Windows

Toby felt a surge of excitement fill the meeting room. The council of wizards were buzzing, motivated by the thought of installing the window decorations. Ever since the dawn of time, the goblins had been a despised acquaintance. Their superior knowledge of enchantments was acknowledged by many of the senior wizards, but also a point of hurt pride.

It didn’t help ease the alliance that the goblins were prone to bouts of pranking. Their mischievousness and hurtful superiority were only exacerbated by the fact that many of the goblins would schedule four-hour meetings with the council. If the new frosted window glass could be used to deter them from visiting, reminding them of their fear of dragons, then most of the wizards would be on board.

“Quiet down,” the head wizard spoke, standing up. His face was stern. “Are we to believe that some frosted glass will deter the goblins? Have you all gone mad?”

Toby’s heart sank. “If it’s decorative glass…”

“The goblins aren’t the brightest, but they will catch up. Not even a real dragon could deter them from annoying us.” The head wizard shook his head. “It doesn’t justify the costs of a commercial window tinting company. Melbourne is full of dragon trinkets, yet the goblins still wander the streets.”

A couple of other wizards murmured in agreement. Toby couldn’t believe his plans had been thwarted so soon. He needed to come up with a new plan soon.

“The windows might deter a few of the goblins,” Toby clicked his tongue. An idea popped into his head. “Besides, it will greatly improve our alliance with the vampires.”

“The vampires?” The head wizard was intrigued. Toby knew that the council believed vampires to be the ‘cool’ creatures of the magic world, but were yet to be let into their tightly-knit clique.

“Commercial solar tinting could remove the UV light coming into the office, keeping them safe during the day. They could work alongside us.” Toby quietly added to himself: “And finally cool down the office when you won’t let us run the air conditioner.”

Every window tells a story. But, as I soon found out, not every story is created equal.

After my pleasant stint at the suburban home, I was pulled away for a fresh assignment. I felt the cool touch of adhesive and found myself stretched over the window of a car. I was mobile, racing down the streets of Melbourne, every turn revealing a new sight.

But my vehicular adventures came to an end when, one day, the car entered a commercial glass tinting business close to Melbourne. I braced myself, and before I knew it, I was peeled away and readied for a new journey.

My next “life” was a world away from the mobile escapades of the sedan. I was affixed to the large front window of a cozy café. Here, the world moved at a more deliberate pace. I watched as people from all walks of life entered, each with a story to share.

There was the couple on their first date, exchanging shy glances. The woman nervously fidgeted with her earrings while the man tried, and failed, to come up with a witty anecdote. Next, the “writer”, a gentleman in his thirties, with a scruffy beard, who’d spend hours gazing out of the window (aka at me) with a pensive look. He’d occasionally type a word or two but was mostly content nursing his flat white.

And then, the breakups. Ah, the drama! “It’s not you, it’s me,” said one teary-eyed girl to her bewildered boyfriend. In another corner, a man was showing his partner a chart about why they should split. A chart!

In one of my quieter moments, as the sun set, painting Melbourne in a golden hue, I caught a glimpse of another window across the street. It bore a sign advertising commercial frosted window tinting for businesses. I couldn’t help but wonder what stories those frosted peers of mine had to share. But for now, I was content with my ever-changing tableau of the café and its patrons.

As I settled into my new café life, I couldn’t help but feel grateful for these diverse experiences. From vehicles to venues, Melbourne was truly a city of stories. And I, Tinty, was here for it all.

I know Javelin throwing isn’t the most common sport in the world. I didn’t care that it wasn’t popular, I was good at it and I enjoyed the sport. I was completely in love with my new found favourite activity and no one could tell me otherwise. My parents had tried to convince me to choose a different sport, maybe something a little more mainstream, like netball. No matter how hard they tried to persuade me, I was still convinced that javelin was for me. I was practising my throwing each and every night after school, determined to be the best. I wanted to be known for my talent, for my accuracy and my sporting achievements. Although the night was creeping across the sky, slowly stealing away my daylight I was out there. I told myself that after another ten minutes of throwing practise, I’d pack up my equipment and head inside. It wasn’t wise to throw javelins in the dark.

With all my focus on my throwing, my arm position and force, I started running, one foot behind the other and put my entire body into it. The twist of my torso and the spring of my back allowed me to do one of the most powerful throws I’d ever done. When I realised that the javelin had speared the frame of the upstairs window I stood silently in shock. I wasn’t sure what to do, whether to try and grab it without my mother noticing or just fess up right away. I knew my parents were going to be angry. We had just gotten the timber windows replaced in Melbourne a few weeks earlier because of a storm. Just as I was about to pull the javelin out my father walked out to look at the window. He’d heard it stab into the frame and told me not to worry, that he’d call the window replacements people tomorrow. He told me how proud he was of my efforts and offered to support me in any way he could. I was moved to tears, my father truly believed in me. My father hugged me and walked back inside to find the number for local sash window repairs. I’m going to train harder than ever before, I’m determined to make the school team. I will make my entire family proud of me.