June 6, 2014
I can hear the beeping of monitors in an unbroken pattern. It annoys my ears as it continues over and over. I cannot see anything, but I have so much energy built up inside. I can sense the stench of cleaning equipment, it smells like the room was doused with a large gallon of bleach. I can feel the strong chemicals straining my nose and making my eyes water. I feel anxious because I don’t know the room that I lay in. In the background of my head I can hear muffled voices that are as loud as if gunshots had gone off right next to my ears. The sound of it causes me an agonizing headache. After a moment I can hear the voices clear up. I manage to hear someone talking about me. “Cara has had a severe amount of blood loss to her body. She lost about three pints, if she’d lost at least five you would be planning a funeral. After attempting to regenerate blood back in, and provide donated blood, we were unable to stabilize her until about an hour ago. Your daughter is very lucky to be alive right now. If you hadn’t called an ambulance when you did... well, she would be dead now.” 4 months later. “Cara did you finish your homework?” my mom yelled at me from the kitchen. I could hear her voice screech, almost as high pitched as a yelling hyena. It made me laugh imagining my mom as a hyena. “Yeah mom, just finished it.” I ran down the stairs after she called for me. My feet sliding off the steps one by one. I’m going so fast I feel as if I might trip over them, but luckily I don’t. I get to the bottom of the steps and see my mom talking to my brother, Alex. “I need you to pick your sister up from school tomorrow I have to stay late at work and I’m not going to be able to get her.” My brother sighs as if picking me up from school will take away from his precious time playing video games. “Yeah, but only if I have to.” My mom tells me to wash up for dinner and grab a plate. Ever since the hospital accident our dinners haven’t really felt the same as before. She constantly disagrees with me and tells me I need professional help. She doesn’t realize I have changed into a different person. That night before I woke up in the hospital was quite eventful. From what I can remember I felt really depressed. That afternoon, I had just got home from school I did not want to continue living my life. I just felt sad all of the time and I couldn’t fix it. I never told anyone how I felt because I only imagined it as a temporary thing. Just thinking about that feeling in your stomach when you get really sad. The lump you can’t move, and you just want to throw up but you can’t, because you don’t need to. The thought of that feeling makes me want to kill myself even more than I did that day, and everyday after that. After the experience at the hospital, my mom decided to tell everyone in our family that I had become sick and not just like a stomach flu sick, but mentally. She believed that I should be sent to some crazy asylum camp where they put you in a straight jacket just so you don’t hurt yourself. Which I believe sounds more insane than the people going there. Anyway, when we got back from the infirmary my mom immediately started looking for therapists, psychiatrists and psychologists, and every sort of place I could possibly go to make me “better.” After I finished my dinner I went to my room. I sat on my bed. I can feel the indent in the middle of it where I often sit. I think about everything that has gone on in that room and all of the good and the bad. I realize I have done better than I had done earlier in the year, I almost feel proud. I feel I have stayed really strong and have not given into my own peer pressure. I feel happy for once, which I have not felt in a while. My intellectual fear has not demoted me to the instincts inside of myself. These strong feeling had only protected me by my common sense. “Don’t act on impulse until you have thought things through.” I have to tell myself that every second of everyday of my life. I need to talk to someone. I need to let the emotions out before I explode and something bad goes wrong. My mom finally signed me up to see a therapist. I have gone there for about 6 weeks now. It feels weird talking to him sometimes, but it starts to get easier as the time goes on. His name is Robert. Our conversations have always felt so adult. It never seems like I use little kid words when I talk. I think after talking to someone for a while it gets more normal and a lot more effortless rather than when you’re forced to talk to someone. My mom took me to my therapist today after school today. She wants me to see him at least twice a week. But I think once a month is plenty. I mean, I just have an ongoing cycle of school and home. Robert always starts the conversation every time I go because I can’t break open to my true self. “So Cara, tell me how you are feeling today.” I smirk and look at him in the most sarcastic way possible, “Well Mr. Robert, I am just dandy!” I roll my eyes after that and start to look at all the things hanging around his office. I can see a few diplomas on the wall and a couple pictures that look like children had drawn them. “Cara if I’m truly going to get to know you, you have to give me more than a basic teenager answer. I want to know who Cara is not the outside of her.” His words send a chill down my spine. It creeped me out hearing him say that. It was like he walked up behind me and whispered it into my ear. I look at him smile for a brief moment and look back down. I say to him, “Right, the real Cara,” I look back up but with some hesitation in my voice, “when I meet her I’ll let you know what she is like.” After a bit of arguing that goes back and forth about telling him how I feel, I finally give in. “Alright because this is just getting annoying. You want to know how I’m feeling, I'm terrified. I am scared of my own mind. I consistently go through my thoughts and try to organize them only hoping that I will be able to find a reason for my fear. Parents teach their children to be strong and don’t let the monsters hurt you. But what are you supposed to do when the monster that is trying to hurt you, is yourself. I cannot stand my mind, it hurts me everyday thinking, living. I just don’t want to have to think about anything, ever. I get too overwhelmed and I just want to explode. My fear is keeping me together, it is telling