Crash On Planet AJ

All my life my dad has worked for NASA. Recently, NASA launched the 2272 space living project. My mom (being the supportive mom she is) volunteers us. I am 6. Another family with a 6 year old daughter volunteers. This is a 1-year program so they send the other family with us.

NASA sends us off on July 14th, 2272. We board with our phones, toys, clothes, and more. The ship has water cleaners so we can drink some of our own pee, and they send the food up every day in loads.

Lots of people are gathered for the departure of the Space Flyer 2272. Friends and family, NASA members, and other spectators are there. They are gathered a mile away from the launch site for safety reasons. The NASA members controlling the launch are in the headquarters. I am in tears.      

                

  “Come on Juliet, it's time to board the spacecraft. Please help carry as much as you can.” My mom says. We are all very excited, nervous and scared.

All the family members are boarding. Me (Juliet), Abby (the other daughter), Mary (my mom), Grace (Abby's mom) and George (Abby's dad). The crew is already on the Space Flyer 2272. They are: Jessica Meir (pilot), Jeanette Epps (co-pilot), Andrew Feustel (member 1), Tyler Hause (member 2), Andrew Morgan (member 3), Reid Wiseman (member 4), and Josh Cassada (technician).

As we walk up the stairs onto the aircraft I stand behind my mother. Abby stands behind me, her mom and dad behind her. All of us have four or more bags.

I follow my mother up the stairs and down the hallways to our rooms. Mine is big with a bed in one corner. The bed has white sheets. In the other corner of my room there is a space suit for outdoor travel. Winding along the top and bottom is a gravity machine. It keeps me from floating to the ceiling. I have one wall that is cupboard shelving units. They all have drawers.

My walls are light blue with white stars. I love my new room. I love the way that my windows view the solar system and the earth. I love the big fluffy rug in the middle of my room. The doors are next to the space suit and there is a desk next to that.

“Okay Juliet, put your stuff down and you can go say goodbye to everyone.” My mom says.

“Okay Mommy.” I say. I set down my 4 bags and run back outside to say goodbye. I'm going to miss my dad, grandparents, and friends. I run down the 7 flights of stairs I say goodbye to everyone.

“Goodbye, Daddy! I’m gonna miss you!”

“I’m gonna miss you too! Have fun up there, and be nice to your mom for me, okay?”

“Okay, can we talk every day, Daddy?”

“Maybe not every day, but we can talk a lot. How's that sound?”

“Good.”

“Okay, Goodbye. I’ll miss you.”

I continue saying goodbye to everyone else. I'm going to miss them a lot.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF!” Everyone on the spaceship cheers. We are all standing in the main area with the big TV on the wall, watching the bystanders. The big speakers above and under the TV vibrate dramatically as everyone cheers and screams. The room has a big 2 corner couch all around the perimeter of the room. The light grey of the couch blends with the medium blue of the walls and the deep red pillows nicely.

A big table is set up in the middle of the room with a big fuzzy rug like the one in my room. Right now we are thousands of feet off the ground. I know I hear weird noises. I wonder if anyone else does. I don't think too much about it now that I'm on earth. I know I should have.

“Abby, do you want to come see my room?”

“Sure.” She says.

“Come on, follow me.” I struggle to remember the way to show her my room down long hallways and stairs.

“Woah!” She said. “It's amazing!”

“Doesn't it look similar like yours?”

“Basically. Want to come see?”

“I'd love to come!” I follow her down a hallway and we arrive.

It is the same as mine but has yellow walls like the sun. Also, her sheets are light blue. I hear another strange sound and tell her.

“I've been hearing these strange sounds. I've been wondering if you've been hearing them, too.” I say.

“Yes, I have.” She says. “They've been kind of scaring me.”

We stay in her room for a while and get to know each other. I learn that Abby likes the color blue and pink. I like the color pink. Her favorite food is macaroni and cheese, baked potatoes, and pizza. I like salad and noodles. Abby's favorite activity is drawing.  My favorite activity is drawing, too.

Her mom comes in to get us for dinner a while later. We follow her down stairs and hallways, wondering how anyone learns their way around. After a small but filling dinner of mashed potatoes we go to our respective rooms for a quiet evening. Being six we have quite early bedtimes. My bedtime is at 7:50. Abby's was 8:00. After that we go to bed.

I wake up at 2 in the morning to loud banging sounds. I look out the window and see scraps of metal outside.

I walk down the hall to my Mom’s room and almost shout,  “Mommy, Mommy! I saw metal outside the window!”

“I'm sure it's just trash, sweetie.”

“But I heard banging sounds, too. Is the spaceship falling apart?”

“No, sweets, I'm sure it's just bumping the spaceship.”

“Okay.”

“Go back to sleep, now.”

I have trouble sleeping that night. I'm worried that the spaceship will explode. I have a nightmare where the ship explodes and we all die.

I wake up in the morning, still scared about the spaceship exploding. Abby comes to my room to pick me up for breakfast.

“Coming.” I say. I'm very hungry for breakfast.

We walk down to breakfast together. Breakfast is pancakes. They are very delicious. There is no syrup and they are reheated pancakes, but that is fine.

We go back to my room and hang  for a while. All the other adults stay in the main area. We hear a lot of weird sounds and see lots of metal scraps flying outside. We are both very scared. Being 6 we both think we are going to die.

The rest of the afternoon goes normally. For lunch we have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I play with Abby the rest of the afternoon, with all the toys we brought. It is really fun.

Then night comes. Night is terrifying for me. What happens I will never forget. Not even when I'm on my deathbed.

I am sleeping snug inside my white sheets and comforter. Heating on the spacecraft is not the best (the reason for the comforter).

That is when I hear a big crash. That is what I wake up to. I don't know what it is. It is very loud. I see some smoke filling the spacecraft and all I can do is scream. My mom comes to my rescue.

“What happened?” I say.

“We crashed but we are going to be okay.” She says. “Please put on your spacesuit. I have to put mine on. Then bring as many bags as you can and follow the exit signs outside. I will be right behind you.”

I slip my suit on as fast as I can. The only thing I want to do is get to safety. I carry my bag of clothing and my bag of toys outside.

I don't know where I am. It is red in spots and green in spots and forest-y in some spots. The red spot is pretty small. All the people on the craft could fit with a foot around them in the red spot.

We have good human conditions on the planet. I’m glad there are human conditions. I am still very scared. The planet is pretty warm. It isn't the warmest it could be, but it's warm enough that we don't need coats.

No one knows where we are. No one thinks we are on the red planet. They decide to call the planet Planet AJ in honor of me and Abby. And I am crashed there. Crashed on Planet AJ.

The technician decides to deal with the crash in the morning. The adults go back into the ship to get spare air mattresses. There are enough mattresses for everyone. That is when I see Abby for the first time since the crash. Her mom stays with us while the adults get the mattresses.

We get to sleep next to each other. The night is long and quiet. Abby and I sleep OK, but I have nightmares. I have a nightmare about being trapped on the planet forever. I know that is not going to happen. At least I hope that is not what is going to happen.

I don't want to be stuck on the planet forever. I want to go see my parents and friends and grandparents. Abby has her parents with her. I'm jealous of that, my dad isn't there but my mom is there.

The next morning we get up and we don't have breakfast right away, because there's no food right there with us. We're going to take one trip to the craft for safety reasons.

We spend most of the day playing on the grass with our toys. We get breakfast around 11:00 AM. That is the only time we get to go onto the spacecraft. If we need to use the bathroom we have to go deep in the wooded/tree area.

Josh spends nearly the entire day trying to fix the craft. The front is nearly broken off. The only way to fix it is to take metal and weld it on. In the afternoon he takes a break from fixing the craft. He knows it will not be fixed for a couple days at minimum.

We sleep three nights and four days on Planet AJ. Josh finds enough pots and pans on board and welds them together and on the ship. The ship is not completely fixed, but it is good enough to fly back to Earth.

On the third day the wind is fierce so we get to go onto the craft to use the bathroom. We spend most of the day on the craft.

About midday Jeanette Epps calls us all to the main area.

“I wanted to tell you all what happened Tuesday night.” She begins. “I was sitting in the cockpit, minding my own business, controlling the ship. Then the control panel started to light up and buzz a lot. I looked out the window and-”

“Excuse me Jeanette Epps,” Jessica Meir interrupted. “But may I suggest that we take off while you continue speaking?”

“Oh, why yes, that would be lovely.”

“You would like me to control?”

“Yes, please.”

The loud sound of the engine startles me and Abby. We go sit on the couch for take off. The engine starts to get louder and we push back in our seats so our nerves won't run a marathon inside our bodies as we take off.

The entire crowd of adults starts chanting. “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF!” With a deafening noise, the craft goes up and up. It is working! Abby and I are still scared about the crash. My mom must sense this because she comes over and pulls me onto her lap.

“You okay?” She asks.

“Yes. Just scared of crashing.”

“As I was saying, I looked out the window and we were moving very fast. Hyper speeding through space, I think. So I got Jessica and that is when we crashed. You should know the rest.”

We get back to earth okay. I miss my dad so much, and am so glad to see him. The ride is slower than there because it could break any time. There are no more weird sounds or metal bits flying around. I am much safer than the ride here. It is a lot better.

The End

The year is 1633.  A man travels across a dirt road to a beautiful deserted landscape.  He is in search of a new home on the West side of Virginia.  He came to the New World from England. Charlie Gardner is entering a land where he is not supposed to be.

After a long day at work, Charlie Gardner walks the short road to his home.  Charlie works at “Silk and Luxury Fabrics” in the bustling town of London.  As he enters his house, he is met by his lovely wife, Martha.

“How was your day at work honey?” Martha asks.

“It was a day full of surprises.  First, I got a big order from Winchester and then I got my hands on some fine silk for you!”  Charlie hands Martha a piece of shiny purple silk, perfect for a new dress.

“Oh, Charlie!  What a nice thing to do!  I don’t need this!”

“You deserve it after everything you have done for the family,” Charlie praised.

A creak by the hallway door startles Charlie and Martha.  Two short silhouettes stand in the hallway.  They come into the light and two young girls stand in the door frame.  The older one, Elizabeth, has a perfect posture with golden hair down to her shoulders.  The younger daughter, Katherine, a girl with no rules and crazy brown hair, runs to her father, arms wide.

“Daddy!  I missed you so much!”

Elizabeth soon follows with a sincere, happy smile.  “Hi father. How was your day?” asked Elizabeth.

“My day was great girls!  How about you?”

Before she can answer, Katherine blurts out, “I made a painting in school today!”  She hands him a colorful flower on paper signed with her name.

“That’s amazing honey.  You did such a nice job!”  Charlie turns and glances at the clock.

He laughs, “I just realized that it is time for bed!”

“Your father’s right.  Time to get your beauty sleep,” Martha says as she signals the girls to follow her.  Elizabeth and Katherine kiss their dad goodnight and disappear with their mother down the hallway.

“BANG, BANG, BANG!”

“Who can that be so late?”

A swift movement is heard outside the door and is gone when Charlie opens it.  An eerie note was left on the doorstep that is addressed to “My dearest friend, Charlie Gardner,” but has no signature of the sender.  It reads that “the New World awaits you and is where you belong.”

. . .

Charlie walks through the brisk air on his way to work.  He always stops at the corner store to get a daily newspaper.  Charlie notices that the city seems more joyful than normal.  The crisp newspaper was stacked on the steps of the store for it was closed that day.  Charlie picks up a newspaper and looks at the headline.  It says “The New World is the Land of Opportunity!” Charlie remembers that this is what the letter from the night before was all about.  As he nears the end of the article, a sensation of happiness fills him.  Charlie realizes that he needs to move to this “New World” and start a new life.  He runs home to tell his wife and children.

“I just read the newspaper and heard about an amazing place called the ‘New World’!  It says there is vast regions of rolling hills, perfect for settling on!  There is also markets with everything you could dream of!  Fresh fruits and vegetables are plentiful there!  Clothing stores line every street!” Charlie gibbered.

“I don’t know about this Charlie.  You have worked so hard to get where you are.  What about your job?  Where will you work in this ‘New World’?” asks Martha.

“Trust me,” Charlie says.

. . .

Over the next month, Charlie, Martha, Elizabeth, and Katherine pack up their home for the long journey ahead.  Their once beautiful house was now barren.  Pictures of family memories had disappeared off the walls and their furniture had been packed away.  Katherine walked through the house for one last time and started to cry.

“Why do we have to leave?  I like it here,” sobbed Katherine.

Her mom answered, “It’s the best for our family.  It will be alright.  You will make many new friends and we will have a new and better house.”

Martha and the girls are still confused about the new place they are going to live in but they trust Charlie with all his confidence in it.  In the summer of 1632, they arrive in a city called Jamestown, Virginia.  The Gardner family lived in Jamestown for a year to collect supplies and money to build a house on the West side of Virginia.  Charlie and some of his new friends help him build their new house which they settle in very fast.  Elizabeth and Katherine are homeschooled and Charlie decides to start raising crops.  He buys land next to his house and starts to learn the ways of being a farmer.

In the middle of the night, Charlie and his family start to hear moaning and shouting far away over the rolling hills.

“Do you hear that?” asks Elizabeth.

“It’s probably just the wind howling,” Charlie tells her.  But it keeps happening and Charlie starts to see strange markings on wood posts around his house. They are a symbol for something that Charlie can not understand. Unrecognizable people start appearing on top of hills and by creeks but run away if they are seen.

At about sundown, Charlie is tending to his horses, and he starts to hear footsteps around his house. They seem to be getting closer but then stop. Charlie, confused, reaches for his shotgun but out of nowhere a man holds a spear to his throat and in heavy accent says, “Come with me.”

A bag is thrown over his head before he can scream to his wife and he is chucked into a wood carriage.  This knocked Charlie out and the only thing he could remember before drifting off is the kidnapper. He is tall, slender, and has darker skin with symbols all over his body, like the ones Charlie had been seeing on the wood posts.  These mysterious people had been stalking him and now they were kidnapping him.

. . .

Charlie woke up to the sounds of men talking in a language he had never heard before. They stopped when they saw he was awake. Torches hung on the walls and it was light enough to recognize the men. Charlie tried to stand but his hands were bound with rope to a post behind him.

“Where am I?” asks Charlie in a pitiful voice.

A man shouts, “Go get Salal. Tell him the man has awoken.” A younger man shuffles away into the darkness. The rest of the men start to stare at Charlie. As Charlie starts to study them more, he realizes they are all wearing the same symbols. When he looks past them he sees women with children also staring but when Charlie makes eye contact with them, they look away.

As Charlie finally starts to regain his senses he asks “Who are you people?”

The man that called for Salal walks up to him and says “My name is Adahy. We are the Cherokee people. We have lived on these lands for many years. Who are you?”

“My name is Charlie Gardner, and I have a wife and two children. If you would please let me go, it would be greatly appreciated.” Before he could answer, Salal, Charlie guessed, strode into the room.

Salal approaches Charlie and asks, “Why are you here? Taking our land?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know I had settled on your land.”

“You must get off my land,” Salal says aggressively. The rest of his tribe becomes tense and on guard.

“I have already settled here and have crops planted. How about you help me with my crops to make them grow in the richest soil and harvest the crops to sell, and I will give you some portion of the money I get for selling the crops?” Charlie persuades. Salal turns to Adahy and they converse about the compromise.

Finally, Salal turns to Charlie and removes the rope connecting him to the post. Charlie stands up and brushes himself off, still unsure what the answer will be.

“Charlie, I accept your trade. We will live on this land equally,” Salal stretches out his hand to shake Charlie’s and they agree on the compromise.

. . .

Charlie and Salal have harvested and sold their first crops and will continue to work together for many years to come. Martha has started making her purple silk dress and continues to buy more fabrics from the market. Elizabeth and Katherine have become friends with the Cherokee children. The Cherokee and Charlie’s family live in harmony for many years, but the new world is changing and dark clouds are on the horizon.

Little Ingrid watched as the red ant tried to blend into the dangerous nest of black ants. The black ants immediately turned on the red ant and within seconds had torn it to pieces.

 

“All that is different is the color of that ant. So why, why would they do such a thing?” She asked her mother, Jocelyn, who had been watching her all along. Jocelyn smiled and said, “If you met someone with red skin would you feel that they should be treated the same?” Ingrid thought about the question for a few moments carefully thinking. At last, she replied, “If they are just like everyone else I see no problem mommy.” Her mother smiled “I wish every person in the world thought just like you. Ingrid, you have a heart so pure.” Ingrid sighed, “I would rather have a prettier face so that I can go to school without being bullied and so I can learn like all the others and play with them, instead of having a pure heart.” Ingrid had been in a devastating car accident, which had caused her beautiful face to be covered in scars. “I’m sorry that you feel that way about your scars; but Ingrid, remember, actions and personalities are the things that count the most. Not the looks.” "Okay, mommy.”

 

Years passed and Ingrid grew to a beautiful, young woman. The scars that are on her forehead and cheek were not visible with all the makeup she caked on her face. Jocelyn didn’t want her to have makeup but Ingrid kept going to great lengths to get some. There was no stopping her. Jocelyn just gave up and let her wear all the makeup she wanted, in hope of her getting tired of it. That never happened.

 

Ingrid had forgotten about the red ant trying to blend in with the black ant; once people find out she is different, they will tear her heart to pieces. That is what Jocelyn wanted to protect her from the most, heartbreak.

 

One day, Ingrid came home jumping up and down, ”Mom, I got invited to Freya’s sleepover!” Jocelyn ran to Ingrid and hugged her and said, “This is your first sleepover!”Suddenly, Ingrid stopped, “How will I hide my scars?” she said with great horror. Jocelyn gave her a half smile, ”If they are your friends, they would understand and accept you for who you are. Don’t worry.” Ingrid was scared and so put extra makeup on; Jocelyn didn’t stop her.

 

Ingrid wore a white lacey and classy mini dress. Her mother chose this since she said it complements her honey blonde hair. Ingrid loved the dress except for one thing; the color white would do nothing but draw attention to her. It’s fine she thought people would wear neon color dresses anyway.

 

From the outside, Freya's house looks intimate and cozy. It had been built with oak wood with white brick decorations. Tall, large windows probably let in plenty of light in the house. Ingrid nervously knocked on Freya’s door. It swung open within seconds and Freya was leading her into the house.  

