Once again, Susie was nowhere to be found. She wasn't behind the couch, in the closest, under the bed, or in any of her normal hiding spots. I was puzzled as to where she could be hiding.
"Mom, have you seen Susie anywhere?"
"No, honey. Did you check her bedroom?"
"Yes, I did. I checked all her normal hiding places, but I can't find her anywhere!"
"Just keep searching for her. She'll come out sometime. She's just probably really quiet somewhere."
"Okay, Mom. By the way, that smells delicious!"
Mom was making brownies as a snack. The warm, chocolatey kind with chocolate frosting. Yum. My favorite snack.
I can't seem to find Susie anywhere. I've checked every corner of the house and there's no sign of my little sister. She's quite the smartypants. She doesn't hide in the same place back-to-back or even within five times of hiding. She hides in any spot she can cram her body in. Besides being a good hider, she's quite smart. She knows her alphabet, both forward and backwards. She can read a book that a common second grader could read. I think she got it from me because I'm forever reading her books and teaching her. I, too, am a smartypants like her. I have had straight A's since Kindergarten and I, too, love to read. I guess I passed on everything I have grown up with to my little sister Susie, who at this point in time is still missing.
I don't know where she would be hiding. I've checked everywhere in the house. Maybe she's outside.
We live in the country where the closest neighbor is a quarter mile away. We don't own lots of property but it's enough to satisfy us. Plenty of yard to play a game of softball, my favorite sport, or even ride the ATVs around.
"Susie!" Where could she be? She has never done this before and I'm worried sick about her. For a kid her age, she's quite smart even if she can outsmart her own smart sister. Where is she?!
There's not many places where she can hide. I remember where I used to hide, however. I bet she's there since she takes after her big sis. The best hiding spot in the world for a kid like her is the tree house.
I remember all the times I hid there. Each one was distinct and special in its own way. One time I hid there and pretended I was being chased by a pink polka dotted dragon, though I made friends with it later on one of my other "excursions". There was another time, however, when I was waiting for my prince charming to rescue me from my evil stepmother. Boy, was that a dream come true!
I wonder why I never thought of it before. The tree house. That was my refuge when I was Susie's age.
"Susie? You here?" Please be here.
"Yeah, I'm here." She sounded so sullen. I wonder what's wrong with her. She's always been a content little girl.
"Thank goodness I found you. I was worried sick about you. mom told me not to worry about you. Please, Susie, don't do that again! What are you doing up here anyway?"
In her sullen mood, her answer was unexpected. "I don't know. I wanted to make it difficult for you to find me, but somehow I ended up here. I was waiting for you to find me but you took so long that I started thinking. Sis, am I adopted?"
That sure caught me off guard. Why would she ask me such a question when we're so alike? "Susie, why in this crazy world would you think that?" I took my baby sister in my arms and gave her the most loving hug I had ever given her.
"Well, the kids at school are teasing me."
"Why would they be doing that? You're a wonderful little kid; who wouldn't want to be your friend?"
"They've been teasing me about my brain..."
"Oh, Susie!" I took her in my arms again and spoke to her like a big sister should. "Susie, don't let them put these things in your head. You're an exceptional little girl. You, me, Mom, Dad, practically everyone you know knows that. Besides, you weren't the only one who went through this kind of thing."
Susie looked up with her tear-streaked face in astonishment. "Really?"
"Absolutely."
"Who's been in my position?"
"Me, silly! Haven't you noticed I encourage you to study things that is meant for someone older?"
"No, I guess not. Why do you?"
I didn't know what to say to her so I told her the truth. "I really don't have a definite answer but I can tell you this: Mom saw the potential in me when I was younger and encouraged me and I guess I see the same things Mom saw in me. So now ou know you're not alone. I'll always be here for you whenever you need me." I hugged Susie one more time. "So what do you wanna do now?"
Susie pondered that thought awhile before she answered. "Can you teach me something new?"
I just laughed because that was the last thing I expected her to ask me. "Yes, of course. But, Susie, why?" I didn't know where she was headed with this but it wasn't the first time.
"Well, I figured if I was supposed to be smart, I might as well continue to learn. Plus..."
"Plus what?"
"Plus I wanna skip a grade or two."
"Why would that be?" She had me puzzled once again and her reply was a bit shocking. She was really on a roll with startling me today.