me to stay strong because it will be over soon. I don’t know what that feeling means, and I am too afraid to find out. I cannot stand the thought of giving into your own self, It’s weak, and It’s powerless. So ask me how I’m doing again. Because the answer is I’m terrified to death.” I can feel my heart pounding in my chest so hard I have no idea of what I just said. I know it was true though because I can feel a weight slowly lifted off my shoulders, which hasn’t happened in a long time. Robert looks at me and tells me, “Life is worth living.” What he says stresses me out and makes me a little angry. It’s the feeling you get in your head when someone disagrees with your opinion. Your hands start to shake and you get hyped up, but on the outside you’re calm, because can control yourself. “Look Cara, you are trying to find a reason for why you are sad all the time. This feeling is called depression. There are healthy coping skills you can use to ease the feelings and thoughts.” What did this guy just tell me; depressed? He needs to realize my side and my own opinion before he starts to say that I have depression. After I get home from the therapist's office I feel beyond angry. I try to stay calm and think about his point of view on things. I think about our talk today I sound completely rational, so I can’t understand what he means. I walk around my room pacing, back and forth and again and again. I hear a knock at my bedroom door, the door opens slowly. “Sweety, I need to run out for a couple hours. Please, while I’m gone come out of your room. It worries me when you’re in there all of the time. I know you don’t want to but at least you’ll be alone at home.” Hearing her say I will be alone for a while makes me smile, but for the wrong reasons. I sit in my room for a little and think back to the months after I came back from the hospital. When I felt happy, I felt normal again. I take a moment to realize what my life would have felt like if I had stayed on that continuous road I headed down. But my views began to change on myself after I started to see Robert. He really made me think about myself. Robert made my sadness seem pointless. He showed me how I exaggerated the emptiness of everything. I think he makes me more depressed than I make myself feel. But I changed myself, and I changed a lot more than I thought I did. I originally thought this sorrowful feeling would go away but actually thinking about it for the first time, I know it’s not. I get up more aggressive than before. This time with hopelessness mixed into it, not just anger. I look around at my walls and how plain and empty they seem. I never found anything I enjoyed enough to hang up onto them. I think over the 15 years of my dull life. I’ve never had a dad. I have never had a close friend. No one who I have brought home to hang out with. I think about my future and being alone there too. Do I really want to pass on my mood of affliction onto a child who will have to grow up knowing life has no real meaning unless they’re important? I look at my binder sitting on my desk. I grab a piece of paper and think to myself. It takes me a minute to decide what to do with it. I decide to let my feelings just flow and I begin writing. “Dear Mom and Alex, I would say I am sorry for what I am about to do, but I am not. I felt the need for this. I want to relieve your pain of having to watch me suffer inside my own mind. This was neither of your faults, nor was it anyone's. I believe that spreading my insanity along with everyone else in this world would be cruel to them all. To save you the trouble of having to deal with watching me slowly begin to go psychotic I decided to end my life. Please don’t grieve over me. I wanted to do this because life is just an endless roller coaster that makes me sick. I would like you both to know I love you very deeply, on an unimaginable level. Please continue to live your lives happily with each other and others who you also love. I will always and forever be with you in your hearts and in your mind because I care so profoundly about each of you. Live long and wonderfully eventful lives. Make sure you leave your mark somewhere for everyone to see. Believe in oblivion and in yourselves. Again with love, Cara.” I put the pencil down and put the note delicately folded in half on my desk. I walk into my mother’s bathroom and look for any sort of medication. I find the one with the most side effects and grab them. I go to my room, I tidy it up a bit making sure it looks okay. I go and lay onto my bed and grab something to drink the pills with. I swallow about 40 of them. I lay my down and close my eyes waiting for the release of my soul back to wherever it descended from. I can feel a tear roll down my cheek and into my mouth. It’s salty, the taste of it makes me cry more knowing I will never cry again. I can feel myself getting more tired than I ever, until I can barely move. In the moment where I almost drift away I can hear someone pull into the driveway. I feel my hands go numb and now I can’t move at all. My one regret, not telling my mom how much I appreciated her, and how much she helped me through my years. I love her so much and I won’t ever get to tell her how much. I can’t even imagine the pain of losing a child would feel like. But I think of the difficulty for her to watch me die internally . My thoughts start to drain away down an inevitable long sink, down the drain I go. I think to myself, “For now I will only be a memory. But in a year this room will only be a room. And the life that I lived will only be a memory”. I can feel the tears dry onto my face. It gets harder for them to roll down, almost like feathers falling onto the ground. I feel one finally reach my neck, and in that moment I realize I gave into my own fear. I feel weak and heavy at the same time, my body, sinking into the mattress. I can sense what I have left of my spirit leave my body. I can smell the aroma my room gives off. I already miss it. But I already made my choice. I will truly be content now. “She is free, and she will forever be happy. An angel that was too strong to undergo this world. Pray for her as her spirit is guided into heaven where she is praised for her strength. An angel whose wings weren’t strong enough to hold her up. Love from us to the little angel we call Cara. Rest forever in peace.”
