Everyone else just tried to fight the urge to collapse and waited. Saoirse didn't know how long she waited out there, but she could see the blood she had stained the wood with was now frozen solid. She hugged herself as an old man rushed to greet his son, covered in dust and broken bits of light blue crystals. Another boy, about eleven, gasped at the sight of his older sibling, stumbling through the door. So many others, waiting. Saoirse put her forehead on the frozen fence. She almost wanted to leave and go home. She knew how bad accidents in winter were. There was no point in waiting here . . . She stepped away from the fence, and saw them. That white hair that seemed to glow, a feature Saoirse had inherited from her mother. They were barely standing, her father carrying most of the weight of her mother, who didn't seem to be able to use her left legs, and was struggling to stay conscious. Saoirse didn't know when she started crying, but she soon noticed the drops of ice on her cheeks. They trudged through the snow, nearly falling as they made their way toward the gate. Finally, they made it past, and Saoirse took her mother's other arm, trying to help them. She looked up at her father, still crying and trying to just keep breathing. He looked at her, with those caramel colored eyes of his, a heavy sadness filling them. "We made it."
Hanako McDonald, Age 11 Hanako, age 11, lives in Ann Arbor. She likes to write because It makes her imagination full of happiness. In addition to writing, she enjoys making people laugh and smile with her writing. Japan inspired Hanako’s writing. She likes writing because she likes to make people laugh and smile with her writing. She would like to live in a world where she could use magic.
Minu and the Mermaids Minu wants to follow the scroll that leads her into the ocean. She found it in her old abandoned house with her best friend Glaze. Glaze prepares a ship for her. Her dog Wave and Glaze say farewell to Minu’s Aunt and Glaze's father. Weeks passed. One day, one of the ship's men said, ”Land ho!” Everyone cheered and sure enough, you could see a tiny dot that was covered in gray . . . Suddenly a huge shadow came underneath the ship and, boom! A huge whale hit the ship. Again and again it hit the ship until the ship broke and split in two. Everyone fell off, including Minu and Wave and Glaze. Minu thought that she was going to die here. "Help help help!" she thought in her mind. Just then her right eye gleamed in the ocean light. Her blond hair turned into a shiny blue and her legs became shiny blue scales. “I . . . I can breathe!” Minu looked at her body. “I . . . I’m a mermaid!” she gasped. She swam in circles leaping with joy. “Oh no! No time to play. Gotta save everyone!” She swam up to the shore and saw the broken ship. There, she saw Wave on a piece of wood. Minu swam up to Wave. “Are you OK, Wave?!” “Woof!” said Wave. “Oh goody. Wait . . . where’s Glaze?!” Minu swam and swam until she found Glaze sinking in the water. “Oh no!” She swam as fast as she could and grabbed Glaze, then she swam to the broken ship. “Glaze wake up!” Minu started crying. Her shiny tears fell into the ocean. Just then, the ocean gleamed with light. Almost so bright that Minu couldn't see. Then, she saw something swimming. Actually, a bunch. Minu squinched her eyes. It looked like hundreds of blue scales swimming with the waves. “They’re . . . M . . . Mermaids?!” Minu gasped. There were hundreds of beautiful mermaids swimming over to Minu. They all circled Minu. “Hurray for Minu!” they cheered. Minu looked at the crowd., “I . . . can't believe it!” Some Mermaids were healing Glaze and Wave. The mermaides put their hands on Wave and Glaze. The mermaids’ hands glowed blue. Glaze
4
THIS WORLD JUST DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT
