#ts4 decades challenge

Eleanor went to Gary’s house in suburban Del Sol. She was going to leave this place, but she wanted him to come with her. He was the only thing holding her back.

When Gary answered the door it wasn’t with his usual friendly smile but a worried look. Eleanor panicked - was he happy to see her?

‘Something’s happened El,’ he whispered, ushering her inside. He picked up a letter and showed her. 'I’ve been drafted. I’m going to be forced to take up active duty.’

Eleanor was shocked and appalled. Gary couldn’t go - he would not go! It wasn’t him - it was everything he was against!

'Run away with me Gary,’ she insisted. 'I know a place we can go far away from here. They won’t find you. We can live off the land away from all of this. My aunt Stella lives there and she will help us, I know she will.’

It didn’t take much to convince Gary - he was going to bolt anyway, but he loved Eleanor, and the chance to run away from here together was better than he could have imagined in the situation. He packed a bag and left a note for his family, and the two of them snuck away together.

Stella took Eleanor back home so she could rectify things with her parents. Leo watched we his estranged sister in the driveway and scowled - what influence had she had over his daughter? Had she indulged her wild ways?

Leo and Valerie gave Eleanor the dressing down they felt she deserved for running away. Eleanor copped it for the most part, but her mind was already made up no matter what her parents or her aunt Stella told her. She wasn’t going back to her fancy school. She wasn’t going to be their trophy daughter anymore. She wanted to be useful and proactive in this world and she was getting out of here. The only thing keeping her here, that convinced her to come back from Sulani, was the thought of Gary…

Late that night Eleanor packed her things. As her last act against her parents she snuck into their room while they slept and stole some jewellery to find her travels. They wouldn’t miss it - they already had so much.

But as she tried to sneak out someone else caught her.

‘Don’t leave Eleanor,’ whispered Daphne. ‘I know we don’t see eye to eye but you’re my sister and I love you. We all love you. You’re important to this family.’

‘I’m sorry Daphne,’ said Eleanor. ‘This isn’t the place for me. I’ll write to you, wherever I end up. I’m sure we’ll see each other again. I genuinely hope you find your own happiness, sister.’

And she snuck out the door into the night. Daphne didn’t rat her out this time.

Eleanor hitchhiked her way overnight to Sulani. She knew she would find her estranged aunt Stella down there. She hadn’t seen her since she was very small, but the way her Dad and the rest of the family talked about Stella she too had been a rebel and misunderstood by the rest of her family for her lifestyle choices. Eleanor only hoped Stella would understand her - since nobody else in her family did.

Stella was surprised to find the young girl on her doorstep. It had been years since she last saw a member of her family since choosing to move away and live alternatively. But here was Eleanor, her niece now so big, asking for her advice. Stella saw a lot of herself in her, and welcomed her in to her home.

Stella showed Eleanor around her property. It was a simple weatherboard cottage but she lived quite comfortably here by herself, with the support of her vibrant community of fellow creatives. She had everything she needed and supported herself with her painting. Their community rejected capitalist ideologies and strive to live as naturally and peacefully as possible. It sounded like the ideal lifestyle to Eleanor.

As they drank coffee together Eleanor enjoyed getting to know her cool aunt - where had Stella been all her life!? She wasn’t a square like everyone else - she had her eyes wide open to the world.

‘My parents are so consumed by their material needs and social standing,’ Eleanor scoffed to Stella. ‘It’s all about money and fame. And Daphne is just as bad. They don’t use any of their wealth or status to help others or make change. They didn’t step in to stop Buddy going to war. They’re just as bad as the man, y’know. It’s people like them who are the problem and they can’t even see it. But I can.’

‘Yes, your father was always on the pursuit,’ smiled Stella. ‘My older siblings were always focussed on their individual successes, but never stopped to look around at their place in the world and how they could make it better and live in true harmony. I think it’s for that reason we never saw eye to eye. Here, we give back to nature and each other. And as a result, I’d say we are all happier for it.’

Eleanor enjoyed getting to know her aunt and witnessing her alternative way of life. But eventually, Stella encouraged Eleanor to return home. Stella liked her vivacious young niece, but really, she was still a child. Stella knew she wasn’t a carer and had no desire to be. She saw herself instead as a spiritual guide - she could arm Eleanor with the fact and experiences to make her own choices about her life, and hope that she would choose to return to Sulani. It would be nice, to know someone from her family again.

