The Empty Box of Chocolate; a Confession Tuesday

While the moon was shining bright, I woke up in the middle of a nightmare. Mafias chasing me with bloody knives; I certainly wouldn't want to return to that dream.

     I walked up to the fridge; hoping to find some vitamin C’s (sleeping pills, more like) but of course, we didn’t keep any. And then, I sort of got hungry all of the sudden, and tried to find something to eat in the kitchen. Naturally, there isn’t anything that I could just grab without people noticing.

     Suddenly, I spotted a box of chocolates, and being me, I opened it(I didn’t think that it was necessary to ask since it’s kind of consididerd an emergency) I was determined to eat only a little piece, but I sort of ended up eating until there was only one piece left. Oops.

    

I picked up that piece and tore off the wrapper, fingering it. I turned the box around, noticing a little paper on it that said, “For Elena.” (that, would be my sister) Gulp. Swallow. No more appetite. And after a few more hours; a shriek. “WHERE IS MY CHOCOLATE?!”

For more confessions click here

The Arrival of A Long Lost Memory

I gently put my backpack beside me bed and fell instantly on the soft surface. My shoulders were sore and my eyelids heavy. School was exhausting today, the reports were mediocre, and two articles had to be done. I’ll just start everything after getting some Z’s, I thought.

       

        As my gaze wandered around the room, it suddenly focused on an envelope on my empty desk. Ave. Balboa, Calle Juan de la Guardia, PH Sol Marina, 15B; para Emma. Addressed to me. Big surprise. I slit open the top of the envelope, and three pieces of paper dropped out. Astounded, I read line after line, truly surprised after I read the last line. XXOO, Ita.

        It seemed like a long time since I last met her. Actually it has been a long time. I remember our young faces, causing mischief inside fancy restaurants. Locking up the bathroom doors, laughing like madmen when waiters climb on ladders to unlock the doors so that other customers could use them. I even caught a faint scent of us collecting bottles of perfume and cologne of Givenchy, and exchanging mischievous glances during recitals and concerts.

        I flipped to the other pages, and Ita starts mentioning the things happening at her schools, mean girls cyberbullying others, meeting hot guys and celebrities like Brad Pitt, and parties she went to. The topic seemed like one we never had, one that didn’t involve action movies, guns, or basically anything we talked about before.

        “Dad, would you let me go visit Spain this summer?” I asked absent-mindedly, propping myself on the walls in the living room. He looked at me with sympathy, clearly knowing that my best friend has sent me a letter. “I’ll think about it.”

As I look upon the blue sky, I secretly imagine snowflakes drifting down. Imagining the day that I would board on a plane, meeting my old friends, classmates, and teachers in Spain.

Should we Read Catcher in the Rye?

     Going through the stage of adolescence is a tough period of time. Having to leave their cocoon behind and start a new life as an adult, terrifies some teenagers. They fear of growing up, wishing that they could stay as pure as children forever. For instance, the book Catcher in the Rye shows us such person.

The novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger was a book that received compliments, but a lot of criticism coming from censors. It was banned in various schools back in the United States in 1951. It has been restricted in many countries and still remains on the list of banned books in few of the areas in U.S.A. Since its publication, it aroused many protests from parents. “It was banned due to the prostitution, delinquency, dirty language, and the reference to sex; also, the book was accused of being anti-white.” (Chasan 2)

    

The obscene language and the things involved in the novel are things that many parents do not want their child to read. However, I do not think that this book should be banned anywhere. Although it contains many points in which people would not wish children to copy, it reflects upon the thoughts of many teens after they reach adolescence. The views of the main protagonist in Catcher in the Rye are important for teenagers to read, because they could understand that not only they have the problems they face now, but as regular teens do.

Although this book was written in the 1950s, Catcher in the Rye is still a relevant book of our time. The book contains many obstacles that teenagers still have to go through, coming of age issues that won’t change because of time. Problems such as: drinking, suicidal thoughts, and conflicts with their parents…etc. The problems mentioned in the novel are things that every teen has to experience on some point in their life.

