memory

Story·Stella Lin, age 12 — A dog named Hua Hua remembers playing in the park with Sarah before her illness, now keeping watch as she lies in bed, no longer able to go outside.

Poetry·Gianna Harris, age 9 — A child kneels by the Mississippi River, praying and remembering walks with her mother, feeling freedom in the water's flow and memories on its surface.

Story·Sabrina Guo, age 11 — A girl reflects on eating chicken in China and at home, connecting the meals to her birth year of the rooster and what traditions mean across cultures.

Story·Sophia Gallegos, age 13 — A girl dreams of descending through ocean layers to encounter a mysterious jellyfish, then wakes to ordinary life while harboring her grandfather's secret journal of undiscovered sea creatures.

Story·Audrey Nelson, age 13 — A basketball player reflects on how the game remains constant from third grade through high school, despite physical changes and growing skill.

Story·Katie Dillon, age 12 — During a sixth-grade math test, a perfectionist student spirals into panic until a photo of her baby cousin reminds her that love doesn't depend on being perfect.

Poetry·Ilya Ivanović, age 10 — A child traces identity from birth through curiosity and danger to the sadness of moving away, wondering if they'll return to have fun again.

Story·Stella Keaveny Haapala, age 12 — After her mother's death, a girl trapped in a cramped NYC apartment with her distant father dreams of their old farm until a vision helps her begin to let go.

Poetry·Malin Moeller, age 11 — A meditation on how dreams warp time and memory, leaving only fragments and distortions as evidence of the night's passage.

Story·Tyler Leiderman, age 11 — A boy spends a final day at the beach with his best friend who is moving to Israel, remembering their years of friendship and facing the pain of goodbye.