It was 29 degrees today. The sky was a cloudless stretch of forget-me-not blue. To celebrate our new found freedom brought by the end of the exams, we took a 15-minute drive up to the end of Kensington Road, where situated a small lookout overlooking the square city of Adelaide.
As the car wounded its way uphill, I watched as the gum trees on either side of the roads shooting backwards, along with the many beautiful residences which resembled real-life versions of delicate doll houses. It was strange to suddenly have this much free time at hand: now that exams were over, I could do whatever I wanted without the nagging doubts that whispered ‘why aren’t you studying?’ constantly at the back of my mind.
As the car drew into a small park and came to an abrupt halt, I leapt out of the vehicle, and was momentarily dazed by the views that lay in front of my eyes:
Adelaide’s entire metropolitan, with its many leafy street that formed perfect little squares, stretched into the distance under a sapphire blue sky. At the edge of the horizon, a shiny strip of the ocean could be seen, reflecting the dazzling afternoon sun. Countless red-roofed houses stood neatly one next to another, like tiny little match-boxes amongst bushes of greeneries. Amidst the peaceful suburbs, a small cluster of high-rise buildings – Adelaide’s CBD – stood like a toy model of a city, surrounded by lush green stripes which represented the parklands.
We simply stood there at the hilltop, drinking in the scene. I felt slightly intoxicated as I gazed into Adelaide’s beautiful serene form, as the wind ruffled the corner of my light jacket, as if celebrating the joy of the beginning of the summer holiday.