Catcher in the Rye should not be banned from any city, country, or district. No book should be banned; as people should have the right to read anything they desire. This novel is certainly a book that is to be enjoyed, not to be scorned at; all teens should have the right to read it. The reasons why parents in the 1950s objected to the book happens a lot nowadays. The darkness behind drunkenness, obscenity, and sexuality are everywhere in the social world today. This is exactly the reason why the book should be taught; adolescents should not be kept behind these problems, but to face them directly, and be taught what is right and what is wrong.

Swallow the Ocean Book Review

Swallow the Ocean Book Review

Swallow the Ocean by Laura Flynn is a heartbreaking story about a broken family and the suffering of two sisters with a mother diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia; she doesn’t know the difference between what’s real and what’s not. Throughout her infancy, Laura Flynn tries to make sense of her mother's thinking and her complicated thoughts. After interacting frequently with her mother and after, her mother teaching her about it for ten whole years, she finally grasps the way her mother thinks. She finally understands that the evil brands are the things that put them in danger; and not to bathe in another’s house, to not destroy the protective halo that her mother cast on her. But, as she matures gradually, she realizes the truth between what is real and what is imaginary, and slowly, she becomes convinced about her mother being absorbed by madness.

Laura Flynn was once situated inside a caring family with loving parents. Inside her innocent mind, her mother could do nothing that wasn’t right. Suddenly, her world shifts, and her perfect family broke apart. Laura was 10 years old when her mother Sally began to show signs of her mental disease. She was no longer a stunning woman who wore heels and dresses whenever she stepped out of the door, but an old lady who wore dirty shirts and pants coated with bits of mud. At that point, Sally was no longer the woman Laura craved to be when she grew up, but what she'd dreaded.

At the start of the book, Sally didn’t seem abnormal. She took a lot of care of her family, but had a few strange habits like meditating, and the difficulty to throw things away. But slowly, her definition of “reality” began to collapse. She turned to her dreams for guidance, limited the things that her daughters could eat or wear, and believed that her husband was on the devil’s side; she was entirely convinced that Russell, her husband, had “crossed the line”, as she puts it. Shortly, they signed the divorce papers, and the father struggled to get custody.

Laura was never very close to her father, but she was glad that the fighting has come to an end. After Russell left, Sally’s illness has not become any better. She filled her children's heads with unreal facts about demons and evil creatures. As days passed, Sally began to take out her anger on Sara, the eldest daughter. Sara never fought back, only swallowing the tears that welled behind her eyes. She couldn’t take it anymore, and was the second one to turn away from her mother; she ran away to her father’s house, and was added onto the list for the people who have “crossed the line”.

Laura felt devastated when Sara ran away; no one was there anymore, to shield her from her mother, no one there to confide her fears to. She slowly pulled away from Sally; she had the sudden urge to run from Sally when they hugged, she no longer liked to talk to her; slowly, their relationship changed drastically. After knowing about the difficulties the girls are facing, Russell brings Sally to court and asks for custody in public. Sally smartly made the judge believe her version of the story, and the custody remained in Sally's hands.

He did not give up, though. The second time, he decided to prove that Sally was mentally unstable and the judge would see Sally as an unfit parent. As doctors interrogated both families, Laura told them about the talks her mom gives her about the spirit worlds, the evil brands, the telling of dreams, and her staring for hours at the American coins; she was desperate to leave Sally.      

The second court was going to take place soon enough, and Laura received a phone call from Sally while she was staying at her dad's. She told her that she was sorry, and that Laura was going to have to stay with Russell for a little while. Laura wanted to live a normal life with her dad, but part of her wanted to stay there for her mom. Although she didn't have the intention of staying with her, both sides cried silently on the phone.

This was one of the greatest impacts in Laura's life, watching her strong mother, who took care of them so long, who placed voodoo dolls and Buddhist statues in the room, to cry so much like a normal person, like a mortal. She knew that her mom would need someone, deep down, although she wasn't prepared to be the one to bare the burden.

In the page 136, Laura mentions the story in which there was a Chinese brother who could swallow the ocean. It was hard because he had to bear the weight that lay on his head. After he supported the weight for so long, he finally bursts. I think that they made "Swallow the Ocean" the title, because this story reflects on the main character herself. The way she had to bear the burden when her mother is around, swallowing the pressure that her mom provides. And as it says, she bursts in the end; she gives up on her mom and leaves her alone.

