Longing from afar, short story by Anika Taiwade

 Longing from afar by Anika Taiwade

The first time I saw him was when he gave me a concussion. 

Not on purpose. Infact, quite the opposite. He was playing basketball with his friends when the ball came flying at my head. I barely had time to react before everything went black. 

The next thing I knew, I was in the nurse’s office, with a large bump on my head. My head was throbbing when I noticed a blurry figure sitting beside me. 

“You’re awake,” he said, relieved. “I thought I killed you for a second.”

I blinked, slowly, still processing what was going on. I brought myself to sit upright, facing him now. He was smiling- a little sheepish, a little amused- but mostly just worried. His uniform was wrinkled, his hair was slightly damp, and his body began to relax a little bit. 

“I’m very much alive, thank you” I muttered, though with the way my heart was pounding, I wasn’t entirely sure.

He laughed, “Still, sorry about that. I’ll make it up to you, okay?”

It wasn’t until later that I found out he was the one who carried me here. “Yeah, he freaked out when you passed out, dude. Picked you up somehow and ran straight to the nurse. Wouldn’t leave until you woke up.” I wasn’t sure why that made my stomach flip the way it did. Or why, the next time I saw him, my heart started beating faster than the first time. 

After that day, I kept noticing him. He moved swiftly and smoothly during his basketball games, but never forgot to throw me a smile if we made eye contact. His laughter carried across the hallway whenever I crossed paths with him in between classes. That feeling just grew everytime I encountered him, whether he noticed me or not. 

I should’ve told him. Maybe then, he could’ve chosen to stay. Maybe, just maybe, he would’ve wanted to come back. But I didn’t. So here I am, thinking about what could’ve been. I thought it would be safer than losing him completely, but I lost him in a way I never imagined- slowly, silently, without a single word spoken.     

 

Moon from the Ferris Wheel, a poem by Svetina Shi

 moon from the ferris wheel

By: Svetina S.

the moon

blind eye

watching over 

the towering rides,

the blinking lights,

the smoking stands,

but seeing nothing. 

the moon

deaf ear

listening to

the children screaming,

the music blaring,

the people talking,

but hearing nothing. 

the moon

mute mouth

speaking to

the ones crying,

the ones hurting,

the ones burning,

but saying nothing. 

does she know what we have done?

a million carnival lights

would never be able to

compare

scarred earth

ravaged beauty

creating imitations of the very thing

we sought to destroy

The swimming pool, a poem by Svetina Shi

 The swimming pool

By: Svetina S.

i let myself 

descend down the stairs

            into the water

        warm as flesh.

 the water rushes forward

enveloping me like silk

swallowing             me         whole

letting             me float

here i feel free.

i breathe in the air, tinged with chlorine, damp, humid. moisture beads on my face. 

and i sink

—-------------------------------------------under---------------------------------------------

the water

i hear the buzz of the radiator, muted underwater, the splash of the water on the sides of the pool. but mostly i hear nothing. silence, for once. my hair fans out, dancing in the waves, zero gravity.

when i finally get out, my fingers are pruned.

Time to return to the real world.

Nature poem by: Alyssah Alvarez

 Nature poem by: Alyssah Alvarez

The flowers all start to bloom

As the birds sing a beautiful tune.

The breeze whispers through the leaves,

Carrying secrets nature weaves.

The rivers are flowing

As the blue sky is glowing.

We spend each day

Hoping the beautiful nature will stay.

The trees, filled with life, thrive

As if they are alive.

We see them every day

But never pay attention to their sway.

The deep, blue ocean is filled with grace

But we take its life leaving our trace.

The waves crash on the shore

And the seagulls call as they soar.

The rain pours from skies so gray

And we wait for a new day.

We don’t realize how much it gives,

Bringing life so nature lives.

The Summer I Turned Pretty Book Review by Alyssah Alvarez

 The Summer I Turned Pretty Book Review by Alyssah Alvarez

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han is a book about a summer romance and the journey of growing up. The main character, Belly, spends her summer with her family and friends at their beach house. She faces lots of new changes and challenges throughout her summer. This book is great for people who love reading romance novels.

