Days Like These

When horse lover Nicole began to learn about brumbies, there was one who took her breath away on Facebook page: Paleface. He was the most famous stallion of all the wild horses on the Snowy Mountains. A rock star horse with a breathless online following. But after the bushfires of 2019, he disappeared. Fast forward to 2021 when Nicole helps rescue a herd of brumbies from the Mountains: could an angry, malnourished stallion in the back of the horse truck be him? It's up to Nicole to find out, armed with only with an obsession to find out the truth and a d*ck pic.

Growing up in pre-revolution Iran, Jaleh Misaghi dreams of becoming a race car driver. So strong is the pull of rubber on the road, she glues herself to the TV, watching Formula 1, practicing her moves and yearning for the speed of the track.  But after the Iranian revolution, Jaheh’s driving quest is shattered – she can’t even get her licence. With the regime cracking down and a young daughter to care for, she must decide on a new road, one that ultimately brings her to Australia and, finally, behind the wheel.

Jacek Koman grew up in theatres, the son of two actors performing their way around Communist Poland in the 1950s and 1960s. At school he’s more interested in learning Russian than stagecraft, by the time Jacek reaches university he decides to follow in their footsteps and go to drama school.  But, after a night out ends in a brush with the Polish secret police, Jacek and his brother make a run for the West.   Over the years, he rebuilds his career from scratch to become one of the Australia’s most cherished actors on stage and screen, with roles in Belvoir Street plays, The Secret Life of Us and Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge. But Jacek’s rusty Russian also plays a reprising role when he’s called to become the front man of a band performing the songs of the Russian criminal underground. 

It’s mid-winter in the Snowy Mountains and in the Thredbo river, where the water is 3.3 degrees, a woman swims laps. She’s wearing just a regular swimsuit, cap and goggles.  The swimmer is 40-year-old Joy Symons, attempting an ‘ice mile’, a feat considered by some the most dangerous swim in the world. To achieve this official ice mile, she must give proof that she is alive 45 minutes after the event. A former Australian representative swimmer, she and her family live at the public pool they manage in sunny Rockhampton, Queensland. So what’s brought her to swim in this murky pond with snow falling around her? And how will the grit that made Joy competitive as a young swimmer help her today? 

Sonya grew up in Brisbane. But at 26 she decides to move her life to London. Within days of arriving, she meets a beautiful woman at a bar in Soho. They click instantly. They fall in love, get married and build a life together in their adopted city. The only thing missing is… a baby. But after 5 years of trying, it doesn’t happen for them and they decide to call it a day.   Not long after Tess and Sonya find themselves on holidays on the Greek island of Crete. And that’s when their life changes forever. Because that’s when they meet HER. She has black hair and her socks are white despite playing in the dust. Apparently she’s been living in the ruins of an old palace by herself. They can’t just leave her there… can they? 

Growing up in a small city in south-west China during Mao’s Cultural Revolution led Guojian to join the People's Liberation Army, China’s military.  He was a doctrinaire solider until an illegal Australian radio station, and a love song, opened his world. 

When Megan met Leon, they thought they were just in for a holiday romance.But it became a long distance thing. Then it became a real life thing. And then it wasn't a thing. Leon had his life sorted out, while Megan felt her real life hadn’t even started. They let each other go, they met other people, they had adventures... but eventually, real life and real love collided – but could it work, all those years later? 

One night, fresh from his first big break-up, a 23-year-old Graham Panther is hanging out at a friend’s house when she pulls out a massive bag of weed.  Together, they decide to cut loose, forget about their troubles for one night.  But what starts as a light-hearted trip soon sours, as Graham finds himself tumbling into a different dimension. And when he returns to reality, things are not as they used to be. Graham created The Big Feels Club as a space to talk about all the big, scary feelings that come with being human. Check them out at https://bigfeels.club/ **Please keep in mind that this story details one person’s experience regarding choices and medication. If it raises anything for you, please seek support from a medical professional. And remember, Lifeline can be reached via text or on 13 11 14 at any time of the night or day. 

Emma Jane Holmes is a funeral director by day, but when night falls, her alter ego appears. Emma takes our lead reporter Pat Abboud behind the closed doors of a mortuary, to reveal how the death care industry is dealing with the pandemic and letting us in on her secret double life.

Two men go head-to-head over a set of photographs taken in the Tasmanian wilderness.The images could rewrite the history of a legendary animal, if only they can agree on what they're looking at.Here are the images captured by Neil Waters and the Thylacine Awareness Group.*A previous version of this story claimed that the parties had not met, which was inaccurate and has now been corrected.