After many years, Laura has grown to be a successful woman with a stable career and a good life. Nevertheless, Sally remained the same, and refused to get treatment of any kind. The law allowed that because she had stayed out of trouble for the past years. She didn't want any of them, Russell or the kids, to know where she lived and barely contacted them. As Laura tries to find her, she realizes that deep down; she always has loved her mother for who she was. Family cannot be easily separated, bloodlines are impossible to cut, but neither can little 10-year-olds swallow the ocean.

“Someone once said that having a relative with schizophrenia is like a funeral that never ends.” (264)

This phrase impacted me because it made me feel the horrors of what the character feels like with a mental-diseased mother. She said that it was a never ending funeral, because they couldn’t pray to their mother when they’re in a difficult situation, or in a point when she needs support; seeing as she’s still alive. That makes her mother’s illness worse than death; which proves how unimaginably horrifying it is to lose a mother that way.

“He couldn’t yell-- his mouth was full of the ocean. He wobbled back and forth, nearly toppling under the weight of his big head. Finally he burst.”

This sentence reflected upon how Laura felt throughout her whole life, and how the title came along. She was afraid to call out help, and she felt like she had no choice, like the Chinese brother. She feels like she struggles under the pressure both her mother and a father, and the court; are giving her. Her mother, by telling her to back away from the devil’s side. Her father, telling her that he would get her out of Sally’s house; but failing. And the court; forcing her to choose between her father and her mother.

     “He’d known that eventually he’d have to sue for custody. He’d delayed because taking us away from her seemed too cruel. She’d already lost so much – he felt like losing us would remove her last anchor to reality. Without us, he thought, she’d slip away completely into her own world. He’d never imagined that she would turn on one of us.”

     This part was one of the most impacting moments in the whole story. Her mother admitted that Sara was no longer part of her, and therefore, has “crossed the line.” It was beyond my imagination that she would turn on one of her daughters. It even took Russell by surprise, and he therefore strengthened his will to gain custody for the daughters.

I was intrigued by this book, it seemed so enchanted. It’s amazing how the author captures the moment and makes it so magical; the reader could easily have mistaken this book for fiction. The incredible part is, after knowing that it is a memoir, it’s impossible to believe that this has actually taken place in someone’s life. It made me really sad to have seen Laura’s mother convert from an excellent woman to a person sunken in schizophrenia; the change would have been impossible to bear if it happened to me. It was also sad when I read about the desperation of Laura when her dad failed to get custody in the first place; it must have been terrifying if your own dad couldn’t even save you from that situation.  

This book really shows what you can get from tough circumstances, and the resilience that children have. It seems as if kids don’t comprehend anything the grown-ups are talking about; but they’re actually sensitive, and can grab the sense of moods easily. Laura and her sisters’ lives were molded by their mother’s illness; it made me understand that we have to get the best out of our circumstances, even if you get the worst situations.

The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow

October 27, 2011
Emma Chiu

Legend of the Sleepy Hollow

Once upon a time, there was a small market town off the eastern shore of the Hudson River, which was known as the Tarry Town. Not far from this village, there was a small valley that was unusually quiet. Because of its queer silence, the people that live in Tarry Town called this valley the Sleepy Hollow.

The Sleepy Hollow was said to be bewitched and the community often had tales about the spells and the phantoms that surrounded the enchanted valley. The spirit that was known to haunt the Sleepy Hollow was the appearance of a figure on horseback without a head. This ghost was said to be a soldier that lost his head in an anonymous war. His body was buried in a churchyard, and people often claimed that they hear unusual noises and see strange things at night.

In this mythical region, there was an affable man by the name of Ichabod Crane. He was a humble fellow who worked as a schoolteacher and a singing master. Among his singing students, there was a young woman known throughout the Sleepy Hollow for her exquisite beauty; the daughter of a Dutch farmer, Katrina van Tassel.