0 Comments
Alfred James Taylor lived in Florida on Macalister lane. Alfred who also went by the name The Old Man. This old man didn’t like a lot of noise, so he usually stayed inside his house moping around. This old man only went outside when he went shopping or when he went on vacation. And when he did come out of his house everyone else disappeared into their houses in fear of the old man.
One day the old man decided that he had enough with the way everyone treated him, he decided to go on a vacation. He thought about going to California to see what it’s like on the other side of the country. He booked a flight and backed his bags, and by the next day he went on the next plane out of there. When everyone else realized that the old man was gone they all got together and through a big party that night. The next morning the people in the neighborhood got out of bed and they played outside and did other fun activities. Now the old man had just gotten off of his flight, and he now had to drive to his hotel in the Disneyland Resort. When he got there he bought tickets for five more days and he went on inside. As the people from the neighborhood wondered where the old man was they thought to themselves, “I wonder if he’s gone for good?” As they went to bed pondering that question; they thought of how nice it would finally become. As the old man came back from the park, he loved it, but not a lot. He sat on his bed and thought to himself, “I think this is where I will move. Now I just need to find a house.” The following morning, everyone in the neighborhood, weary when they awoke because they didn’t know if the old man had gotten back yet, looked outside on his front yard and they saw no car in his open garage. They got out of bed and since Saturday had come they woke their kids and they went to go do fun activities with them. All through the day they had too much fun, but they started to worry for they didn’t know when the old man would returned. As the old man woke up he smelt the sweet aroma of waffles and bacon down stairs in the breakfast resort. After breakfast he went to the resort and had some more fun. When he got back to his hotel he looked on his computer to see what houses were up for sale in this neighborhood. After he found a house he went straight to bed dreaming about this house. The next morning the people in the neighborhood awoke to the ear piercing sound of an alarm warning the people about an approaching hurricane. The people went to their safe spots and stayed there for two whole days until they heard the alarms say that the hurricane stopped. When they got out of their bunkers they saw that the old man’s house had been destroyed. They, with the help of the fire team, started to rebuild the old man's house. When the old man caught word of the hurricane that had come through the town. He packed his bags and got on the next flight back as soon as he could. Devastated when he found his house destroyed. He looked around to see everyone else pitching in and helping him rebuild his house. He went to the store and bought a bunch of treats for everyone. He brought the treats back and to their surprise the old man started sharing and talking to them he even started telling jokes to them as he and the others cleaned up his house and started to rebuild it. A few months later, after they all become friends, everyone had joy in their hearts again including Alfred. After that kind moment Alfred thought to himself, “ that if you want to be treated kindly then you need to treat others with respect.” They all became friends and Alfred lived the rest of his life happy. My name is Cyprus Reign. I am a 15-year-old girl from Memphis, Tennessee. I am here to share a story. Actually, it’s not just a story. It’s an...eerie story, very eerie. It all started a week ago. I was just about to go to bed. I had stayed up very late the previous night so this day, specifically a Wednesday night, I went to bed early. By early I mean about 10:30pm. I went into my room and turned off the lights and closed the door behind me. I promptly crawled into my red and blue bed sheets and rested my head on the pillow. It takes me awhile to fall asleep because of my bedtime routine. I first just lay in bed and usually take a long time just thinking about how the day went and my life in general. The things I think about are regular 15-year-old things. For example, all the guys I like. Speaking of guys I like, there is this one guy. My heart melts every time I think of him. His name is Stephan Hunt. Wow, i’m so sorry I just lost track of what I was talking about. But anyway, I rested my head on my pillow and when I was laying there in bed I heard some rustling. “What is that?” I said aloud. The rustling continued. “Hello?” The rustling stopped. “Well that was weird.” I went back to sleep thinking really nothing of it. I was just about to fall asleep when BOOM! The picture of me and my best friend Carla fell off of my dresser. “Stop hitting the wall John!” I yelled to my brother in the next room over to the left. “I didn’t hit the wall! Gosh!” My brother has the habit of hitting the wall a lot of the time so I suspected that it was him. “Ok. Sorry.” I said. I got out of bed and picked the picture up and put it back on the dresser. I went to my bed and again as I was about to fall asleep I heard some grunting. “What is that?” I said in an annoyed voice. I stood up to look around in my room and I couldn’t believe my eyes. It had two wings, four legs, four eyes, a muscular body, a horse like head, and it was white. “Oh my gosh!” I yelled “Look at this John!” John quickly ran into my room. “What the heck is that!” he exclaimed. “I don’t know but don’t tell mom and dad.” “Ok. I promise I won’t tell them.” “I guess we should keep it.” “Yea! Let’s keep it!” It was so friendly to us. I could really feel a connection with it. John was so happy that we kept it. We decided to name it Mussy. Mussy started flying us everywhere. From school to sports games, he flew us everywhere. And, guess what? My parents found out about Mussy and they didn’t even try to take him away. They just said that we need to be very careful with him because he can become a danger to others if they don’t know how to treat him right. That night turned out to be the best night of my life. Ava began to wander