"I wanna see cute boys." She just sat there blushing like it was something that she wasn't supposed to admit, especially to me. I had to laugh at her. I remember my force to skip a few grades, too, but I was a little bit older than Susie.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
(Untitled)
The clock strikes twelve and the monster emerges from the depths of the cemetery to feed on victims who believe in the tale.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For 15 year old Taylor, her Halloween started out like any other. She met up with her friends, Cassie, Sophie, and Landon, at the local pizza place to discuss their plans for that evening. It was the same as previous years except for one thing: they would go into the graveyard at midnight. Taylor was hesitant at first to go but decided that she can only do it once and that the consequences wouldn’t be too harsh, unless, of course, the police caught them.
So the group of friends left the pizza place to get ready for the upcoming events that were to be had. Taylor returned to her home to put on a witch’s costume which she had customized to fit her style. It was black with Lake Michigan blue down the middle, right where her stomach would be. Her hat was black with stars the same color as the fabric running down the middle of her dress. The personal touch that she added to her costume was a white belt with an emerald green thunderbolt stitched on.
Taylor returns to find her friends at the “secret” spot only known to them, the tree house in Landon’s backyard. All of them discuss their customizations to their costumes and why they put did it the way they did. They once again discussed the plans of the evening just as the sun set behind the clouds of the crisp autumn night. Taylor mentions it’s quite beautiful, almost like the sun is exploding. Then they set off for their destinations.
The first destination is the local haunted house put on by the local kids and their parents. They decide to give a tip to help give them something to offset the debt that was put into creating the house.
The girls go in and scream at every possible creature that jumps out at them. They get done going through it and talk about how scary it was and thank the kids’ parents for letting them go through. They set off for the ice cream shop, but on the way, they talk about a scary story they’ve heard that was supposedly true. Taylor doesn’t believe it and so they set out to the ice cream shop to talk about it further.
The four friends each get a different flavor of ice cream, one of which was pumpkin pie. They further discuss the details of this story to try to convince Taylor that it was true.
She doesn’t believe them and Landon says, “If you don’t believe it, we’ll show you!”
Landon pulls Taylor out of her chair and marches out of the ice cream shop to head to the nearest cemetery, the Stygian Emerald Cemetery.
It may only be a two block walk but to the group of friends, it felt like an eternity. Maybe it was the way the moon shone out from behind the clouds or else the day itself, but either way, the friends were fearful of what was lurking in the shadows.
It’s nearly midnight when they walk into the cemetery. Taylor walked in with Landon grabbing a hold of her by her costume and stepped onto the grounds of the grave plots and suddenly fear strikes her.
She screams to Landon to let her go but he replies, “You didn’t believe us before so you’re going to go through with it and believe us now!” The earth begins to tremble all around them and she’s instantly horrified, as well as her friends for they didn’t believe such a story was true.
Out of the depths of the earth came this creature so gruesome, so disgusting, it was hard to look away. It wore a black cloak, like those that monks would wear, and the way it draped over the creature, was like a billowing sheet in the wind. Underneath the cloak, it had topaz eyes that could paralyze its prey, and vampire teeth so sharp, they could bite through granite like a knife through butter. Its skin was green and had holes where it was ripped away from its many fights with its prey.
Cassie, Sophie, Landon, and Taylor had no clue as to whether they should run away or stand their ground. Cassie, Sophie, and Landon shrieked and started to run from the cemetery when they realized Taylor was nowhere near them. They decided to run back and get her, but when they saw her, they were shocked and puzzled by what Taylor was doing: she was defending herself with her belt!
Taylor had no idea what she was doing, but she believed she could somehow defend herself from the creature that was now coming towards her. She walked towards the creature with the belt at chest level and far from her body. As she walked, the creature crept closer and closer until they were a mere five feet apart. She could feel the breath coming off the rotting body and hoped the next move would save them all. Taylor turned the belt so that the emerald thunderbolt was now pointing towards the gruesome creature and wished that it would return to its home for all of eternity and suddenly it was gone!
When Taylor’s friends saw what occurred, they ran over to Taylor and thanked her for saving their lives.
When they asked her why she did that, Taylor replied, “I thought that my belt had some special power thanks to the thunderbolt I added. I just believed in my old good luck charm and wished that that awful, hideous creature would return home for all of eternity. I guess I shouldn’t have given it up because it sure did come in handy, didn’t it?”