As soon as he fell profoundly in love with the girl, his goal was to figure out how to win Katrina’s heart. It was not an east task at all, for Katrina had a numerous amount of admirers. Amongst these men was an irascible man of the name of Brom Van Brunt; who was commonly known as Brom Bones in the neighborhood because of his buff figure. He was admired for his strength and his great skills in horsemanship; and the many folks look up to him in awe. Ichabod thinks of him as an abhorrent man, yet he considers him as the biggest threat out of all the rivals he is about to face.

Brom Bones seemed to catch Katrina’s attention immediately because his horse was seen often inside the Van Tassels’ stable while other suitors whom witnessed it reported the news to their friends in despair; they were impelled to give up by Brom’s confidence and did not dare to challenge him. Although Katrina showed interest in Brom Bones, Ichabod wasn’t despondent and refused to give up on her. He still dreams of being with her and living together. Brom became jealous when he found out that Ichabod was still seeing Katrina; thus, not intimidated by him. He tried to embarrass this schoolteacher with making practical jokes by turning everything in Ichabod’s house upside-down and stopping up his chimney. These jokes seemed to be interminable; as Brom always tries to find a way to ridicule Ichabod in Katrina’s presence.

One day, an invitation was sent to Ichabod’s house for a party in the Van Tassel’s home. He was jumping with excitement and assured himself that he would make Katrina fall in love with him in the party. He wore the best clothes he possessed, and combed his hair until he thought that it was flawless. As he walked confidently into the Van Tassel’s household, he was stunned when he saw his rival, Brom Bones. As the first song started to play, Ichabod hurriedly asked Katrina to join to a dance. Dancing was part of Ichabod as well as singing, so the couple was dancing merrily inside the room while Brom Bones regarded them with jealousy.

After the dance ended, Ichabod joined the conversation with sage elders, including Old Van Tassel himself. They sat talking about the old times and mentioned the incidents happening recently. Few people mentioned that there was a woman in white who haunted the Raven Rock was heard screaming before a storm, her voice reverberated throughout the whole village and the people were terrified. But the main part of the stories, focused upon the Headless Horseman in the Sleepy Hollow, who had been heard several times in a bridge near the churchyard where he has been buried.

It was midnight when Ichabod left the party and decided to go home. He began to feel nervous when he heard the sound of the wind blowing against the branches and mistaking it for whistling; in addition he saw a white branch and mistook it for a ghost. He sighed and when he reached the place where the Headless Horseman always haunted, he saw a man riding on a horse.

Ichabod was so tremulous he shakily told his horse to gallop faster. When he looked back, he was terrified; he knew that no matter how much he entreated the ruthless spirit, he would not be satisfied until he gets what he wants. The Headless Horseman aimed his head at him, and as Ichabod tried to dodge, he fell off his horse. The next morning, a group of people found Ichabod’s horse and a shattered pumpkin not far from it.

Ichabod never came back to the Tarry Town or the Sleepy Hollow. When the people told the story, Brom Bones always wore a smile on his face. The folk questioned whether it was just Brom Bones throwing a pumpkin at Ichabod or is there really the Headless Horseman who caused Ichabod’s death. Nobody knows for sure and it will remain as one of the mysteries of the Sleepy Hollow.

The Mitt of the Memories

I looked up, and there it stood. The baseball mitt. The thing that has given me strength all these years. Plain, scratched, yet so comforting. Its level of value flies above gold and diamonds, although it’s made out of unknown material and random fur. Sophisticated handwriting was written in green ink all over the fingers and pockets. Everywhere. You really couldn’t imagine a nine-year-old kid writing poems on his baseball mitt in such a beautiful handwriting. But if you knew my little brother, Miguel, you wouldn’t have been surprised.

        He possesses big intelligent eyes that look at people as if he were examining a complicated pattern. He speaks in an adult-like manner you would think that he’s fully matured. He wasn’t just smart, everybody I knew adored him. He would laugh at lame jokes, comfort people who are emotionally hurt, and has always been there for everyone. I treasure the mitt so much because of its scent of his loving personality. As I held the mitt between my fingers, a long-ago memory crawled its way into my consciousness.                                                                                 

        Miguel loved baseball, he really did. He wasn’t like those kids that would cheer on the top of their voice just to act cool, he watched the games with such intensity that you would think that he’s on the verge of death. My parents soon noticed his passion for baseball, and offered to buy him a mitt. We looked everywhere, but left-handed mitts were uncommon, so we chose to go to a nearby town to look for more options. In the corner of the street, Miguel found a starving beggar wearing rags and homeless. He was a frail old man with a white beard and yellow teeth, missing his right arm.

