Thursday, November 20 - Emotions

 

Check Out This Upcoming Film

 

                  Moving to a new area can be very hard and frustrating, especially for a young girl. With the pressures, fears and anxiety that come with this transition, other emotions such as joy, excitement, and happiness can come trailing just behind. Although the darker emotions usually are the ones that arrive first, joy can be there to help lift their spirits and change the outlook of the situation.

                “Alright, almost there! All I have to do is make this turn, I’ve got this!” Joy was running late today. Although she had made it to the headquarters on time a few times this week, the majority of her Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and even Thursdays were filled with her just trying to make it to the HQ. Today was a Friday and most kids are usually crammed to the brim with joy as they eagerly wait for their refreshing weekends to come. So, obviously today wasn’t a day that Joy could possibly be late on.

                “Almost, almost!” Joy sang as she continued to sprint down halls and take sharp turns left and right. “Riley’s is going to be waking up soon, and I’m going to be there when she does!”

                Just as Joy saw the double doors leading to the inside of the main headquarters, she could see light slowly peeking through the small windows. Knowing that Riley was just starting to awake from her slumber, Joy rushed there faster than she ever had before.

                “I’ve got this, I’ve got this!” Joy screeched as she launched herself through the heavy doors leading inside HQ. “Yes!” Joy laughed and jumped up in the air, twirling around excitedly as she landed back to the ground. “Made it just in time, exactly how I planned!”

                Joy picked up her yellow card and hurried over to the emotion scanner and activated her card. Looking at one of the many monitors, Joy watched as Riley leaped out of bed excitedly.

                “It’s Friday!” Riley cried as she ran towards their kitchen. “Mom, Dad! It’s finally Friday!”

                Joy smiled contently as Riley happily talked with their parents about the upcoming weekend. She was quickly shaken out of her thoughts as she felt a small bump on her side.

                “Oh sorry, excuse me,” a timid voice called out. Joy turned and moved out of the way as she saw a small blue girl come bumbling by.

                Sadness was her name, an emotion that Riley has been feeling a bit more of lately. Joy turned and looked to the monitors as Sadness punched her card into the emotion scanner. Joy watched Riley’s parents talk about how they were going to drive around the new area they had moved in to see what there was to do. Of course, Riley’s smile began to disappear as Sadness’ card took effect.

                “Hey, yeah move over.” A nasally voice erupted from the room as Disgust walked in with a disapproving look on her face. She pulled out her green card and stuck it in the slot as Sadness and Joy moved out of her way. As Disgust waited for her emotion to kick in, she stared at the two other girls through squinted eyes.

                On the monitors, Riley’s face twisted up sourly, very similar to the face that Disgust seemed to make more than half of the time.

                “I don’t want to do that!” She cried to her parents. The three emotions looked on as they watched Riley’s mood change. “That sounds awful! Please don’t make me go!”

                “Alright, my turn. Move to the side!” The three twisted their heads towards an angry male voice. Anger marched through the open doors, his stout red body waddling slightly as he walked. “That’s right, out of the way ladies.” Mumbling and pulling his card out of his pocket, Anger jammed the emotion card into the scanner and watched it work its magic on the monitors. 

                “That’s so dumb! I hate it here; I just want to go home!” Riley yelled at her parents as she ran back up to her room.

                “There, that’s how it’s done,” Anger said as he eyed the monitor, almost proud of his work.

                “That was pretty mean,” Sadness said with a sniff, “bit I guess we can’t feel Joy all the time.”

                “Now now, it’s fine,” Joy said, cutting into the conversation. “I’m sure she’ll just need a little time then I’ll reactivate my card. Humans do say that time is a virtue.”

                “Yeah and did you ever hear the expression ‘Patience is thin’?” Anger grumbled.

                “And happiness is fleeting?” Sadness sighed.

                The three turned their heads to Disgust, waiting for her to contribute something to their chat. She stood there texting, her face contorted in strong distaste. She then looked up and squinted her eyes at the group. “What are you all looking at? I’m busy so don’t even bother.” She resumed texting.

                “Well, I’m sure things will start looking up for her soon. Maybe she’ll calm down a little at school.” Joy said with a smile. “Actually, I’m sure of it!”

                “Wait!” A scream erupted from the halls as Fear scurried hurriedly into the open room. “Wait, wait, wait! I’m here I ran late today!” The thin purple man stopped and screamed as he saw the group standing near the monitors and machinery. “Oh, wait no time for that!” Fear anxiously cried out as he made his way over to the emotion scanner. After fiddling with his card a few times, he finally stuffed into his slot. With a large sigh of relief, he fell dramatically to the floor.

                “Ew,” Disgust said as she walked to the other side of the room, away from the others.

“Well, I guess everyone is accounted for,” Joy laughed awkwardly. Shaking her head, her usual large smile appeared on her face. “Okay, now that everyone is in check,” she paused and slowly looked at the others in the room.

 Disgust stood in a corner on the opposite side of the white room, texting with a scowl as usual. Sadness cleaned her glasses beside Joy, Anger being in front of them grumbling to himself, and Fear was curled up on the ground, probably on the verge of having a panic attack.

“Right, like I was saying,” Joy continued, “Now that everyone is in check, we can start today like we normally do!” All of the emotions looked towards the monitor as the young girl sitting sadly on the edge of her bed. Joy frowned slightly.

“We can’t have it your way all the time,” Sadness said unenthusiastically. No one said anything as they got to work on their usual routine.

Tuesday, November 18 - Treason and Historical Fiction

 

The Original Story

 

The Music That I Listened To

 

                The former American Hero kneeled on the ground, observing the stares of his fellow American citizens. Not used to hateful stares, he bowed his head and stared at the dirt ground below him. American General Benedict Arnold looked down quietly, now completely avoiding the crowd around him. General Arnold was very famous in his country, and still is, but for different reasons. He was well known after his brilliant job during the French and Indian War; he was seen as a hero for his bravery excellent leader skills. However, despite the fact that people once marveled at him and shown a great amount of respect towards him, the people could now only see him as nothing but a selfish traitor and threat to the country.

                It was late 1780 and The Revolutionary War was raging between The United States and The United Kingdom. General Arnold had been given command of West Point, an American fort alongside the Hudson River in New York. Secretly, Arnold had contacted the head of the British forces, Sir Henry Clinton, and told him that he would hand over West Point along with all of his men in exchanged for a large amount of money. They agreed and the trade was made official on September 21 of that year when General Arnold met with Major John Andre to make the pact. However, this was a trap. As General Benedict Arnold was ready to make the trade, he was ambushed by his own soldiers and beaten to the ground. You see, after Arnold contacted Sir Henry Clinton, the British man made another deal of his own with the Americans. He told them that he would reveal a lying traitor in exchange for money and a few weapons. Although the Americans were suspicious, they didn’t want to take the chance that he was telling the truth and end up losing a strong base of theirs. They agreed to make the exchange with him only if what he said turned out to be true. Turns out what he said was true.

                General Arnold watched in disgust as Sir Henry Clinton, being escorted by a few soldiers, was marched in to town and given a sum of money and rifles. Sir Clinton eyed the beaten man and smirked as he was marched back out.

                General Benedict Arnold was charged was treason and was hung in New York in early 1781. Some were disturbed and shocked to see their once great hero executed, while others spat and were happy to see the traitor gone. Either way, America lost a hero.

Monday, November 17 - Found Poem

 

Nothing is impossible,

Whether in skill, temperament or in beauty,

Achieving near miracles

When the time comes,

Nothing is impossible!

Oh, every day brings a new skill!

Surely, surely,

Nothing is impossible!

Flowers discussed next season’s colours,

With the help of spirits,

Anyone could come back to the dead.

Float in the air,

Fill a room with flowers,

Do as many tricks as a performing horse,

No one could rival you!

