There is a picture of her with her late father. They are standing in his pharmacy and, she is wearing his uniform while looking at him, and smiling as the world revolves around him. As she grew older she would stay out late and not care about her education. She broke rules and faced the wrath of her brother. It is though she was tired of being who she has been for her entire life. In the years leading up to high school, she was the perfect student. The perfect daughter. The perfect sister. She would come home and help her mother make dinner and go, do her chores and then help her brothers with whatever they needed. Only, it all changed a few years later. She was on the path to becoming a doctor and then she wasn't. The perfect daughter went away, so did the perfect sister and student. Now she was just like the rest of them. Gone was the little girl who looked up to her elder brother-- like she did her father in the picture-- for everything and replacing her was a woman, defiant and headstrong. She became a hairdresser instead of a doctor and grew further away from her family. She traded the white coat and stethoscope for the apron and scissors. The little girl was gone. She struggled to find her way and purpose in life, but she wasn't a quitter. She tried and tried and was finally successful. She became a banker, a mother, and a wife. 2. ME In the video, she runs around wearing her astronaut costume. Yelling, “Look at me! Look at me! I’m an astronaut. I can fly. I can save the world.” Throughout her entire school career up until high school, she was a mess. She wasn’t a good student and didn’t feel like the best daughter. She didn't have any aspirations or goals in life. She was completely confused and didn't know what was going on around her. The only thing that seemed to matter was the few “friends” she had. She tried to appease and help everyone around her, but she was completely lost. I look back at that video and see how that carefree girl changed into the complete opposite. I was a happy child until I turned six years old. I look back to a little bit earlier and see the stark difference in fourteen years old me and seventeen years old me. Gone is the messy, careless, lost girl, replaced by this mature, determined, serious girl. This girl has goals and ambitions. She doesn't care about what other people say but rather what she thinks about herself. Gone is the lost girl.
Today we do, tomorrow we will
By Meghana Avarasala
The room was cold, even for an October evening. But that could just be the leaking ceiling, or being in the basement.The room was dark, other than the faint glowing and buzzing of Ocean’s Eleven playing in the background.The Kidnapper, Eroda, is standing over Molly, the girl she kidnapped. “Shhh, it's ok” (Eroda lowers her voice and moves her hand from the headboard to Molly’s head stroking it softly). “I’m here, you’ll get better soon” (looks at her bloody hand as she puts down the hammer in her other hand)“Look what happened now!” (gasps loudly, goes to the cabinet beside the bed and starts pulling out bandages and medicine.) “You never understand, do you?”(she shakes her head in disappointment.) “He’s cheating on you Molly, I saw it myself”(she walks back to the bed and sits down)(Molly whimpers and scoots away) “I mean I was the one who kissed him, less than an hour ago.”(Eroda picks at her fingernails.) “But I didn’t force him”(Eroda takes Molly's hand and starts to wrap her hand in bandages.) “Molly, what do we say when we are hurting?” (Molly says Today I do, tomorrow I will). “We are gonna watch movies, have girls' night, that's all. Just you, me, and Julia Roberts.”(Eroda puts popcorn into Molly’s mouth. Molly spits them) “You spit at me. I'm feeding you by hand and you spit at me. No. I can't allow you to keep crossing these boundaries.” (She grabs the hammer).“I'm gonna help you fix yourself. You've become an ungrateful narcissist. I call this a humility check. It shatters those selfish thoughts so you can hear other people's feelings and needs.” (Molly begs for forgiveness as Eroda smashes her feet).“Oh, it’s okay, sweetheart, I’m here to help you” (She grabs her purse) “I need to go out to grab more bandages, okay?” (Molly nods, Eroda walks up the stairs and gets in the car.) (Molly carefully climbs the stairs and goes towards the woods). “You ungrateful little girl.”(Starts the car and slowly follows her) “Exactly where I needed you.” (Turns her car to an area where she can see Molly’s side profile) “Look at her running! More like limping pathetically. Does she not realize how much she needs me? How will she ever survive in the real world? The world is filled with men who will abuse you and use you until you are no longer in a position to be used.” (She groans) “When will she come here? The Molly I once knew would not be this slow.” (She sees her tiny figure and drives the car into her body, just hard enough to knock her out)(She gets out of the car and runs to Molly’s body and checks her pulse) “She’s still breathing” (She picks her up and walks to the lake)“Don’t worry Mols, you won’t have to suffer much longer.” (Walks into the lake) “No more self-loathing. You'll go into the light, and you'll feel loved. And I'll go on to help others who are lost." (She opens her eyes and looks at Eroda with terror in them. She starts to scream for help. Eroda shushes her) (The cops hear her screams) (Eroda starts to push Molly into the water as Molly tries to swim away) (The cops tell Eroda to let go of Molly)“I am helping her.”(She pushes Molly once more) (One of the cops shot her. Erodsa drops Molly) (A cop takes the shot arm and twists it behind her and cuffs her and pulls her out of the lake). (Eroda sees Molly being helped) “No! I’m supposed to help her! Molly! Molly!” (Molly limps to her father and hugs him).“You have to understand! All I wanted to do was help her.” (Molly says thank you for helping me) “That was supposed to be me.”
