Author’s Statement I started writing this piece as an optional assignment in my seventh grade English class. It was an end of the year assignment. In this piece, I have tried to describe some vivid memories and experiences over the one and a half years during which the COVID-19 virus has put a break on my life. The pandemic has been a turning point in my life. I still have many more experiences to gain in life but I doubt I will ever be able to forget this. A Note from the Editor These poems were submitted to Stone Soup blog as a 40 page collection. I have decided to publish them in weekly installments, breaking them up by the seasons Paridhi established. The artwork I have chosen to accompany each installment was not selected by the author and was originally published in Stone Soup. Part III Summer 2020 Sunflowers By Ethan Hu, 8 (San Diego, CA), published in Stone Soup September 2021 Spending Time Online studies has come with its pros and cons. TV serials have become our savior. Mythological serials such as Ramayana and Mahabharata Have my attention. Various delicacies and a lethargic lifestyle Is what I am leading. Eating popcorn, nachos or anything whenever I feel like. Fitness Looking at the mirror Realization struck. My little belly bulging out. Looking out of place. So I started exercising. It is a bit boring, Exercising all alone, But my mother is always there, Beside me, Urging me to continue And to never stop. Raksha Bandhan Our Hindu festival, Rakhi Is here, A ceremony celebrating The love and bond amongst brothers and sisters. With lockdown not that strict, I am going to my aunt’s new house. We are going to have a grand day, All cousins together, Delicious food, numerous gifts, fun-filled time— What we are looking forward to. A Joke It’s my birthday today. I am now 12. Only another year before I am a teen. When all my cousins came, My mother gifted me an enormous present. A broad smile brightened my face— I hastily unwrapped the gift To find another parcel packed inside, And then another layer, And yet another. After opening 10 parcels wrapped, Inside one another, I finally took out my present— A chocolate. We all had a hearty laugh. COVID After all the fun and frolic, Next day, Came the dreaded news. My cousins had fever, COVID was diagnosed. The venom slowly spread, It trapped each and every member of the family. Prayers, prayers and prayers, They should recover; I hope they do.
Young Bloggers
Deserter, Reviewed by Sita, 13
I never enjoyed being scared like my peers did. I was the kid who refused to go on roller coasters, was terrified of the dark, and thought the Harry Potter film franchise was in the genre of horror. As I got older, I felt it was time I developed more of a tolerance for spooking myself. I tried to push myself to increase this tolerance by watching movies like IT and The Conjuring, and seeking out horror books. One of the books I ended up liking was Deserter, a horror story collection by Junji Ito, an incredible horror fiction author. Deserter contains 12 short manga stories about 20-50 pages long, showcasing his earlier works. His stories are incredibly imaginative, his artwork is admirable, and the end of each story is bound to send a shiver up your spine and have your eyes darting around your room at the slightest provocation. Seeing as his stories are presented in the form of manga, it would have been quite easy for Ito to simply start with an obviously creepy situation—like a lone child entering a haunted house—proceed with a few well-placed jump scares, and be done with the whole thing. But instead, he starts his stories with something eerie and unknown, often unthought of, and proceeds to take everything we thought we knew about things that go bump in the night and throw it out the window. Ito takes ordinary things that might be a bit awkward, like exotic foods, mixing up identical twins, breakups, and nightmares, and turns them into deadly and horrifying sagas. The stories, like most horror stories, start with strange phenomena: wine not tasting quite right, something being a little off in your best friend’s mannerisms, stories not quite matching up, etc. Some are simply eerie and unsettling, others go right into the gory deaths, and others involve such complex motives that it is impossible to tell hero from villain. Junji Ito’s Deserter is not what I thought I would find when I looked into horror—his stories are captivating. If you would like to find a set of incredibly good stories that just so happen to keep you up at night, Deserter is the book for you. Deserter by Junji Ito. Viz Media, 2021. Buy the book here and help support Stone Soup in the process!
Out of the Pandemic, poetry in seasons by Paridhi, 13 | Part II: Spring 2020
Author’s Statement I started writing this piece as an optional assignment in my seventh grade English class. It was an end of the year assignment. In this piece, I have tried to describe some vivid memories and experiences over the one and a half years during which the COVID-19 virus has put a break on my life. The pandemic has been a turning point in my life. I still have many more experiences to gain in life but I doubt I will ever be able to forget this. A Note from the Editor These poems were submitted to Stone Soup blog as a 40 page collection. I have decided to publish them in weekly installments, breaking them up by the seasons Paridhi established. The artwork I have chosen to accompany each installment was not selected by the author and was originally published in Stone Soup. Part II Spring 2020 Spring (acrylic) By Rebecca Wu, 9 (Medina, WA), published in Stone Soup March 2022 Fortunate Everybody says we have smiling faces, My father flew back to India just in time. Before the US had an outbreak of cases, My father flew back to India just in time. New Norms Our dictionary developed. Face mask, hand sanitizer, social distancing Were the new normal. Our Prime-Minister, Mr. Modi, Was all over the news, Mann-Ki-Baat is what he came up with Fascinating me, With community claps, For boosting confidence; With the lighting of candles, As a symbol of hope. Irony of the Situation I am having quite a time, We are all at home. My father and I, We spend a lot of time together. But when I went to the terrace the other day, The roads suddenly felt quiet as a graveyard. Then I realized— Not everybody must be so blessed as me. The daily wage earners suffering from no work, no food. They and their families must be struggling, Day after day, Night after night. Loss The tickets my father had booked for us, To return to the US, Were canceled. But the money we paid for the tickets Did not find their way back to us. Not so bad after all It is not so bad. My entire big family is safe, We are not completely locked up at home, Venturing outside the house is possible, Though for necessary goods only. And I can play with my father too, For it has been a month since he returned. Birthday The lockdown rules are less strict. Number of Covid cases is under control. It is my uncle’s birthday. Giving him a surprise, Is what runs in my mind. The idea of seeing him after so many days Makes me dance like a free bird. So all stuffed with goodies and a huge cake, We arrive at his building. Not allowed to enter it, We celebrate his birthday on the street.
