Our February 2023 Flash Contest was based on Prompt #240 , which asked that participants write a story/poem about love. The love we wanted participants to write about could have been any form of love—platonic, romantic, familial, etc. We received a bevy of submissions interested in all kinds of love, with pieces ranging from a poem from the perspective of a spited and obsessive former lover to a story about the protagonist’s love for their dog to a poem about Eros and Aphrodite. As always, thank you to all you participated, and please keep submitting next month! In particular, we congratulate our Winners and our Honorable Mentions, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “Operation Valentine” by Oola Breen-Ryan, 11 “Teddy” by Aaron Duan, 11 “An Unexpected Valentine” by Violet Kottkamp, 12 “Love as a Blanket” by Claire Lin, 12 “Agapi” by Nova Macknik-Conde, 11 Honorable Mentions “Love” by Sofia Grandis-Oliveira, 10 “Because She Never Knew” by Sophie Li, 12 “Lay Me Down Tonight” by Chloe Ruan, 13 “Our Creek” by Pranjoli Sadhukha, 13 “Between Friends” by Joycelyn Zhang, 12 Operation Valentine Oola Breen-Ryan, 11 It’s the Friday morning before Valentine’s Day, and I’m completely panicking. Everyone else in my class has a date for the Valentine’s Dance. Trust me, I have absolutely no interest in going. I’m just planning on staying home and consuming large amounts of chocolate. My best friend, however, is on a different schedule. “You want me to what?!” I exclaim, dropping the chip that I’m holding onto the giant fluffy rug that covers her bedroom floor. The dance is on Tuesday, but I’d assumed that Kenzie would want to stay home like I was going to do. “Come on, Harper—I just need you to befriend Nate. That’s all that I’m asking.” “How does me being friends with Nate have anything to do with him asking you out?” I ask. “Because then you can set us up,” she says, as if it’s obvious. This plan seems…problematic. “The dance is on Tuesday, giving me two school days to become friends with Nate,” I say. “This plan has more holes than Swiss cheese.” “Please—I’ll arrange a date with whoever your crush is if you do this!” This stops me cold. I’m not sure how I romantically align myself, but I have never had a crush on anybody before and I’m not sure if I ever will. I must look pretty confused, because Kenzie quickly says, “If-if you do have a crush.” I sort of grimace. “Kenz,” I say. “You’re my best friend. Of course I’ll try.” She smiles at me then, and I realize: I have no idea how I’m going to pull this off. # “Um, hi Nate.” Nate looks startled as he slams his locker door shut to reveal me, just standing next to his locker, slightly maniacal-looking. I stayed up late last night devising a strategy and I think I know what to do. “Um, hi to you, too,” he says, looking sort of perplexed. Then he just walks off. Darn it! I messed up my one chance to approach him. Now it’ll seem like I like him if I keep on bothering him during the day. And I’m not quite in the mood to embarrass myself. I have basically no idea how to talk to him, though, so embarrassing myself it is. # My attempts were pointless. He has evaded, escaped from, steered clear of, eluded, and otherwise avoided me for the entire day. Time for my last-ditch attempt. I have a folded-up note in my pocket that I wrote in art class. It’s pathetic, but I’m desperate. Sliding it through the slits of his locker, I glance around. Our last-period classes are just wrapping up, so this is my last chance. The paper makes a satisfying “clunk” as it lands in his locker. I walk away from it carefully, like it could explode at any point of contact. And then I’m done. # On Monday morning, Nate completely ignores Kenzie. Eventually, he asks Tabitha Miller out. Tabitha is ecstatic. Kenzie comes over to my house after school and sobs. I didn’t realize that it was possible for somebody to cry that much. But it is. I just sit there, on the sofa, wondering if I should get a glass of water for her so she doesn’t run out of liquids in her body. “Hey, Kenz, want to go to the dance together? As friends,” I say, then gasp. I don’t know where that came from. She looks up from her pillow, eyes wet and rimmed with red. “I, um, sure,” she says, sounding just as surprised as I am. I nod. “Okay. I mean, Nate is a jerk.” We both start laughing. Nate ended up completely ditching Tabitha. She was crying in the girls’ bathroom. I felt sort of bad for her, but I wasn’t really sure how Nate had made so many people cry without being aware of it. The dance was chaotic, but I think Kenzie realized that there was more to it than just being asked out by classmates. She had a lot of fun, and, to be perfectly honest, so did I. And, for the record, I still got to eat a lot of chocolate. Teddy Aaron Duan, 11 The air around me was filled with a whimsical cheer. I playfully circled around Mom and Dad, trying to catch snowflakes on my tongue. The merry laughter of the crowd that had gathered on the promenade and the faint twinkling of the Christmas bells sounded far away as I immersed myself in my own bubble. Another flurry of snowflakes blew towards me and I rushed to get a closer look at their dazzling white, but my heavy boots failed me, and a moment later I was lying face down in a fluffy pillow of snow. I was brought back to reality by Mom’s loving smile, her eyes a kaleidoscope of colors, reflecting the light shining from the glowing
Saturday Newsletter: February 18, 2023
Red Galaxy (chalk pastels) by Ahaana Gangwal, 8; published in Stone Soup February 2023 A note from Emma Wood Hello! Since having my daughter in 2020, life has seemed to be in constant flux—partly because of the kids (just as soon as we discover the perfect routine, their needs seem to change!), partly because of the circumstances—we’ve moved twice with another one on the horizon—and partly because of changes at work—that is, here, at Stone Soup. Many of those changes won’t be immediately visible to you all, but there is one that will be: beginning with the May issue, we will revert to publishing on a bimonthly schedule. This means we will publish six longer issues a year instead of the eleven shorter magazines you are used to receiving. We have been considering all of our options to ensure that Stone Soup remains viable long into the future. Producing, printing, and mailing the magazine is Stone Soup’s main expense, and for 45 of its 50 years, we were a bimonthly publication. Returning to that model (but with longer issues—each one will now be like a small book!) allows us to print the same amount of content, just less frequently. This not only helps us cut back on costs, but also gives staff more breathing room—which in turn will free up some of our time to invest in other areas of Stone Soup. Since each issue will be longer and since there are other perks to being a subscriber (free submissions along with digital access to our magazine archives, our blogs, and our writing activities), we won’t be changing our subscription price at this time. I know this may come as a disappointment to some readers and subscribers. If you have any questions or concerns, please write to us at subscriptions@stonesoup.com. I also want to share that our GoFundMe campaign is halfway to its goal!! Thank you to all who have joined us so far; we are so grateful for your support. We ask once again that you consider contributing to our campaign and share our page with anyone who might also be interested in supporting our mission. Finally, through GoFundMe, it is also possible to become a fundraiser for us. If you or the young Stone Soup reader in your life is interested in starting a drive for Stone Soup in your local community, please let us know! We would be happy to support them, and believe this would be a valuable learning experience for any young person. My best, Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498.
Practice, a comic by Jaslene Kwack, 12
Artist Statement My name is Jaslene Kwack, and I am 12 years old. I drew this picture on my iPad. I first got inspiration from Taekwondo, which is a sport that I practice and enjoy a lot. Although I learn just like everyone else, I think one thing that sets me apart is how I strive to expand my knowledge and preserve the things I already know. One of my teachers has brought up a topic which really got me thinking. They quoted someone asking, “Is it harder to get good or to stay good?” and I believe that it is both. Some might think, “Oh, it is harder to get good because you have to learn everything from the start and overcome problems.” but it is also equally important to keep reviewing the things you have done to “get good” because what’s the point in learning something if you’re going to forget it anyways? So, this brings me to the topic of my art. I drew this picture about how I practice Taekwondo every day, whether it be at home, at the dojang (the training area where I learn during classes), or outside, I always work harder to perfect every move and every action. Each panel of my drawing shows me performing a different move in Taekwondo, and the further down you look, the more time passes. For example, the first few show me in the summer (you can tell from my clothes and the bright blue sky along with the full green trees). Then, in the later drawings, I am shown wearing a hoodie as the leaves fall and the trees grow bare. Eventually, there is snow on the ground and I also draw myself standing inside my room practicing on a mat. The last panel portrays my house and me yelling the last phase of almost every sequence in Taekwondo: the kihap. The kihap is a yell or shout at the end of a move which is meant to intimidate an opponent. However, it also shows self-confidence and strength. This last panel shows my growth with my practice at the end of each day. Not only does this drawing and the idea behind it apply to Taekwondo, it also applies to other things I practice in my life. For example, I play both clarinet and bassoon, so I designate days to practice each instrument. I also play tennis by myself and with my brother during my free time at the tennis court outside of my house. On weekends, I go out with my family to practice golf, sometimes going on rounds and other times playing at a practice bay. I believe this drawing portrays my dedication to the things I am involved and interested in. It shows how I always work to perfect the things I have already learned in order to remember them and become better. Using this drawing, I also want to inspire others to passionately pursue the things they love and make sure they never give up.