around her house, taking in past memories before she left to go to college. She looked at her bedroom door frame, looking at the red marks go higher and higher throughout the years that she grew. Ava looked through her stuff in her boxes, and came upon the volleyball she had gotten from her mom. Ava’s mind started to flood with memories that she had with the ball, its as if the event happened yesterday. It happened about two year ago, Ava was sixteen. That volleyball held in Ava’s hand was not just a volleyball, but it was the very first volleyball that Ava had ever used. Her mom got her it as a birthday present, she knew how bad Ava admired volleyball as a child. The other present she got is that her parents would be signing her up to play for a Volleyball Club, because she had begged for ages that she wanted to improve. Ava knew she would not disappoint her parents, she would take this opportunity to her advantage. Her experience of volleyball began to grow, she started to know positions of the court and she was becoming a professional at terms in volleyball. Throughout the year it was the same routine: wake up; go to school; come home; do homework; go to volleyball; come back home; eat; sleep; and then repeat. Time flew by, now it was the beginning of August and tryouts were around the corner. Ava’s lungs started to fill with excitement, she was tingling with joy on the inside. After Ava received her birthday gifts, she made a goal that if she worked hard enough, she would try out for the high school varsity volleyball team. Ava went to practice today, and right as she went she asked her teammates who were in her grade if they were going to try out for a volleyball team. She found out that her best friends, Olivia and Riley were deciding to try out for the varsity volleyball team. Right after volleyball practice, Ava took a shower and went to bed.
She thought in her head, “What if Olivia, Riley and I all get on the team? It’d be like a dream, and it’d let me know that I’m at the height of improvement where I’ve always wanted to be at!” Her thoughts started to dissipate, and she fell asleep like a baby. The sun soared with it’s bright tints of golden yellow, with dark and light orange, and had a hint of red. The alarm clock became a rooster and squawked, impulsing Ava to get out of bed. Ava checked what time it was, seven o'clock. It was August thirteenth, the day of tryouts. Ava went to get ready and grabbed her volleyball bag to bring with her. Her mom drove Ava to the high school and her heart sank when she saw how many cars there were at East Canyon. She met up with Olivia and Riley at the school’s flag pole and entered the gym. From there, there were volleyball nets were set up on each court. Volleyballs were firmly placed on the ball rack. There were tables set up at the entrance, with a pile of applications papers for tryouts. Volunteers were helping by writing numbers with sharpies on the volleyball players calfs. Olivia, Riley and Ava both placed their papers in the pile and waited for the volunteers to write a number on them. “I’m so nervous for tryouts,” Ava said. “What are you guys thinking right now?” “I’m super confident, I feel like I’ll make the team since I’ve been playing volleyball for a long time.” said Olivia. Riley and Ava both looked at each other and thought the same thing, “Of course.” Olivia each year has won an award and her team has always gone to nationals, so it wouldn’t surprise both Riley and Ava that Olivia would get on the team. “I’m gonna stay confident,” Riley said hesitantly, “I haven’t been too good, but I’m not also the worst player.” Everyone settled in the gym and the coach came. He blew his whistle and told everyone to hustle up. The managers went to their tables with pen and paper to take notes on the players. “Alright girls,” he said, “my name is Coach Hebert.” “My goal is here is to find the best volleyball players fit for my team,” said Coach Hebert, “We’re starting tryouts by doing warm ups, we’re going to start with forward lunge walks.” Coach Hebert blew the whistle again and the girls lined up with rows of five and seven girls in each line. The girls worked their way across the gym floor, some girls were already panting while others were under control. After across the gym floor warm ups were finished, the coach decided to put the girls into groups of five and pass the ball around the circle to each other. They then warmed up their serves by practicing their serves by themselves throughout the court. The warm ups went by quickly and everyone gathered around Coach Hebert as he put his whistle down to tell the girls the next directions. “Alright girls, we’re now gonna play a game called Winners,” said Coach Hebert, “If you haven’t played the game before, this is where the court is separated into two sides of the court, the queen side and the other side is where they are trying to get to the queen court. If the queens lose, they lose their position and the team who won them gets their position and the cycle repeats. I will be putting you into different teams so you get to know people in the gym.” The Coach started to count girls into numbers of six. Olivia, Riley and Ava were all separated. It felt weird to Ava because she was used to playing with other teammates that she knew well. Long story short, it became evening and tryouts just ended. The list would be posted tomorrow, all the girls said, “Thank You!” and went back home. The Coach said if you had any questions he’d be next to the volleyball list. The morning time lapsed and Ava drove back to East Canyon. Ava checked the list next to gym and felt like there was weight on her shoulders. Riley and Olivia got on the team, but she was not on there. Coach Hebert approached her and said, “Hey Ava, you did really good but there were other better players. I can tell that you’ve practiced very well, I can tell you’ve got a good heart, so do not make this make you stop your progress. Just keep pushing and pushing and I bet you, you’ll make the college volleyball team! Just don’t lose faith, I don’t to know a good volleyball player to quit just because of this one time thing.” Ava nodded her head and kept that advice throughout her life. The rest of the high school year, she was still passionate as ever. She graduated from high school and applied for the Penn State College and volleyball team and got on the team. Ava flashed back to the present where she was still holding her volleyball, with a tear dripping from her eye. I nervously paced in front of the office of Dolce and Gabbana, waiting for them to decide on my entire future and career. The perfume department smelled of rose and peppermint and the lobby crowded with other creators just hoping to catch the attention of the designers. I wrung my hands and took a deep breath, I had spent two years perfecting this scent and had been referenced by some of the top starting designers in New York. I squared my shoulders and stopped my pacing, I had to look like a professional. The seconds turned into minutes and the minutes turned into hours as I waited patiently in front of the office door. I worried if everything turned out perfect enough, or did I make it too perfect? What if my references didn’t impress them? What if they thought my product stunk like the trash? I sighed and sat stiffly down onto a nearby chair where probably thousands of dreamers sat before me.
Finally, the door opened and they told me to come inside. They handed me my bottle of perfume as I went to stand in front of them like a criminal standing before a judge. My scent smelled of fresh picked flowers, expensive oils, and fresh air with just a dash of something tangy that made it pop, I called it The Secret Ingredient. I had also made a line for men, it was the smell of old books on a rainy day. To be quite honest I have no idea how I made it, but the outcome was divine. And many of my guy friends who had tried it out on a date had a 30% chance of getting a call back. But the bottle truly was the cherry on top of the cake for both the men and women’s cologne. The girl’s had been made of the smoothest glass which was tall and thin, that came to a blood red rose at the top. It really looked like a rose with its glass stem and petal lid. I had named the line Elegance, which was appropriate due to the fact that everything about it portrayed elegance down to the last detail. But the men’s bottle was called Secret Power. It really was in my opinion, men who wore it drew women in from both sides. It looked like an expensive steel flask with a razor sharp cap, making it look dangerous in all the best ways possible. “Ms. Colt,” they started. “This is a very impressive line you have here and your resume is fantastic.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “But, I need to warn you that there are many other people out there with the same capabilities who come into this office.” My stomach sank a little but I kept my head strong and firmly nodded my head. They excused me from the office and I went on my way. I couldn’t believe that it was over, all they had done was interviewed me to get to know who I was and if I’d be good to work with, had me explain my product and the features of every detail, asked me even more questions without leaving anything unknown, sent me out to the hallway to discuss it, then called me in for final check ups. Now here I stood, walking-okay maybe more like strutting since I was floating on cloud nine-down the hall as they sent the next girl towards the door. Her bottles clattering loudly due to her shaking hands and the nervous energy radiating off of her in waves. She got in her car before I could call a taxi. That’s a good thing for me right? I hoped it didn’t seem arrogant with the way I smiled. I guess now all I could do was wait. Three days later, my phone rang and I picked it up before it could finish the first ring. It was Dolce and Gabbana, they wanted to see me the following morning and told me good news awaited me. I held up a calm and professional conversation until they hung up and I squealed in excitement and ran to tell my roommates. I could hardly sleep that night as I tossed and turned like a child on christmas eve. The next morning I walked towards the same door that I’d paced in front of-just a regular girl waiting for my moment. But today, I became the special girl who they picked out of all of them. The whole thing felt surreal as I went in, was told they wanted to buy my entire collection, and that they looked forward to our future as partners. I went out of the room numb and completely dumbfounded. My fingers held a piece of paper that held all the information of my opening day. July 27th, only two weeks away, and boy those two weeks went by faster than a car on a race track. I went to my new shop and waited with the rest of my team, everyone running around doing final touches in a hectic rush. By 8:00 a.m. security had to hold back the doors that were being bombarded by people just itching to get inside. My fingers tingled in anticipation as I announced to open the doors. I could have never prepared myself for the tornado of people who came in, it was like black friday times ten and soon the cash registers were full. It continued in such a fashion, crazier than ants on a popsicle in my opinion and I loved every moment. But sooner than I wished it became closing time and it ended in a complete success, as well as the rest of my days with Dolce and Gabbana, with my perfume flooding the market. Two years later I got a call from Proda, I went in and smiled as I picked up the pen. The man held out a box. A beautiful box that was green with gold ribbons that flowed down the sides like a stream down a mountain. “Its for you.” Said the man. She felt very surprised, not knowing why anyone would ever do such a thing. “Why me?” Said the girl. ”On Christmas Eve?” “That's not important,” said the man”open it”. She wanted to open it, but Christmas was tomorrow, she might as well wait.”Will you allow me to wait till tomorrow?”