children
Children: Our most valuable natural resource.
Light Reign
Part 1 | Stormy Tears “Reign. . .” softly whispered a voice. The sound of the voice echoed through the breeze caressing Reign’s face as she sat on the shore of her home island. Reign tossed her head back and gazed at the stars above in awe, while a single tear slipped down her cheek. She felt a slight chill graze her shoulder --startled, she jumped at the scare. Her big brown eyes peeped through the coils of her curly hair, and over her left shoulder to check for anything unusual. Nothing new, besides the view of the town a short walk away. She heaved a sigh of relief and turned her attention back to the stars and the freshness of the outdoor air. The sound of the crashing waves soothed her aching heart. Her grandmother had just passed away, and Reign ran to the beach after school to escape her parents. They were not dealing with the loss well.
By Tiye Samone5 years ago in Families
The Little Black Book
My name is Penelope Holmes and I live with my Mother and Father in Upper North West, Washington, DC. We live in a nice big house with a backyard for me to play in. This quirky story takes place when I was 10 years old just about to enter Middle School. I know, I know, focus people, I was a teeny tiny bit advanced for my age. What I didn't know is this would be the start of all my middle school-aged problems. My Mother worked at the school that Diddy went to and supports every chance he gets and my father worked at a Restaurant in DC as a Head Chef.
By Millie Holmes5 years ago in Families
Tips and Treasure
Tips and Treasure "... I would pay off my student loans and," looking grimly into her coffee mug, "stop drinking this cheap coffee." Ms. Laire, the 9th grade English teacher, had shown the class a news article of someone who had recently won $20,000, and had explained what she would do had she won.
By Tyler D'Antonio5 years ago in Families
Just the Beginning
Gloria was finally going home after the end of her second job. From 9am-5pm, she was a secretary at a small local law firm and from 10pm-12am, she cleaned offices at a large downtown building. Though tough, the jobs enabled her to provide for the people she loved the most in the world – her three teenage sons.
By Elizabeth Schneider 5 years ago in Families
An Imperfect Father
I would recognize the scribble on the page before me anywhere. We hadn’t spoken in over a decade, but I felt the same shiver down my spine seeing my father’s words sprawled in front of me as the day I left. I slumped into my brown leather couch with the little black notebook that I received in the mail earlier today. The notebook housed a lengthy letter from the man that walked out on my mother and I when I was a child. I shakily read:
By Melina Lowe5 years ago in Families
A Letter to My Son
A Letter to My Son “Like this!” She whispered, her small fingers fluttering in front of a flashlight. Her shadows danced on the wall, soaring and swooping. Her hair, tiny strands of yellow and gold, caught the light. Smiling, she joined her father in a haphazardly constructed tent made of chairs, pillows, and sheets that had been thrown together in the living room of her late grandfather’s house. “It was a bird,” She said, matter-of-factly, and laid beside her father with heavy eyes. She always fought sleep, afraid to miss out on something exciting. He loved that about her, as she was always so ready for life.
By Sarah Brett5 years ago in Families
The scavenger hunt
After everyone said goodbye, we all got in our vehicles and headed over to Aunt Wanda’s house for the repass. Once everyone arrived we ate and talked about all the memories we had with Mom and Dad before they passed. Then, aunt Wanda said she would like me and my siblings to follow her somewhere. She led us into this room that I had never been in. To be honest, I was nervous walking into the room because whenever we visited her house as a child, our older cousin would tell us that she heard weird noises coming from the room at nighttime. Once we got into the room, I immediately noticed my parent’s estate attorney. Aunt Wanda briefly left the room, and when she returned, she revealed a little black book. She opened the book and began reading this odd riddle. The riddle was “Go to the table, that isn't stable, leads to the chairs, over the stairs”. I began thinking of all the rooms in the house. Suddenly I remembered this specific room that we could never eat in because the table was very wobbly. I quickly rushed over to the guest house and began searching everywhere. I looked on the floor, I moved all the chairs, I searched the bathroom. Then I put my hand under the table and I found this sticky note. It said “The salt you shake, the more you make’’. I immediately got up and tried to grab the salt shaker, I punched it and I pulled it. But it wouldn't move. I turned the salt shaker, and the table split in half. All I saw was a keypad with numbers on it. I couldn't think of any numbers so I just tried everyone’s birthdays, but nothing worked. Then my dad's lucky numbers immediately came to mind. My dad always told me his lucky numbers were three, nine, eight, and zero because that was the day he starred in his first movie. I quickly typed the numbers into the keypad and they worked. Then these stairs came out in between the tables. I slowly walked down the stairs. It was a storage room, inside the room there must be a clue somewhere. I looked around, and nothing came to mind of what to look for. Then I saw a fancy antique box, which used to be my grandmother’s favorite