The Hand Behind the Wall

A short story by Felicity Trevan, aged 14

Koorong National Short Story Competition 2026 Entry

My story is a modern retelling of David and Goliath. I hope you like it, enjoy! – Felicity

Chapter 1 – The Mural and the Murmur

Most people in the city never noticed the mural on the side of the abandoned train station. It was faded, half‑peeled off and tagged over with neon graffiti done the ‘city rats’. But fifteen‑year‑old Eli stopped every morning to look at it. It was a detailed picture of a boy with a slingshot, facing a giant, preparing to take a swing, three stones on the ground, only three, it always puzzled Eli how could someone so small defeat someone so big with just three stones? The mural had no caption, which made Eli’s curious mind imagine many things about the story behind this mural. Though sometimes, it simply looked like a challenge. Eli liked challenges. Especially the challenges where he gets to take something down without all the attention over it, the complex simplicity of it pleased him, and the reactions of his peers as they question who could pull off such a challenge successfully made him grin, being anonymous was fun.

In fact, his school was facing a challenge now: the school was being swallowed by a corporation called Goliath Tech and Co. They had already installed new security gates, new uniforms, new rules about what students could say online. They called it “modernization.” Everyone else called it “the takeover.”

Eli didn’t actually plan on fighting them, but defeating such a huge company sounded fun, challenging, but fun. There’s that word again, challenge. Eli wasn’t loud, or tall, or the kind of person who wins arguments or fights very much. But he had a knack for noticing things other people missed. And he noticed something strange: the new biometric scanners Goliath installed were glitching. Not randomly, purposefully. They locked out certain students, always the ones who spoke up. When Eli tried to tell people, they shrugged. “That’s just how the world works.” “Pick your battles.” “Don’t make trouble.” “Don’t worry about it, it will all fall into place soon enough.” But each time, the mural stayed in his mind. A boy. A giant. A slingshot. Three stones. A challenge.

One night, while the city hummed with traffic and distant sirens, Eli sat on his bedroom floor with his laptop open. He whispered a small prayer. Not fancy, not poetic, just honest.

If You’re there… show me what to do.

He didn’t expect an answer. But he felt something shift, not a voice, more like a nudge, a small shove. A clarity. A direction. So, he followed it.

He dug through public records, old contracts, archived news articles. He found that Goliath Tech and Co. had been fined three times for discriminatory technology practices. He found that the scanners at his school were illegally collecting data, and he found, almost by accident, a loophole in the city’s digital privacy laws. A single student could file a challenge. One stone. Huh, Eli thought, maybe I can defeat a giant with one stone, take that mural boy. He chuckled at the absurdity of his words, then he began to work. The report was submitted at 3:12 a.m. and Eli went to sleep wondering if he’d actually just thrown a pebble at a skyscraper.

The next week was quiet. Too quiet. Goliath Tech and Co. kept expanding. Students kept getting locked out. Teachers kept losing their jobs. Eli started to think he’d imagined the nudge, the clarity, the courage. Then, the news broke: a citywide investigation. Mandatory shutdown of all Goliath scanners, a public hearing, and a headline in the daily paper that made Eli’s heart stop:

“Anonymous Student Report Triggers Inquiry into Goliath Tech and Co.”

A week or two later, at the hearing, executives in expensive suits tried to explain away the violations. But the evidence was too precise, too undeniable. Someone had mapped the entire pattern of discrimination. Someone had found the weak point. No one knew who that someone was.

He watched from the back row, hood up, fidgeting with his hands, trying to focus the judges booming voice mixed up with the executives denying everything. He didn’t need credit. He didn’t want it. He just wanted the giant to fall. He just wanted life back to normal.

When the ruling came, it was decisive: Goliath Dynamics was barred from operating in any school in the state. The crowd erupted. Eli didn’t. He just breathed. Slow, steady, grateful.

As he walked home, he passed the mural. The boy with the slingshot looked different now. Brighter. Sharper. As if someone had cleaned the paint overnight. Eli reached out and touched the wall. The bricks were warm, almost like a hand pressed back. He didn’t hear a voice. But he felt the same nudge as before, gentle and unmistakable.

You weren’t alone.

He smiled, shoved his hands into his pockets, and kept walking. The city lights flickered like a thousand tiny miracles. And somewhere behind him, the giant lay quiet. Chest heaving up and down, without a sound. Eli had won. Or so he thought.