 

Freya gave her a tour of her house, which was fascinating since Ingrid had never seen a house this big. The house was equipped with a large kitchen and three spacious bathrooms; it had a generous living room, four bedrooms, a large dining room and a modest storage room. This was my dream house. I couldn’t believe my eyes. “How come you didn’t tell me that you have the best house in the world?” Ingrid teased. “I don’t like to brag,” replied Freya. Freya broke the awkward silence between us, ”So, what do you want to do? Oh, I know!! We should give each other makeovers!” “No, I don’t want to do that,” Ingrid said not looking at Freya’s disappointed face. “Please. It would be the world to me.” Ingrid didn’t want to back out “Okay, let’s do it; under one condition, don’t tease me.” Freya gave her a look “No, you don’t tease me.” Ingrid simply nodded. “Deal.”

Ingrid went into the bathroom and took all her makeup off. She trusted her friend. She gathered all her remaining courage to get out of the bathroom. She opened the door and looked for Freya. She was standing right in front of her, jaw dropped and horrified. “What happened to your face?” she asked sharply. “Car accident.” I whispered my voice quivering. “Get out of my house you monster!” Ingrid just ran out and ran to her house. She didn’t care if she was barefoot and was freezing. She felt a sense of disappointment and stupidity.

 

She barged into the house and called her mom. “Mother! I did something so dumb and stupid and ugh!!”Ingrid threw a tantrum. Jocelyn came and welcomed her into her arms. “You did the right thing. She didn’t appreciate you for how you look, and all the hardships you went through. Some people don’t understand that makeup is art and beauty is the spirit.” Ingrid and Jocelyn sat on the sofa for what felt like forever.

 

“I remember the red ant and how it got crushed. I wanted to believe that people were different so, I gave them a chance. People are really like ants, aren't they? They see someone different and just crush their hopes and heart. You are the only person who had looked, appreciated and loved me for who I am. Thank you for that.” “Ingrid, though you are struggling now, the struggle you're in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow,” Jocelyn said determinedly. Ingrid lay down on the couch, her head on her mother’s lap, ”My life is falling apart.” “It may seem like that but things may actually be falling into place, not falling apart.” “ Will I find a black ant willing to help the poor red ant?” “I am here. It is up to the red ant now.” “How have I been so blind? I’ve been looking everywhere for the kind black ant when you were right there. I love you.” “I love you too. Now let’s go and have some fun!! Movie?” “Anything with you.”

 

Chains, heavy metal chains engulf me; my body and soul - wolflike. The iron shackles on my wrists weigh me down, preventing me from moving easily. I whimper as I curl up on the floor shivering as my starving bony frame presses up against the freezing stone floor, the cold stinging my body, sending little shocks through my skin. Flies buzz around the wound on my arm from where my skin was cut to reveal a layer of matted fur under my skin. I growl at the annoying sound of the small black insects’ wings rapidly beating in the air. The almost quiet flutter of wings makes me jerk my head to look at the far wall of my cell where a little window lets though bits of light. The bird is long gone but I watch as dark grey storm clouds stretch across the horizon making the light in my room darken as it begins to rain.

The chains clang against each other as I haul myself towards the light. I squeeze my hand between the the rusty old bars that have been placed on the window, because covering me in chains and putting me in a cell was supposedly not enough. I let the light rain fall onto my hand, the little droplets hitting my pale skin and then rolling off and falling down to the ground. I stare out the window as the last slivers of golden light escape between the darkened clouds. I watch as the sky darkens and the light breeze moves the stormy clouds revealing the silver glistening of the full moon. It would be beautiful if it didn't almost kill me once a month. The wolf within me grapples for strength as I try to contain it within myself. But I can't help it; The full moon gives him power making him stronger and in control. I pull my arm back in as dark black hairs begin to cover my skin and my body twists in ways that should not be humanly possible. I scream in agony as everything goes black and an old memory flashes in my eyes.

-Flashback  -

I was in the woods. Pine trees towered above me, their shadows dark against the full moon’s light. I gazed over the endless span of forest trying to find anything familiar in the darkness. I was lost, losing my way after hunting an animal. A rustle in the leaves made me jump in fear as I warily looked around. Looking into the darkness of the forest, a pair of glowing yellow eyes stared back at me. As the creature approached me I took a cautious step back. I couldn't make out what this creature was, at first glance it seemed like a wolf. It was covered in fur and had sharp gleaming fangs, but as it neared me I noticed that its eyes were not like that of a dog or wolf. Its eyes were more human, less fierce and wild. I gripped the leather handle of my knife as I slowly took another step back. The animal glared at me, growling, before springing onto me throwing me to the ground. My knife fell out of my hand just out of my reach. I struggled, grabbing tufts of the creatures matted fur, making it howl in pain. The wolflike animal nipped at my face as I managed to shove the creature off. The creature was quick to recover as it got back up faced me again. I attempted to scramble away desperately reaching for my knife which lay in a pile of pine needles. I had gripped the handle of my knife once again when I felt a sharp pain begin to spread though my leg. Turning around I saw the razor teeth of the animal digging into my flesh, blood seeping out, making my head spin. Trying to not pass out I gripped the leather handle of my knife and dug the gleaming silver blade into the body of the wolf. It howled in distress as it released my leg and fell back, whimpering in pain.

I jerk back to reality and look upon what that night had done to me. The creature I feared had become a part of me leaving me cursed and alone. Walls surround me from all sides making me claustrophobic. The barred door lead to, well, more wall. A few torches lighting up the the other side of the door filled me terror. The chains wrapped around my limbs attempting to contain me scrape against the stone floor. Fear rushed through me as the walls seemingly began to fall upon  me. Adrenaline pulses throughout my veins filling me with anger as I ram my body against the metal bars. Whimpering in pain I get back and slam my side against the door again. The sound echoes through the dungeon as the lock rattles against the stone wall, its rusty shackle on the verge of breaking. Over and over I slam the side of my body against the metal bars. My ribs pain but I kept trying, desperate to escape. Again and again and again. The lock was almost broken but hey, so were my ribs. One. Last. Time. I tell myself as I again backed to the far wall. Anger pulses through me as I charge at the door like never before. I twist my body sideways as I fling myself at the door. The chains break open open as my body collides with the door. My body overflows with pain as I look down too see one of my ribs sticking out in a strange direction creating a lump in my matted grey fur. Trying to ignore the pain I focus back on my task. A loud shatter had been heard when the lock fell to the ground, broken. The door slowly screeches open, the sound echoing throughout the endless hallways. Carefully I step out of my containment.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps reverberates through the stone walls. The sound grows louder as I turn around and see guards marching towards me with armed weapons. Snarling at the guards I turn and run in the other direction. I heards their shouts as they run after me. From the corners of my eyes I saw others like me, still contained in their cages their eyes full of pain and sorrow. Torchered by the power of the moon, and the strength of the wolf. I halted when another set of guards appeared before me. Trapped, I looked around me. Guards surrounded me muttering things I didn't understand. I saw fear in their eyes. But there was fear in mine too. I let out a low growl as I paced around in the small circle they had formed around me. Panic rushed through me as my breathing became harsh and painful from my broken rib. I tried to remember my purpose, why I needed to escape. Memories of the forest came to mind. The soft sound of animals scurrying across the forest floor. The sharp smell of pine, filling your nose. The trees surrounding you from all sides reaching up towards the sky. I needed to go back. Gathering up what little strength I had left I launch myself through the rows of guards. I tackle them to the ground, their weapons clattering to the floor. I slam one’s head against the stone floor, snarling devilishly as they back down.

I feel invincible as I run out of the prison and into the darkness of the night. The streets are empty and silent as I pause to inspect my rib. An ugly purple bruise had appeared against my hairy pale skin. My breaths are shallow and raspy. But I get up and keep running. I think of my legs. How my legs are moving faster and faster. Until I don't think I can't go any faster. But i push myself. Bit. By. Bit. Until everything around me is a blur. The stone walls of the city blend together into a grey streak of color as I make my way to the forest. I look forward focusing on the edge where the trees meet the rows of confields. I reach the edge of the forest when I collapse on the ground struggling with every breath. I’m not safe, I'm never safe but at least I'm free. My heart pains and breathing is almost impossible. I see a crowd of people approaching me, their eyes full of anger and hatred. You see people hate anything different. They'll even kill it if they need to. And they did.

I lay on the cold wet forest flood. Blood spread from my body to to the bronze pine needles that lay below me. Dawn comes upon me as the sky illuminates with streaks of golden light. I slowly close my eyes never to open them again.

College Essays, Fortune Cookies, and Grim Newscasters

 

            What has been the most life-changing moment you have ever experienced? I sat back with a sigh. My life had been pretty easy. My father was the ninth wealthiest man in the United States of America. He and my mother were in perfect health, and I was a very good student. Nothing had ever been much of a struggle for me. I know how spoiled that makes me sound, but it was the truth. The only thing that gave me problems was my unruly dark hair that never wanted to cooperate with me. No matter how many times I had straightened it or used every product imaginable, my hair was wild and typically looking like it had gotten into a fight with a vacuum cleaner. I couldn’t very well write my college essay on how hard it was to brush my hair. I decided to take a break from the essay and went for a walk.