. “If you so please madame… enjoy it” Then he turned, put on his cap and walked down the dark street, shrinking into the distance. The girl was left speechless. This man had just given her a gift wrapped and decorated with more care than she had seen before. What could be inside though? It could be anything….. anything…. The thought of worry slowly tinged its way into her mind. What would happen if she opened it? For all she knew she might just be in a dream. None of the less, it was dark out, “I better head home now” she thought. With that, she too melted into the dark New York street. As she made her way into the apartment, she looked into her purse for a coin to give to the woman on the street (she usually did, for she was a good, hole-hearted woman) as she pulled one out she again saw the glimmer of the box the thoughtful man had given out. She had to try and ignore it. If she inspected anymore her curiosity would get the better of her, and she truly did want to wait till Christmas. As she walked to the elevator, she thought about what it could hold inside. The elevator came and she rode it up to the hall where she walked to her room. She dropped her purse and got into her night gown, where she fell into her bed and slumbered into a great Christmas Eve sleep. When she woke up she went through her usual morning routine. She made herself a meal and read the morning paper but, while she was eating breakfast she remembered the gift. She immediately stopped eating and ran over to the box. She could now open it, but should she? She had waited this long she had to see what was inside. It could be something bad, very bad, but alas. She tore open the ribbon that held the box together and slowly took off the top of the box. She placed the top on her nightstand and looked inside the square beauty. What stood there surprised her, it looked like nothing she’d seen before…..it was amazing. She put her hand down and touched the mechanism but before she could do anymore, the scene shifted. Suddenly she laid in her bed, in her night gown. The apartment and the gift, all gone. She checked her calendar, the dates all marked to Christmas Eve! It was as if time had went the wrong way! For some reason, this exact time felt so similar, but how, she just woke up on christmas day! The girl had no idea what happened. All of that….gone. Could it have been just a dream? How could it all have disappeared so suddenly? Not knowing what to do she got ready for the day, and went out to the grocer among other places as she usually did on a Friday. The memory still taunted her, prodding at her mind making her think. What if it wasn't a dream, what if it was real. Her mind fought back though, it was just a dream, it couldn't be real! The morning turned to evening and evening to night. She was on her way back when she saw a man. The man held out a box. A beautiful box that was green with gold ribbons that flowed down the sides like a stream down a mountain. “Its for you” said the man.
I couldn’t breathe. I tried to gasp for air, but it kept escaping me. Strong hands grabbed around my waist and pulled me out of the water. My dad just looked at me. I could remember sitting in the passenger seat of our car when my dad lost control of the car. Then, we fell in the water. My dad’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts, “You alright?” I responded slowly trying to process what happened, “Yeah.” My dad replied, “Something went wrong with the car tire. I found a puncture in it. Somebody must have tried to hurt us. We have to get out of here in case they find out they failed and decide to come back. Kira, what’s wrong?” I looked away and said, “Why are they doing this? Haven’t we been through enough? I want to know who it is, so I can track them down and give them revenge for what they did to mom. They killed her like she was worth nothing.” Dad just sighed and gave no reply. I just shook my head, “You’re right. We should go.” We started the long walk back home. When we got through the door, I already knew something wrong happened. My dad flipped on the switch. Nothing looked right. Someone had to have looked for something. I ran upstairs, muttering, “No! They couldn’t have found it.” I got in my room. What they came here to look for was gone. I sat down and sobbed. They found it. They found the stone. My mom’s only remaining inheritance.
Me and my dad quietly ate. My dad had called the police. They got their best detectives on the scene. They would get here in about 1 hour. We didn’t know what to say to each other. It felt like we couldn’t speak. The phone rang and my dad went to get it. I sat there in silence until he got back. “They should be here shortly,” he said. I just nodded my head. The doorbell rang. They had arrived. I stood up and went to the TV and turned it on. My dad let the detectives in. 4 of them came. They introduced themselves and immediately went upstairs. My dad followed them. I turned the channel to the news, but found nothing. I turned the TV off and decided to give my 12 year-old brother a call. He moved away because we didn’t want him to get hurt. He lives with my dad’s sister, Jenny. The phone kept ringing, but my brother didn’t answer. The detectives came back down with a slip of paper. Cursive writing showed up on it: 8354 S Jensen Lane. It showed us an address. We ran out and got into the detective’s car. We raced to the address and found our destination in 15 minutes. We hopped out and went up to the door. “You must do everything we say. Be quiet and careful. Don’t say anything unless you have to,” one of the detectives said to us. He rang the doorbell. We sat there for five minutes, waiting. Nobody answered. We would have to break in. We got in the house. We immediately went upstairs. We opened one of the bedroom doors and walked inside. A figure lay in the bed. We ran over and shined a light on their face. “What’s going on?” he questioned, “Who are you?” The detective replied, “Tell me sir, what does jail feel like?” I sat waiting in the police office. The guy got caught and got sent to jail. He went by the name of Harold Gordon. People wanted him in over 20 countries and was on the run for over 7 years. He got charged of murder, thievery, fraud, and many other things. He targeted my family for our money. We inherited all of my Grandpa’s things and he got paid a lot of money. He took the stone because he thought it was worth a lot of money, but he didn’t know what it meant to me and my family. He has tracked us down for months now. He accidentally dropped one of his business cards that gave us the address. I tried calling my brother again. This time he answered. I told him that he could move back home now that we caught the bad guy. He jumped off from his phone and started packing his stuff. He said he would come tomorrow. Tomorrow. A fresh start tomorrow. Tomorrow again. I got my very first case as a detective on a damp and frigid night.