Enough
By Veronica Bargnesi
She walks into the house that had been a second home to her for years. She appreciates the bright red paint of the front door, the worn welcome mat below her feet, the sweet chime of the doorbell above her head. These things would normally bring her joy and warmth, but this time she feels apprehensive, a strong fist clenching her gut. Heavy words were weighing down her tongue - she was finally ready to say what she had been meaning to say for a long time. She takes slow steps into the kitchen; a surprised face looks up at her from the table. "I’m not really sure what's happening, but lately you’ve been distant. And I know I’m usually the one who asks to hang out. (heat begins to fill her face). I know I’m not one to say anything, but honestly it’s getting on my nerves! (She fidgets with her hair).To be honest I haven’t said anything because I thought you were going through something, but the other day you completely ditched me, and that would’ve been fine if you told me, but to leave me all alone. Y-you know I hate going to parties without anyone to talk to. Tears push at the corner of her eyes. I've always been the one who asked to hang out. I mean do you actually like me, (Speaker pauses) or do you just feel pity for me? I’m not sure, I know we’ve been friends for a while, but if you don’t want to just say that because I’m sick of the mind games you’re playing. I didn’t want to do this, but It’s obvious something has happened to us, I feel like I can’t tell what’s going on with you anymore. Even when we see each other nowadays it’s like we’re strangers or something. A tear rolled down her cheek. I hope you can see that I’m not trying to push you to say something, but it seems like we need to talk, maybe we have just grown apart because we’re into different things, but it seems like you don’t care about our friendship anymore, like you’ve given up on trying. Do you ever think about how I’m feeling? I mean you never ask how I’m doing. It seems like you want us to take a break. But I don’t know, because we - I mean I’ve never talked to you like this before. Maybe you haven’t thought about this before, but I’ve been thinking maybe we should take a break. I mean It’s obvious you don’t care about me. (walks back towards door) Listen, I don’t care what you think anymore, I think part of the problem was I was too obsessed with how you thought about me. I’ve actually started doing the things I used to love - the stuff you made fun of me for (she scoffs). It just seems like you never wanted a friend out of me - you only wanted me to follow you around. You basically treated me like a dog, and I didn’t realize it until recently that you never really cared about me.Speaker looks the listener in the eye.I just want you to know that I always cared about our relationship, but it’s obvious now that you didn’t. Why couldn’t you have just said that you didn’t want to be friends earlier? It would have been much easier for me, but you don’t care, you only ever cared about yourself and what people thought of you. She begins to back out of the room. I’m leaving now, you can go back to whatever you were doing. (opens the door to leave) I hope that you realize I was stuck for a long time because I was scared of what you’d think of me if I stuck up for myself, but I don’t care I don’t need you, and I never did.