one. I opened it and inside was a paper, which was oddly placed so it had to be another clue. I took the paper and ran back to my aunt, I showed her the paper. She confirmed it was a clue and we read it out loud “open up my great big door. You might find a car, or maybe more.” I ran to the garage and searched relentlessly, then the thought came to me. It is probably inside of his favorite car. His favorite car is a nineteen-seventy-five Corvette Stingray. I ran to the garage and looked inside and opened the glove box, and found a black drawstring bag. Inside the bag were diamonds, twenty of them. I ran upstairs in awe and told my aunt I found the treasure. I went home to celebrate and the next day I called my aunt and siblings after they came over I gave all of my family one diamond. The remaining diamonds besides two, I want to sell. I started googling jewelers near me. Luckily, I found one that was only eight minutes away. I immediately got in my car and headed over to the jeweler. Once I got there, I asked if she could inspect the diamonds to make sure they were real. When she inspected them, she said they were hundred percent real diamonds. Then, I asked how much she would be willing to pay for fourteen of the diamonds. She said she would pay three million dollars. I was literally exploding with happiness inside. But I told her I would think about it and come back later. I decided to head to another jeweler who was about thirty-eight minutes away from the first one. I asked him how much he’d be willing to pay. He said he would pay me two million and five hundred thousand dollars. Then, I decided to go to one more jeweler, and I found one two minutes away. I was speeding the whole way there because I was so happy. Then, when I arrived the jeweler’s shop was closed. I went home and decided to do some more research. I began searching for a specialist, I found a five-star rated specialist and I decided to send him an email. In the email, I told him that I was wondering what type of diamonds I had and how much they were worth. I waited for about three hours and then I got a response. He told me to send a picture of the diamond, so I did. He told me that they were extremely rare rose diamonds and that each diamond is worth about three million. I did a backflip in my living room. I can’t believe those jewelers tried to rip me off. I decided to start googling some actual high-end jewelers. I decided to send another email to the specialist and ask if he knew any jewelers. He told me he knew a few and he said can send me some phone numbers. He said that they were all some of the best jewelers in America. I called like eighteen numbers until I got a really good price that I just couldn’t resist. The third person I called said that they would pay forty-two million dollars for all fourteen diamonds. So I decided to call them back so we can set up a time and place. She said that we can meet up on Monday at five o’clock. I was so excited, even though we won’t be meeting up until tomorrow. To pass the time I decided to go out to eat with my brother. I apologized to my brother since I found the treasure before him, but he assured me that it was all good. I decided to tell him about the jeweler situation. He congratulated me since it was such an adequate deal. After we finished our meal, my brother decided to go home. On my way home I stopped by the mall to maybe have a little spending spree. I literally stopped in almost every store but I couldn’t really decide what I wanted so I left the mall. I decided to go home, trying to sleep the rest of the day off to be ready for tomorrow. The next day, I got up with excitement and got dressed very quickly. The drive to the Jeweler is about three hours away, so I left the house early and got there in about two and a half hours. I talked over with the jeweler to confirm the price, we got the deal done pretty quickly, and they sent the forty-two million and I will receive it the next day. Fast forward to fifty years later, in my will I wrote for all of my kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews to go to my mansion and read the black book found in the dining room, hidden inside the bookshelf. The challenge continues.
By Cat Everett5 years ago in Families
The Night Bus
I can feel it. Excitement, once more, bubbling up inside me. I take my seat, the last bus of the night to Piccadilly. An empty bottle rolls towards me as we pull away from the bus stop. Street lights and illuminated signs cut through my ghostly reflection in the window. At the front of the bus, I can see the driver looking at me in his mirror. He's suspicious. I could tell when he took my money. The question, “Shouldn't you be at home in bed?”, was just there, waiting to be said.
By Niall James Bradley5 years ago in Families
Code-Breaker
Code-Breaker “What did you bring for me this time?” Aliya asked her little friend, a monkey she had named Kabu. Through the chain link fence, Kabu handed her a nice ballpoint pen. The insignia on the pen looked familiar. She recognized it as that of the resistance militia that was fighting for the freedom of her country. She had seen the militia in her village the year before. They had tried to fight off the soldiers that invaded. When they lost, everyone in her village was captured and brought to this labor camp. Aliya gave Kabu a banana and told him she needed to go. He watched her as she headed off to pick up sticks. Knowing she could be severely punished for having this pen, she buried it and marked the spot with a rock.
By Kimberly Queen5 years ago in Families