Her friends gaped at her and nodded. They agreed not to tell anyone about what happened on that very night and headed to the warm comforts of home to believe that monsters don’t exist.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The Christmas Pony
“But, Mom! I really want a horse this year for Christmas,” exclaimed Aisling. “You know how long I’ve wanted one and even you said you used to ride horses.”
“That is true. I did tell you that, but that still doesn’t mean I can get you one for Christmas,” said her mother.
For as long as Aisling can remember, she has always wanted a horse from the Emerald Isle. She remembers all the stories her mother has told her about when she was a little girl growing up on a farm in Ireland and how she always wanted a horse but couldn’t afford one. Aisling never told her mother this, but the only reason why she wanted one was to make her mother’s dream come true, as well as her own. She remembers her mother describing the majestic beasts that used to run freely on the grassy plains, how their world seemed so much simpler than hers. For hours, she used to sit and watch them. She never did receive one, even for the amount of times she pleaded with her own parents to get one.
Aisling has been begging her mother for a horse constantly since she knew her mother was due for a trip to the Isle at any time. She knew what she wanted: a Thoroughbred from the Connemara Coast. A fourteen hands -high stallion, chestnut in color that was strong enough to carry two people, her mother and herself.
But getting one would be hard to come by. No matter how much both mother and daughter wanted a horse, there wasn’t any possible way to purchase one. Times were tough and it was even hard to book a flight to Ireland and stay a few days. Aisling’s mother, however, thought that if she couldn’t give her daughter a horse for Christmas, the least she could do was show her Ireland and the majesty of it. She booked a flight for the following day and soon they were off to the Emerald Isle.
The flight from America to Ireland couldn’t seem to end any faster. Once in Ireland, Aisling and her mother rented a car and drove around on the Westside of Ireland to the place where her personal horse was possibly waiting. Her mother had made the plans while Aisling was sleeping. She called an old friend of hers who just happened to own a horse ranch and asked if she could possibly show her daughter his stable; he happily agreed.
The two of them were driving along the coast, scanning the horizon for any sign of wild horses. Aisling’s mother came to a fork in the road and followed that for a few miles until a driveway made itself known. She took the driveway and as she did, Aisling gasped at the view in front of her: a house set on a sizeable piece of land with three stables proportionally located and enough pasture for the horses to graze upon for hours. It was a quaint little setting and Aisling couldn’t help but stare and wonder quietly who owned this wonderful place.
Her mother pulled up to the house and Duff appeared from the door. He smiled and walked down the steps to their car and helped them unload. Aisling was astonished. Nothing came to mind as she stared at the scene in front of her.
Duff laughed his hearty laugh and said, “So this must be Aisling. I see you have taken notice to all the horses I have. Would you care to see them?”
Aisling looked to her mother and nodded her head in agreement. They took their bags into the house and casually strolled to the stables. Duff told Aisling all about them and how they came to Ireland. He even mentioned how he came about his first horse.
They reached the first stable and Aisling couldn’t help but gape at the horses in front of her. She tried to think of something to say but came up blank. She kept staring, memorizing what she saw so as not to forget it when they returned home. Duff patiently waited for a response from Aisling, but seeing she couldn’t respond, just smiled and coaxed her closer to the stalls.
“Come have a look see, lass. This babe was just born three days ago,” Duff stated, hiding a smile.
“Would you like to pet him, Aisling?”
“Oh, yes!” exclaimed Aisling. She pressed her body up against the gate of the stall and stuck her hand out as if it were a puppy, wary of the stranger in front of it. The tiny pony was hesitant, but once it looked into Aisling’s innocent eyes, it pranced over to her to get a closer look.
While Aisling and the colt were getting to know one another, Duff and Aisling’s mother spoke in hushed tones. When they weren’t, they were grinning at the sight of the newborn horse and the ecstatic girl.
Duff walked over to the girl and horse, with the girl’s mother by his side. He patted the colt’s head and spoke to Aisling.
“Lass, so I hear you want a horse for Christmas, is that right?” Aisling nodded, not knowing where he was headed. “Well, I know times are hard and according to your mother, you really, really want a horse so I made her a deal.”
Aisling broke in, wary. “What did Mom promise you?” She didn’t want to carry a burden for this selfish wish even if it did satisfy her mother’s own wish.