The "Pep Talk"
By Lamar Caldwell
(Enters the locker room) Russ! What’s going on man? Look I know you're worried but you shouldn't be. You worked too hard for this. (sits down on the bench next to Russ) Pick your head up! I understand you’ve been through a lot but I also know how much this game means to you if you win. We haven't won a championship here in like 5 years! Haha. You are the best player on this team. They need you. (pats Russ on the shoulder) Look, you are my best friend, Russ. You could tell me anything. But, I do know your thinking about your dad and if he will show up or not. I understand you guys aren’t necessarily on great terms right now but you shouldn't let that affect you going into this game. Look, Russ (stands up from the bench and in front of Russ). This is the championship game! And like I said you're the strongest person I know and I don’t think I could be in your shoes. You're like a size 14! Haha. But in all seriousness I do completely understand about all the hardships you face while at home. The bullying, problems with your dad. Just know that me and the rest of our friends are always here for you and will always support you. Out of all these tough times you go through, you always stayed strong and I know basketball helped you keep your mind off things. This is why this game is important to you and it’s important to me. I’m really proud of you. We came a long way since elementary school and never had any problems. And I know you're upset because of your fight with Jermaine last week. I know other than me he’s been your closest friend since kindergarten. It’s like everyone has been turning against you. But you always manage to stay positive and do great in school and I know your mom is proud and your little brothers. (paces back and forth) Oh yeah and guess what? I don’t mean to spoil anything but (stares at Russ building suspense) There's gonna be college scouts at the game tonight! I know how much you've been talking about getting a basketball scholarship for college. You definite;y have the skill; you just have to show everyone that you have the confidence. Which Ii know you do. With that said, ease your mind and take out all the emotions you're feeling, on your opponent. It's not going to be an easy game, you know. You faced them twice this season and lost both times. Don’t get mad! Haha it's the truth. I’m sure you know I'm just making sure you are ready! (Snatches a basketball from Russ’s hands) You gotta be strong with the ball! Haha. (Stuffs the ball in Russ’s chest and sits next to him) Alright Russ (puts his arm around Russ’s shoulder) It’s about that time. I hope this talk let some emotions out of you and helped you clear your mind. I see that smile I know it did! (stares at Russ) I'm happy for you man. (Gets up and shoots an imaginary jumpshot) Now go show me what you got! (gives Russ a fistbump) Show everyone what you worked for.
Live, Love, Lose
By Allison Potter
-At a cemetery, Alice is the only one at the yard, approaching a gravestone. Autumn leaves fall around each stone, and the air is chilly as she reaches the grave.- Alice - “I haven’t been able to come here in, uh… -pause-Well, in a long time. -pause- It’s funny, really, that when you start seeing people, everyone tells you that you’ll find that someone, that you’ll find “the one,” and I’d never known what that meant, I mean, I thought I did, but I really didn’t. Maybe nobody does. But somehow, we got lucky enough, in this short, unfair, lifetime, to find our one, somebody who seems to make the impossible even just a bit more possible, and makes every piece of you glow with happiness. And what’s crazy is, I didn’t even know that when I met you, I really had found the one. I had found my someone, my person. You were my one, and if I had the opportunity to go back in the past, somehow, the only thing I’d change about the time we got together is forcing myself to wake up and realize that when you were here with me, somehow every bullet life shot at us, at me, it wasn’t ever too much to handle, because you were right there, beside me. I didn’t have to do anything alone, and neither did you. We were equals, partners; Not just sidekick and hero, but partners. You were my right-hand man, -tearing up-and when you were beside me, colors were brighter, and the taste of fruit became sweeter, and I think I’d give anything in this whole, wide, gigantic world to taste the taste of the sweet fruit, or see the bright colors just one more time.-sit down next to the tombstone-I don’t think I’ll ever see the bright colors again, Jack. -pause, a sob escaping as she comes to a realization-I’ll never taste the fruit and if I could have only understood back then how beautiful that was, -pause, at this point tears are falling freely on the damp grass-If I could have only understood, I would have spent more time looking at the colors and eating fruit with you. I would have spent more time just looking at your face, or holding your hand. I wouldn’thave let one second pass by without telling you how you somehow managed to make even the sourest, most rotten lemon into some form of lemonade. -pause- Are you listening, Jack? Because there are times I can’t feel you. I can smell your smell, peppermint and citrus, if you were wondering. Peppermint and citrus, weird combination- but you pulled it off. I can smell you when I wake up, in your pillow, but I can’t feel you with me. I can’t feel you laughing at me when I accidentally put my shoes on the wrong feet, or getting frustrated when I forget to do the dishes. I think those are the hardest times. -pause, wiping tears-But I know you’re still there. I know that a soul so big and great can’t just be gone, it can’t just cease to exist. That’s why I’m talking to you now, because I know, even though it may be just a shot in the dark, you could be listening. Before I go, I want to ask you to try your best to be proud of doing. God, I want you to be proud of me, of how I went back to work this week, or how I talked about you to Susan yesterday and didn’t totally break. I want to know that when you look down on me, you’re proud that I’m getting back up after getting knocked down. I need that from you, Jack, because I’m so afraid you’ll be mad at me for not being a total wreck over you. I don’t want you to be sad or angry if I ever go on another date again. I don’t want to feel that guilt, the guilt of starting to move on, ok? -sighs, placing hand on the tomb once more-I forgot how nice it was to see you, and it’s not the same, it’ll never be, but still, it’s something, I suppose. -standing, dusting herself off- Well,I think I’ll go home now, there’s a rainbow in the sky I think I’ll take some time and look at, I have nothing better to do, and since I’m hungry, I may just eat some fresh fruit.”
Salutations From A Hill By Anna Lin
It was a side street off of a side street. Wide asphalt interrupted the otherwise rolling hills. If you walked in, you would see a large cul de sac amid six or so recently built houses. The houses towered over you. It was a stark contrast to the flat lands surrounding it. A large gate separated the newly constructed neighborhood with the old one behind it. Before the cul de sac sat a mound of dirt. One could call it a hill, but even that would be exaggerated. It stuck out like a sore thumb. Patches of grass grew towards the bottom. Wildflowers blossomed at the top. Stepping onto the dirt was a disturbing experience; the mulch sunk and squelched around your sneakers, giving you the fleeting effect of quicksand. It was a mess in the middle of the new complex. But it was my summer. My friend discovered it at the beginning of quarantine. She enjoyed biking to listen to music and feel the wind blow at the tips of her ears. It became the location for us to watch the sun and its patterns. We would meet there every morning at 5:30am and climb up, carefully placing our feet in the same places we left the day before. Sometimes, on a dry day, we would fling a towel upon the tall grass and sit there, reading a book or talking. Someone always played music in the background. Together, we would watch the sun rise. “Wow…” The hill felt the palms of our hands dig into the dirt through the towel as we leaned back, craning our necks to watch the stars disappear one by one, retiring for the day. It felt the soles of our sneakers, leaving indents on its back. It tasted the drops of our popsicles as they melted into the soil. It heard our giggles and guffaws, our loud exclamations and the quietest secrets. We slipped and skidded down the sides as we stumbled back down. “Bye Hill!” The fishing line in our bicycles started, then diminished as our bodies retreated backwards into the light. In the distance, you could hear our chatter. Maybe we would return on the weekends when school let out. The first weekend of school, we visited our dear friend yet again. In its place sat the framework of a new house. We saw its fate in the bulldozer sitting beside the road. Bye Hill.
Chincoteague By Remy Frawley
An orange tint washes over all that I can see: sand, water, sky, and tall grasses. The sand tickles in between my toes as I sink deeper and deeper, watching the waves come and go. Something else is tickling my foot; I reach into the sand, scooping up a handful and letting it spread out over my hands. My heart skips a beat, not prepared for the little surprise I see in my palm. A tiny little creature, a sea tick, crawls to the surface, scurrying about my hand. I study it for a moment, noticing the many flailing legs and speckled shell, before placing it back on the ground. I watch as it burrows back into the wet sand, a wave washing over where it once was. The sky begins to darken as the sun sinks below the horizon, and I remember what I came here to do. My fingers stick together, glued by a thick layer of marshmallow. The waves wash over my hands as I try to scrub away the stubborn residue. I grab the bucket that I was tasked with filling, dunking it under the waves, letting them wash over it as well. The bucket becomes heavy with seawater, and I struggle to carry it back to our campfire, sploshing water every so often as I trudge through the sand. The fire is almost out, with only a few small flames and glowing red embers poking through the ash. We dump the water we’ve collected on the hot surface, standing as far away as possible to avoid the splash of boiling water. Loud sizzles and crackles fill the air, and grey smoke floats into the night. Satisfied with our work, we begin our trek back to the car, over a mound of sand and across a parking lot of broken shells. All traces of the warm sun have left the sky, replaced by the faint glow of the moon. A cold wind brushes past my face, and the sound of crashing waves is taken over by the crunching of shells beneath our feet.
Friends In Trouble By Taichi Shimizu
So Michael, you are here now! Do you want to have some drinks? Tea? Juice? Water? OK. I think I will get some bottles for all kinds of drinks!! Let’s go outside and we can do whatever we want. (he sits down) We’ll get inside my room after that. Do you want to play any sports? Do you want to go somewhere else? We can go far away to find something to play with. You wanna stay here? It’s good, let’s just sit on the ground for now. (he stands up and looks back) Oh! My Mom brought us cookies and Cola! Umm Flies are irritating me. Can you get rid of them? I’m not brave enough to get them away from me. I will quickly have my pets from my rooms and food for them, we can play with them after we finish our snack time. (he goes inside his house and gets some snacks) They want us to stay with them. You like dogs and cats? (he smiles) I think we can play with them for 30 minutes, I guess or do you wanna do something else? Well I want your answer! I think we can do that! (he now shows his smile) OK. We will be playing with them. I’m sure it will definitely be fun because they know how to play with us. They are really smart and I’m proud of them being so. Oh go head and eat some snacks!! Well Mom? I’m gonna bring my pets here. Hey Mike these are my cats and dogs. Let’s walk around and find a place to play. You don’t think there’s enough space for us to do some activities? Alright I think we will keep staying in my yard. (he walks, then stops) What do you think you wanna do? Any ideas? You said before that you wanna run with them and make some interactions. We should definitely do that!! It’s gonna be fun. (he smiles again) I like exercise and they’re always wanting for somebody to play with so isn’t this your great opportunity to get involved with them? Do you wanna call someone from our group? Well I don’t think we need other people because I just want to have some time with you, Mike.
