The Mystery of the Lost Spacecraft by EE

        As Colin pushed his way through a crowd to the platform where Billy Tarm was standing- Billy Tarm was a world-famous rocket designer- he knew who had the question for him. Billy Tarm was talking about things like iDust and ISP. The message read ‘Meet me 7:00 p.m. at B.T.’s presentation. I have a huge brown coat and brown top hat. I have a question.’ Colin strode over to the edge of the crowd- these kinds of people stick around there, he knew. He had gotten the message through mail and wanted to see if it was a mystery to solve- he was the best kid detective in the state, hands down. He spotted the gigantic brown coat. Of course! It was the man! Colin walked over.

“Are you the one who sent me this letter?” He said. A man looked up.

“Yes.” He said.

“Great. You have a question for me, then?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“Yes- er, sorry, ahem. My question is about this place.”
“Billy Tarm’s presentation?”

“His spacecraft eDust.”

“eDust is on that mission, remember?”

“eDust never sent any reports back.”

“You have a point. Tell me the story.”

“Okay,” The man said, “My name’s ernie. I used to work for Tarm. I was in the ISP-”
“Hold up, what is the ‘ISP’?” Colin said.

“The International Space Program. You must not be big on this.” Ernie said, “Anywho, let me continue. After we successfully launched the unmanned eDust, there was a huge celebration. We were waiting for a response on the radio for an hour, and when we got one, that was a celebration too, because the radio transmitter worked. Just a month later, we decided to launch the next space shuttle in store and ready, the Propello, into space. Propello launched successfully too, which was then our third celebration in two months. The DSN worked and sent us information, which was really great, but eDust was never heard from again after that point. I don’t have a clue why, and eventually I retired.”
“Okay.” Colin. It was the first time he realized Ernie was old- with a gray beard visible. Colin was a bit puzzled, because he knew absolutely nothing about space. He decided to do some research and come back the next day.

“When can we meet tomorrow?” Colin said.

“How about five?” Ernie said.

“Sounds good. Here again?”
“The presentation will be over, but sure.”

“Alright. Bye.”

“See you later.”

When Colin got home, he slid into his desk and powered on his computer.
“Let’s see here. What does DSN mean?” He looked up ‘DSN meaning’ on the search bar. What came up was ‘Defense Switched Network’. He thought that didn’t sound right. He searched ‘DSN NASA meaning’ this time. He got ‘Deep Space Network.’ That must have been it. Then he looked up ‘eDust Spacecraft’. What came up was Stardust, Ulysses, LADEE, Opportunity, and more spacecraft. That was odd. He searched again, this time ‘eDust ISP’. What came up was news about ISP. ‘Tarm planning new spacecraft’ and ‘ISP may need support soon’ were both some stories that appeared. He decided to call it a day and see what else he could find with Ernie tomorrow.

At 5 p.m. Colin met with Ernie at the place where the presentation took place. It was so empty now, it almost felt creepy for some reason. Colin spotted Ernie kicking a stone with his hands in his pockets.

“Hey.” Colin said.

“Hey.” Ernie said.

“Okay, I looked up eDust plenty of times, and it hasn’t come up. That’s odd.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, how long did you research?”

“Uh…” Colin felt a wash of embarrassment before he said, “Around five minutes.”

“Pfft. A detective’s gotta do their job and study for a solid hour. I guess you’re just too good, though.”

“No, no-”
“Oh, whatever.”
“Sorry, Ernie, but I just didn’t think I would find it.”

“That’s okay, kid.”

“Well, I could just ask you this-” 

“Huh?” 

“You made up eDust.”

“What?! No!”
“It’s certain.

“Well, how do you know?”

“It’s not anywhere online, and I will check back again to make sure it’s not in the history books. Plus Tarm was speaking about iDust, not eDust. Colin took out a portable laptop he had with him and looked up iDust. News about a spacecraft that was successfully launched like ‘iDust launched and sends signals about Pluto back to Earth’ and ‘iDust starts expedition to nearest Earth-like planet’. Colin still had one question.

