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Contents

Flying

STARTING LINE I roll my head from side to side in an attempt to be nonchalant. My teammates look at me questioningly, and then ask, "Can we go now?" impatiently. I nod vaguely, lead them in a jog for about thirty meters, then turn around and run briskly back to the starting line. Once there [...]

Zachary

As Mel picked up the phone, my freshly bitten fingernails dug into the wooden carvings that decorated our antique chaise lounge. But the look he gave me after a few seconds made my heart sink for the gazillionth time that evening. Why weren't they calling? As he hung up the phone, Mel let out a [...]

The Strawberry Olympics

  Looking back at this I realize how important Chad was and still is to me. I realized that he was no longer Chase's little brother, and was now my cousin that I loved, no, my brother that I loved. I always loved going to Atlanta to visit my family. Well, mostly the Sittens. Let [...]

Diamond Sky

A ski day means up at dawn. Dozy, half-awakening, drifting in and out of dreams. The flannel is warm, and the mattress is cloudy soft. But it's up, sliding out of the billowy world of down blankets and fleecy comforters. Feet scrunch on the thick creamy carpet, hands reach for that glass of water you [...]

A Hidden Love

By the time I was thirteen, it seemed like I was too old to admit my love of animals. I'd hidden my true feelings about the subject for so long it just didn't seem right to change them so late. When I was five, a dog had scared me badly, and for a short time [...]

Isabelle

“Truly a form of art," Isabelle Wilcox imagined a sophisticated British voice saying. "And now down the long wall at the extended trot!" (Here Isabelle pressed her spur into Kaptein's side.) "Oh and such beauty! Never before has the world seen such an extended trot. Never before has the world seen such a ..." But [...]

In My Eyes

Rachel gently set down the next pile of firewood by her mistress's fireplace. She stood up straight and yawned. It was already 5:3o. She went into the kitchen and fetched the teapot. She crushed up some tea leaves and threw them into the pot of boiling water. The water slowly turned brown, like waiting for [...]

A Long Way from Home

As Katie Dale looked out the window at the icy tundra, she wondered about many things. She wondered what the surprise was her grandma talked about so often. She wondered if she would make new friends. She wondered what her house was going to look like. She wondered if it was possible to learn a [...]

The Faerie Circle

Ariel woke up at 11:55 PM. She tossed off her blanket, stood up and tied her favorite silver sweater around her waist. Silently, like a ghost, she slipped out the door and walked down the hallway She could hear her sister Sophie breathing as she walked past her room. Down the stairs, skip the creaky [...]

The Canal Towpath Near Sand Island on a September Afternoon

A solitary autumn leaf rustles on a tree. Slowly, gracefully it floats down, twirling, silently meeting the dense dappled shimmer of still water. Overhead, distant vees of geese appear. Their faint raucous cries float on a soft breeze. Sticks weave around rocks to form warm tables where turtles sunbathe languidly Dragonflies swoop and hover like [...]

Mismatched

Paperwhites were sagging about the sink. You could smell fresh air on them if you got close enough. Their curtain, white and green, the only one on the kitchen window And through it, snow refused to budge. Odd to have flowers and snow even if they matched in color. Except the stems, of course, they [...]

Good Fortune, My Journey to Gold Mountain

Good Fortune, My Journey to Gold Mountain, by Li Keng Wong; Peachtree Publishers: Atlanta, Georgia, 2006; $14.95 Have you ever read a book that grasps you from the first page and won't let go until you have finished reading it? Good Fortune, My journey to Gold Mountain, is one of them. You will feel like [...]

Project Mulberry

Project Mulberry, by Linda Sue Park; Clarion Books: New York, 2oog; $16 “That's great but what about here?" That's the question I used to ask myself whenever my mom bragged about how well developed and strong and powerful Korea was. My parents were born and raised in Korea; I have lived in L.A. all my [...]