            “Hi, Amanda!” my friends from school waved at me as they drove past. I gave them a small wave and continued to walk. Sometimes I wished we didn’t live in a city so big where you felt like you couldn’t breathe. I briefly wondered what my friends were doing and where, and why no one had thought to invite me along. I could add that to my essay: My hair cannot be tamed and sometimes my friends hurt my feelings when they do things without me. That wouldn’t exactly have an Ivy League school knocking down the front door. As I was walking, a fortune from a fortune cookie blew into my face. I grabbed it and read, your whole life is about to change. I rolled my eyes, and threw it away. I sat down on a bench and I watched people come and go from an apartment building. I stared at a woman coming out the doors. At first glance, she just looked like a weary woman who had been dealt with a lifetime of struggles. On the second glance, I realized something that chilled me to my bones: she looked exactly like me. I hauled myself to my feet, when the woman looked up at my movement. She made a guttural note of surprise, but before she could say anything, I ran home faster than a paparazzi trying to out chase a celebrity.

            I collapsed on the couch with my head spinning. My mom came in the room and smiled at me. Since I was the only child, I was accustomed to all of the attention from both of my parents. Where I had dark, curly hair, brown eyes, and was a respectable five foot one; my parents were blond, tall, blue-eyed, and gorgeously tanned. With my olive skin, I never had pulled off a tan in my life. I was adopted at only four months old. There’s not really much of a story behind it rather than I was born in Detroit and both of my biological parents died in a car crash. I was put into foster care since I had no other family. My adoptive parents weren’t able to conceive a child, so they decided to adopt me. They met a woman in Detroit who was a social worker, while my dad was on a business trip. They talked about wanting a child and suddenly (not for them, they had to do a ton of paperwork and prepare the mansion for me) I was theirs.

            “Hi, sweetie. What’s the matter?” she added as an afterthought, taking in my bewildered expression and heavy breathing.

            “Mom, I ran into someone today who looked exactly like me.” I had always been one for being straight-forward and honest. Everyone I knew called me blunt, but I looked at it as I hated to prolong the truth. My mom’s face suddenly became closed off. Only for a second before she returned back to her normal expression, but I saw how guarded she had suddenly become.

            “Sweetie, you’re just worried about that essay. I’m sure she looked very similar to you; you’re not the only person in the world with wacky hair.” She gave a short, forced-sounding laugh. Mom walked into the kitchen before I could say another word, throwing another fake smile in my direction as she left.

            The next day at soccer practice I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t get that woman out of my mind. I went home, feeling exhausted physically and mentally. I turned on the TV, which was turned to the news. I rolled my eyes; my dad loved watching the news and had it on constantly. I was about to change the channel, when the next news story caught my eye. I watched as the newscaster showed a photo of the woman I saw at the apartment building. There was a photo of her looking much younger, probably about twenty years old. The next photo was of her holding a baby girl with thick, dark hair. My heart stopped. Why was the woman on the news? Who was she? I turned up the volume, just as the newscaster started to speak.

            “A woman in the Los Angeles area is asking for help in finding her daughter.” He said with an appropriately grim look on his face. Jim Victrola had the appropriate expression for every occasion and news story he covered.

            “The woman who goes by Masha Maksim says that seventeen years ago she boarded a train while in her home country of Russia, with her then infant daughter, Antosha. While on the train she claimed she fell asleep with her daughter on her lap. She woke up when the train stopped in Ukraine with her daughter nowhere in sight. After living in Ukraine for the past decade and a half, she recently moved to the Los Angeles suburbs. She claims that when leaving her apartment building the other day, she saw a teenage girl she believed to be her daughter. The girl ran off, before Masha could speak with her. Masha is asking that her daughter come forward, so the pair can reunite.” Jim started talking about the next segment like it was no big deal, like he had not just shattered everything I thought I knew. A hand reached over my shoulder to grab the remote. The TV turned off. I stood up and whirled around. It was my father, looking paler than I had ever seen him before.

            “You don’t need to be watching the news, Amanda. Go do your homework.” He ordered this to me in a hard tone. My father was never harsh with me. He pointed at the stairs like I was a dog who had chewed his favorite shoe, and he was sending me to the doghouse. I was speechless, but went upstairs. Once I got to my room though, I didn’t do my homework. I paced back and forth with my head spinning. I knew, of course, that they weren’t my biological parents. This still, in and of itself, was a shocking revelation. The chances were crazy that the daughter could even be me. However, why did my parents act so strange whenever I asked about my birth parents? Why did they both act so weird when I brought up the woman and saw her on the news? I thought the unfathomable; What if my parents were lying to me?

            I snuck out my window and ran back to the apartment buildings where I had last seen the woman. I waited for half an hour, before I finally saw her leaving her building. She evidently felt me looking at her, because after a moment she changed course from her car towards me. She got a few feet away from me, and looked at me the way I would look at a full-ride soccer scholarship to the school of my choice. Tears were brimming in her eyes, and neither of us said anything for a moment.

            “How do you know it’s me?” I asked her finally, and then felt pretty stupid about it. We looked exactly alike. If she were younger we could be identical twins.

            “Antosha, I know it’s you. I have waited for this moment for seventeen years. You were taken from me, but I have found you.” She spoke this in a very thick accent. She stepped forward and hugged me. Not feeling too comfortable, I stepped back from her.

            “If you honestly believe I’m your daughter, then I need to have a DNA test done.” I said this with a challenge in my voice, daring her to argue. She, however, inclined her head, and two days later we had the test done.

            It has been two weeks since the DNA test was done. I had been anxious and on edge with everyone. My grades dipped, my friends avoided me, and I was on my second warning with my soccer coach. My parents were trying to act business as usual with me, but I barely spoke to them. Not until I knew the results, could I breathe normally. I went down to the kitchen where the maid had brought in the mail. I thumbed through some bills and a postcard from aunt, when I saw the official looking letter. Opening it quickly, like it might explode before I have the chance, I read the results. We were a match. Masha was my mother.

            Later that night my parents came home for dinner. We sat around the table, with me only picking at my food. I hadn’t called Masha yet to tell her. First I had to tell my parents. I was pushing my peas around with my fork when my father cleared his throat and looked at me expectantly. I looked at him. He had clearly just spoken to me and wanted an answer.

            “Amanda? Are you even paying attention?” He looked at me with a smile and glanced over at my mother as if to say, “How cute, our adopted daughter we stole from a sleeping woman was daydreaming!”

            I glared at him. How dare they both act like nothing was wrong? I suppose they had become good at doing it after having to do it for so long.

            “Sorry,” I said with sarcasm dripping in my voice, “I guess I wasn’t responding to Amanda, since Antosha is apparently my real name.” My parents faces had gone very white. They looked like they were about to say something, but I wasn’t finished yet. “I met her; Masha from the news. We spoke and got a DNA test done. What do you know, we’re a match! Got anything you want to tell me?” They glanced at each other. They looked frightened, yet slightly angry.

            “That woman is not your mother. I am.” My mom said this in a scary sort of calm voice. “When your father and I found out we couldn’t have children, we were devastated. Right after this, your father had to go on a business trip to Moscow. I went with him, and when we were on the train we saw this girl who hardly looked like a woman, let alone a mother. It made your father and me so angry that we were two functioning adults who couldn’t have children, when there was this young woman who was sleeping and not even caring for her child that she was so lucky to have. The train emptied out, and before she woke up we took you. We flew back home and forged documents from a Russian adoption agency.” After saying all this she went back to eating her dinner. Here I was thinking that I was the blunt one. I pushed back from the table and stood up.

            “Are you crazy? You can’t just kidnap babies in a foreign country! You’ve lied to me my whole life!” I was so mad I was practically spitting the words out. My parents stood up as well.

            “It’s hardly kidnapping when we were doing it for your benefit! We have raised you and loved you more than that woman ever could have! She would not have been able to provide for you in Ukraine, Russia, or anywhere else she has lived.” My father says all this with his teeth clenched. “We are your parents, Amanda. You are still our child, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

            “You are not my parents. You kidnapped me and lied to me. And you can’t call me Amanda anymore; my name is Antosha.” With that I stormed off, with both of them calling after me. I went to my room and locked my door. Who would I possibly contact for this? The police? Child Protective Services? I knew that the first person who deserved to know was someone who had been waiting seventeen years for this moment. I got out my phone and called Masha. She answered and before she could even say anything I said “Mom?”

            Several months have passed. Masha and I just got back from the grocery store. After the truth was unveiled (that was the most awkward meeting with my guidance counselor, let me tell you) my adoptive parents were sent to prison for ten years for forgery of legal documents and first degree kidnapping. I had to switch schools, but now I live with Masha. Sometimes I forget to call her Mom. Despite everything, I miss my adoptive parents. I am angry with them for lying to me, but they always treated me well. Masha is very kind to me and tells me every day how much she loves me. She told me that after I was born, my birth father died in an accident. Devastated from her loss, she decided to move to Ukraine to be with her sister. She had felt very ill and tired on the train and had fallen asleep. She searched frantically once she realized I was gone and told the police. After a few days they told her the search was useless and that my abductors would never be found. After living in Ukraine for fifteen years, she decided to move to America and find a job in the ‘land of opportunity’. Little did she know that I would be here, and that she would finally have what was missing in her life for so long.

            If it hadn’t been for the college essay, I might have never found my mom. This was definitely the moment that changed my life. So many colleges were impressed with my story, that I got accepted to some of the best schools in the country. I decided to go to UCLA so I could be close to Masha. I think back every now and then to that fortune form that fortune cookie; your whole life is about to change. I know one thing; I will never doubt the power of the all-knowing fortune cookie ever again.

