Prologue
The rain began almost as soon as they started climbing. Anton had warned his younger brother that the forecast wasn’t good. But Alonzo, grinning as always, brushed it aside.
‘It won’t rain,’ he said, striding up the track at the Thousand Steps in the Dandenong Ranges.
Minutes later the heavens opened. Sheets of water poured down, soaking their clothes and turning the steep path into a slippery creek. Most people would have turned back. Alonzo only laughed. He looked at his brother, who was drenched and shaking his head, then broke into a run.
Anton followed. Together they pounded up and down the sodden track, shouting, laughing, slipping and splashing through puddles. What might have been a ruined walk became one of their favourite days together. It was classic Alonzo.
He had a way of taking something ordinary, even unpleasant, and flipping it into joy. He lived that way. His smile dared you not to smile back. His energy filled the air. He carried a sense that every moment, no matter how small, could be an adventure.
This is how his family and friends remember him. He was the one who turned mishaps into laughter. He was the one who dragged you into the rain rather than letting you sulk indoors. He was the one whose company, whether at the dinner table, at work or on a dance floor, made everything lighter.
You may never have met Alonzo. But in stories like this he is still here. He is running headlong into the storm, grinning, and calling you to come along.
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