        “Mister I’m sorry I can’t help you much. I left my piggy bank at home. But I really wish to help you, sir” said Miguel in his sincere voice, handing the man the five-dollar bill he had saved for a special occasion. The beggar nodded at him, shaking and with tears glistening in the sides of his cheeks. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t form his words. “Do you by any chance know where there’s a store that makes left-handed baseball mitts?” asked Miguel politely.

        “Well, see,  there’s rarely any left-handed baseball players, sonny. I love baseball myself, but I’ve never fulfilled my dream in being the baseball player in the town because of my disability, and mainly because I’m missing my right hand ” He replied. His facial expression softened when he saw Miguel scrunching his eyebrows together in disappointment.

        He hesitated for a long time and after deep thoughts, he went to a nearby tree and searched inside a pile of fallen leaves and fished out an old baseball mitt. “Mister, I’m sorry I can’t help you much. I don’t have a piggy bank or a home, but I’m the world’s number one baseball lover.” He imitated Miguel’s sincere voice, handing it to him, his eyes twinkling. “See, I don’t have a right hand, so I made the mitt myself out of scraps of clothing material. I’ve never met a kinder boy in my entire life. I’m not going to last long but even if I don’t have the money to help other people, I will rest in peace if I know that my beloved baseball mitt is safe in a caring baseball lover’s hands.” After saying that, he walked away without another word, leaving Miguel dumbfounded.

        The man was Miguel’s greatest inspiration ever since. He worked hard and studied even when other kids were having their free time. He listened at class when others students’ minds were wandering off somewhere else. He was truly inspired and collected numerous poems in the honor of the man that gave him the baseball glove. He would always carry a green pen around, and when he finds a satisfactory poem, he would write in on the mitt with his best handwriting.

        Soon, his mitt was covered with letters all over. Every time the opposing team bats, he reads one of the poems and remembers the old man who loved baseball and tried everything despite of his disabilities. Before a game, he would always pray with his baseball mitt and refused to replace the mitt with a newer, grander one even if our parents found a baseball mitt covered with diamonds.

        He remembered the old man right up until the end, even when he was literally dying from leukemia. He was suffering all the time in the field, but refused to yield his pain. He kept telling us that he was all right, when he was panting with exhaustion. When we noticed that something wasn’t going right, it was already too late. With a blink of the eye, the next thing I saw was him on a bed, barely breathing. He took two quick breaths and held them, with his face as pale as a sheet. He made a little noise that came from the back of his throat, and winced.  Soon, his body stopped twitching and lay there, motionless. The doctor's looked up from his glasses and his kind smile disappeared off of his face. He took Miguel's wrist and his brows became all muched up together and his wrinkles sunk deeper, he automatically grew older as he shook his head with a grieved expression.

        My brain didn’t react immediately after the gesture. The next thing I knew was that I was banging my fist into anything I could get my hands onto. I crashed into glass, sending shattered pieces flying everywhere. My hand was dripping blood and I didn’t hesitate when I felt my fingers crack. The wounds are still there. The hand will never mend, and neither will I feel any better.

After so long, the baseball glove still stood neatly alongside with my personal belongings inside my suitcase. His poems were still there, the scratched places didn’t fade, and the mitt is perfectly preserved and looks the same way it did five years ago. But the person who prays with this mitt is not there anymore, and will never come back again.

Edward Cooper's journey to Jamestown Colony

August 17, 1607

Dear Mother,

        How are you? I hope everything is fine back there in England. Did you go to the doctor recently? I hope the bleeding has stopped. Did the medicine work? If it doesn’t work, make sure to find another doctor to consult on the problem because it might be pivotal.

