ka rongo ia i ētahi tangata e kimi ana i a ia, e karanga ana i tōna ingoa. Kātahi ka huhuti tētahi ...More

To send a letter you must have something important to say. Got it? Good, now write it on a piece of paper, then pop it in an envelope and seal it with yo ...More

don’t you find this world absolutely hilarious? one second, the globe is turning and earth’s on the brink of extinction: the next the world is still turni ...More

Despite the Lockdown the tides continue to tumble and dance against the land’s surfaces each trying to reach their destination. Each grit of sand ...More

Hazel leaned over, brushing her lips against her sister’s forehead. “Goodbye.” She fumbled with the window, shoving it open, greeted by a g ...More

Grayce huddled in the dark of her bedroom. The slithering sound came again, something scraping, knocking. Scrape-knock-knock-slide-slither. Somewhere ...More

Looking for somewhere to bide your time until Ragnarok? Well, look no further! Valhalla provides a number of move-in-ready houses at affordable pri ...More

I shuffle forward, cautious of not popping the two-metre bubble that surrounds every person around me. I look behind and see people lost and confused. So ...More

because of their size they gather crystals and clouds sharp and sparse collections of sun-catchers until that first nasty week in June then they ...More

Google maps you take me though the underpass fast on my bike in the night my lights flash on the shapes of down and outs the louts, layabouts who shou ...More

When someone tells you to picture a magician, what do you think of? Daniel Radcliffe, complete with a wand and broomstick? Or perhaps a cheesy performer with ...More

I am a kākāpō. I live in Whenua Hou (Codfish Island). I BOOM rimu berries. They are delicious. I TWEET mosses and ferns. They are padded. I HOOT- ...More

Inspired by a brooch made from bullets, Kaiapoi Museum.   The bullets are usually found in the sand, often around a day after a battle, make sure it’ ...More

The sun is lazily rising from the horizon as the harakeke steps in time with the wind. It’s almost as though they are dancing to a song, only t ...More

Kiss frogs. Sleep for 100 years. Turn into a human and not speaking. Sneak out late at night. Change your mum into a bear and back again. Lose your shoe ...More

Pull-my-Finger the Giant only had one joke, probably like your dad or grandad. But he was very fond of it and he told it as often as he could. This was i ...More

Jerry and his friend, Ross, were playing in Jerry’s sandpit. Charlie appeared. “What are you playing?” Charlie asked Jerry. “Planes.” Jerry held up ...More

When I pick her up she feels warm and frail. She’s like a giraffe sticking her neck high above the canopy searching for a decent snack. When she flies you ...More

knitted scarves wrap around her neck while legs freeze beneath leopard-                                print leggings canvas ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Upoko Tuarua Parahutihuti ana tā Emmy oma ki te waha o te kura, ka waiho mai a Ari ki tana puehu, ā, ka ...More

When a baby is born, it’s the happiest day of your life You are handed a bundle of perfection, You make a promise to be the baby’s protector ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Three Ari was really relieved to see his mum waiting in the emergency room when they got there. Koro ...More

The strap pinches my neck. My fingers poise above the keys. Moonlight highlights the skeletal frame of my alto saxophone. I stretch my eyes out in ...More

Nobody told me to dress for an apocalypse black raincoat, sweater yellow ‘To match the bees,’ I said, only they’ve all disappeared and the leaves are m ...More

“What do you intend to do about this disgraceful situation?” Alison Carrington seethed. Mayor Harper stared at the outraged, elderly woman, like a m ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Eight Ari slid his feet under the sheets and the warm covers. He pulled the duvet up to his chin and let ...More

Dear Earth, Before we go, we’d just like to say a few things. When we first arrived, we were born into a world that (so it seemed) you had adapte ...More

Feijoas roll down the roof to be pecked by the birds startling the rats which scurry above. A grimy workbench dusty with tools next to a soggy, wet lead che ...More

I miss you, Life Outside the Gate. ​My gate isn’t very high, but now it feels like the top is touching the clouds. ​Whenever I think about b ...More

His fur is silky black, blue eyes wild, teeth glistening white – white like the snow that fell last winter, like the oleander that grows by the ravine. T ...More

The dragonfly’s eyes are made up of multiple hexagons. Inside each hexagon is a black and white picture of my face. I’ve printed the photos from ...More

  Kingdom of Blong is the fifth in the Elastic Island Adventures children’s book series for children aged 7 – 12, although note all the books can ...More

Flowers. There are a lot of flowers. Every day someone crouches by me, one hand on their heart and the other holding a bunch of flowers. Lilies, lilacs, rose ...More

I was rushing around like a headless chicken; measuring, collecting cardboard and forming the plan of attack. My mission? To build a scale model of a ...More

