| A
Refreshing Rain by Katie Sierra
As the pale moon rose to the center of the inky sky, a teenager wandered
into a dark alley of downtown Brussels, Belgium. He pushed himself to
the ground and propped his head up on the grubby dumpster behind him.
The boy sighed deeply, for it had been a long day, and he unwrapped
the Big Mac he had nicked from a small child the day before.
The burger was rather cold and mushy, but this hardly bothered John.
He was distracted. John had been distracted since he lost Alice last
year. Though he had only been eighteen at the time, John knew that he
would never love again.
John tossed the Big Mac wrapper into the dumpster and opened his bag,
which contained his necessities: clothes, a comb, and a few sentimental
things.
He stripped off his shirt and threw it into the bag, where it landed
on an envelope of pictures. John looked at these pictures every night
before he went to sleep. He picked the envelope up and opened it just
before John slipped away to unconsciousness.
John
stood there, in the doorway of Alice’s apartment, concealing a
dagger in his jacket’s sleeve. He secretly sneaked over to the
kitchen, where Alice was cooking scrambled eggs at the oven. John went
unnoticed by her and her two children, who were playing in the bedroom.
Alice was older than John by about four years, but he still wanted her
to love him.
John swiftly covered Alice’s mouth with one hand, and with the
other arm he wrapped around her neck. “Alice,” John laughed.
“Do you remember me? John, from Greenwich high school?”
He removed his hand from Alice’s mouth.
“What do you want from me?” Alice shrieked.
“Your life.”
John
sat there, in the jail’s barber shop where his hair would be buzzed
off to unattractiveness. His hair would no longer be longish, and John
was going to miss that.
The barber walked into the room and grabbed the razor, his only tool.
John could only sit there, waiting for this horribleness to stop. He
heard the razor turn on and felt his head getting lighter. With every
stoke the barber made, the less John felt like John Puckle and the more
he felt like a real criminal.
As soon as John was allowed to leave, he ran out of the room and left.
He left the hallway. The building. The country. John didn’t care
if running away would put him in more trouble or not, but he just had
to get out of that hell.
John
waited there, in the phone booth, for his family to answer the ringing
phone. Finally, after six rings, a young boy’s voice picked up,
“Hello?”
“Peter, this is John,” John said shakily. “I-I’m
in Belgium. I’m in Brussels.”
“John?” Peter exclaimed. “Are you alright? You’ve
been all over the news.”
John cursed at the thought of him being on T.V., then said, “Yeah,
I’m fine. Look, the police are after me, but I don’t know
how close they are.”
“I do,” Peter said carelessly. “It was all on the
news. Police have scattered across all of Scotland.”
“But they’re not in Belgium?”
“Not yet,” Peter said quickly. “Mom and Dad are going
nuts over you. In fact, here they are now!”
“John?” Mom called into the receiver.
“Yeah, Mom, this is me,” John said, happy to hear his caring
mother’s voice again.
“I cannot believe you, John,” Mom said hatefully. So much
for her “caring” voice. “You have put this family
in too much danger. First you murder someone, then you run away from
jail, and now you talk to us for the first time in a year.”
Then Dad’s voice came in. “What were you thinking, John?
You have disgraced the Puckle name. I hereby banish you from the family.”
“Come on, Dad,” John tried to ease Dad off. “You can’t
kick me out of the family.”
“Oh, but I can,” Dad chuckled. “And if you ever come
back, or make any sort of contact with the family, we will be sure to
hang you. To death!”
“You can’t be serious. Dad?” John said confusedly.
“Come on, Mom, tell him he can’t do this. Hello? Hello?!”
John
sat up straight as a wet rain drop splashed on his face. The dark clouds
above had been raining on John most of the night. Now these clouds were
fading, and a brand new sun peaked through the sky. A bright ray shone
down from heaven onto the world outside, almost as an invitation.
John scooped up the photographs of his family and headed toward the
light, leaving his memories of Alice decaying with the wrapper of last
night’s dinner.
First
Day Friends by Charity Swan
“Avelina,
could you please pass the pepper?” I asked.
She
tossed the pepper and laughed when I didn’t quite catch it. “Thanks,”
I mumbled. I continued eating my supper while thinking hard. School
was starting soon, and I was really excited. I hadn’t seen my
friends all summer and was eager to catch up. Carly went to Italy over
the summer and Jaslene went to visit relatives in New Brunswick, but
what did I do? I stayed at home and read, sang, played video games and
basically did nothing. Though, I’m not complaining, sometimes
staying at home is the perfect way to spend your summer, but it does
get lonely when it’s just you, your sister and your mom.
"Hello?
Earth to Shay?” Avelina repeated.
“Oh,
sorry, what?”
“I
was saying I’m really excited for school starting tomorrow! I
wonder whose class we’ll be in? Have you talked to Jaslene and
Carly yet?”
“No,
but I’ll see them tomorrow so there’s no point in calling
them.”
“You
haven’t hung out with anyone this summer have you?”
“No.
Can we stop with the twenty questions? If you’re finished with
dinner I’ll start washing the dishes,” she gave me her plate
as I headed towards the sink.
A
few minutes after I started washing the dishes Avelina came over and
started helping me. “What do you want?”
“Shesh,
can’t I help my favorite twin sister with the dishes?”
“I’m
your only twin sister and what do you want?”
“I
just wanted to help you with the dishes!” I didn’t say anything
but was still sceptical.
After
we were done with the dishes I walked to my room, turned on my stereo
and laid on my bed. A few minutes later a knock and a “Can I come
in?” came on my door. I walked to the door and opened it.
“What
do you want?” I asked.
“I
don’t know, I guess I’m just bored,” she paused. “Can
I talk to you?”
“I
guess, what’s up?”
“The
roof and I just wanted to say I’m worried about you.”
“Why?”
I asked, shocked.
“It’s
just that you haven’t hung out with anyone all summer! Are you
trying to avoid everyone? Did you guys get into a fight? I wanna know
what’s going on!”
“That’s
it? Carly’s been in Italy all summer, and Jaslene’s been
visiting relatives. We didn’t get into a fight or anything, and
I’m NOT avoiding them.”
“Okay,”
she answered and stared out my window.
“Are
you sure you’re okay? You seem a little off?”
“I’m
FINE!” she snapped and stormed off. I wondered what was up with
her?
Oh
well, I’ll talk to her later, I thought. I concentrated on what
my goals for this year were going to be. Getting at least a B+ in all
my classes was a reasonable goal right? Maybe I could work harder in
biology? I should probably get more involved in some extracurricular
activities too. I think of some more later.
*
* *
I
was just getting ready to walk out the front door when Avelina caught
up with me to ask if I could wait for her. I agreed and leaned against
the door. I was just about to call Avelina to hurry up when she ran
to the door.
“Ready
sis?”
“Of
course! Bye Mom!” I called as I shut the door. “Excited
for school?” I asked as we walked to the bus stop.
“Actually,
not really. I mean, it’s not that I’m not excited, I’m
just going to treat today like any other day.”
“Okay…
what brought this change? You love the first day of school, and you
also love making very dramatic first impressions!” I paused to
roll my eyes.
“I
don’t know, I guess I didn’t feel like it this year,”
she shrugged.
“Are
you sure you’re okay? I’m here if you want to talk. You
didn’t get in a fight with one of your friends or something?”
“Well…Not
really, but it’s really nothing. You don’t have to worry,
I’ll probably have it all sorted out by the end of the day. You
just concentrate on being teacher’s pet.”
“I’m
just going to ignore that, and if you’re sure…”
“I
am,” she replied confidently.
“Okay,
but I’m here for you sis if you need it, don’t forget that.”
“I
know, and thanks Shay. You’re the best sister anyone could have!”
I smiled and got onto the bus. Carly and Jaslene waved me over right
away and I sat with them. They asked me how my summer was, and all I
could say was “Boring!”. After I explained how my summer
was filled mostly with reading, and playing video games, Carly and Jaslene
were trying to tell me how awesome their summer’s were, but kept
interrupting each other and I had to stop them when they both tried
talking at the same time.
Once
we were almost at the school, I looked around to fine Avelina so I could
smile at her. I found her at the back of the bus sitting with Mina,
a girl I didn’t know very well, and didn’t think Avelina
did either. Oh well, maybe she met her at one of her camps. I didn’t
hear Avelina talk about her, but I don’t expect Avelina to tell
me about all the people she meets at camp.
*
* *
It
was the end of the day and I was on my way to the bus when I heard Avelina,
and she didn’t sound happy.
“You
think you rule the school just because you’re really rich and
have got expensive clothes! Let me tell you something, there’s
more to life then expensive clothes and parties and whatever else you
do! You guys are just a bunch of snobs, and I don’t want anything
to do with you anymore!” she yelled.
“Fine,
if you don’t want to be a part of our group, then we’ll
make sure you won’t be a part of any group!” Chloe called
back as Avelina stomped away.
Avelina
paused and looked back, “Do what you want, make up a really embarrassing
story about me, make me the laughing stock of the school, I don’t
care! As long as I have my friends, and Shay, I don’t care what
people like you think of me!”
I
heard some sounds of annoyance behind Avelina, but I ignored them and
walked to Avelina. “That was the thing you needed to get sorted
out?” she nodded. “Well, you could have told me, but it’s
okay. That was awesome! I glad you finally ditched them! They were such
snobs!”
“Yeah,
I’m glad too. Can you hurry up? I really just want to get home.”
she said. I looked at her, she looked tired, and kind of upset. It must
be hard ditching friends you’ve had since middle school. I hugged
her and we walked to the bus with Mina and a few other people. Once
we got to the bus Avelina said good-bye to some of the people that were
leaving to other buses, and stepped onto our bus. Before she could get
away from me, I caught her arm and told her she did the right thing.
I watched her sit with Mina before going to Carly and Jaslene.
“I
heard Avelina ditched Chloe and her gang, tell her good just for me
will you? Someone needed to stand up to those snobs, and Avelina deserves
so much more then those people,” Carly said.
“Yeah,
she did the right thing! Except there's going to be some nasty rumours
about her tomorrow. She’s got some friends that will stick with
her right? If she made Chloe mad without anyone to go to after would
be terrible!”
“Oh
I wouldn’t be to worried, she’s got some great friends,”
I said as I smiled and leaned back in my seat.
A
New Life by Layla Wolf
It had been many days walk over rough terrain, with only her silver
fox for company before at last Gaia saw a town.
Walking under a large stone arch, the stench of sewage and waste hit
her. It was the first real sign that she was completely out of her comfort
zone. The roads in the town were a mixture of mud and stone and the
cobbles hurt her feet as Gaia walked forwards. She was cold in the dark
shadow of the tall buildings which were some three stories high, towering
like giants above the people in the street. Built of mud, wattle, daub
and wooden beams, they were made of similar material to her own home
in the forest but the sheer scale of them made the whole environment
feel far less natural. The streets were lined with people who she guessed
were traders, some with hand-carts, others selling from the ground floor
of the buildings where almost every door had a sign or object hanging
above it showing what was on offer inside.
So
many people! The noise was nothing like Gaia had ever heard before.
But worst of all were the auras. Almost every person’s inner energy
was mangled with another’s, as so many people were crowded together
in such a small space. Gaia felt illness and death all around her –
but also mixed with life and energy. As she walked past some caged birds
she understood their sadness and anxiety. Her heart went out to them
as she too felt like a bird, trapped and worrying over what was to become
of her in such a place. Some people clearly had hidden agendas, giving
off such mixed messages in their auras’ energy. Yet so many people
seemed unconcerned with these warning signals; it was as though they
didn’t even realise that anything could be wrong.
Passing
another shop, smells of fresh herbs came wafting out, reminding Gaia
of the forest she had left so far behind her. Gaia had a strange feeling
she was being watched, but could see no one looking at her. To her right,
Gaia saw a low stone building, thatched and with rough wooden benches
in front of it. A broom leant against one corner of the building and
Gaia started heading to the door. The door was open and inside there
were tables and benches. Gaia found a small unoccupied table near the
smoky fire place and sat down.
Finally,
a moment to think. There were too many people and too much confusion.
What had she been thinking? This town was too strange, with so little
nature, it simply couldn’t be healthy and nothing was what it
seemed. It was only then that Gaia realised how far she’d come
from her little home, back in her beautiful forest.
‘Well, at least you’re in the right town’ her guardian
told her inaudibly.
“You going to buy something or not?” a man shouted at her.
Gaia wasn’t quite sure what to say, but she didn’t need
to as at that moment somebody else, who was now walking towards her
table, answered;
“Sure, two bowls of soup.”
He came and sat opposite Gaia. Her first natural response was to listen
to what his aura could tell her. It was strange. In a place like this,
this man was more aware of nature then probably anyone else, other then
Gaia of course. His energy wasn’t mixed up or confused either
and he didn’t seem to have any hidden agenda although why he should
take an interest in her or buy her some soup didn’t make sense
to her.
“You’re a wise woman, aren’t you?” he asked
– not aggressively but almost teasingly.
“A what?”
“Oh, so you’re not use to the term. How about ‘witch’
then?” he said in a quieter voice.
“How do you know?” If it was that obvious, was she in more
danger than she originally thought?
“My sister was one. She made me this.” Holding up a little
carved piece of wood hanging round his neck, he added “It helps
me spot others like her.”
“What happened to her?” Gaia replied, noticing the word
‘was’ in what he’d said.
“She…was found out.” He replied in a more sullen tone.
Changing the subject he asked, “Have you any money?”
“No.”
“Anything to trade, then?”
“No.”
“Well how are you going to survive here ? Very few people give
away food and accommodation.”
“I never really thought…”
“Well it’s lucky I’m here, isn’t it. I’ll
help you get started here. It must be hard being a stranger in a strange
place. Come far have you ?”
“Yes,” replied Gaia without being specific, “it is
very strange here. Far more people than I am used to. So much confusion
and pain. It’s not healthy. How do people live like this?”
“They don’t notice it. If you’re going to be staying
here for any length of time you’ll need a job. If you had a choice,
what would you do to earn your keep?”
“I’m not really sure. But I do know I’d like to help
others, no matter whether animal, man, woman or world. Is that possible?
“Maybe. Have you any skills?”
“I can cook and hunt but that’s it for normal skills.”
“Magical skills then?”
“Divination, with cards, runes, gemstones and stars. Healing with
magic, potions and spells. I’m good with herbs…”
“Hmmm, not the sort of skills to advertise widely. You’d
better come with me.” He stood up and for the first time Gaia
noticed how tall and slim he was, not the sort of person who would comfortably
just sit around an inn all day. Who was he ?
As Gaia got up to follow, he turned around and asked, “What's
your name?”
“Gaia er… Woods.”
“Come on then, ‘Gaia er Woods’” and he walked
out into the street. It only then occurred to Gaia she didn’t
know his name. She wasn’t at all in her element here, was she?
Gaia’s silver fox who had seen all that had happened, whispered
to her “See? Change your path and Fortune just comes along.”
Gaia followed the stranger to one of the tall buildings. The lowest
floor seemed to be the shop she’d past earlier with the air rich
with the scent of herbs and spices. The stranger told her to stop and
stay where she was then went through a door leading to the back of the
shop and out of sight. Unsure what to do, Gaia moved back to a wall
out of the way and watched the people coming and going. After a few
minutes the stranger came back, followed by a middle-aged woman, with
long dark hair and tanned skin. Her aura was like the stranger’s,
clear and healthy and Gaia sensed that they both spent a lot of time
away from the town, out in the country side.
“Everything’s been explained. You’re welcome to stay
and work here if you’d like. We could do with some help around
the shop. You must be tired.”
Unsure what to say Gaia smiled and nodded her head.
“Good. Follow me and I’ll show you where you’ll be
sleeping.”
Gaia was still nervous, but at least she felt she was with safe people
now.
A
Good Advice by Oceana Blackberry
Penelope
knew that she was different to others in her age – and she probably
will always be. That is something she was always proud of. But she also
knew that this was what was standing in her way to a brilliant future.
So she decided to talk to her grandmother Raquel. She should help her
to prepare a start in a new life or a good start in a better job but
in which she can be the way she ever was. So Nelo invited her one afternoon
to a talk in the apartment the red-haired and her best friend lived
in.
„Nelo,
thanks for your invitation. I never dreamt of that. You ask me for such
a favour. That’s a great honour. But can I have a glass of water,
please?“, said Nelo’s grandma when she entered the little
kitchen. She was a really friendly person and could keep the biggest
secrets what was the main reason why she should come for a talk like
that.
To answer the question Nelo just nodded and organised two glasses of
water. Then she put them down on the table and placed herself on the
chair in front of her grandmother. „Don’t forget: You don’t
tell anyone about this little interview.“
„Don’t worry, corazón, I won’t tell anyone.
And in here everyone knows about your little secrets or whatever it
is, doesn’t she? But tell me: Why is Jessica the only person you
really trust? What makes her so special?“ Of cause the old woman
knew about the thing with Jessica. Everyone in the family knew but nobody
knew why. That is the one thing that is so interesting and she wanted
to ask before they really start with all that other stuff.
The girl hesitated for a moment to think about the question. It was
a question that could not be answered easily. She did not know the right
answer herself. „Oh, we weren’t always friends and I think
that is what makes her special. We were just arguing. But I don’t
know why I trust her. It’s just that I know I can trust her. Like
I know I can tell you all that now.“
„That is an interesting opinion. And I really like it.”,
the old woman announced and looked at her granddaughter with a smile
on the lips.
“But
now let us come to the point where it all started: your birth. I know
you can’t remember it but I can. Your parents were so proud, especially
your mother. She wanted to have a beautiful daughter and got you. The
best she can have...“
While her grandmother was speaking Nelo looked down to her fingers.
„The best?” She interrupted sharply and looked up into a
smiling face. “That isn’t true. Alex was the best that could
happen to them. I mean they don’t even like to talk to me because
they think I’m insane or something.“
„Let me tell the story and wait until I ask you something. That
was what you asked me to and I agreed. Stick to the rules you set up.
They loved you and they still do it. They are proud of being your parents.”
Raquel told the facts out of her opinion like nobody could ever say
something against that. But suddenly she stopped talking when the last
words of her granddaughter came to her mind again. She started to look
more questioning every passing second. “When was the first time
you thought your parents don’t love you?“ That Penelope
could come to that idea was a whole myth for her.
„I can’t say when I first thought that but I can tell you
when I think they started to see me as something different. That was
in my opinion some when in my early childhood. That time when Alex came
in the school and I was alone. I didn’t want the contact to others
in my age.“ To think about her past was a great step for the red-haired
to take. She was fighting with every single word she said.
Her grandmother smiled kindly. „You’re right. They thought
you were something different. They still think that and I do too and
if you ask Jessica and Alex they probably also think it. You’re
different to anyone else but in a positive way.” Those encouraging
word made Nelo smile too. At that moment she was very pleased with her
idea to talk to her grandmother. But she still was not sure if everything
Raquel told her was true.
“Let me think of another question for you. You told me that you
want to have a better job than just working in a coffee bar. What about
working in your mother’s travel agency like Alex does? I think
you could really make career in there.“
„I live together with my best friend to be independent from my
parents. I do not want to work there because I do not want to become
what everyone in this family was. I’m not only different in character.
I want to be different in every aspect of my life.“ The yound
woman was shocked. How could her grandmother suggest something like
that? She was there to help her and not to make the situation worse.
„What should I do then? Just listening to you?“ Raquel had
some problems to understand Nelo’s reaction. But she was used
to that. Her granddaughter always reacted different then she expected.
„Give me just some advices to start a better life.“ The
voice was more the one of a six year old girl who wanted to have a lollipop
than the one of a 21 years old young woman.
„When
you were young, you once told me about your dream, travelling through
the whole world. Do you still dream of that?“ Raquel decided that
she needed to know a little more about her granddaughter. That way she
might give her a better advice.
Nelo did not know where that question should lead them but she was willing
to answer it. „Sometimes yes and sometimes no. When I enjoy my
life I want to see the whole world but that is expensive. So I can’t
afford it.“
„Why do you give up? You are young. You can do whatever you want.“
„I don’t know. Maybe because everyone in this family gave
up his dream.“
„That isn’t true. And I thought you would like to make a
difference.” She hesitated a moment before she started speaking
again. “Look at me, Nelo. You are different compared to anyone
else. Be proud of that and then you will make your way without any problems.
And I really would like to give you an advice: I know you like to be
rude when someone has another opinion then you have. But that isn’t
wrong. Stick to your own opinion but respect others. When you have this
rule in your mind, you will be successful.” Her voice was strong
and in a way mandatory. “And now, the last question for today:
will you bring me home?“
Nelo was still thinking about the advice her grandma just gave her.
So she nearly missed the last question that she was asked. But then
smiled a warm smile at the old woman in front of her.
„Last answer for today: of cause!“
|
