memory

Personal Narrative·Micki Mermelstein, age 11 — Alone at her family's Country House, once filled with cousins' laughter, an 11-year-old reflects on how growing up has emptied the summer gathering place of its magic.

Story·Emily Chang — A girl helping her elderly neighbor organize her attic discovers a French horn that triggers memories and leads to a medical emergency, forcing her to confront family tensions.

Personal Narrative·Amber Zhao — A skeptical traveler discovers unexpected beauty on Australia's Sunshine Coast, finding solace in wild seas, storm-lit skies, and a memorial grove that transforms her perspective.

Personal Narrative·Gabrielle McCaskill — A girl reluctantly moves from Bellevue to New York, clinging to memories of her neighborhood, best friend, and the places that shaped her childhood.

Poetry·Evans Yaffee — A child walks in spring rain, observing flowers and feeling raindrops, remembering being small as the world seems to look back.

Personal Narrative·Talia Tarason — Discovering her great-grandfather's coin collection leads a girl to understand how objects hold memories, inspiring her to buy her own commemorative coin.

Personal Narrative·Minghan Tang — A child recalls morning reading sessions with their sister after immigrating from China, reflecting on this lost ritual as the sister prepares for college.

Personal Narrative·Samuelle Torres — A nine-year-old boy cracks his head at a playground, experiences disorientation at the hospital, then recognizes the doctor who delivered him at birth.

Story·Alexandra Steyn — A woman with failing memory navigates her empty house, discovers something terrible on her street, and forgets both the horror and that her husband is dead.

Personal Narrative·Viviana Perez — A girl says goodbye to her great-grandmother's apartment in Michigan, cataloging memories of family gatherings, walks to the lake, and the feeling of having a family home.