“Wait” said a calm voice “we live in California and it never rains. By the way, Mike, who are you talking to?” “I’m talking to myself Gary, and it will add extra pizzazz to the day” said Mike. “Oh, okay.” said Gary “Well, what’s the first case?” “It’s the case of the bandit guy.” exclaimed Mike. “Who?” Gary wondered. “Some guy who stole something.” pronounced Mike “We need to go catch him now! Let’s go!” “I’ll get my sandwich!” Gary said. Gary and Mike departed from the station in an undercover police car to try and catch the bandit guy incognito style. “So, The Crime Fighting Kids drove down the road to see if they could find the slippery no good bandit.” Gary interrupted and said, “Who are you talking to now?” “Still myself.” said Mike “Look for a guy with a black hoody and he's about 6 foot 2 and looks suspicious.” “Okay he has a black hoody and looks suspicious.” repeated Gary Gary saw the bandit and yelled “There he goes!” “No that's just a sandwich shop.” corrected Mike “Oh wait! That really is him!” Mike and Gary followed the suspect on foot stealthily like a mouse scampering down the alleyways. “Gary, go around the alleyway and catch him on the other side.” ordered Mike “Okay” Gary replied A few minutes later, the perp turned the corner where Gary was supposed to be. “Ah, where is he?” said Mike. Then Mike turned the corner and saw Gary with the robber in hand. “I got him!” Gary exclaimed. “Great job Gary!” Mike said “Let’s take him to the station and question him!” Later at the police station Gary and Mike took the robber into the interrogation room to get some answers from the suspect. “Did you rob the store?” Mike questioned. The suspect sat there silent with a blank unmoving face. “Okay, we’ll do it the hard way. Gary, get your guitar.” Gary got out is guitar and began to play it, and the sound was so horrific and terrible that the suspect broke. He said, “Yes I did it now please stop!” Gary stop playing his guitar and walked out of the interrogation room with Mike. “What do we do now, Mike?” The bell rang, obnoxious as a seal’s bark, as we all got out of our chairs since school had ended. Melanie and I sprinted out to the buses. “So what are we doing today Emma?” Mel said as we sat in our usual spot. “We could go on a walk, up in the mountain right by my house?” “Ok deal! Adventure it is.” We hopped off the bus and ran to my house, put our stuff away and started walking down my street. Hmm, where should we go today…? I took a left down my block and we headed for the mountains right by my house. “Look over there!” Mel said as we reached a clearing in the trees. I ran over to it and felt the smooth rock surrounding a wooden door. “Open it,” she said as I felt the chilly handle about half way through the door. I imagined a beautiful serene garden as the lining of the door was covered in luscious flowers. I pulled the door open and a flash of black came over us. “Mel!” I cried and reached for her hand. In an instant we were standing right in front of the door, and we slowly turned around. Where are we? I thought to myself as I looked around in disbelief at all of the dead trees and the fog. Me and Mel still held hands as an old, grumpy man walked up to us. “Who are you?!” I cried trying to sound bold. “You will do what I say for one week and I will let you go.” I looked at Mel and she nodded, right as she did we both turned around running for the door that we entered in. We stopped, in disbelief, the door was gone. He laughed uncontrollably as we slowly turned back around to face him. “You’re not going to find that door again even if you tried for a week, so i suggest coming with me.” He turned around and we followed him up his stairs and into his dark, gloomy mansion. He whispered under his breath the entire way up and we couldn’t understand one word of it. “You mess up one time, and your sentence will be extended. Got it?” We nodded, holding each other's hands tight. He guided us to a small, cold, and dingy room in the upper left corner of the castle where we would stay. Everything around us was dingey, with cobwebs everywhere. He shoved us through the door and said, “I will give you your first assignment in the morning.” He slammed the door shut, and we collapsed to the ground as soon as we couldn’t hear his footsteps.