And so Stella offered to drive her niece back to Del Sol Valley. Eleanor reluctantly accepted.

Leo and Valerie were worried. Eleanor had been out all day and she still hadn’t returned home. There was news of violent protests in town and it did make them wonder…

But their worries were confirmed when Daphne decided to tell her parents exactly where Eleanor was. She justified that they deserved to know - Eleanor was putting herself at risk, and though she may think she was worldly and intelligent she really was a sheltered girl.

Eleanor traipsed home late that night to be met by her furious parents. The arguments started immediately - the lectures, the chiding over her safety, telling her she was becoming a hippy. It was all too much for Eleanor to take.

‘You are such SQUARES!’ she yelled at them. ‘You don’t understand how much of a problem you are - this life you live is all a fabricated capitalist lie! You just let the world burn around you so you can keep having your stupid parties and wearing your fancy clothes and pretend you aren’t part of the problem!’

Eleanor turned from her parents as they yelled after her and ran. She grabbed her bag, left the house and made her way downtown. She would hitch tonight and get out of this place. She knew there was one person in this family who wouldn’t try to control her or tell her she was wrong…

Eleanor decided to go to the big protest with Gary and her friends that spring. In a huge crowd they campaigned against the despicable war they were being forced to participate in overseas. Eleanor found it extremely invigorating - she was part of this huge, important movement of people who wanted change. She felt brave and useful for the first time - and she was with Gary.

Things got scary after a time though. As the protest gathered momentum and people began to brawl, they were suddenly surrounded by police in riot combat, who let off tear gas bombs which sent the protesters all running. Eleanor was filled with fear and ran as fast as she could. Gary found her hand and they ran together away from the commotion. When they finally got far away enough from it all to be safe, they were so fuelled by adrenaline and passion for the cause that they couldn’t help but wrap their arms around each other again. It made Eleanor’s heart positively explode.

Eleanor and Daphne were home for spring break. The girls had changed so much as they had grown into young women on their own paths, and looked less and less alike these days.

Daphne was eager to begin her own acting career as soon as possible. She had grown into a confident, fashionable and talented girl. The first thing she did on returning home was start concocting plans with her mother for auditions she could attend - Valerie and Leo wanted the girls to finish school, but Valerie was ready to help her daughter find her own fame and success.

Eleanor meanwhile spent her holidays glued to the television watching the news. She had grown more and more invested in the anti-war movement and political activism, now that she had begun spending time with Gary. She couldn’t understand how the rest of her family were so comfortable and unquestioning of the world they lived in, content to live in their privilege without a care. It made her ashamed of her own upbringing.

In fact, it annoyed Eleanor enough that she began to berate her family members for being blind to the truth.

‘How can you just sunbake there, when people like Buddy are being forced to kill innocent people overseas,’ she chided Daphne, while she lay in the sun on their parents patio without a care.

'The thing is El, I do think it’s awful,’ sighed Daphne, rotating herself. 'But I don’t know what you want meto do about it other than be perpetually angry like you. There is still goodness and we are fortunate. Don’t forget that.’

Eleanor and her friends met up with the boys again one weekend at the park. They all sat around smoking and chatting together. Somehow Eleanor found herself chatting to the boy she had kissed. His name was Garry, and he had a wonderful smile. Eleanor’s heart fluttered whenever he looked at her and she hung onto every word he said.

The boys were all very political, Eleanor discovered. They liked to talk about the current state of politics and the atrocities of the war their country was involved in. Eleanor found it fascinating to listen to Garry talk about these things - he was very passionate and she was enthralled. So much of what he told her she had never known was going on. The world wasn’t rosy and full of parties like her parents had shown her - it was broken and corrupt. It needed to change. She felt so naive - she needed to do better to shirk her privilege. She wanted to impress Garry.

When they left the park Garry walked with Eleanor and they continued their conversation. He told her that there was a big protest he and his friends would be going to, against forced conscription to the army.

‘You should come, if you want,’ he smiled at Eleanor. ‘There’s power in numbers against these people. We need change. If not… in a few months, it could be my number that comes up.’

‘Absolutely,’ said Eleanor. She hated to think of this nice boy being forced to go to war. She thought of her cousin Buddy - he was just like Garry, but he was made to go anyway. She felt that familiar anger she had against her parents and their way of life, but this time it was against the world. She always knew she was different to the rest of them, with their heads in the sand, consumed by money and fame and placated by television. Garry made her feel like she was right about them all - and that she could be part of something bigger, with people who cared.

One day the girls received a horrible phone call from their father. The news had just come through the family that their cousin Buddy had been drafted to the war overseas.

Pearl was devastated that her only child was being taken from her, but her sister Violet was there with her to make sure she was alright as she bid him farewell. They would not hear from Buddy for a long time and had to pray that he would return home safely.

The sad news brought the Dreyfus girls together, despite their differences, to comfort one another in the shock and despair that the cruelty of the world had finally touched their own family.

Dear Diary

We had boys in our room the other night! Kathleen has a twin brother and she knows all his friends and she convinced them to all come visit us. They climbed up the wall and through our bedroom window. We had to be so quiet so the house matron wouldn’t hear us! I was so nervous because I don’t really know any boys - I wasn’t scared of getting caught though.

Kathleen convinced everyone to play spin the bottle because she’s secretly sweet on one of the boys. But when it was her brothers turn the bottle landed on me! So of course I kissed him - he didn’t need to know it was my first time.

In the middle of our game stupid Daphne barged into the room and yelled at us all - she threatened to tell matron about what we were doing, and I just got so mad that I screamed at her and told her to go away. She makes me SO angry she’s such a square! I wish I didn’t have a sister.

Eleanor

While the girls were home, Valerie decided it was time to take them to the studio set of her latest television show. They were such grown up beauties now, just like she herself had been when she had first entered the industry. She wanted to introduce Daphne to some directors and casting agents, and thought perhaps even Eleanor could be convinced to join in.

Daphne was awestruck on the big set, and totally in her element. She was bubbly and chatty with the director and even got on stage, to her mother’s delight, to showcase her beauty and talent.

Eleanor however, didn’t care much for any of it. It was everything she didn’t want. She only came along to appease her mother, but spent the whole time hiding with her book.

Even more annoying while they were home was how insistent their Dad was that they get the Dreyfus Family Band back together. He would follow the girls around with his guitar, trying to convince them to start singing their old songs. Daphne felt a bit silly, but she did enjoy having a sing-along with her Dad for old times sake - it reminded her of the good old days. But Eleanor was having none of it. No way was she singing those lame songs! She wasn’t a silly child anymore - what would her friendsthink!

The girls were home from school for the Christmas holiday. Their parents hadn’t seen them in ages - in fact it struck them how much eachother had changed in the time that had passed.

All of the Dreyfus family had come to Leo and Valerie’s home for Christmas that year. It was a wonderful reunion for them all to be together again. Desi and Trudy came with their 3 children - they were still as loved up as when they were teenagers. Pearl and Buddy were there - Pearl proudly telling anyone who would listen how accomplished her handsome now-adult son was. And Violet was there too, accompanied by her good friend Melissa, whom she had been so excited for her family to meet.

They all sat around the table for dinner, but it was noted that one person was missing from the table - their little sister Stella, who nobody had heard much from in many years.

‘It’s a shame she isn’t here,’ sighed Desi. 'We’ve tried to get her to come visit us, but she never returns my calls. I hear she’s living down the coast in Sulani now.’

One thing that Leo noticed at the table was how close all his siblings still were with each other - especially his twin sisters. It made him glad that they were all here, but also sad - why didn’t his own children like each other the way he loved his siblings?

'How is it that you two tolerate each other still and are so close?’ he asked Viole and Pearl.

'I guess just luck!’ said Violet. 'You can’t force these things, Leo. Your girls will come around one day. Being a teenager is a hard time. We were very different people then, too.’

Whilst the adults reconnected, their children bonded. Daphne and her cousin Beth got along fabulously, pouring over fashion magazines with little Cindy trying to join in with them. Beth was like the cool older sister Daphne wished she had.

Meanwhile, Eleanor had snuck outside with her cousin Jeff to sneakily smoke cigarettes. Jeff was cool - he was a bit weird like her, and they got along well.

Soon their older cousin Buddy discovered them - Eleanor thought he would tell them off, but Buddy didn’t care and sat down to smoke with them. Buddy was going to college soon, and he knew a lot about the world - and all the crazy things that were happening around them. Things that Eleanor had no idea about - it made her realise how sheltered and lucky she was, especially when Buddy told her about the war overseas.