Dear Lola ,
    Thank you for all the destruction you’ve caused in my life. I thought you were the only good thing I had in my life. You were my guardian angel, or at least that’s what I thought. When we grew up together in that orphanage. You were my best friend. You told me that I was going to be adopted by the best family in the world. You lied. That family that was rich and happy went to you. You took the only joy I had. They choose between me and you, and of course you get all the happiness. So forget me not because you’ll be seeing this face again very soon.
                                                                       Sincerely,
                                                                                        Luna
                                                                                                                                                               
 On planet lkinaxen, ruler Iris had just given birth to her two twins Luna and lola. Just as Iris was admiring her two beautiful baby girls she heard the horrible news.One of her terrified soldiers yelled out to her.
 “WE ARE UNDER ATTACK GET TO SAFETY !” She knew exactly who had started this fight but that didn’t matter. She had to get the baby’s to safety. Iris heard rumors of a planet called earth and she knew if that place was real she could save her baby’s. In shock she took her baby’s and ran as fast as he could to a pod that would get her baby’s to earth without being seen. She placed her children into the pod and typed EARTH into the screen. She blew both of them a kiss containing magical powers. The countdown began 3….2….1…

    When they reached earth all of their memories were gone, they didn’t know they were sisters. It was a 12 year long journey. When they were found the were sent to be put up for adoption.they were both adopted the following day. Lola was adopted by a loving family who were very wealthy. She was put into the best schools and if she wanted anything she had it at her disposal but, she felt empty like she was alone. However Luna was adopted by a horrible rugged family. They had 6 children of their own and never payed attention to her. The other kids didn’t go to school but luna did. The only person luna had to blame was that girl who she could barely even remember lola. 12 years passed and lola continued her wonderful life. Luna however was determined to find out who the girl was that got the happy ending that luna believed  she deserved. 

 

    Luna finally got enough money to buy herself a car and small apartment. This began the connected dreams that lola and luna started to share. They knew that these dreams where telling them something, but what? In luna’s dream she was in a car driving. She passed 3 signs. The first read “your almost there”. The next sign said “ keep going”. She saw one more sign in the distance that said “ STOP” just then she saw a young girl walk across the street. Luna was worried for her safety since she was all alone at 1 A.M. When Luna got out of the car she woke up. Luna felt like she had to recreate this situation she got in her car and drove until she saw the signs. When she got to the sign that read “STOP” she saw the little girl. However this time she saw headlights but they disappeared soon after. Little did Luna know Lola was doing the same dream. She saw the girl and the sign but, she never saw Luna. They both followed the little girl until the came to a barn. They both walked into the barn and saw two different floating screens Lola saw two baby's and a mother on a planet that wasn't earth. The baby's were happy and giggling with a happy mother there to watch them. Luna saw something that made her blood boil. She to saw two baby's. One with vibrant blue eyes and the other with piercing green eyes much like hers. The baby with blue eyes was happy with a loving mother while the baby with green eyes was alone and crying. No one heard this poor child's calls. It reminded Luna what happened to her in her life
 “she took it from me.” Said Luna “she took my happiness!” then a voice started to come from the levitating screen 
“Get it back,” said the screen. “Get back your happy ending!” 
Luna looked at the screen and ina angry to she said “How!” 
The screen replied “open your hand you have no marks, not even a fingerprint.” 
“why?” Said Luna. 
“Because you have powers, find the nearest living flower and try to pick it up” said the screen. Luna saw a beautiful white lily. As she reacted to pick it up it shriveled up and died in her hand. 
Luna smiled. “I will get my happy ending!” She raced out of the barn into her car and drove home. 
Meanwhile lola was still in the barn when a voice came from her screen, “ Find her.” 
surprised luna replied“Is she why I feel empty. Is she what I need.” 
“Yes,” replied the screen. “Find the nearest dead plant and put it in your hands.” Said the screen. 
Excited she ran over to a dead rose and cuped it in her hands. When she removed her hand she saw a beautiful fully bloomed red rose. “I'm coming for you sister.” As he happily dashed out of the barn into her car and all the way home.

     When they got home lola and luna started experimenting with their powers. Lola found out that she could grow plants, and revive dead plants. On the other hand, Luna had other things in mind. She was going to use her powers to find and kill the girl that began all of her misery. After weeks and weeks of luna practicing with her powers, she finally understood and uncovered all of the powers she had. She found that she could take control of people's thoughts as she tested them of to get 1 of her 6 siblings in trouble, she had the power to kill nature and realized it when she touched a flower in a garden, and last she discovered she could turn into multiple people and discovered this when she felt two heart beats in her chest. Both her legs stepped in different directions and she split. She thought her sister was powerless against her an she was ready to find her. Little did luna know lola was practicing with  her magic too.

Lola thought that she discovered all of her but she hadn't. While she was taking her daily run through the park she stopped at a bench to take a small break. She saw a little tree. When she touched it the tree grew legs and arms. Then the little tree man made a small sword out of dirt.she didn't know how to turn it back into a tree though. She stomped, yelled, and snaped. She thought of everything she had already done and then clapped. She closed her eyes and saw that the tree man was just a normal tree again. She continued her run until she got home. When she returned home she saw dull green slime on her hand. She took a paper towel and wiped it off but, just then she realized a small vine had grown on the paper towel. In shock lola went to sleep. A couple of weeks later lola went to the orphanage that she was adopted from and asked what family her friend luna was adopted into. The gave her the address and the parents name and she went to their house. As soon ask she got there she saw how horrible the living conditions where. The air was foggy on a sunny day and the house was at least one hundred years old. This worried her a little but she didn't care. As she walked up to the door she could hear lots of screaming coming from inside of the house. She knocked on the door and no one answered . She knocked again and no answer. Lola knew that there was someone there because she could still hear the screaming. She knocked one more time and her Luna’s mother answered the door.
 In a rude to she shouted “ what do you want!” 
Luna replied in a quiet voice and asked “Hi, by any chance do you know a Lola?”
  “Yea” the woman yelled. “What do you want with her?”asked the woman.
 “We grew up in the orphanage together. Might you have her address?
 Just the in woman took a piece of paper and wrote all of her information down and handed it to her. 
“Here she’s a useless slob anyway.” With no words left the woman slammed the door in Lola’s face. The journey to find her sister was in place. “ I’m coming to find you Luna.” She thought to herself. And with that said Luna jumped into her car and right away drop to her sister.
End of book one

  

I Miss Him

 

“Sweetie! Time to get up!” My mom yelled as I groaned and rolled out of bed, wishing morning could come only when I told it to.  

    “Mhmmkhhigetinguoppp” I yelled in gibberish. Then I remembered a really important detail of my life after the next week: IT WAS CHRISTMAS BREAK AFTER THIS SCHOOL WEEK! IT’S THE WEEKEND! I didn’t have school for two whole weeks after the school week this week!  I stumbled out of bed and put on a black and white striped shirt with light blue writing. It said, ‘Believe in greatness” on the front. It had a cut out in the back, which revealed a sheer, light blue fabric. I paired the shirt with black leggings and gray Uggs.

    I pulled my hair up in a messy bun, and went downstairs to the great smell of Mom’s homemade waffles and smoothies.

    My heart winced as I looked at the picture of my dad on the refrigerator. His cheesy smile made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. My father - Josh Davids - had blond hair that got a little bit darker on the back of his head as it went down, and joking, brown eyes. The only thing that ruined the picture was his army uniform.

    I bet you guessed that he was killed in a war. Nope. But it feels like he’s dead.

    My dad is deployed. Iraq. I only see him on holidays, and sometimes on my birthday in July, but that hasn't happened in a while. I was born on the Fourth of July. The 4th of July. Very patriotic. Maybe that's why my dad joined the army. He was only 24 when I was born. My dad was still fit and young, at the time, so he joined the army. Although sometimes, it kind of feels like the reason he joined the Army is because I don't know, he just . . . didn’t like me.

    “Aw, Jordyn, honey. Come on eat your breakfast. We can go to the nets and practice volleyball. Your tryouts are Monday. Come on,” Mom urged gently. I knew it was hard for her, too. She had to do everything herself. Go to work (she and Dad own a restaurant, it has a weird name: Katie, Jordyn, and Josh’s) and be home for me.

    I pulled out a plate and got a waffle, as she passed me a smoothie, not answering. “I-I guess,” I stammered finally.

    DING! DONG! DING! DONG! “Who is it?” Mom called, and I groaned. Why visitors now?

    “It’s Carter!” I heard my BFF yell. I ran to the door rather slowly.

    “Hi Carter!” I exclaimed.

    “Jordyn. . . .” Carter started, but Mom came and cut her off.

    “Carter! Come in, come in! We were just going to go to the nets to practice volleyball, do you want to come?” Mom asked. Carter swished her ‘dirty’ blond hair around, her sapphire-blue eyes wandering.

    “Yeah. Right now?” Carter asked, then she grinned at her mistake. “I’ll just call my mom, tell her where I am.” Carter pulled her phone out and dialed.

    

*****

    Monday morning. My stomach was full of butterflies. School, and then volleyball travel team tryouts! Yeah, a lot of Ts. I live in Michigan, but summer is as hot as ever.

    I pulled on a turquoise shirt that said ‘never give up’. That had a cut-out in the back, so I put a black tank top under the ‘never give up’ shirt. Then I put that with a pair of legging-capris, plain black. I put that with my trusty light blue and pink tennis shoes.

    “Jordyn, Dad sent a letter!” Mom called, and I bounded down the stairs.

    “A letter from Dad or a guy named Chad?” I asked, but Mom’s smile said it was ‘Dad’.

    “Let me see!”

    I read: Hi Jordyn and Katie! Having so-o-o much fun doing things like - part of the sentence was cut off. That happens with all of Dad’s letters. It was  the other army guys. They cut off parts of sentences in case this letter falls into the wrong hands. If it does, hopefully they won’t get a clue where the U.S. Army’s base or what the U.S. Army plans are. Back to the letter: Yeah, I know. I hope I can come back soon. Gotta go, - {cut off}, love you! Dad

    “C-can we write back?” I asked, missing Dad more than ever.

    “Sorry, honey, no return address. You’ll have to wait ‘til Christmas to update him,” Mom sighed.

    “Oh,” I felt my nose burn.

    “But I got those stuffed animals where Dad can send a message to you!” Mom exclaimed, pulling out a stuffed snowman with an army badge on it. It made me want to smile and cry, at the same time.

*******

My mom and I were driving to the mall to get presents for our family for Christmas, which was in 5 days. Today was a half day and now I’m on Christmas break.

“Hey Jordan, Can I tell you something?” my mom asked nervously.

“Sure,” I responded.

“Your dad… he, he won’t be home for Christmas.”

I felt my eyes start to water and my cheeks grow hot.

“Okay, I guess,” I said sadly.

“Oh baby, don’t cry. He tried his best to get home, but the general isn’t letting anyone go home with the weather.”

“It-It’s fine. I just, I miss him sooo much.” I said, forgetting about the holiday cheer as a wave of sadness washed over me..

“I’m so sorry, Baby girl,” she said as she put her hand in mine, lacing our fingers together.

**********

“Jordan, tryouts are today,” my mom called up to me. I got out of bed and threw on a light pink shirt that said ‘dream big’ on it in black letters. I also put on some black volleyball shorts and, since it was freezing, some grey sweatpants. I put my long, somewhat wavy, light brown hair in a high pony and went downstairs.

“So, are you excited?” my mom said as I ate breakfast.

“Yeah,” I said excitedly.

 

**********

I got on the team, and our first game is Christmas eve, tonight - before the party we’re going to. I was at my game and it had just started and I was out playing and the buzzer, telling us to stop for a second, came on.

“Here comes soldier and dad Josh Davids!” the announcer said. Wait, did I hear that right?

     “DAD!!” I yelled as I ran into his arms.

“Baby, I’m home!” he said as I jumped into his arms.

Fire and Ice

 

 

Before the elements, there was chaos. The world was engulfed by shadow and darkness, lost without balance. Then, by some miracle, the elements rose from the ashes where peace had been lost. Earth, Fire, Water, Air, and Ice. As soon as they appeared, they made it their sole mission to protect the world from the darkness, and to maintain balance throughout the world. They decided, for the sake of keeping each other safe, to only meet every 500 years, to discuss how to make the world a better place for the life living on it.

 

Of course, 500 years is a very long time.

 

Fire knew its job well. After all, it had been doing this for nearly 2,000 years. For a long time, it enjoyed hopping from tree to tree, and watching with pride as the trees that Earth made burn.

“So it must be”, so had said the light that sent them.

But now, it grew lonely, and seeing the flames it worked so hard on, only to be put out by Water in its majestic rain clouds.

“So it must be” spoke the peace they had promised to keep.

“So it must be”, said the world that counted upon them.

“So it must be”.

Fire wished that somebody could see it. Or talk to it. But that wasn’t allowed either.

“So it must be”, it whispered to itself.

 

CRACK! Went a branch. Fire turned its head around. No being ever made such a loud noise other than the elements. Who was that? Surely no element would ever break the sacred code. Whoever it was, they surely weren’t supposed to be there. Fire ran across the trees towards the mysterious noise. When it arrived, it jumped down fiercely from the trees, ready to defend its territory.

“Who are you?” it hissed. “What are you doing here?”

“I-I’m sorry”, came a quiet voice. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble…”

A snow white figure appeared from the behind the trees.

“Hi…”

Fire lowered it’s threatening stance.

“I apologize… I thought that it was a-” Fire racked its brain to think of an excuse.“...a  monster of some sort…”

“That’s alright…”

Fire stared at the being. It was definitely an element. It was snow white, and everywhere it walked ice trailed behind it. Ice?

“You’re an element aren’t you?”

“Yes..”

“Are you Ice?”

Ice stared at Fire in shock, then looked at its feet.

“Oh, I guess the path of ice and snow kind of gives it away.”

Fire laughed.

“And I’m guessing you’re Fire”, Ice continued.

“Correct”, said Fire. Fire couldn’t help but be drawn to Ice. It was as if it couldn’t look away. It quickly stopped itself and turned to the more serious matter.

“What are you doing here?”

Ice was only supposed to come in winter, when frost covered the trees and blankets of snow covered the ground.

“Oh.” Ice’s smile disappeared. “Well, I just wanted to come visit this place again,” it said awkwardly.  “I love it here… and I miss it sometimes…”

“Oh.. I see…”

“Promise you won’t say anything?” Ice said suddenly.

“Uh-”

“I just wanted to explore again!” Ice defended.

Fire hesitated. “Ok…” it finally said.

“Thank you!” Ice ran towards Fire and reached out to grab its hand. Fire turned away before Ice reached it. Fire shivered. Ice had forgotten a crucial rule, that might have destroyed them both if it were to be broken. Fire and Ice could never touch. For if they did, Ice would melt into a puddle of water and slush, and Fire’s flame would die out.

“I’m sorry…” whispered Ice. “I forgot…”

Fire didn’t respond. It didn’t know what to say to Ice.

“Will I see you again?” Ice suddenly asked.

“You mean at the Meeting of the Elements?”

“Of course not!” laughed Ice. “I mean here.”

“You’re planning to sneak out again?” Fire exclaimed.

“Yeah.. it’s not a big deal though. I get all of my jobs done.”

Fire felt dizzy. This wasn’t allowed at all! The consequences if Ice kept sneaking out would be disastrous!

“So?”

Fire snapped back to the present. “Um.. sure. Where would you like to meet?”

“How about here? At the river”, Ice asked.

“Sure, that works”.

“Ok, well I’d better be off”, said Ice. “See you soon”! Ice spread its snowy wings and took off. Fire watched until it could see Ice no more.

Why did I say that? Fire thought angrily. Now Ice will come back. If this continues, who knows what could happen?

Fire felt as if it had the Devil and the Angel on its shoulders. One part was telling it to follow its duties, and do its job. Then everything would maintain balance, as it should. But at the same time… Fire couldn’t get its mind off of Ice. Ice was beautiful. With its snow-white wings, and bright blue eyes. Fire shook its head. What was it thinking? It could not see Ice again.

But I already told Ice I’d meet it at the river tomorrow... Fire thought. Then came the angel on its shoulder.

I will meet Ice tomorrow, but only to tell it that this cannot continue, and we must not meet again.

 

*************

Ice flew through the sky. It smiled at the thought of meeting Fire again. Fire was beautiful, as well as its burning flames, which glowed like embers. Ice knew that it was not supposed to go to the forest, unless it was the time of winter, and it took the reins of Water’s clouds. But oh, how lonely it was! Day after day crafting snowflake after snowflake. And even Ice grew tired of the bitter cold.

But I do not have to feel that way anymore, it thought. Ice could now see Fire, and not have to face the darkness of loneliness any longer.  For the longest time, Ice had longed for someone to talk to. Ice believed with all its heart that Fire was that person. It remembered reaching out for Fire’s hand. How fast its heart was beating then. Then it remembered that it could never touch Fire.

“So it must be.”

Ice hated it. Why shouldn’t the elements be allowed to interact with each other? 500 years was far too long. But it didn’t matter now. Ice was still able to get all of its regular duties done, and if it timed its visits right, it could visit the forest as much as it liked. Ice landed on the mountain. It looked at the sun to see what the time of day was.

Oh, how much time has gone by! I’d better get working.

Ice walked up the mountain, to where its clouds lay. It grabbed hold of one, and gently guided it up into the sky. Then it began to craft its snowflakes. It took droplets that fell from each cloud, and shaped them into beautiful stars and flowers. Then it let them go,each falling slowly to the ground. After hours of this, Ice knew it had finished its job for the day. A thick blanket of snow covered the mountain.

And now I can sleep.

Ice took the clouds back down to the top of the mountain. Then, it left them to find a place to sleep. Ice wandered around for a while, before deciding to sleep on the cliff side of the mountain, where it had a perfect view of the moon. Ice pulled the snow and ice over it, creating a blanket to keep itself safe and covered. As Ice thought of Fire one last time, its eyes closed, knowing it was safe with the stars above it.

 

****************

Once Ice had frosted the bushes, and crafted the icicles, it took off into the sky, eager to see Fire. It flew through the sky across the vast land to the forest. It landed on the grass, the bright green blades now turning to white with frost. Ice looked around. Fire was nowhere to be seen.

That’s fine. I will wait.

Ice sat on the grass, and waited patiently for Fire.

 

Not too far from Ice, Fire was preparing to meet Ice at the river. Fire knew all to well of Ice’s power, and what it could do to Fire. Of the elements, Ice was by far the strongest. Who else could engulf the world in a hurricane of ice and snow? If Ice used any of its powers to attack Fire, Fire’s flames would surely be extinguished. Fire liked to have all the elements believe that it was the strongest and boldest of all of them, but in reality, Fire might as well have been the most vulnerable. Both Water and Ice could put out Fire’s flames. Whatever happened, Fire needed to be sure that Ice would not attack it.

If Ice were to get angry and attack me…

Fire pushed that thought out of its mind. It jumped down from the trees, and headed towards the river.

 

Ice’s eyes lit up when it saw Fire walk out from the trees.

“You’re here!” it exclaimed.

Fire shuffled its feet awkwardly.

“Is something wrong?” asked Ice.

“Um.. well..” Fire searched for the right words.

“Yes?” Ice persuaded.

Fire sighed.

“We shouldn’t meet anymore…. It’s not safe..” said Fire softly.

Ice felt as if something inside of it had suddenly broke.

“Why not?” Ice exclaimed.

“There’s a reason we have rules to only meet every 500 years.” said Fire.

“Why? What’s so wrong about this?!” Ice didn’t want to stop seeing Fire.

“If I used my powers on you, you could die. If you used yours on me, I could die. If we even touched, we would both perish.”

No!

“But I wouldn’t! You wouldn’t! We would both be careful…”

Fire stepped back. Ice thought it saw something in Fire’s eyes. Was Fire afraid?

“Are you afraid of me?!” cried Ice.

Fire couldn’t respond. Already it could see Ice’s frost swirling around it. Oh no.. was it possible Ice could get so upset that its powers would activate?

I don’t want to die…

Fire stepped back farther.

Why is Fire so afraid of me? Why do I want to see it so badly?

Ice’s heart almost stopped completely.

I love Fire.

Suddenly the swirling ice storm stopped, and Ice fell to the ground. Fire ran as close as it could to Ice.

“Ice?! Ice, are you alright?!” Fire felt foolish worrying about itself this entire time. “Ice?!”

Ice’s eyes fluttered open.

“...Fire?”

“Ice! Are you ok?”

“Yes.. I think so… listen, Fire. I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“I had been wondering why I felt I wanted to see you so badly.. And I think I finally know why…”

Ice looked up at Fire.
“I-I love you.”

Fire’s flames suddenly grew brighter. Fire finally knew why it couldn’t stop thinking about Ice. Why it thought Ice was so beautiful, and why Fire wanted to see Ice, even though it knew it was wrong.

“I think...I think I love you too…”

Ice smiled. It reached out for Fire’s hand, and Fire reached out to grab it.

 

Then they touched.

 

Fire felt as if everything in its body was dying… it couldn’t breathe… Fire reached for Ice… and then, everything went black.

 

***************

Fire awoke to Air and Earth standing over it. Fire attempted to move. Pain shot through its body.

“You’re in pretty bad shape”, said Earth.

“No wonder”, added Air. “What were you thinking?!”

Fire’s memories slowly came flooding back to it.

“Ice! Is it ok?!”

Fire sat up.

“Argh!”

“Easy there! You nearly got yourself killed!” exclaimed Earth.

Fire didn’t care anymore. It needed to see Ice.

“Where is Ice?!”

Earth and Air grabbed hold of Fire.

“Calm down!”

Fire sat down again.

“Where is it? Is it ok?” Fire exclaimed.

Earth and Air looked at each other.

“Well… Ice was already pretty weak when you two touched…”

Fire was frantic.

“Will Ice be alright?”

“It has to be”, said Air. “For all the world’s sake.”

 

Hours later, Water arrived from the lake.

“Well?” asked Earth.

“Ice is still pretty weak. It will need some time to recover, but it will survive.”

Fire sighed with relief.

“When can I see Ice?”

Earth, Air and Water all looked at Fire.

“You two must never meet again.”

 

***************

Fire walked to the river. There, it found Ice.

“Hi…” said Fire.

“Hi..”

“Listen, I’m sorry about what happened.”

“It’s alright…”

Fire stared at Ice. It really was beautiful. Fire felt as if it could get lost in Ice’s deep blue eyes forever.

“I love you..” said Fire.

“I love you too”, whispered Ice.

“I wish we could be together, but… it is not possible….we would end up killing each other.”

“I know..” said Ice. “You are beautiful, do not forget that.”

“And you as well. You are very strong.”

There was silence.

“Ice, I love you so much. You mean everything to me. But we cannot see each other again.”

“I...know..” Tears streamed down Ice’s face.

“I will never forget you.”

“Nor I...”

Ice looked up at Fire.

“Goodbye…”

Ice turned around and flew off into the distance. Fire watched it, until it could not see Ice anymore. Only then, did Fire ever experience what tears felt like. Tears of loss and sorrow, where there once had been love.

 

For the first time in its life, Ice felt warmth. Ice pressed itself against Fire, feeling safe. It wrapped its arms tighter around Fire.

 

Ice woke in the night to seeing the moon. Feeling cold. It was just a dream. Ice would never see Fire again. Tears fell in the white snow.  Their love could never be…

 

“...thus with a kiss, I die.”

-William Shakespeare.  Romeo and Juliet.

 

It was a mid-October morning, with rain covering the sunless skies above the foothills. I was wearing my powder-blue blazer, dark blue shirt, white tie, light blue handkerchief, black brogues, and black wool socks with dark red clocks on them. I was neat, clean shaven, sober, and didn’t care who noticed. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be. All I want today is to solve a mystery.

Suddenly, the phone bellowed from my pocket.

“I really wish it’s about the lottery ticket from three days ago.” I murmured to myself. At least a billion hopes ran inside my head. All the time wishing for a vacation from this dirty business.

“Mr. Strade, you better report to 337 Maple Lane. NOW!” Ordered Chief McDougall, rattling me.

Chief McDougall is the kind of guy who “thinks” he knows everything. He rarely ever even talks to me. The only time the Chief talked to me was 4 years ago. Even that was on an important case on gas leaks and explosions erupting across Rhode Island. That case made me be on cloud nine since the day I solved it.

During my ride to 337 Maple Lane in my decked out black and white Audi TT, I had to yield at several intersections. However, none of the traffic lights actually worked. The whole community was chaotic. Everything and everyone was malfunctioning. I saw authorities on every corner. Yet, none of them seemed regular.

I then saw Chief McDougall alone at the deserted crime scene.

“Oh, is that Mr. Tim Strade?” the Chief questioned. “You were supposed to be here 3 minutes ago. Please show some dedacation in your work!”

“With all due respect, it is pronounced dedication.” I corrected.

“Oh, do you think you have enough experience to correct me?” He argued.

“Here it goes again.” I spoke to myself.

“When I was 6, I reported bullying in my school and got a pencil as a reward. When I was 7, I reported a kid littering in the bathroom and got French Fries as a reward for my hard work. When I was 8, I reported an adult smoking next to a kid, and got a ring pop from Dollar General as a reward.” Chief McDougall bragged.

Blah, blah, blah, and when he was 54 years old, he reported cyberbullying activity on Facebook, and got to be an Inspector as a reward. I probably heard this story at least a million times a day.

All if this reminds me of the time I met Sherlock Holmes.

There was desert wind blowing through tonight. It was one of those hot dry storms. A storm that comes down through the mountain passes, curls your hair, makes your nerves jump, and your skin itch. On nights like this, every booze party ends in a fight. Anything can happen.

I was thirty-five nautical miles inland from the coast of Rhode Island, a fifteen-year-old about to meet Sherlock Holmes for the first time. I walked the Sussex Downs with my nose in a book, and almost stepped on him.

“Oh, sorry.” Mr. Holmes apologized, and continued to say: “Hello dear sir, my name is Sherlock. How are you?”

“Good morning sir. My name is Tim.” I replied.

After 3 minutes of staring at each other, I finally noticed an ID card in his pocket. “Um, where do you work sir?” I asked.

“I am a police officer.” He answered.

“Do you want to go to a coffee shop?” I offered.

“I don’t see why not.” He replied.

Again, we went silent. It was like everything around us was standing still. We started walking to the Starbucks across the street. Once we got there, I really wanted to know what cases he was working on at the moment. I was interested in police investigations. But before I could even say anything, he started to explain his current case without request. Well it wasn’t exactly an explanation, it was just important events. He wouldn’t go into details. Sherlock explained:

“Riley is handcuffed in the police station for being drunk and cutting out his tracking chip. He learns of another person, Danika, who cut out her chip as well. Then he escapes custody and hacks into the police database to get her phone number. Riley meets with Danika, both share stories of the strange powers they recently acquired and promise to stay in touch. Danika sneaks into the backseat of Riley’s car as he drove to a marina. Riley however, finds her when he looks back to back out of the parking lot.

They heard a news story covering the actions of a person who had similar powers over the car’s radio. The two head over to the location mentioned on the radio, and end up finding a dead body under a bridge. Riley swipes the dead man’s laptop, phone, and wallet hoping to find more information. The wallet had the name Charlie Henderson on it, the phone was worthless, and the laptop had information regarding a top secret project in the private sector: a machine called the “Fire Finder.” The files indicated that the machine was meant to find people like Riley, Danika, and sadly Charlie, people with powers. The police chief had tracked the two of them to the murder scene, but did so with a lot of commotion, which allowed the two to immediately leave the premises safely.

Danika secretly copied the files from Charlie’s laptop, and took off to Breckenridge after reading them. Her target, Dr. Henry Bradshaw, a scientist studying Charlie and his power. Riley had the same plan and bumps into her at the airport. The two of them then come up with a plan to meet Dr. Bradshaw together. The plan does not go exactly as planned, but they got to know about “Thor’s Hammer,” a machine built by the doctor to find powered people (just like the “Fire FInder”). Riley and Danika spent the night together, got to know each other, and snuck into Dr. Bradshaw’s house the next day to copy his computer files.

Riley promised to mail Danika a copy of Dr. Bradshaw’s files, but Danika knew he wouldn’t. So she goes to his house, explodes with anger, and zaps Riley with her power over electricity. In Dr. Bradshaw’s files, Danika learns that he and Charlie were working to make Charlie’s power stronger. That’s apparently what Riley wants too, so by using his power, he can take down the shields around the country that keep him in the Secure States of America. Danika however, wants to get rid of her powers. She killed her fiancé years ago with her powers.

Riley sends Danika home. She ends up calling Dr. Bradshaw from the airport, and from the way he talked to her, she knew he was in trouble. Then she convinced Riley to go back to Breckenridge with her, where they find Bradshaw murdered. They take “Thor’s Hammer,” but they were stranded in Colorado due to bad weather and spent the night together. Danika finally tells Riley her secret, and they make love. But Riley can’t have a woman in his life, since he plans to leave the country soon. Riley tries to sneak out of the room without saying good-bye to Danika.

Soon after Riley left, a dangerous man found Danika as she prepared to leave the room. When Riley returned to the room, Danika and Riley defeat the bad guy without a sweat. Riley then found a way to track where the bad man came from, and who hired him.

Riley thought about his future, about how nice it would be to have a special woman in his life, and decided he can stay in this country, if he had Danika and a mission to live for. He invited her to go to Florida and lived with him as they researched their powers more.”

“Then what’s the point of you investigating.” I inquired. Then, suddenly, Mr. Holmes looked at his shining gold watch and just walked away, not looking back. I decided to follow him.

Mr. Holmes walked to a dumpster and hid behind it. It seemed like he was expecting to see a criminal, and sure enough, I was right. A group of tall, grey looking men walked up, and the man who looked like the leader of the clan spoke up:

“You’re no angel, you know how this stuff comes to happen: Friday is payday and it’s been a gray day sogged by a slow ugly rain and you seek company in your gloom, and since you’re fresh to West Table, Mo., and a new hand at the dog-food factory, your choices for company are narrow but you find some finally in a trailer court on East Main, and the cued circle of bums gathered there spot you a beer, then a jug of tequila starts to rotate and the rain keeps comin’ down with a miserable bluesy beat and there’s two girls millin’ about that probably can be had but they seem to like certain things and crank is one of those certain things, and a fistful of party straws tumble from a woven handbag somebody brought., the crank gets cut into lines, and the next time you notice the time it’s three or four Sunday mornin’ and you ain’t slept since Thursday night and one of the girl voices, the one you want most and ain’t had yet though her teeth are the size of shoe-peg corn and look like maybe they’d taste sort of sour, suggests something to do, ’cause with crank you want something, anything, to do, and this cajoling voice suggests we all rob this certain house on this certain street in that rich area where folks can afford to wallow in their vices and likely have a bunch of recreational dope stashed around the mansion and goin’ to waste since an article in The Scroll said the rich people whisked off to France or some such on a noteworthy vacation.”

Quickly, Mr. Holmes just pounced on the leader with a pistol in his hand. The rest of the gang just ran away, but Mr. Holmes wouldn’t give up. No. I did what I had to do: run away. I ran as fast as I had ever run before. I ran all the way home (the whole thirty-five nautical miles).

After I reached home, a light bulb went off in my head. I ran to my flat Dell desktop and searched up Sherlock Holmes. Guess what? He is Rhode Island’s best inspector, who graduated from the same law school as I did. “I thought I knew who he was.” I thought to myself. From that day, I’ve always tried to live up to him. Now, I finally have the chance to make an impact on the world.

“Happy Birthday!!!” Everyone yelled out. Chief McDougall came closer and said he wished I would like for 100 years. That was a lot, coming from him.

So, today’s case was all a surprise birthday party, sponsored by Rhode Island.

Once upon a time there was a fox who lived in the woods. Sly Fox (as he was called) was very, very lazy. The only type of work Sly Fox did was tricking other people into giving him food, water, comfort, and a safe place to stay. He tricked Honest Mouse, Cherry Chipmunk, Loud Raven, and Modest Mole.

One day, Sly Fox was walking in the woods. It was close to winter, and he wanted to find some food and shelter so he could stay warm. He was too lazy to build a house of his own, so he decided to trick Kind Rabbit into giving him shelter. Sly Fox practiced the words that he had prepared in his head to persuade Kind Rabbit to share her food and shelter with him. “Hello, Kind Rabbit. I am a poor fox who has no shelter, food, water, or even a tail. I would like you to share your house with me for the winter. I will repay you by helping you collect food for the next winter. Please help me, Kind Rabbit.” Sly fox grinned as he said it over and over in his head. “Kind Rabbit will fall for it. When spring comes around, I will be long gone. There is no way I am going to do work in the spring. Ha ha ha ha ha.” And so Sly Fox went on, looking for Kind Rabbit.

Meanwhile, Kind Rabbit was walking through the woods. Kind Rabbit was going to see her good friend, Modest Mole. Modest Mole was the best friend anyone could have. He lived in a small, cozy, underground house with a little garden outside. As Kind Rabbit approached Modest Mole’s house, she saw that he was gardening.
“Can I help?” asked Kind Rabbit.
“Sure” said Modest Mole. “I was just planting my tulip bulbs that I bought at the market today. I want to get it done before winter. Thanks for coming over to help.”
Kind Rabbit didn’t really like gardening but thought it rude not to help. As Modest Mole and Kind Mouse were digging, Kind Rabbit started some chitchat.
“Oh, Modest Mole, please tell me of the time when Sly Fox tricked you into giving him your food supply.” Kind Rabbit begged.
“Fine, but you can’t laugh at the story. Here goes.”

“I was sitting in my house one day when I heard a knock at the door. It was Sly Fox. I invited him in, just as any nice neighbor would do. He told me a sob story about how his house had just flooded and all the food he had gathered was ruined. I felt bad for him and offered some food for him to eat. Sly Fox, instead, asked for all my food. He said that his house was farther from the cherry trees and the raspberry bushes than mine by twofold. He said that if I gave him all my food he would come back when he was done and help me gather some more food and even help me garden. I thought about the deal and came to my decision. I would agree IF he would help me gather more food than he took. Sly Fox agreed. He took all my food and went to his house. Even though I waited for Sly Fox to come back, he never did. I will never trust him again.”

After the story, Kind Rabbit said that she had to go. “I really should get going,” said Kind Rabbit. “I need to get back to my house so I can prepare for winter.”
“Sure, thanks for helping,” said Modest Mole. As Kind Rabbit left, she really felt bad for Modest Mole. “I don’t like how Sly Fox tricked Modest Mole. Modest Mole doesn’t deserve it,” Kind Rabbit thought to herself. By now Kind Rabbit was nearly home. Kind Rabbit decided that she would have a cup of tea by the fire when she got home before gathering food for winter.

At that same moment, Sly Fox watched Kind Rabbit trundle through the woods. “What a snit,” Sly Fox thought. “I hope, no, I know that I can trick Kind Rabbit. After all, I’ve had some practice.” Sly Fox watched as Kind Rabbit walked through the door. Then he set his plan into action.

It was a warm and beautiful day. Birds were singing loud and clear. There was a faint rose and evergreen scent hanging in the air, so sweet you wanted to just capture the aroma and smell it forever. Sassafras and dogwood trees proudly displayed their colors of red, orange and yellow. The whole world smelled like fall. Kind Rabbit, though, was oblivious to all the beauty in the world outside. Kind Rabbit was reading Harry Potter by the fire. The fire was burning low. Red-hot coals were visible through the sooty ashes. Kind Rabbit heard a Knock at the door. When she opened it, there was Sly Fox “Come in,” Kind Rabbit said.
“Hello, Kind Rabbit. I am a poor fox who has no shelter, food, water, or even a tail. I would like you to share your house with me for the winter. I will repay you by helping you collect food for the next winter. Please help me, Kind Rabbit.” Kind Rabbit looked suspiciously at Sly Fox.
“I say,” she said, “you should go build your own house.”
“But I do not know how to build a house,” Sly Fox said innocently.
“Well,” said Kind Rabbit (who, at the time, was not being kind at all) “You don’t need a house to be warm. Scram!”
Sly Fox (who, at this point, was starting to lose hope) said, “Could you at least give me a tail? Everyone who doesn't have a house should have a tail. Please?”
“You can have my tail if you give it back in the spring,” said Kind Rabbit. “
“Thank you so much,” said Sly Fox. “I’ll take good care of it.”

The spring arrived and Kind Rabbit came out of her house. The sun was up and shining bright. Kind Rabbit was walking to Sly Fox’s Den. When she got there, she said, “Can I have my tail back?”
“No,” said Sly Fox, “as a matter of fact I kind of like it.” And so, to this day, Kind Rabbit doesn't have a tail and Sly Fox has a big bushy one.