“But why?” He said.

“Because I recently got fired from Tarm’s company, and I wanted to get him back by ruining the DSN- '' Ernie said.

“Why’d you get fired?” 

“Tarm didn’t like my work. He said it was unproductive and got me out of there as fast as he could. He said we couldn’t make the DSN, because it took too much work when I tried to invent it.”

“You’re saying he said your DSN that you created and didn’t tell me was unacceptable, fired you, and then took all the praise when he realized it worked just fine?”

“Bingo.”

“Then we need to find Tarm and let the world know of his acts.”
“Wait, really? You’re gonna help me?”
“Yeah, why not? Seems like you’re actually the good guy here.”

Colin walked with Ernie into Tarm Corp. located conveniently two and a half miles away from the presentation area. Someone at the desk instantly noticed them.

“Hello! Would you like a touring pass or a long-season ticket to-” She said.
Colin walked right up to her.

“You. We need to see Mr. Tarm.” He said.

“Uhh… need?” She looked offended.

“Yes. Need.”

“Sorry, kid, but he’s a bit busy-”
“Ugh. Of course he’s busy. Just let me see him.”

“Um, no.”

“Well then. I made these cupcakes for him, but I suppose you could have one.” Colin somehow had a plate of cupcakes behind his back that the secretary hadn’t noticed.

“Ooh! Yes, please.” She smiled. Colin gave her one. She licked her lips and opened her mouth to take a bite of the strawberry cupcake. Num num num… Colin and Ernie could hear her chewing until WHOOMP! She fell over on the floor, her eyes closed.

“Poison.” Colin said.

“What?! You poisoned her?!” Ernie said.

“Naw, Ernie. I put sleep powder in them when I stopped by your house. Let’s see here…” Colin rummaged through the secretary’s papers as the secretary began snoring and found a piece that looked interesting.

“Billy Tarm’s office number. It’s room ‘star’? Of course.” Colin said.

“Room star?” Ernie said, “What do you mean?

“It has a star on it.”

“Oh yeah.”
“Wait, haven’t you been here before? You worked for Tarm.”

“In his workshop, not his office building.”

“Ah.”

“So, we're gonna get going now?”

“Soon. He might have his door locked or something.” Colin jingled around with the master key the secretary had.

“Here we are!” Colin held up a key with a star on it, and a huge key indeed. It was twice the size of any normal one.

“I mind as well take the whole master key.” Colin said.

“Good idea.” Ernie said.

“Okay then. Let’s get going.” Colin said. Ernie followed. By the time they found the door with the star on it, they were exhausted to the point of collapsing on the rug. They were on the 32nd story, the highest floor in the tower. Ernie took the key from Colin, because, yes, indeed, the door was locked, and pushed it in, turned it, and opened the door.

“WHAT IN THE-” A scream came from the room. It was coming from Mr. Tarm.

“How did you even GET HERE?!” Tarm said.

“We’re smart, Tarm.” Ernie said.

“E-E-ERNIE?!” Tarm said.

“We’re here to make things right. And right is not how you made it.” Colin said.

“Never.” Tarm grinned and pushed a button on his desk labeled HELP.

“Great.” Colin said, “Now fifty-seven robots are going to come and beat us up.

“Not if I can help it!” Ernie said. He lunged at Tarm and tackled him.

“ARGHH! STOP IT!” Tarm said. Colin spied a tiny switch that read ‘Request to Go Live’. He flipped it, and an automated voice message said, “Thank you. Your request has been sent.” Tarm was outraged.

“YOU LITTLE- OOOOOF!” He said before being tackled again to the ground.

“Your request has been confirmed.” Said the automated voice.

“NOOOOOOOOOO!” Tarm’s face literally turned blood-red.

“Going live to Times Square in 3...”

“NO NO NO!” Tarm said.

“Going live on television in 2…”

“YOU JUST RUINED MY LIFE!”

“Going live everywhere in 1…”
“ARRRGHHH!”

“Broadcasting started.”

