Lucky Dollar by Sarah Ann Li

For  the  past  few  weeks,  everyone  in  my  family  had  been  on  edge. My  mother  was    ill  and  needed  to have an  operation  and  all  the  doctors  we had visited recommended  one hospital  in  Miami  Florida.  Our  problem  was  that  we  couldn’t   afford  the  operation, (but)  we  were  advised  to  have  it  done  soon.

As  I  looked  around  my  small  but  tidy  room,  worrying  about  my  mother’s  health,  I  felt  useless. Was there anything I could do?  I  slowly  got  up  from  my  bed  and  began  walking  towards  the  door. It  was  Saturday,  I  helped  mama  with  the  morning  chores  while  my  dad  and  brother  left  for  work.  When  I   was  finished,  I  asked  mom’s  permission  to  go  play  with  my  best  friend  Sasha.  “Be  careful  and  come  back  before  lunch,” she  said,  softly.  I kissed  her  and  left.

As  I stepped  outside,  I  was  greeted  by  the  inviting  fresh  air.  The  birds  were  singing  sweetly  and  the  palm  trees  were  swaying  in  the  cool  breeze,  occasionally  hiding  the  brilliant  sun. I  nonchalantly  walked  along  the  sidewalk,  glancing  around  me  every  once  in  a  while.  Suddenly I noticed a glimmer up ahead.  Curiously, I quickly walked towards it.  It was a shiny dollar.  As  I  bent  to  pick  it  up  I  felt  lucky.  “It’s only a dollar,” I told myself, “I can’t do much with that.”  I was approaching Mr.  Black’s  Candy  shop  and decided  to get  some  candies  for  Sasha  and  me.

In front  of  the  shop,  I  noticed  a  sign  which  said  Caribbean  Lottery  $1.2 million dollars. The  drawing  of  this  was  after  lunch.  Once inside the shop, my mouth began to water.  The  delicious  aroma  of  chocolate  sherbets  and  fudges  tickled  my  nose.  I handed   Mr.  Black  my  dollar  and   skipped  out  of  the  shop  feeling  satisfied  with  my  purchase.  I then continued on to Sash’s home.  We  played   a  bunch  of  games  with  some  other  children  in  the  neighborhood,   including  cricket.  I was free of worry during that time.  I  had  much  fun  but  had  to leave  since I  promised  mom  I would  be home before  lunch.

I   ran   as  fast  as  I   could,  almost  stumbling  into  Benny,  my  neighbor’s  dog.  I  quickly  patted  his  head  and  continued  to run  towards  my  home.  Upon  arriving,  I  shouted  to mama  that  I  was  home.  My  heart  was  pounding  as  I  sat  down  next  to  our  very  old  transistor  radio. With paper  and  pen  in  hand,  I  sat  poised;  excited,  hoping,  praying  and  waiting.  After  taking  the  winning  lottery  numbers  down  I  slipped  my  ticket  out  of  my  pocket  and   nervously  but  carefully  compared  the numbers.

Sarah Ann Li was one of three Wadadli Pen finalists to receive Optimist awards in 2005; the others were Rilys Adams and Sandrena Martin.

Who  could  have  thought  my  day  was  going  to  turn  out  like  that?  Yes, I had gotten the winning ticket!  I  dashed  into  mom’s  room  and  told  her  the  wondrous  news;  my  dad  and  my  brother  walked  in for  lunch  at  the  same  moment.  We all hugged each other in a tight, emotional hug. The  lord  had  answered  our  prayers,  words  could  not  express  the  feelings  which  flowed  through  us.  Mom was going to be well again.  “Thank you, Lord, for this miracle,” I prayed, silently.  I  felt  I  could  fly  as  the  weight  was  lifted  off  me.

One  week  later  mama  had  the  operation  and  everything  was  successful.  The stress and worry were gone. We  all  continued  our  normal  lives  and   had  so  much  to  be  thankful  for.

NOTE: Sarah Ann Li was the Best Writer Under 12 in 2005.

 THE END

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Copyright of the winning Wadadli Pen stories and/or art work featured on this site belongs to the creators of the individual works and are used here purely for promotional and educational purposes. Other blog content, except otherwise noted, is created and/or maintained by Joanne C. Hillhouse. Site content should not be copied, distributed, transmitted, used for commercial purposes, altered, transformed, or built upon without the consent of the copyright holders.

The Rescue by Chatrisse Beazer

[2006 Under 12 Honourable Mention]

“Let’s go!” Auntie Sheila called.

“I can’t wait,” Kayla said.

All of us, my aunts and their husbands, all my cousins and my family and me, were in Barbados for a family reunion. We drove in three separate vehicles on our way to the beach to enjoy a lovely day together.

The cloudless sky was clear and blue, the sun beamed down brightly, and the water was warm and blue.

All of the children were having fun in the water playing ‘throw to throw’. James, 16-years-old, threw the ball high into the air to eight year old Taylor but it landed far beyond his reach. Just then Auntie Isabelle called us to eat and everyone ran out of the water.

“Boy, am I hungry,” said James.

We all agreed and forgot all about the ball. While we were walking I noticed that Kayla, a very adventurous five year old, was not with the group, so I asked, “Where is Kayla?” No one answered, so I turned around and scanned the water. I did not see anything at first, then I saw a head pop up to grab the ball and went back under. I was sure it was Kayla.

Kayla’s head came back to the surface and she screamed,

“Help! Help! Help me!” I dived into the water and swam out to her. I put her arms around my neck and told her “Hold on tight.”

I swam to shore and carried her to her mother. In Auntie Shanna’s arms, Kayla whispered, “Thank you.” I kissed her on the cheek and said “You’re most welcome.”

All my family members hugged and kissed me and called me their hero. My Daddy and Mummy told me that they were very proud of me. I will never forget that experience as long as I live.

THE END

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION & TERMS OF USE

Copyright of the winning Wadadli Pen stories and/or art work featured on this site belongs to the creators of the individual works and are used here purely for promotional and educational purposes. Other blog content, except otherwise noted, is created and/or maintained by Joanne C. Hillhouse – coordinator of the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize, and author of The Boy from Willow Bend and Dancing Nude in the Moonlight. Site content should not be copied, distributed, transmitted, used for commercial purposes, altered, transformed, or built upon without the consent of the copyright holders.

A Scary Night by Chatrisse Beazer

[2005 Young Explorer Wadadli Youth Pen Prize Honourable Mention – Under 12 Category]

As I got ready to go to bed, I kissed everybody goodnight and went upstairs. I stepped into my bedroom. It looked very dark and the owls were hooting mournfully. My bed was cold. I felt scared.

“It feels spooky,” I said to myself with a shudder.

I went into the cupboard to get a flashlight to defend myself against anyone who could possibly come into my room. I pushed my head under the pillow and clutched the flashlight tightly.

A few minutes went by. Then, was it my ears deceiving me or did I hear howling? I listened carefully. I did hear it. And it was in my own bedroom!!! I peered from under the pillow cautiously. My heart was beating so hard I could feel it coming up my neck. I saw two white things that looked like ghosts. I screamed,

“Mommy!!!”

Then one of them came near the bed. I took up the flashlight to hit it on its head. I expected my flashlight to hit empty space, but it landed hard on its head. I realized that it was a person and not a ghost! I got very angry and pulled the sheet off their heads. It was my very own brother and sister.

“How dare you!” I shouted.

They laughed.

“How dare you!” I screamed.

“We did it to scare you,” John said.

“Both of you are just disgusting!” I shouted.

“Scaredy cat! Scaredy cat!” Amy jeered.

I stormed downstairs and told my Mom and she called then down and said,

“No television, no friends over for the week, no computer. Oh, and you will go to bed early, at seven-thirty, before Chatrisse.”

As we went upstairs I taunted them,

“Early birds, early birds!”

“Chatrisse!” my mother called from downstairs.

I sped into my bedroom and slept peacefully.

 

THE END

 

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION & TERMS OF USE

Copyright of the winning Wadadli Pen stories and/or art work featured on this site belongs to the creators of the individual works and are used here purely for promotional and educational purposes. Other blog content, except otherwise noted, is created and/or maintained by Joanne C. Hillhouse – coordinator of the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize, and author of The Boy from Willow Bend and Dancing Nude in the Moonlight. Site content should not be copied, distributed, transmitted, used for commercial purposes, altered, transformed, or built upon without the consent of the copyright holders.