Alfred the Anxious Cyclone
Written by Melanie Pryde
Deep in the warm waters of the Coral Sea, Cyclone Alfred was born- not with a roar, but with a hesitant swirl.
His siblings, powerful and confident, had always known their purpose. They roared into existence with fierce
determination, carving their paths of destruction, proving their birthrights.
But Alfred was different. He was a cyclone with doubts. He hesitated, he often pondered… and he didn’t feel the need to cause chaos or prove his strength. Instead, he longed for something more meaningful than mere destruction. Alfred wanted to find his own purpose.
As he grew, the other cyclones urged him on. "Go on, Alfred! Show them your strength! Head toward Bundaberg, Australia! Make them remember your name!"
Realising his winds and rains could prove his might, Alfred’s swirling cloud form grew darker, his wind spun faster, he grew taller and wider, yet he couldn’t bring himself to make landfall. He worried endlessly about the consequences of his actions. "What if I hurt too many people? What if they hate me for it? What if I’m not ready to be a proper cyclone?"
For days, Alfred danced indecisively over the Coral Sea. His hesitation made him unpredictable. He drifted across the ocean, his winds shifting, his pressure rising and falling in fits and starts. Meteorologists studied his erratic movements, their eyes flickering between satellite images and prediction models that couldn’t quite pin him down. Bundaberg braced for impact. Then, just as his outer bands approached the coast,
Alfred veered south, sparing the region. "Not yet." He whispered.
Alfred didn’t realise that his hesitation had consequences. As he stalled, relentless rain poured south of his position, soaking the land and swelling the rivers. Floods swept into towns, and Alfred, though reluctant to harm, realised his indecision wasn’t preventing disaster- it was merely reshaping it.
"I need to do this right . "
When the sky forces looked toward Bribie Island, Alfred felt a surge of determination. "This may be where I can prove myself, a small Island, brave and resilient". But as the night stretched on, doubt crept back into his swirling mind. He wobbled again, his path now heading toward Brisbane and Moreton Islands, his stormy form shifting uneasily.
"I just… I don’t want to mess this up . "
People all along the coast waited for his arrival. Yards were cleared, windows taped up, and families huddled indoors, wondering where and when he would finally land. Alfred felt their anticipation and fear.
"I don’t want to scare them," he thought, adjusting his winds to be strong enough to make a statement but not too harsh.
When Alfred finally approached, he brought high waves, torrential rains, and strong winds, leaving behind heavy flooding. Yet, in his hesitation, he had
also given people time to prepare and stay safe indoors. Despite the chaos, Alfred noticed something remarkable; the people were working together, helping one another, showing resilience in the face of his storm. He saw kindness, he saw strength- not in destruction, but in unity.
For the first time, he felt a flicker of pride, not in the damage he had caused but in how the people below faced his storm. He realised his purpose wasn’t to be feared or to prove his might. He wasn’t meant to be a force of destruction like his ancestors had been but a force of change. A reminder that even in life’s storms there is strength in coming together. Sometimes anticipating the unknown is the most challenging and scariest part in life. But just like Cyclone Alfred, you are stronger than you think.
Alfred no longer felt anxious. He wasn’t a cyclone to be feared; he wasn’t a force of destruction. As he slowed and dissipated into gentler rain, Alfred whispered "This is how I was meant to be, after all".
"Being a good cyclone force isn’t about my strength. It’s about giving people a chance to be strong and to shine through any storm".
With that, he had found his purpose.