As a reporter, I sought out crime. But then crime found me

From a half-demon canine and the rules of takeaway to an land revelation and a burglar who got much than helium bargained for, we asked 4 writers to respond to the taxable of this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival, Take Me Away.

A bark from some ends
By K Patrick

Once a bitch astatine the gait had puppies and my jockey begetter brought 1 home. My father, abruptly appalled by the information of his gift, near it successful the room sink. So my parent called the canine Sinky Boy. She loved him immediately. It seemed to me, adjacent then, astatine 8 years old, that she mightiness consciousness things a small excessively easily.

We couldn’t, arsenic children, emotion the canine successful the aforesaid mode she did. It was fractional Jack Russell fractional demon, nipping astatine america whenever we got close, snuggled connected her thigh astatine meal time. When helium barked, which was often, the agleam reddish blossom of his anus pushed forth. We took it seriously, arsenic you mightiness a Hieronymus Bosch detail, knowing that evil’s comedies required a quiescent study. You couldn’t assistance but look. It was a bark from some ends.

K Patrick.

Once, connected a miserable vacation successful Devon, my begetter drove retired towards a acceptable of greenish cliffs. The thought was to person a picnic. My member was inactive pram-sized and truthful helium was hoisted retired of the car, conscionable arsenic Sinky Boy leapt retired of the footwear and hurtled towards the edge, unlearned, not knowing it was an edge. He dropped close earlier our eyes. Not similar a chromatic but thing worse, a failed flying machine, his ears lifted connected the bedewed breeze. My begetter could not clasp my parent back. She removed her wool skirt and, successful her tights, scaled the higher portion of the cliff, uncovering constrictive walkways present and there, until she reached Sinky Boy. He had landed, miraculously, connected a reachable outcrop. Only a dislocated enarthrosis to amusement for it, my begetter made a gag arsenic helium paid the vet bill, that it would’ve been cheaper to fto the damn canine die. Sinky Boy was not deterred. He continued to snarl astatine the hands that reached for him.

My begetter was definite helium was a comic man. He held the steering instrumentality with those choky driving gloves, muffled screech of leather each clip helium turned, and announced that Sinky Boy must’ve had a consciousness of himself, that helium wanted to find the aforesaid watery sedate arsenic his beloved brothers and sisters. At the yard, the remainder of the litter had been drowned successful a trough. We recovered that retired later, but then, arsenic he’d delivered his line, my begetter had looked astatine america children successful the rearview mirror. It is that glance, always, the denotation that determination are plentifulness of truths retired determination we would not get distant with not knowing. He was right. A fewer days later, a unchangeable manus showed america wherever it had happened. The sack and its enactment inactive connected the ground.

K Patrick’s debut caller is Mrs S.

Stranger than fiction
By Winnie Dunn

Under a sweaty blanket, I utilized to imagination of Hogwarts and Narnia and Wonderland. Thoughts of British snowfall soothed maine to sleep; each snowflake truthful acold removed from the one-storey Mount Druitt ceramic location wherever I lived with my 7 siblings. So, ideate the acold disappointment that drizzled implicit maine erstwhile Nana announced she was taking maine overseas: not to England, but to Tonga.

Nana was calved nether the shadiness of a thenar histrion and onto the ungraded of our Tongan village, Malapo. She was 1 of the archetypal Tongan women to wed a pālangi – achromatic man. Brian was portion Irish, portion British and lived successful the United Kingdom. While connected vacation successful Aotearoa, Brian saw Nana planting roses connected a quality strip. He projected to her consecutive away. My grandma said yes but lone connected the information that helium usage his pālangi-status to determination our household from her land kingdom to the land continent adjacent door: Australia.

Winnie Dunn.

Just earlier the White Australia Policy ended, Nana travelled with Brian to Sydney, had 3 kids with him and received her citizenship. She divorced him 2 months later.

It would beryllium different 15 years earlier Nana returned to Tonga, and arsenic the eldest girl of her eldest son, I was required to spell with her. “But I’m half-white too!” I sooked astatine Nana implicit the terminal speakers announcing our flights successful a robotic tone.

“You’re Tongan,” Nana sighed, waving her arthritic melon-sized fist distant from me. Her afro a achromatic and bouncy puff. “Stop hating yourself.”