Our ship arrived to the new world, and a comrade named John Smith befriended me. We talked about family, work, and life we had in England. We shared our interest about anthologies of poems, and books. During our conversations, I noticed that he speaks in a concise manner, and makes people listen to him with an invisible force. I conjectured that he must have been a nobleman of high rank in England to have spoken in such an educated manner. And his elegant disposition gives him this noble aura that makes people respect him.

        After a few days settling down in the New World which we now call the Virginia Colony, the demand of food soon became imperative. My slaves had barely enough to eat, and I soon realized that they cannot be my pivot forever; I had to depend on myself.  

        One day, when I met John I asked him if he also had the lack of food. He gritted his teeth and stated that the reason why this is happening is because of the arrogance that noblemen have and how they rebuff the idea of working in the fields, and many people have already starved to death.

        Soon after that, John decided to make a spontaneous speech in front of everyone right after mealtime, wishing to inform everyone of their situation and convince the noblemen to work. Most of us agreed on his concept, which made him our leader since then. The motto “He who does not work, does not eat” created by him was prevalent in our colony.

        John managed the colony and it became well-organized and prosperous. By supporting his idea on the first place, John wanted to recommend me to the House of Burgesses. However, there were plenty of jealous colonists that disagreed with that. Guile, trickery, deception, lies, were all used despicably. I hope this does not end in tragedy. Mother, if you were here, you would know how to console me right now; every time I think of you, it makes me homesick.

Love from your son,

Edward Cooper

The Sound of Darkness

The Sound of Darkness
Today's writing challenge is to create an account of the murder from the point of view of the murder victim, the suspect, the witness, or the police based inn the details from the "Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe.
 At this point, Anastasia Robbins was suffering from an excruciating wound on her wrist. She wrapped a bandage around it gingerly, knowing that her wound will recover quickly but abrasions happen so frequently her heart isn't resilient anymore. Her husband, Tom, has been so angry with her he had moved to another house, beating her up even though Anastasia had been beseeching him for days and promised not to limit him drink alcohol anymore. In a Sunday night, Anastasia came home with cuts, and after taking a shower, she hurried on to sleep. Clad in a green nightgown, she put on medicine in a cursory manner. She grimaced as the blood began trickling down her knee. She lay down on the bed, but her head refused to let her sleep in peace. She had visions of murder, with blurry faces. She was so horrified, she imagined Tom as the murderer and herself as the victim, she felt dehydrated as she had the image in her head. She heard a gruesome shriek, she immediately thought that it was her own, but it occurred to her that it was another’s voice. She tried to sleep, but soon succumbed.

It was clear that the sound came from the dark mansion on the other side. She believed that she once saw an old man walking out of there, and the neighbors often described him as a kind, thoughtful person who was diseased by an eye infection.

He is a businessman, she recalled. Anastasia remembered the gossip the women around the neighborhood talked about. His store’s inventory of diamonds and gold were very valuable and high in price. She remembered, that the rumor of the old man’s endeavor was to let his housekeeper, have a nice place to live, not worry about money anymore and being able earn money for himself and not rely on anyone else.

The housekeeper was always creepy in Anastasia’s eyes though. He always wears a wild smile that simulates a crocodile, and a smile that reminds her of a wolf. She wonders how the housekeeper would thank the old man after deriving all the food and shelter that the old man has provided for him. The old man’s security was beyond great, he has iron bars and an electrified solid metal gate. No robber would dare to go in there crossing the security obstacles. That’s completely madness. She surmised that the old man just dropped an expensive flower pot or something of the sort. In case of an emergency, Anastasia decided to call the cops just in case, she was certain that anyone in the neighborhood could have heard that terrifying sound, and they could corroborate with her about the whole situation. After that, she hoped that nothing will haunt her anymore. Not Tom, not the old man, not herself. She hoped that her night would go in peace, undisturbed.

Sub-14 basketball tryouts

Today I went to the sub-14 basketball try-outs. The coach told everyone that if we make the team, then the practice days are settled in Tuesdays and Thrusdays. I already missed 2 days of basketball lessons, which I have in Tuesdays and Thursdays. After thinking a while I figured that if I made the team I had to quit basketball lessons while the school has the basketball seasons, so that I don't miss the school practice. Before the coach broke the news to me I thought that I could have extra training but it appears not.