Do something important,

Have a part to play,

Without hesitation,

Aid the deranged and

Gaily be flattered by the dead.

Believe me in this great undertaking,

Hardly believe such a thing could never happen.

Surely, surely,

Nothing is impossible!

Friday, November 14 - The Berlin Wall

 

An Account In Which I Got Inspiration For My Story

 

             Clutching my sketchpad to my chest, I let the crowd of roaring Germans sweep me to the other side of the wall. I stumbled along as everyone quickly tried to push through to meet their relatives and friends. Although the thought of seeing my own family came to mind, the first thing I had to do was get out of the horde of people racing around me. As more people began to rush by, I couldn’t help but start to feel excited. The chaos almost gave off a refreshing feeling. I hurried onward, hoping to keep up with the people that buzzed and shook with anticipation. Although it felt like minutes, the people quickly began separating and breaking apart. I finally had time to stop and take a step back. I stood there, now in Berlin. I looked around and saw people joining together, hugging and laughing; a few were even crying. West Germany looked so much more different than the East. Not far off from the wall were markets where the Easterners stood out perfectly among the West Germans. No one cared, that didn’t matter right now. I watched as other Easterners picked up many different foods, some that I’ve never seen before, and look at them in wonder. I think that was the easiest way you could tell the people apart. The West Germans were better dressed, but the Easterners had a different look on their faces.

                This picture is one that I never want to forget. This much joy and celebration only comes by so often, I had to get a picture of it. I bustled my way over to an emptier spot a little farther down the street and took out the few supplies that I had on me. Opening my book, I scrawled hurriedly on the page, hoping to capture this moment as if it were to disappear if I took my eyes off of it for more than a second. My eyes darted from page to street while I let my hand do the work and record what I saw. I took note of the shop names, strange foods, street signs, but most importantly, the people. Satisfied with what I had, I packed my supplies away back into my gray coat. My family was probably making their way to the groups of people by now, scanning around in hopes of finding me. I’ll show up a little late, but I know they’ll understand. They know that I always take my time to capture what is around me on my sketchpad.

Thursday, November 13 - The Macabre Arts

 

 

When I look at this picture, I can’t help but recoil out of shock and disgust. However, I am not disgusted by the starved state of these poor unfortunate souls, not at all. Although it is not the most pleasurable sight, these people are only human. I cannot even dare myself to be nauseated by these people, even if the state they are in is surprising at the very least. I am disgusted because I know that something is wrong, that they, these people, have been wronged. The sickly pale and sallow bodies are stacked together, no stacked isn’t the right word here – they are grouped. They have been separated and terrorized, beaten, starved and depraved of their humanity. With faces slathered with terror and their hollow expressions painted with the most authentic fright one could ever come across, these people’s lank and gnarled bones are not the source of my own fear. I do not repel from them because they are horrific. I repel from them because what happened to them is horrific. I am terrified and sickened knowing that wild beasts, disguising themselves and referring to themselves as one of our own has had the audacity to attack such innocent people as these. I am disgusted because they have the nerve to call themselves humans when they have poisoned and soiled the lives of our own. I’m angry. I’m angry because they, those wild ignorant animals, think that they had the right to do this. They thought that they could steal the humanity and spirits of these people and claim them as their own. How could I be afraid of people that have been attacked by animals? Even with their tethered skin and twisted joints, I cannot fear them. I can only fear for them.

Wednesday, November 12 - The Haunted House

 

 

              The Party House, a long abandoned and shabby home left to rot, was once a very wild and popular place where the rich owner threw parties and banquets from dusk until dawn. People would show up and have grand balls and exciting soirees as they danced, sang, and laughed without a care in the world. The house was always the liveliest on the block and music and light always seemed to radiate from the windows. If you ever visited this place during its glory, then you could never forget just how much fun and creative the parties were. Although, despite the fact that everyone always seemed to have such a wonderful time here, people complained that some of the parties would get too out of hand. Things were broken, windows would get shattered, and there were a few minor injuries. No one really though much of it, a few cuts and bruises would heal over time, so why stop the fun over something so small? Well, one injury at that house wasn’t as minor as a scrape or bump, and it definitely couldn’t be fixed with a sling or Band-Aid.