Dirt roads. Palm trees. Fibro shanties. Golden crucifixes connected churches. Pacific Ocean. Wooden royal palace. This was everything that made up Tongatapu, the mainland of Tonga. And then, connected our 5th day, Nana took maine to Anahulu Caves.

Walking crossed patchy grass, my grandma turned america distant from a clear-water-white-shore formation and into tropical overgrowth. Sweat clung to my hairsbreadth and sandy-dirt encrusted my fingernails. Immediately, a coral archway revealed a achromatic hole. Without a word, Nana walked done the opening. Trails of blistery perspiration dripped into my singlet. I yelled astatine her disappearing afro, “As if, we’ll die!”

Nana’s hearty laughter echoed arsenic she replied, “Hina’s Bath has looked aft america for implicit 3000 years.” She was referring to an aged goddess who commanded the moon.

Reminded of a rabbit hole, oregon an ornate wardrobe oregon a magic alleyway, I stepped into the darkness. At first, each I could perceive was the sh-sh-sh of a waterfall, the sk-sk-sk of bats and the sht-sht-shuffle of my grandmother’s jandals. Humid musk flooded my nose. “How tin you see?” I whimpered.

“Breathe. Then I’ll amusement you,” Nana explained successful a husky dependable – caused by years of smoking. After immoderate silence, erstwhile my heartbeat dulled, Nana’s melon-sized manus lit up glow-stick blue. I gasped; realising the ghostly dim was from the rocky cave walls. Nana whispered, “A peculiar algae grows connected the limestone and reacts to touch.”

Slowly astatine first, I reached retired my fingers to assistance airy the way. The sh-sh-sh of the waterfall grew louder until it was thundering done my bones. We stood connected a precipice. The splashes connected the rocks lit up the algae – creating a flicker of changeless bluish light. Sweating from the heat, Nana pulled maine adjacent and kissed my crown. “Old deity Hina cleaned herself here. She’ll cleanable america too.”

Undressing down to my undergarments, I stared into the crystal-clear waterfall. And determination earlier me, she appeared: the shadiness of a woman’s back, washing her waist-length hair…

Counting successful Tongan, I threaded my stick-like fingers done my grandmother’s melon palms.

“Taha. Ua. Tolu.” Warm aerial lifted america into a freshwater universe.

In the aged goddess’ bathtub, I yet saw Tonga: affluent and past and each spot arsenic magical arsenic the make-believe lands successful the books I read.

Winnie Dunn’s debut caller is Dirt Poor Islanders.

No escaping a bully story
By Jake Adelstein

Sometimes, Tokyo feels similar a shade town, adjacent crowded arsenic it is. After 30 years arsenic a transgression newsman here, each thoroughfare corner, each alley, holds memories of past cases – my ain idiosyncratic transgression country Google map. For instance, the fried chickenhearted basal sandwiched betwixt skyscrapers successful Kabukicho? That’s wherever much than 40 radical tragically mislaid their lives successful a occurrence backmost successful 2000, including respective successful a enactment nine themed similar a aesculapian clinic. Yes, I’m a existent tube of laughs.

Fast-forward to 2022, erstwhile I stumbled upon an old, dusty location filled with junk successful a tiny seaside municipality adjacent Kyoto. It had 8 rooms, a warehouse, and it was a steal. I asked my partner, Jessy Nakamura, who loves the formation and tin surf, whether we should bargain it. “Hell, yes,” she said. “It’ll beryllium paradise during Tokyo’s horrible summers and a spot for you to person a caller start, distant from each those transgression scenes.”

Jake Adelstein.Credit: Christopher Jue

She was right. After a monolithic cleanup, it turned into a delightful spot with caller air, proximity to indispensable amenities, and conscionable an eight-minute locomotion to a pristine beach. In May 2023, we enjoyed our caller beingness determination until 1 night, a antheral broke into our bedroom. Jessy, waking maine with a scream, attempted to pursuit him retired – naked. “You can’t tally aft him – helium mightiness beryllium armed, and you’ll get arrested for nationalist indecency,” I cautioned arsenic I called the police.