“We have to find a way out of here” I said with tears building up in my eyes. I was trying so hard to keep them in and be strong. “I know. But how will we if the door we came through is gone?” Mel asked. “We’ll find a way” I said firmly, “We have to.” We awoke with him pounding on the door. He yelled for us to come down stairs and we obeyed fast. He gave us our first assignment and I didn’t know how we were going to do this for an entire week. We did a lot of cleaning and catching of animals that he had lost. We were exhausted by the end of the day and couldn’t wait until it was bedtime. We did this for four days straight. He pounded on the door on the fifth day, and told us that our next assignment was at night so we would stay inside all day. He left and mel and I sighed. Mel went to look out the window and gasped. “Emma! Come look right now!!” Mel said in disbelief. I ran over and saw the door that we came in flickering in the distance. “Oh my gosh. That’s why he never has us work over there!” We looked at each other. I had so many thoughts running through my head. The next couple hours we came up with a plan of how we were getting out. We did the chore he wanted and he gave us our dinner for the night. When we were up in the room we realized that the door came back every hour for about 5 minutes. When he was taking us upstairs we looked at each other, it was 5:00. “RUN!” I yelled and we both took off. We ran out the nearest doors and sprinted down the hill towards the door. He ran after us but wasn’t fast enough. If we timed it right we’d reach and go through the door just in time so he couldn’t go through after us. He grabbed at my sleeve and I sped up. We have never ran so fast. We reached the door with him right behind us and we jumped through. We slammed the door and right as we did it disappeared. “We did it!’ I said as I was hugging Mel. We ran up to my doorstep and noticed a different car in my driveway. I didn’t think anything of it because I wanted to get inside so badly. I went to open the door to find it locked, so I pounded on it. A lady that I have never seen before opened the door. I looked at Mel. “Who are you?” I asked the strange lady. “Umm. Olivia gates, and you are?” “Emma, and this is my best friend Mel.” I answered still so confused. “What are you doing here?” She asked me as we stood in silence. “I live here… Where is my mother?” “I’m sorry I think you have the wrong address.” “Nope, I’m positive I live here.” I said firmly. “Well than you are out of luck because we moved in a while ago. It’s been 5 years today actually. The people in here before us moved out of state because they had a daughter that went missing after school one day. But here’s my phone in case you need to call your mom!” I looked at Mel mortified and she looked back at me. “We were in there for 5 years.” “Goodbye.” I can barely spit out. “I will see you soon.” I give my dad one last hug before he takes off. I watch him walk through security and out of sight. In tears, I turn to the rest of my family and watch them start to meander back to the car. I stare at my locket he gave me with a picture of him in it, hoping it would bring him back. “Only 18 months of deployment before he is back.” I think to myself. I try to walk, but I’m stuck. My legs won’t move. I just stand there sobbing. My mom comes and grabs my hand. She guides me all the way back to the car. I feel like a little child again. I weep all the way home. As we get home, I go straight to bed and cry myself to sleep.
When I wake up, I smell bacon and eggs. I get up and get dressed. It takes me 15 minutes to brush out my hair because my mind keeps replaying the moment he left. I finally go downstairs to eat breakfast. ‘You slept a long time.” said Hallie, my sister, as she puts more pancake batter on the griddle. “Yeah. I guess so.” I answer, not really thinking. I go to grab the jelly to put on my pancakes. “Why do you like jelly on your pancakes?” asks Hallie. “That’s honestly so gross.” “No, it’s not.” I mumble, not really feeling like talking. I can tell Hallie is trying to get me to talk because she keeps asking me all these questions. “I have to go.” I finally just say. “The bus is going to be here soon.” “Wait. After yesterday, you are still going to school?” Hallie questioned. “Yeah. If I miss any school my grades with suffer a lot. Welcome to high school.” I say as I run upstairs to finish getting ready. I sit all by myself on the bus and put my headphones in. I couldn’t focus in any of my classes. I kept staring at my locket and the picture of my dad and me together at a baseball game before he left. My friends tried to make me feel better all day. They tried to make me get my mind off of it, but my mind always reverted back. “They don’t understand.” I continuously thought. “They can’t even begin to understand what it’s like to not see your best friend everyday.” The best part of my day slowly approached, going home. As I’m sitting alone on the bus, I decide to bake cookies when I get home. Baking has a gift of helping my forget everything. I walk in the door and walk straight into my bedroom to drop off my backpack. I amble down the stairs to the kitchen and pull out a recipe for sugar cookies. I start to retrieve all the ingredients as Hallie walked into the door. “Look who decided to get out of their room.” Hallie states as she walks into the room. “Where did you go?” I ask. “I went out to lunch with my friends. What are you baking?” Hallie always has to know what I’m doing. “Please tell me you are baking your famous sugar cookies. You know you could sell those and make a lot of money.” “Yes. But I can’t make them when you are constantly yapping in my ear. They should be ready in an hour. Come back then.” I say as I pour in the flour and start to mix the dough. After baking 4 dozen sugar cookies, I decide to hit the hay. “I made it through one day. Only 18 more months to go” I think as I drift off to sleep. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |