**_November 6, 2024

_**Mom still hasn’t come back. I don’t know why I am disappointed. It’s my 9th birthday without her. She should’ve at least been here to see her daughter turn 18. Joshua and Marion made me a cake and prepared a gift with the scraps they had saved from mowing Dr. Kishong’s yard. I told them they shouldn’t have, they could have bought some extra chicken wings, but the new socks ...

I stared into the big blue through the charged fence going around as far as the beach goes. The waves crashed into each other over and over, and the smell of its salty

fumes cut through into my nostrils, filling me with a sense of relaxation. I’ve heard that any closer than where I am, its smell could cause holes to grow in my lungs rapidly.

I was born on an island, unfortunately, so I see peo...

There is a man by that black truck

It’s oddly in the shape of a duck

What a weird man with the black hat

why is he holding a bat?

Is he waving it at me?

I do not mistake what I see

The man with the giant duck is threatening

I can see the faces he is making

He will not cause damage to the family nearby

“Get behind me, on me rely!”

“You will not hurt them with your giant duck!”

“I have ar...

“I don’t think I can do this”

“Sure you can. It’s easy, just listen for the silence in the beats then pull down.”

“What?”

Death sighed and demonstrated what to do. Death leaned to one of the billions of hanging glowing balls and heard the faint beat of a heartbeat. This one’s time was almost up but not quite yet. Death moved on to a dimming ball and could barely hear the beat.

“This one! Co...

That girl is very strange.

She always hides under oversized clothes, she looks tired all the time, and she is…

so ugly…

She always looks so sad.

No one is ever around her.

I couldn’t imagine living my life looking like her. My life is so perfect. My hair, face, and body were flawless. There is always a reason for me to smile.

My friends all love having me around. I am a ray of sunshine.

Bu...

I passed him?! I couldn’t believe it! For years, I always had to stare at the back of Jess King, runner number 42, always coming in first place. I trained for so long to pass him, but I guess I never believed I could do it. But I did it…

Was this a dream?

The Ribbon that I had to run through was approximately four feet away—just a few more seconds. I was tired, but passing Jess gave me a burst o...

Inside the box, it was dark and lonely, but when I see light start breaking in, I get so happy that I dance. It is very rare that I get to dance, so I do it as long as the music, that always accompanies the light, plays. When the box opens and light floods in, I was always greeted by a giant smiling face with wide eyes and a smile with missing teeth. She would open the box often. Sometimes, I woul...

I remember the smell of wet soil in the morning

The early tones of the light

I can still feel the cold, wet grass when walking

The trees and flowers were a beautiful sight

But they were all soon gone

I moved somewhere new

I no longer had my quiet dawn

I doubt I’ll ever again see you

I thought this would be a better life

I left everything I used to know

I regret coming here, it's like a ...