Everywhere in the world- every screen, every phone, all of it on live television, showed Billy Jay Tarm raging over people explaining him using someone else’s invention as his own- and he was never, ever, ever hired again- instead, Ernie became the head of the ISP.

        THE END

            

The secretary slowly yawned and opened her eyes. That cupcake was so good she must’ve passed out! She sat up.

“Hey, where did those kids go?”

PRESIDENT BIDEN ACTUALLY WORLD CLASS GYMNAST!!!!!!! by AM

Talk about age just being a number! Joe Biden, 78, has always prided himself on having an active and fit lifestyle and today was no exception. “He just started backflipping,” says Supple Bullcraple, a close aide that works with the president. Sources say that he walked up to the steep steps of Air Force One, and did 13 backflips up the steps of the giant plane. “It was a crazy sight.” says Vice President Kamala Harris.

Maybe we’ll see Kamala Harris front flip up the steps of Air Force 2 one day!

Trust by AM

 Is it reasonable to trust someone you believe is good to you?
Trust
An interesting word.

You can believe yourself

But are you trustworthy?

You can believe others.

But are they trustworthy?

See, trusting somebody is an interesting thing.

You could believe them, but in the pursuit of truth, most won’t. 

Trusting others is almost like giving them your soul. 

Because Trust is a holy thing.

FLASH FICTION CONTEST #4

 I became Stardust when I was a kid. I looked up at the night sky and wondered if I could tap-dance on the stars. The man who raised me told me I could. Stardust, he would call me. 

Now I was watching the tail lights of his decrepit car disappear in the night. 

Perhaps if I knew this was the last time I’d see him, I would’ve raced after him on my aching little legs, shouting goodbye as my voice rang shrill through the darkened woods.

Maybe if I knew that his farewell was a bitter allusion to reality, I would’ve begged for him to come back, cries lost under the grumbling engine and the birds who bid the world goodnight. 

I’ll be there when you dance on the stars, he’d promised.

How naive I was to believe him. 

HOW TO: Handle a dog, plus Puppy Tips! by puppy owner EE

When it comes to pets- dogs, in particular- you might be doing some things wrong, and some things gorgeously correct, so I’m here to straighten things out. Alright, first thing’s first, you need to know some basic facts. I’ve known from personal experience that dogs take praise and tummy rubs as, yes, praise, and shame as shame. If you’re going to cuddle your pet instantly after your pet been jumping on you or biting you, that’s leading to your pet thinking they should do those things to get affection, hence doing them more often. This is the same as scolding them instantly after they do an action you desire, which means they’ll stop. That was rule one. Rule two is the biting, jumping, and scratching rule. If your dog is doing any harmful actions, don’t back away, jump up or scream! This is extra important because if you’re doing this, you are giving away space, and the dog will assume you are giving up, letting them continue what they are doing. Screaming also lets your pooch know that they are causing a reaction and will continue.

When you’re walking with your dog, you will want to follow these steps. First, you should be the boss, or the leader, to your pet. If you aren’t, they’ll think they’re in charge, when, in fact, you are walking them, they are not walking you. You also don’t want to drag your dog, just have them sit and continue going. Our command for walking is ‘heel’. If you haven’t taught your dog ‘sit’ or other commands, I’ll cover that later! Now, if you really want your pooch to do good, which I’m sure you do, then give the dog a treat when they’re doing well. Just make sure not to give it too fast after your pet stops behaving!