Duff laughed. “She promised me that if you ever needed help, money for feed, equipment, lessons, so on, she would call me. Oh, don’t cry!” Aisling began to weep, not because she got her horse, but because her mom went out of the way to give her what she wanted. Aisling didn’t deserve this, her mother did.
“Duff. I’m sorry, but I can’t take this beautiful colt. No matter how much I want one, I don’t truly deserve it. Mom has been talking about her childhood lately and it breaks my heart to know that she never got one. She does too much to not deserve this pretty fella.” She patted the colt on the head and talked to him. “Mom deserves you much more than I do but I’ve wanted one like you for so long. You are the perfect color, you’re from Ireland, and most of all I would love you, not that Mom wouldn’t. What do you say? Would you like to go to America?” The colt nudged Aisling in agreement. “That settles it. Mom, this is your horse more than mine but I will help you since he is the ideal one. Duff, I guess I have to thank you. Not only for making my wish come true, but for Mom’s as well. I’ll be...”
Duff cut her off mid-sentence. “Aisling. There is no need to thank me. It was your mother’s idea to bring you over and take this colt home. It has been yours since yesterday. She has been dying to tell you but knew it would ruin the surprise. I mean, you are surprised, right?”
“Of course, I’m surprised. I know Mom can’t afford it but I guess with the deal you made with her, I have to accept what is given.” She ran to her mom and gave her the biggest hug she had ever given. With tears streaming down her face, she thanked her mom over and over. She finally got her pony she always dreamed of.
Once Aisling’s eyes were dry of tears, her mother looked down at her and asked, “So what are you going to name it, sweetie?”
Aisling had thought about names for her perfect pony a million times but considering he was from Ireland, he should have an Irish name. “I’m going to name him Derry, ya know, like the city. It just fits with his origins and I hope you’re okay with that. I had other names but I think this one will fit him better than all the rest.”
“Of course, it’s okay. I couldn’t have picked a better name myself.”
The flight home couldn’t have taken any longer. Aisling wanted her pony to be on her land, to see him roam. She wanted to see her mother’s face light up at the new creature amongst them. She just wanted to be glad that both her and her mother’s wishes came true. If it wasn’t for Duff, this wouldn’t have happened and for that, Aisling was grateful to him.
*Thank you to Arlene for helping me decide which type of pony this young lady got. Without her poem about the Connemara Pony, this wouldn't have been possible.*
“That is true. I did tell you that, but that still doesn’t mean I can get you one for Christmas,” said her mother.
For as long as Aisling can remember, she has always wanted a horse from the Emerald Isle. She remembers all the stories her mother has told her about when she was a little girl growing up on a farm in Ireland and how she always wanted a horse but couldn’t afford one. Aisling never told her mother this, but the only reason why she wanted one was to make her mother’s dream come true, as well as her own. She remembers her mother describing the majestic beasts that used to run freely on the grassy plains, how their world seemed so much simpler than hers. For hours, she used to sit and watch them. She never did receive one, even for the amount of times she pleaded with her own parents to get one.
Aisling has been begging her mother for a horse constantly since she knew her mother was due for a trip to the Isle at any time. She knew what she wanted: a Thoroughbred from the Connemara Coast. A fourteen hands -high stallion, chestnut in color that was strong enough to carry two people, her mother and herself.
But getting one would be hard to come by. No matter how much both mother and daughter wanted a horse, there wasn’t any possible way to purchase one. Times were tough and it was even hard to book a flight to Ireland and stay a few days. Aisling’s mother, however, thought that if she couldn’t give her daughter a horse for Christmas, the least she could do was show her Ireland and the majesty of it. She booked a flight for the following day and soon they were off to the Emerald Isle.
The flight from America to Ireland couldn’t seem to end any faster. Once in Ireland, Aisling and her mother rented a car and drove around on the Westside of Ireland to the place where her personal horse was possibly waiting. Her mother had made the plans while Aisling was sleeping. She called an old friend of hers who just happened to own a horse ranch and asked if she could possibly show her daughter his stable; he happily agreed.
The two of them were driving along the coast, scanning the horizon for any sign of wild horses. Aisling’s mother came to a fork in the road and followed that for a few miles until a driveway made itself known. She took the driveway and as she did, Aisling gasped at the view in front of her: a house set on a sizeable piece of land with three stables proportionally located and enough pasture for the horses to graze upon for hours. It was a quaint little setting and Aisling couldn’t help but stare and wonder quietly who owned this wonderful place.