4444 By Lilith (There is no sound other than the chilling white noise. Footsteps creak as Daph and Megera travels throughout the house. Darkness flickers, threatened by the shining flashlights they hold.)
(Nothing has happened yet.)
DAPH: Anything on the EMF yet?
(Daph doesn’t wait for an answer. She glances over, observes, shakes her head.)
DAPH: No activity yet… this ghost doesn’t seem hostile. It really can’t be a demon, can it? Oh, but the owners said they’ve seen shadows. Faint, but they saw them. There’s no activity yet… I don’t think it can be something aggressive. Maybe just a spirit? If there’s no activity on the EMF, though... Our sanity might be at stake if it could be a Yurei… Wraiths, maybe? No temperature drops yet, though. Is it isolating itself? Did we even find a spot where activity levels spike? We should check the monitor for activity levels back in the car… No… but that seems pointless, I don’t think travelling all that way back just for activity levels. What’s the ghost’s name? Let me recall real quick...
(Megera remains quiet. Daph is not interested in pointless comments, nor help when she doesn’t need it. Daph takes a look at her notes, skims the employee’s words.)
DAPH: Salem… no last name though. Seems like a weird name, it could be an old ghost.
(This raises cause for concern for Daph.)
DAPH: It’ll be aggressive then. All those years roaming, it’ll be angry. Salem, are you there? Salem?
(A thin woosh of air is felt. Goosebumps raise, Daph looks towards the end of the hallway. There, a door creaks slightly ajar.)
DAPH: ...There it is. I have the spirit box, I will go in alone. You stay by the doorway. Watch the EMF, keep your camera. I’m heading in.
(Daph enters the room. Immediately, she recognizes the chilling temperature. A sudden drop of heat… the ghost is here. She lays the spirit box on the floor, and converses.)
DAPH: Salem, I’m Daph. Are you there? Would you like to give us a sign? No answer, huh… I can wait for you, Salem. We would like to see you, or any sign of you being here. We know you’re here, you don’t have to hide. Can you open a door or turn on the lights?
(The door swings wide open, and the lights begin to flicker rapidly. A terrible energy is here.)
DAPH: Did you get that on camera? That’s our first piece of evidence, that’s an aggressive ghost. It’s communicating with the spirit box. Cold temperatures as well. That helps us narrow it down by a lot, it has to be aggressive too… That’s bad for us, real bad, but I prepared with two crucifixes in the car beforehand. I’m going to keep moving, it left the room, the temperature is back to normal again. It could be a mare… or a wraith… hopefully not a demon. If it’s a demon, that’s bad. Really bad. Is there still nothing on the EMF? God, I hope there is something eventually… If it is a demon, though… it’s not too aggressive for one. That doesn’t really make sense, it would've attacked me by then, especially when I was alone in that room. Toying with us, maybe? I don’t know, but I’m not going to risk it. We’re gonna try to communicate with it again. Leave the book in this room again, and we’ll stake-out somewhere else. Leave a camera too, we’re gonna see if it writes in the book… Okay, that looks perfect, come on, this way… I don’t know, I have a deep feeling it is a demon, but all of the times I was alone with it… I would’ve been murdered. What is it doing? Playing with us like we’re toys? Oh… do you feel that? Wind, indoors. Temperature dropping again, it’s nearby. It must be writing in the book now.
(The flashlights flicker off with a woosh, and stalls when Daph tries to turn them back on. The window shatters in the distance. In the corner, a hallway light is seen flickering on. A shadow disappears. A terrible energy is here.)
DAPH: That’s… not good. Really not good. We need to check out the book, fast. Hurry, come on… Oh. Sure enough, that’s a demon. The scribbles in here… only demons would communicate with the ghost writing. Pairing that with all the other evidence… And we got it on camera too, see how the writing’s appearing? If it’s a demon… we need to get out of this house. Like, now. It’s getting tired of us being here. We need the crucifixes, but they’re in the car. We’ll come back inside to clear the place of the demon.
(The flashlights flicker on again. Daph is relieved, but only briefly, when she sees a shadow in the corner.... In the corner of the room she’s standing in. That’s not safe.)