Commands sometimes may not be too easy to pull off with your dog, but these are some easy and fun ways to do them! Also includes how to potty train! So, first off, if you want to teach your pet to ‘come’, then hold a treat in your hand, move a fair distance away, and then say the command with the treat in your outstretched hand. If your dog runs to it, say, ”Good come!” Maybe add your pet’s name, too. Now, notes for you about commands; don’t say it so many times it sounds like background noise to your dog, just once, boldly and firmly. Also, make sure you don’t let your dog know you have a treat before opening up your hand and saying ‘come’. You can basically do the same method, command, treat, for every other command. For ‘down’, we would say the command and gently push our puppy down. For ‘sit’, it’s the same, but you can say the command and gently push them down into a sitting position. Then reward them with a treat. If you want to potty train your dog, then every time they may be sniffing in circles, sniffing furiously, take them outside onto the grass. If you live in an apartment, to the potty pad, but grass is best, maybe even potty pads that look like grass. But real grass outside is best! If they do their business, then after they finish up, do your praise and treat, saying, ”Good Go Potty!” Or whatever your potty command is. It can take a while, and while your dog does their business, you can also praise, just not pet or disturb them. If you want your pooch to shake your hand, then use the command ‘shake’, or whatever you prefer, really, but I’m using ‘shake’. Now, grab a treat in your hand, don’t let your pet have it yet, and gently grab and shake their paw. If they don’t pull away or so, and shake nicely, give them the treat and say, “Good shake!” Firmly and boldly.

When getting our puppy Ziggy, there were a few things we didn’t expect. Number one is the constant watch. We’re watching Ziggy 24/7 unless he’s in his crate, and if you got a young puppy, you’ll have to take them to the bathroom lots, we take Ziggy out every 1-2 hours. There’s also a lot of maintenance. There’s ear care, brushing teeth, hair trimming, nail clipping, baths, and some dogs shed their fur, but Ziggy doesn’t. (He’s a cavapoo breed, if you’re wondering!) Also, you’ll have to clean up if they go to the bathroom in your house. Dogs are certainly fun, but also tricky to handle!

FLASH FICTION CONTEST #3

The explosion burst into the sky, Lewin watched in shock as a wave of heat slammed into her. Standing up she climbed off of her patio, Tuna salad lying forgotten. Her mind went blank as she saw where the explosion happened. Fainting, she fell into her yard. Her eyes blinked open seconds later, she reached for her phone and called the police, as they picked up her panicked breathing became obvious to her.

“The school! The school! For the love of god tell me that was not the school!”

“Mam,” the operator said “You have to calm down. I am sorry for your loss but we have hundreds of other parents who have also lost children, you need to calm down.”

Lewins heart stopped “Wha-what ha-happened?”

The operator sighed “We are not sure, the current theory was a boiler explosion through an act of terrorism hasent been completly discounted. We-”

Lewin stopped listening, this could have been done on purpose, she would never see Lucy again and it might have been done on purpose. Without realizing it she had dropped her phone

As she bent to pick it up she felt something that wasn't pain. Seeking refuge from her own thoughts she fled there and was almost overwhelmed as the surge of rage hit her. Leaving her phone forgotten in the grass she began sprinting towards the school. As she did, memories of her daughter came unbidden into her mind, and tears began spilling down her cheeks.

When she neared the school a sulfur smell filled her nostrils and the tears on her cheeks seemed to burn. She thought she had prepared herself but the pile of char where her daughter had spent her last moments still dropped her to her knees. Police and crime tape draped the entire scene but she ignored them, picking her way across the rubble. Police tried to stop her but she ignored them until she reached the very center of the “school” .

“Who did this!” she called

Silence echoed. Growling in frustration she took a step forwards and tripped on a metal shell. Turning it over she gasped, the shell was a bomb, coated in dust and a little blown up but enough of it remained to make out the faint logo of a beetle on fire. She had seen that logo before.

40 minutes later she climbed out of her car, a backpack slung over her shoulder. Gathering her courage she took a deep breath and walked into the building past a half hidden sign of a beetle on fire. Lucy had seen that, she had loved the game “I Spy”

Lewin was completely taken aback as she entered the building. Both men and women surrounded massive screens and computers, there were beers passing by hand and everybody seemed to be in a completely carefree mood. Lewin let herself have a little smile that was in no way meant to be nice. Slamming the door behind her, everyone's eyes pin pi\ointed on her, they no longer seemed carefree, instead they reminded her of snipers with their scopes pointed directly at her heart.