                On a lively Saturday night, close to midnight when a particularly rowdy party was at its peak of excitement, something terrible had gone on in one of the upstairs hallways. A number of people were kept in a smaller room and were shot to death while the party continued on. With the party so wild and loud, no one was able to hear the gunshots. The next morning after the people had left and the house was being cleaned up after another night of rich merriment, the owner of the place had stumbled upon the room in which the partygoers were killed. In a wild panic, he called out for one of the hired help to call the police.

                The police came and investigated the scene, as well as put identities to the bodies. Almost all of them were rich competitors of the owner’s company. The cops were suspicious of the home owner until they found his wife lying among the dead, brutally stabbed in the chest, most likely by one of the people kept captive. The dead woman was convicted of killing her husband’s competitors, which were confirmed to have been invited to that night’s party to celebrate everyone’s success in their individual companies, hoping to get rid of their competition so that her and her husband’s business could prosper even more. After this news was released to the public, not many people wanted to go back to the place to party anymore. With the music and crowd so loud and loose, anyone was free to sneak in and do the same thing again. Some people even suspected the owner himself as the one to kill his rivals and wife. Only a few parties were held after that incident, each one with a smaller crowd. The rich man eventually went crazy from grief and hung himself. With no family for the house to be left to, it was put up for sale. A few people had bought or rented the place for a while, but anyone who lived there claimed to have been chased out due to strange paranormal activity. Sounds of footsteps were heard upstairs. Wailing, crying, screaming, and psychotic laughter were also reported in the house as well as the sound of gunshots, only able to be heard at around midnight on Saturday nights. Shadows darted through the hallways and things were knocked over and moved by themselves.

                The house was so sinister that no one bought or rented it. Years passed and still no one wanted the place. It sat there by itself with no one to take care of it. The once lively and joyous presence that the room gave off was now replaced with loneliness and sorrow. The Party House laid on that property forgotten until this very day.

Friday, November 7 - Ewww... That's Creepy

 

 

On a weary day of darkness is where this story will begin,

Up on an aging hill sat a rickety old house,

An old house that a young girl has ventured in.

Tales of the dead, dismembered, and wrong-done are what captured her mind,

Inside the beaten house whose interior’s din,

Caused the girl’s curiosity to better her wits.

Climbing inside with a lantern in hand,

She searched the house to find what’s been told to be hidden on its land.

Through the dusty corridors,

Marching across the maggot filled floorboards,

The girl traveled from room to room,

In search of what would find her soon.

Screeches, wails, and whispers floated through the halls,

Waving her hand, she dismissed the sounds,

She couldn’t go back, she simply had to see it all.

Aimlessly she continued to crawl, wonder, and explore,

Yet as time passed, she wasn’t quite sure

What she was doing in the desolate house anymore.

The time clicked as her subconscious threw itself into a fit.

Like broken clock her mind’s gears grinded and popped,

She couldn’t even remember what she had initially sought.

Frightened, confused, yet with an unknown determination,

The girl continued to look and look,

For who knows what?

Continuing her journey through the twisted floors,

She continued to search from room to room,

And to door to door.

Finally stumbling upon what begged to be found,

The girl gasped and stopped, her gaze now drifting down,

Down resting on the floorboards, covered in muck, filth and dust,

Was where two skeletons and a shattered faded lantern laid to rest.

Brother and Sister, by each other’s side forever more,

The two lay abandoned in the house in search for each other’s spirit,

Wandering the maze of hallways in search of each other,

From now until the end of time.

She turned and ran looking for the exit of the house,

But in a quick flash there she was,

Outside and looking up to the tall structure’s door,

The young girl, with her lantern in hand,

Walked inside the abandoned home,

In search of what?

She didn’t know.