Left. Not lost.

It was a day much like this, Dustin Stubin passed away. Riley Royce was understandably devastated the love of her life had flowed into the ebb tide of mortality, breathed his last. Yet she was happy; relieved for him. Whatever fear had frozen him from seeing how much he could achieve as a human - whatever that fear was, he was now free from it. She thought only she could see the goodness in him, so she was surprised to receive a card from her niece, Holly Royce. The remorse and compassion which that child expressed spoke much of the unexpected humanity in her. And it emblazoned in glorious light the greatness of Dustin, for he had reached the soul of a girl many considered a lost cause. An unanticipated legacy. >FIN< —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome #theroyceaccount https://www.instagram.com/p/CSkpcuah8SA/?utm_medium=tumblr

Chuck gripped the key in his palm. He’d carried it with him since she kicked him out. Her last words to him were that he could only return when he was ready to accept responsibility for the damage he had inflicted on their relationship. It would be years before he came to understand what he could’ve done to make it right. She passed away about 3 years ago. He knew that, but he held onto the key. He tried it in the lock one night, aware that he might get busted for burglary. The lock had changed. So had he. Finally. —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome https://www.instagram.com/p/CSiM5K7Jfo1/?utm_medium=tumblr

As the Olympics draw to a close, so too do Ernest’s dreams of being a world champion table tennis player. Dreams he had held for about as long as he held the tumbler of cheap scotch which slipped from his grasp as he slipped into a drunken slumber. Tomorrow, it’ll be some other fantasy. Tomorrow, his family will fall further away. —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome https://www.instagram.com/p/CSP7yvpBWcC/?utm_medium=tumblr

Pic via @vintagesydneyarchitecture Well may @vintagesydneyarchitecture observe that this is an 'interesting thing to misplace', but this reeks of the clumsy DIY efforts of Scott Cam. No, not him. The other Scott Cam. Ever keen to save a dollar and uphold his self-aggrandising creative spirit, he could not be talked out of trying to use this as a gate to the apartment block. The Body Corporate Association were, once again, bamboozled into thinking this was a project by THE Scott Cam. Hard to tell who's the bigger idiot. —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome https://www.instagram.com/p/CR8nPGEhgIj/?utm_medium=tumblr

Pic via @paulineabell The thing that matters most about mistakes we make in the past is how we respond to them now. Because how you respond now is how good people will measure your progress as a human. In 1988, as a Grade 6, I was part of a school musical in which we performed an adaptation of Split Enz's "6 months in a leaky both." It was now "9 months" and in reference to how long it took the First Fleet to sail to Botany Bay. A number of us children were browned up and given black curly wigs, so that we could depict the - ahem - welcoming Aboriginals. I'm no politician or in the public eye in any fashion. Cancel away. Did I know I was in a particularly racist act when I was 11 (if I had a concept of any such thing)? Nope. Would I allow my children to do the same thing today? Hell no. Not because I will be criticised, but because I know more now about how to be respectful than my parents did way back then. “A different time” isn’t an excuse. Accept the mistakes and demonstrate that you are a better person because of them. And forgive those who are better than they were. —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome https://www.instagram.com/p/CR4vtwRHTX1/?utm_medium=tumblr

Dana could pinpoint the exact moment Belinda went too far. But it was such a trivial thing when he heard himself say it out loud. "For the last time, 'Dana' can be a man's name, too!" Ironically, it was over Wayne's World that Dana and Belinda bonded - the SNL movie starring Dana Carvey's talent more than Mike Myer’s, if you ask me. Party on, Dana. Party on, Belinda. —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome #waynesworld https://www.instagram.com/p/CRsDS4GnMyW/?utm_medium=tumblr

Wendy had picked the perfect day for her party in the park. —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome (at Westerfolds Park, Templestowe) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRoGW0NnNbH/?utm_medium=tumblr

Just some scouts making billy tea. But why does that kid look worried? Oh, because those two are psychopaths about to murder him. (at Gilwell Park Scout Camp) https://www.instagram.com/p/COCYQT_Hk8S/?igshid=144gffacnjyah

Zara took kicking up her heels a little too literally some nights. —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome https://www.instagram.com/p/CNybhnVH_d4/?igshid=1iohne7y40uhb

A year in lockdown and I’m sick of all this running. This is not a true story. Very little exercise happened at all. —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome https://www.instagram.com/p/CNvvLDPnbUD/?igshid=1ankjmyk679oj

Andrew fell off his chair when the NSW gaming report was handed down. —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome (at Barangaroo House) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNbel3NnwUF/?igshid=1r8g53runtoqs

With the deed done, Holly Royce made her escape. Despite her youth, she was tired of the measures she had taken to maintain her reputation and maintain her nefarious business interests. Did life have to be like this? She just might scoot off into the sunset. #WhenTheEasterBunnyDied —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome #theroyceaccount #easterbunny #WhenTheEasterBunnyDied #callback #darkweekend #series https://www.instagram.com/p/CNVpxw5HnyS/?igshid=s51rlsdset5n

The whole grave digging thing proved too much, even for Holly Royce. So she resorted to the next best thing she could think of in a pinch: disposing of the Easter Bunny's carcass in a tree shredder. She hadn’t even seen Fargo, yet. Too young! #WhenTheEasterBunnyDied —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome #theroyceaccount #easterbunny #callback #darkweekend #series https://www.instagram.com/p/CNTrK2nHIvQ/?igshid=i9r3rwpiikw1

And Hyacinth and Mikey staked out the converging pathways. If they couldn’t quietly deal with potential interruptions, they knew it was better to take drastic fatal action or face the calm menace of Holly Royce. #WhenTheEasterBunnyDied —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome #theroyceaccount #easterbunny #WhenTheEasterBunnyDied #callback #darkweekend #series https://www.instagram.com/p/CNQ43N9HC5R/?igshid=n5gr20k72na4

Witnesses were a risk, so Holly Royce still had to rely on her friends to keep watch. Oakley took the highest viewpoint. #WhenTheEasterBunnyDied —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome #theroyceaccount #easterbunny #WhenTheEasterBunnyDied #callback #darkweekend #series https://www.instagram.com/p/CNQ4Ag-netT/?igshid=yk5h9aekha9p

Not even with better tools could Holly’s accomplices dig a decent grave. Holly was going to have to see to it herself. #WhenTheEasterBunnyDied —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome #theroyceaccount #easterbunny #callback #darkweekend #series https://www.instagram.com/p/CNObMGcHk0W/?igshid=13m6ok0wj5ncs

As Holly Royce was a child, at the time, it made sense that her friends were also children. It also made sense that none of her friends understood how serious Holly was about demanding they dig a grave for the Easter Bunny. #WhenTheEasterBunnyDied —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— —————— #leftnotlost #leftbehind #notlost #lost #left #discarded_butnot_forgotten #discarded #trashortreasure #hardrubbish #rubbish #trash #suburbia #suburbanlife #creativewriting #writing #litterati #streetfinds #takeyourrubbishhome #theroyceaccount #easterbunny #callback #darkweekend #series https://www.instagram.com/p/CNLlsE1nWrn/?igshid=fkfcrqi6wsss