Her mother pulled up to the house and Duff appeared from the door. He smiled and walked down the steps to their car and helped them unload. Aisling was astonished. Nothing came to mind as she stared at the scene in front of her.
Duff laughed his hearty laugh and said, “So this must be Aisling. I see you have taken notice to all the horses I have. Would you care to see them?”
Aisling looked to her mother and nodded her head in agreement. They took their bags into the house and casually strolled to the stables. Duff told Aisling all about them and how they came to Ireland. He even mentioned how he came about his first horse.
They reached the first stable and Aisling couldn’t help but gape at the horses in front of her. She tried to think of something to say but came up blank. She kept staring, memorizing what she saw so as not to forget it when they returned home. Duff patiently waited for a response from Aisling, but seeing she couldn’t respond, just smiled and coaxed her closer to the stalls.
“Come have a look see, lass. This babe was just born three days ago,” Duff stated, hiding a smile.
“Would you like to pet him, Aisling?”
“Oh, yes!” exclaimed Aisling. She pressed her body up against the gate of the stall and stuck her hand out as if it were a puppy, wary of the stranger in front of it. The tiny pony was hesitant, but once it looked into Aisling’s innocent eyes, it pranced over to her to get a closer look.
While Aisling and the colt were getting to know one another, Duff and Aisling’s mother spoke in hushed tones. When they weren’t, they were grinning at the sight of the newborn horse and the ecstatic girl.
Duff walked over to the girl and horse, with the girl’s mother by his side. He patted the colt’s head and spoke to Aisling.
“Lass, so I hear you want a horse for Christmas, is that right?” Aisling nodded, not knowing where he was headed. “Well, I know times are hard and according to your mother, you really, really want a horse so I made her a deal.”
Aisling broke in, wary. “What did Mom promise you?” She didn’t want to carry a burden for this selfish wish even if it did satisfy her mother’s own wish.
Duff laughed. “She promised me that if you ever needed help, money for feed, equipment, lessons, so on, she would call me. Oh, don’t cry!” Aisling began to weep, not because she got her horse, but because her mom went out of the way to give her what she wanted. Aisling didn’t deserve this, her mother did.
“Duff. I’m sorry, but I can’t take this beautiful colt. No matter how much I want one, I don’t truly deserve it. Mom has been talking about her childhood lately and it breaks my heart to know that she never got one. She does too much to not deserve this pretty fella.” She patted the colt on the head and talked to him. “Mom deserves you much more than I do but I’ve wanted one like you for so long. You are the perfect color, you’re from Ireland, and most of all I would love you, not that Mom wouldn’t. What do you say? Would you like to go to America?” The colt nudged Aisling in agreement. “That settles it. Mom, this is your horse more than mine but I will help you since he is the ideal one. Duff, I guess I have to thank you. Not only for making my wish come true, but for Mom’s as well. I’ll be...”
Duff cut her off mid-sentence. “Aisling. There is no need to thank me. It was your mother’s idea to bring you over and take this colt home. It has been yours since yesterday. She has been dying to tell you but knew it would ruin the surprise. I mean, you are surprised, right?”
“Of course, I’m surprised. I know Mom can’t afford it but I guess with the deal you made with her, I have to accept what is given.” She ran to her mom and gave her the biggest hug she had ever given. With tears streaming down her face, she thanked her mom over and over. She finally got her pony she always dreamed of.
Once Aisling’s eyes were dry of tears, her mother looked down at her and asked, “So what are you going to name it, sweetie?”
Aisling had thought about names for her perfect pony a million times but considering he was from Ireland, he should have an Irish name. “I’m going to name him Derry, ya know, like the city. It just fits with his origins and I hope you’re okay with that. I had other names but I think this one will fit him better than all the rest.”
“Of course, it’s okay. I couldn’t have picked a better name myself.”
The flight home couldn’t have taken any longer. Aisling wanted her pony to be on her land, to see him roam. She wanted to see her mother’s face light up at the new creature amongst them. She just wanted to be glad that both her and her mother’s wishes came true. If it wasn’t for Duff, this wouldn’t have happened and for that, Aisling was grateful to him.
*Thank you to Arlene for helping me decide which type of pony this young lady got. Without her poem about the Connemara Pony, this wouldn't have been possible.*
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