Chapter 2 – The Deal

The next morning, the principal called an emergency assembly. Students shuffled into the gym, whispering about the investigation, the shutdown, the victory. But the principal didn’t look victorious. She looked worried. She was wringing her hands out as she stepped up to the mic, Eli did that when he was nervous too. She opened her mouth to speak and the words that followed left Eli speechless.

“Goliath Dynamics has appealed the ruling,” she said. “They claim the report was fabricated. They’re demanding the identity of the student who filed it. If we don’t comply, they’ll sue the district for breach of contract.”

A hush fell over the room. Eli felt his stomach drop. The giant wasn’t dead. It was getting back up. Slowly. All Eli could see in its eyes was red. The giant was angry.

The principal continued, “They’ve offered a deal. If the student comes forward and proves the report is legitimate, they’ll withdraw the lawsuit. But if no one steps up… we lose funding. The school closes.” Everyone in this rooms’ education depended on Eli.

Eli felt the weight of it settle on his shoulders. He hadn’t asked for this. He hadn’t wanted to be a hero. He just wanted the truth to matter.

That night, he returned to the mural. The city was quiet, the air cool. He stared at the painted boy, the slingshot, the giant.

“I didn’t sign up for this,” he whispered.

A breeze stirred, warm and strange, brushing his cheek like a hand. He didn’t hear words. But he felt something like them.

You threw the stone. Now stand where it lands.

He closed his eyes. “Okay,” he said. “Okay.”

Chapter 3 – The Giant Falls

The hearing room was packed. Reporters lined the walls. Goliath’s lawyers sat stiff and confident, their suits sharp enough to cut glass. The judge waved his hand, urging Eli to come forth, he hesitated, then, he stepped forward. “I filed the report,” he said. Gasps rippled through the room. The lead attorney smirked. “And you expect us to believe a teenager uncovered all this?” Eli swallowed. “I didn’t uncover it alone.” The attorney raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And who helped you?” Eli hesitated. The room leaned in. Eli thought of the mural. The warmth of the bricks. The nudge. The clarity. The quiet presence that had guided him. He chose his words carefully. “Someone who sees what we miss.”

The attorney scoffed and the room erupted in small giggles. “That’s not an answer.” She declared. But the judge tilted her head and waved her hand to silence them. “Show us your evidence.” Eli opened his laptop. He walked them through every file, every timestamp, every piece of evidence and data. He explained the loophole, the pattern, the discrimination. He answered every question with calm precision, and something strange happened.

The more he spoke, the more confident he became. The more confident he became, the more the room shifted. Lawyers frowned, reporters scribbled, the judge leaned forward. It was as if the giant was shrinking. Shrinking to become a small, helpless little boy, the giant was no longer scary. And when Eli finished, the judge sat back, silent for a long moment. Finally, she said, “The evidence is legitimate. The appeal is denied.” A wave of relief washed over the room. Goliath Dynamics had fallen. Not with a weapon, not with violence, but with truth, courage, and something unseen guiding the aim.

Chapter 4 – The Quiet Miracle

After the ruling, Eli walked home alone. The city lights flickered like a thousand tiny miracles. He passed the mural again. The boy with the slingshot was glowing in the late afternoon sun, but something was different. The giant was gone, only the boy remained, standing tall, slingshot lowered, face calm. Eli blinked. He stepped closer, the paint was fresh. He reached out and touched the wall. The bricks were warm again. A whisper of a breeze brushed past him, gentle and unmistakable. Not a voice, but a presence. A reminder.

You weren’t alone.

Eli smiled, shoved his hands into his pockets, and kept walking. Behind him, the mural stood quiet and victorious. And somewhere unseen, the Artist watched over the city. Proud of what he had done.

Later that week he asked his mother about the mural. “Ah,” she said, “that one was painted a while ago, it’s David and Goliath, an old bible story.” She seemed not to care much for his question so Eli did some of his own research. David and Goliath, Eli thought. Maybe I can find a place that sells these bible things nearby. So, Eli opened his laptop and began to research once more.

Later that week, he walked down the street to the library and finally found a bible. He sat down in a booth and began to read. Growing closer to the nudge more and more with each word. Growing closer the Artist with each sentence, growing closer to God with each page, perfectly crafted in every way.

THE END