The cops arrived swiftly, led by Detective Yoshimi, a tall, skinny antheral with watery, reddish eyes and a unit cut, dressed successful a grey suit and achromatic gloves. He rapidly figured retired however the intruder had entered done our mistakenly unlocked warehouse. It turned retired to beryllium 1 of respective feline burglaries successful the area. Despite her prowess successful Kyokushin karate, the lawsuit shook Jessy, and we resolved to fastener our doors and instal information cameras. So overmuch for our crime-free retreat.

Yoshimi returned often, and successful June, helium called to accidental they had caught the suspect. When helium visited america to amusement immoderate photos from the suspect’s telephone for identification, helium pulled retired a representation of an ambiguous assemblage part, humorously speculating if it mightiness beryllium Jessy’s. Turns out, it was my rear end, confirmed by a chiseled mole. Even successful specified absurd moments, transgression seemed to travel me.

The perpetrator, a 25-year-old section with a transgression background, was yet arrested and sentenced to hard labour. I aboriginal thanked Yoshimi, who had go my archetypal person successful our caller hometown. As I planned different sojourn to our seaside home, I arranged to drawback up with him implicit drinks.

At 55, I’ve travel to judge that you can’t outrun your karma. I utilized to pursuit stories; now, it seems, they find me. Whether successful Tokyo oregon Kyoto, my beingness inevitably intertwines with crime. I’ll conscionable effort to bask the clip betwixt them.

Jake Adelstein is the writer of memoirs Toyko Vice and Tokyo Noir.

Hungry for more
by Mirandi Riwoe

On Saturday, we were astatine my father’s favourite congee edifice successful Sunnybank and arsenic I cautiously spooned my leftovers into a container, and helium poured his into a instrumentality much efficiently, helium said, a small lingua successful cheek, “It’s Chinese tradition.”

To beryllium fair, the biggest culprit successful our household is my mother, who is not Chinese, and who, without fail, volition bid an other crockery erstwhile retired to dinner, truthful determination is capable to instrumentality location to bask aboriginal – our familial passionateness for delicious nutrient is strong. There are ever orphaned yum cha pieces to bundle up for absent kids who are skating oregon seeing friends oregon studying, ever immoderate remaining rice, mapo tofu, a missed outpouring roll, for erstwhile that wafer bladed mint is conscionable excessively overmuch and the cleaning pistillate with a bucket is obscurity to beryllium seen.

I utilized to emotion going to restaurants, it was my thing, but now, I bask a quiescent takeaway, eaten astatine my leisure successful beforehand of a publication oregon surface oregon shared with seagulls (my kin erstwhile it comes to a emotion of blistery chips) oregon successful a edifice room. Sometimes I volition adjacent spell to Sunnybank with my dada and beryllium and chat with him and his person portion they eat, and past I instrumentality my repast home.

Mirandi Riwoe.

When I was increasing up we ate retired a lot, mostly astatine Chinese restaurants, though my member Liam’s precise favourite edifice was Tony’s, a section Italian. We were successful the car once, and Pa asked america what we wanted for dinner, anything, and we leaned excitedly implicit the beforehand spot (back erstwhile children were free-range and unbuckled), and Liam shouted, “Tony’s!” and Pa said, “Chinese? Yes!” (Maybe his proceeding has ever been a small ragged, possibly helium hears what helium wants)

When I was astir 18, I took my fellow to Chinese Garden, a household favourite, for dinner. When I asked to instrumentality the leftovers home, helium was mortified. I cannot accent however genuinely embarrassed helium was that I would privation a doggy container (hey, who other has wrapped up a lamb bony oregon marinated ribs and really pretended to the waitress it’s for your increasing pup?).

Of course, times person changed, and what was erstwhile possibly somewhat crass has turned into bully practice. I volition decidedly beryllium keeping up this contented of taking leftovers away, beryllium it for myself oregon my chooks. Last night, astatine a Korean restaurant, deciding connected what to order, I said to my daughter, “I deliberation that’s enough.” And my dada said, “Unless you privation to instrumentality immoderate home.”

Mirandi Riwoe is the writer of Stone Sky Gold Mountain, Sunbirds and The Burnished Sun.

The authors are guests of the Sydney Writers’ Festival, which runs from May 20 to May 26.