“Did you know my daughter died today?” Lewin spoke softly, “Someone hid a bomb at her school.” The people in the room's eyes were wide and they kept glancing at each other, “The bomb had a flaming beetle on it.” If possible the people in the room's eyes got even wider. Many of them reached towards their pockets and others started edging around her so she couldn't escape. Lewin didn’t care. “What kinds of despicable people would bomb a school and then celebrate?” The silence in the room continued and she felt a flash of annoyance quickly swallowed up again by the blinding rage. “Well”

“You shouldn't have come here,” said a beefy man near the back.

As the words left his mouth a bullet hit Lewin in the stomach. Groaning, she touched her stomach and inhaled sharply as her hand came back red. Then she did something so utterly shocking that the people in the room visibly stepped back. Lewin smiled, blood began to trickle down her stomach but she smiled.

“I never expected to leave this room alive,” she said. “I just intended to take all of you with me.”

When the words left her mouth Lewin collapsed, and the small bomb she had placed in her bag slipped out. The people around her frantically tried to get rid of it but it was too late, as one of them got it to the door the ticker hit zero.

No one ever figured out why there were two explosions in the cities in a single day. Police still scratch their heads at the strange disappearance of Lewin Stargeta. But people nearby swear they can remember a spirit in the 2nd explosion, and they swear that the spirit was smiling.

Nanoisms by AM

 Here are some nanoisms that I have finished.

(Nanoism: Nanofiction, a term commonly used to refer to various types of microfiction or very short writing, including that that fits the constraints of the website Twitter, also called twitterature, Twitter fiction or twiction. Nanoism, a journal of this type of fiction. -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanofiction#:~:text=Nanofiction%2C%20a%20term%20commonly%20used,of%20this%20type%20of%20fiction

Also, a journal I recommend to student to submit this type of writing to:  https://nanoism.net/

1

Disappointment is a thing that can bring down the most successful of men, create problems in people's lives and is the reason people give up.

2

Writing is an art. It comes and goes at will. Inspiration comes from different places, but a place you can count on everytime is your heart.

3

Judging others can be a skill. It can put a seed of doubt in the most stubborn person. That doubt is the reason for our downfall.

Delta First Class Experience [SEA-MSP] by AA

When we were coming back from Seattle, I got a surprising upgrade. The fact that I got a First Class upgrade started before. So one time on the trip, I was randomly looking at the Fly Delta app. I found out that it didn't say the upgrade was requested for my flight so I turned that on. The next day I wanted to cruise through the app again by chance, and I found I was upgraded to First. I was very happy because I only went on First Class once before, and that wasn’t even my upgrade, it was my mom’s. It was anyways good for another reason, the fact that the flight was a 12:00 Red-Eye. First, we got priority boarding, but that wasn’t new since my dad is a Diamond Medallion. But my parents said we should wait for everyone else to board, so we won’t board with a pile up. When we finally got on board, I tried to recline and it was much better than Main Cabin or Comfort Plus. When we took off, I watched a movie. In the middle of watching it, I got some Flight Fuel boxes that I like. Since we are in the middle of the pandemic, my mom doesn’t let me take off my mask or go to the bathroom any time on the flight. After the movie, I was going to sleep but I resisted and looked at my iPad for some time. When the plane was descending to land, I took a video of it to put in my memoirs. It was a great flight.

How to Search up a Flight by AA

Many people get late for their flights because they are too busy in the Airline Lounge or looking on the tablets they provide at the gates. Well, if you only have a printed boarding pass that only gives the barcode, here’s how to find out when to board or see how far the plane is from your gate.

How to do it on Apple Devices

On iPad, iPhone or Mac:

1. Go to Safari

2. Type in Flight Number ex. DL123

3. It will show your flight number and details if you click top result (if not then add a space)

4. If this doesn’t work try second way

How to do it on any other device

1. Open your browser and type in Flight Aware/flightaware.com

2. Type in your flight number

3. Voila!

How to Set a Premiere in YouTube by AA

Many people like to have something playing live but not them playing simultaneously. If you like that, then this is the how to for you.

1. When you are posting a video on YouTube Studio, finish everything except visibility

2. In the visibility section, press schedule

3. Press “Set as Premiere”

4. Set the time you want the premiere to play

5. Click Save

6. Open YouTube

7. Open your video

8. Watch your video play for the first time 

FLASH FICTION CONTEST #2

I’m a normal kid, if you don’t count one thing. Yup, one thing- I don’t go to school. That’s kinda the main idea. But I’m educated. Well, uh, sorta. I don’t play video games, I have a personal maid, and yes, sure, I’m a prince. Son of King Devil- oh yeah, plus I’m a devil. So, I guess I’m not a kid, I’m a junior. Junior devil, that is. Welcome to our world. My name’s Devil. No, literally. My name is Devil! Us on the royal throne are just named that, unless we get another nickname. Like my uncle Magma. One day, I was walking through my room with my royal robes on, my demonette(name for a female demon! Devils and demons are different, in royalty) servants, who, yes, DO get a good pay, if you’re wondering, surrounding me. By the time they hustled off, I had a crown, huge plates of metal armor which I love and prefer over my robes, and underneath the classic devil cloth- brown. I kicked open my doors, slid downstairs on the railing, and, this time, kindly pushed the huge metal doors to our castle open. But I didn’t meet fresh air- no, no- us devils in royalty always live in the Underworld, regardless of our wants. Me, I want to live a bit… higher.

“Hello, Mr. Underworld.” Krusher said. He’s our robot. And my brother, if you don’t count being a robot.

“Hey, Krusher. You… eh, kinda appeared out of nowhere.”

“That is understandable. Hey, I wonder why I’m talking like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like, ‘That is understandable’. Instead of, ‘That’s understandable’. Y’know?”

“Ah, yes. Better get running!” I said. I climbed up the ladder on the huge pole sticking up from the ground, which is the deep, red earth. I reach the top and step into the elevator hanging from the Underworld ceiling. As I pressed the ‘UP’ button, the thing started to rumble. Usual. The elevator played music as we strode along, inside of the mountain the Underworld’s main entrance is located on. At least in out dimension. It may be different in alternate worlds. I heard a ding as we reached the top of the peak on Doom Mountain. The doors of the machine opened up, and I ran out, and flopped my belly onto my sled, the Doom Machine. I started down the mountain, feeling like I’m flying. Too bad my horns are so sensitive to the cold. I started to feel them freeze. Frostbite! I flew- literally, this time- off the Doom Machine, and landed on the stone of the mountain. From there, my horns felt better, and I jogged to the Cycle Station. I hopped on Turbulence and began to ride. Turbulence was my motorcycle, cherished and given to me by my dad. By the time I reach the bottom of the mountain, it’s 8:48 a.m. Devil Time. Gotta get to Shadow. I have a hangout scheduled today- at 9:00 a.m. As I hustled to the house, the only one, in fact, which is raised up five hundred fifty-eight feet in the air, a rectangle of dirt, stone, and pipes holding it up. I’m riding Turbulence around the streets when a strange light provoked me and I paused to take a glance. It’s something on top of Redton Tower, the highest skyscraper in Tummapolis, the city at the summit of Mount Doom, and the thing is around 2,000 feet tall! I saw a glowing spiral in a circle shape, then all of a sudden, WHA-ZIP! A music disc cut right through one of Turbulence’s handles. “Dude!” I said. I ducked out of the way, behind a streetlight, as blaring music started to play. “HELLO, WORLD! DON’T YOU WANT TO JOIN ME WITH MUSIC?” It said. It was Soundwave. And also, very, very loud music. I felt myself being lifted off my feet, so I clung harder to the streetlight. Soundwave was the worst. She always had fifty loudspeakers, boosted one hundred times their loudest volume, ready to rise out of the earth. Not this time! I needed to get to the top of Redton Tower, but really, that would take quite a while. I sprinted in, hearing screams and shouts coming from bystanders who’d gone out to take morning walks or drives. “Uh-oh.” I said. Elevator? Nope. The whole tower was rattling now, and I would guess this is worse than ‘never use an elevator in event of fire’ ever could be. It would take half an hour to get to the top of this thing by foot- and only a minute by elevator. I was still debating when something crashed into the lobby. Soundwave again!  “What do you want, Soundwave?” I said.