A seagull stands still, eyeing humans who are finishing their fish’n’chips. It perches upon a dark grey hard-edged rock, its white plumage flickering i ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Two Emmy flew through the school gate ahead of Ari, disappearing in the direction of her classroom. She’d turn ...More

We flip on the trampoline and wince as our fragile flesh scrapes the net. We stare at screens try to improve our eyesight by gazing deep into the pixelat ...More

Photos are a very powerful thing. Memories caught in time and plastered forever, or maybe not, onto my pages. Every inch of my skin is tattooed with ink an ...More

“E Ari, e taunga ana tā tāua mōhio ki ngā wai nei. Ka tae te wā, me peke koe i te taha, hikina o waewae kia māpuna tō mānū i te wai, e hoa. Kei mur ...More

“What else will I need?” “Just that will be enough.” I finish filling my drink bottle and prepare myself for the unknown, not knowing if I will c ...More

In my game, Zombies roam. In my game, Creepers groan. In my game, skeletons run with arrows & bows. In my game, I am the only good guy. In my game, vill ...More

Flip Flop Bay is the sixth in the Elastic Island Adventures children’s book series for children aged 7 – 12, but note the books can be read as stand ...More

  Emotions are messages from your heart, they tell you what you need. Some of them are BIG feelings, and some are very small indeed. Imagine your feel ...More

The murmur of voices Are symphony to flashing lights Tapping keys Coloured lines of code Changing Adjusting Advancing. Jumbles of letters Make up wo ...More

“Come on, Moon, it’s time to hunt.” Sunrise went first to check if there was any danger. Moon tried to go before Sunrise had said the coast was cle ...More

I remember the clock He liked to count down Whether we liked it or not, Whether we smiled or frowned He hung in my house On the nursery wall We saw him ...More

We are pleased to announce that you can now switch fonts on every story. Just slide the green button at the top. ...More

It’s been nearly 70 years since my children left home. That sounds ridiculous but I am 120 years old. When they left, my house felt empty. I began to ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Upoko Tuawhā Ka mātakina e Ari te karaka i a te wā ka whakatata atu ki te toru karaka. Me puta tere ia i te ku ...More

The time had come. In the warm darkness of his egg, the flamingo chick moved. Crack! His mother stood up. She fussed about, touching the egg gently w ...More

Slip while walking onto cold, slippery tiles into the bathroom for the twentieth time. Land on your right arm break it like a twig. Or, forget to put the lights ...More

Nobody knew who he was. Or where he came from. Only that he lived on the traffic island in the middle of the intersection and had one arm. When he firs ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Four Ari watched the hands on the clock move towards three o’clock. He knew he had to get away from school q ...More

“And the prize for the bravest pirate goes to …” Greybeard, the oldest of all the pirates, held up a piece of paper and waved it around dramatically ...More

‘Can I lick the spoon? Please Gran…please.’ Although my older brother got the china mixing bowl as it is in families, I would take the sp ...More

You can do it for fitness You can do it for play You can ride your bike All of the day When you drive in a car It creates pollution Join with me Start ...More

It’s what I could do to help Fleur out. Family is family. The last Friday each month, we’d drive into the city from opposite directions, and in the motel c ...More

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? It could be you! A cute, three-roomed pineapple in one of the most in-demand locations in the world! Buy now and you ...More

Once I was riding on a weekend group ride. We were strung out along a straight, flat stretch of road. It occurred to me that the cyclists ahead of me ...More

I am lost in countless dizzying turns and endless corridors. A bare light bulb flickers as I pass beneath it. I flinch involuntarily. Ping! The famili ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Upoko Tuatoru Ka māma te wairua a Ari i tana kitenga atu i a Māmā e whanga ana ki a Koro i te hōhipera. I ...More

Yessssss, I thought the first day of Lockdown Breakfast was yum on the first day of Lockdown It was cloudy School was out on the first day of Lockdown We went o ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Upoko Tuatahi Ka takoto a Ari ki tana moenga, ka whakataurite i tōna hū ki te pito o tōna matiwae-nui, me te ...More

They didn’t want my name to be conventional. It’s a quick, sharp sound, a sound that belongs with cricket chirps and snapping twigs, brilliant as ...More

Ka kuhu atu a Ari ki roto i te māhanahana o ngā hīti me ngā paraikete. Ka kumea ake e ia kia pūmahana a roto. Te koa hoki ōna kua hoki pai ia ...More

The Strange Sagas of Sabrina Summers Saga 1: The Uncooperative Flying Carpet Prologue It was a terrible day for a wedding. The rain slanted down by th ...More

Meet her in the forest You’ll find her fascinating She may not welcome you but she has no choice in this The tree which she is forever linked to c ...More

To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter Five Back at home, Ari’s dad came thumping up the steps and burst through their front door. Woohoo! It’s ...More