Plot summary

This novel is about a girl named Belly. Every summer her family spends the summer at a beach house with their close friends, the Fisher family. The Fisher boys, Conrad and Jeremiah, have been a big part of her summers. They’ve known each other since they were little and they grew up with each other. But, this summer is different because Belly is all grown up. The boys start to look at her in a way they never did before. Belly navigates the challenges of friendship, love, and growing up. She gets caught up with her complicated feelings. Her friendship with Conrad and Jeremiah starts to change and becomes complicated. She also struggles with discovering who she truly is and navigates the challenges that come with growing up.

Themes

Some of the themes that appear throughout this book are nostalgia, self-discovery, and love. This summer is different because Belly is all grown up and she is not a kid anymore. They have been going to the same beach house since they were little kids and so many memories have been made there. The beach house has been their safe space, a place where memories are made and the world outside feels unimportant. As the book goes on, Belly begins to realize that the beach house, which has always been there in her life, may not always be there for her in the future. Belly has to learn to let go and that life moves on. Belly also struggles with trying to find her true identity and who she wants to be. She realizes she is starting to grow up, and this is difficult for her. She does not fully understand what she wants yet and her feelings are very complicated. In addition, Belly faces the challenge of friendship and love. She has to choose who she wants to be friends with and who she truly loves. She has known the boys for so long, which makes it even harder for her to decide. 

My thoughts on the book

I thought this book was entertaining and interesting to read. The writing style made it easy to feel connected with the characters in the story. This book clearly shows what growing up feels like and what kinds of problems there might be along the way. The author uses a nostalgic tone to emphasize the feeling of growing up. The author uses detailed descriptions to describe how the characters feel and it makes it easier to visualize what the characters are going through. Overall, I think this book is great and I recommend reading it.

A swipe too late, short story, by: Anika Taiwade

 A swipe too late

by: Anika Taiwade

The light above me is flickering, the only bright source of light being my phone screen. There isn’t thunder or lightning, but the soft taps of the droplets on the balcony are loud and clear alongside my heartbeat. 

My notebook is gone. I don’t know when I lost it, or if I left it somewhere on purpose. Maybe it’s buried under my bed, between pages I can’t bear to reread. Maybe I was never meant to find it again.

He posted on his story about twenty-three hours ago. I said my final goodbye about twenty. It is now three AM, and I haven’t put my phone down. I’ve swiped past my friends’ messages. They’re worried. I should sleep. I should put my down. I should be worried, too. Instead, I subconsciously over rmy thumb over his profile again. I can’t write down my feelings. My mind is too restless to make sense of them anyway. 

I think about his mother. How she showered me with love and care when she first met me, made sure I was stuffed to the point where I couldn’t eat again, and how her gaze turned cold and disgusted when one of his “friends” told her how I felt. She saw the way he looked at me, and made a choice in thay instance to tighten her grip onhis future, his life, his choices, and who he can love. 

Finally, I bring myself to click it. 

“If we ever meet again, I’ll return this notebook to you. Thank you, for everything, B”

In a split second, it vanishes. This story is no longer available. I take a breath, my heart beating louder than before. The rain starts to pick up, and I frantically click the profile over and over again. But it’s gone. I set my phone down quietly, holding it to my chest as if it could hold the words I never got to say. I wonder if he hesitated to post that, the same way I hesitated to tell him. His mother would never allow it. She sent him away. But I’m the reason why. 

Not even a notebook holds proof that he was ever here.   

Time, a poem by Alyssah Alvarez

 Time

The ticking hands never stopping

With each beat robbing

The precious time we want to stay

Fading away each passing day

It’s like a heartbeat, constant and true

We search for meaning in all we do

Chasing moments that slip away 

Or waiting for a new day

Time is still here

The future seems far, yet so near

Living with worry,

We all try to hurry

As we get older,

Time feels colder

We want to go back

To the moments we can’t track

Time keeps moving

Its passing keeps proving

Learning to let go

Will help us all grow