“Nothing much.” She said, “Except, maybe, you!” Before she can get to me, Shadow leaps in and kicks her right in her head- which is practically a boombox. And it works. But now, it’s shattered. Smack dab on the right side, like a cookie with a bite out of it. “Come on!” Shadow said, “We have to get out of here! To the top!” And then, with a whoosh of magic, I saw black spirals and gray stars and then WHOOSH! I’m at the top of the tower, and Shadow’s exhausted. Soundwave,  of course, is there. “He- lloo.” She said, all broken down, “Your defiance to ccoommmee wiithhh meeeeee makkesss mee STRONGERR!” She lunged, and in a swoop of dust, we tackled, until I could feel the edge of the tower, nothing but air and gravity keeping us up there- and it wasn’t doing a good job. We tumbled down the skyscraper, Shadow still panting, before everything went- not black. But black and gray. Shadow had saved me! But definitely not Soundwave. She smashed the ground, and all music stopped in an instant. “Thank you, bro.” I said, “Now should we go to your house and have some fun?”

“Heck, yeah.” Shadow said.

FLASH FICTION ENTRY #1

As I walked down the silent road, I thought about what my parents said about me. I can tell if they are lying, because I can see words, but they can’t hear what I say. As I watched them talk, I just saw what I had known about myself for years. A disappointment. A failure. A psycho. Everything that I saw just crushed me. I had spent years just trying to lie to myself and say that THEY were all lying and parents loved me. Guess not, huh. So, when I got to the end of the road, I saw that my precious lake was still there. My safe haven. The only place where I could hear sound. It was like walking into a new world. One where my voice would not go unheard. One where I could hear everything. It was peaceful, but loud. Chaotic, but quiet. Nobody would notice if I was gone in this silent world that I live in. I wonder. I just wonder. No! I shouldn’t. But if I just did… I jumped into the lake and swam away. I swam. I swam and I swam and I swam and I swam. I lost count of the minutes after a while. I tried to tread water to conserve energy and so I wouldn’t drown. After a while, I saw land. It was a strange looking place. It looked like someone fell asleep on the ocean. But, no matter how much I swam, I couldn’t get to the island. Eventually, I lost strength. I started sinking. As I sank, I wondered, was I not worthy? Did I do something wrong? I struggled and struggled but the lake, maybe an ocean because of its size, wouldn’t give me up. I closed my eyes and fell into a deep embrace of the ocean. When I woke up, it was dark. Like, I can't see anything because I was blindfolded, dark. It was silent, but I’ve gotten used to it. I swam and swam and swam as much as I could to the top of the ocean. But here's the thing, in pitch blackness, you can’t see a thing. You don’t know if you're going right or left, up or down or if you’re still even moving. So, I just stopped. Lied onto my back, and floated. Slowly, I started rising. Because of buoyancy, I floated to the surface. Only after I broke the water’s surface, I noticed it. A glistening coat of scales. A tail.

“Ohmyfrickinggodwhattheheckwhatisgoingon!” I freaked out. I was already a freak, but this proved it. So, I’m a mermaid, or merman, I don’t know. But, my hearing problem is still a problem. It’s even worse now. The lake I loved, now a silent memory. It made my days bearable, but now it’s gone. I don't hear anything, but I can see it all. All the different sounds, made into words. I scream. I cry. The most precious thing in my life had been taken away, but for what, a tail and set of scales? It didn't matter. I didn’t matter. It always ended like this. All my other lives had been just like this. This life and every other life didn't matter because it was a never-ending cycle. Every single time, I would lose the only thing precious to me. When I was alone, all the memories broke me. Ruined me. And since I had no noise or comfort in my life, the memories came back in full force. Me crying. Me screaming. Me wallowing in sadness and guilt. But this life was interesting, because the world decided my punishment was over and that I could live my life in freedom, my tail would help.

I was confused about why the world gave me something I could use for good purposes. But I didn’t question and I put my bad memories behind me, and swam into the deafening silence.