Lucky for me, that’s what I was waiting for as I sat in the floor, working on a puzzle, so many nights ago. The puzzle was almost complete and my homework done, all I needed was dessert to end a satisfactory day. I brushed shoulder length, brown hair out of my face, leaving a little section on my finger to twirl. I studied the remaining puzzle pieces with gray blue eyes, a quizzical expression on my face. My parents sat in the den talking, about what I didn’t know, nor care, so long as it didn’t impede upon my pie privileges. My younger sister Natalie was curled up in a chair near them reading, her short brown hair easily avoiding being in the way of the bright blue eyes hungrily scanning the pages of the book. It was, in so many ways, a normal evening in our family residence. No thoughts of change ran through my head. That sort of pesky consideration didn’t even come knocking when my dad called us children over to him.
Almost nothing is better than my dad’s apple pie. The golden crumb topping appears to be begging for forks to dig in and help hungry humans consume their fill. The slightly crispy crust brings together the tartness of the apples and the sweetness of the cinnamon and brown sugar topping. As you eat the this wonderful creation, it melts on your tongue and creates the feeling of being in a dream. Ice cream, preferably vanilla bean, enhances the flavor combination and makes the dreamy feeling wonderful and beautiful.
Lucky for me, that’s what I was waiting for as I sat in the floor, working on a puzzle, so many nights ago. The puzzle was almost complete and my homework done, all I needed was dessert to end a satisfactory day. I brushed shoulder length, brown hair out of my face, leaving a little section on my finger to twirl. I studied the remaining puzzle pieces with gray blue eyes, a quizzical expression on my face. My parents sat in the den talking, about what I didn’t know, nor care, so long as it didn’t impede upon my pie privileges. My younger sister Natalie was curled up in a chair near them reading, her short brown hair easily avoiding being in the way of the bright blue eyes hungrily scanning the pages of the book. It was, in so many ways, a normal evening in our family residence. No thoughts of change ran through my head. That sort of pesky consideration didn’t even come knocking when my dad called us children over to him.
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Getting braces was my worst nightmare. I had dreamt about it for months, and now it was finally going to happen. Some of my friends had braces, and they said you can’t eat caramel. I had woke up nervous and hoping my parents would forget. I was trying everything to elude getting braces. At least I had been able to miss some school! ”Creeeeak” my floorboards knew a terrible event was going to happen.Getting dressed, the feeling was getting worse. “Do I have to get braces?” I yelled to my mom. “ "Yes you do, I’m not paying 5,000 dollars for my child to back out,” she replied. “Ugh,” slowly dragged out of my mouth. My mom was not conscientious of how I would feel with metal in my mouth. As the night moves on, I look at the stars and try to locate the Big Dipper and the Little Dopper. Everything is silent, and all I can see are the stars and pitch black. I try to fall asleep; I can see my brother and sister sound asleep and my mom and dad wrapped up in blankets. I think about home and my dogs Dewey and Daisy probably cuddled in their cages as they wait for us to return. I close my eyes, but no luck comes. I just can’t fall asleep. I open my eyes and look around when finally something catches my eye. A pair of eyes looking through the bushes at me! I think it’s a dream, I fell asleep, it's all a dream, but I know it's not. Should I wake someone? I don’t know what to do! It’s probably just a bear or a fox- A BEAR, A FOX. What am I thinking?! This is a big deal! I curl down into my sleeping bag so maybe it won’t notice, but I get to hot and need to get out. I look anywhere but the eyes. I can’t though- it’s so attracting. I look over, but to my surprise there are two pairs of eyes not one pair. I’m even more scared now. I can see the animal coming closer. As it comes closer, I get deeper in my sleeping bag until I can’t see at all. BANG! I scream! It’s on my sleeping bag! My parents wake up as well as my brother and sister. They're laughing. Why would they be laughing?! There are two wild animals on me! I look up, and just like them I burst out laughing. There are no wild animals: it’s just two crazy loyal dogs named Dewey and Daisy. They got out of their cages and followed us here. We all lay back down, and now Dewy and Daisy are spread across our feet. Now I can fall asleep; I have two crazy dogs protecting me from the scary animals here. I wish that I could stand here and tell you that it wasn’t me, that I was above the foolishness and had the foresight to see what would happen. Well, you know what they say about hindsight... It was just a joke. There was no way that it could actually happen; it was unthinkable, unimaginable, impossible. But, we all repeated that joke until it became serious, and after it became serious it just became, but no I should not say it just became; it was us. We elected Donald Trump.
We did not just ask for this, we looked at all of our other options and used our choice to begin this future. I understand that we deserve everything that has happened since. That is because I am very old, and beyond the ability to remember it, I have had space - packed boats and trains, apartments and cells - to do little more than think about it. Some of the younger people I have met find it hard to believe that there was once a year 2019 AD. They, though we live in places with thousands of years of history in them, cannot imagine 2000 consecutive years, nor do they know what AD stands for. The words “anno Domini” are not as evident in meaning as we are used to. That makes sense, of course, considering that it is 96 ADT, obviously standing for After Donald Trump. Even since you emerged, blood covered and yelling, you have always been one at war. Always the screaming and the fighting and the teeth clenched growling. You are animal. You are battle.
But there was time before that, a time before this burning scream in your lungs. Back then, you did not have any lungs. It was when you first were conceived, before you had thoughts or touch. You were unknown to all, including yourself. You were next to nothing. You were the thickness of a piece of paper, but even then you were not singular. You were two things combined to form into one you. And it was peaceful for a while. After the initial crash, it was just coexistence. There was not much room to spread out, but you did not want room yet. You had no anxiousness or wander lust. Your cells, for the only time ever, satisfied in zygote. It seemed that there was no time. Everything was dark, for you did not have the ability to see. Everything was silent, for you had no ability to hear. Nothing felt like anything. You do not remember this, and even now you cannot conceptualize this. It is impossible to understand yourself at your simplest form, two cells collided into one. It does not seem real but you have never seen your past happiness as quite real. The two pieces of you lived together quite well. With no senses, there was no reason to dislike one another. The embrace, had you been able to feel it, the embrace was quite warm. It was comfort, and it was simplicity. No one wanted air or space, because what use is that to one without lungs? You existed solely inside of your two cells. It was all you knew and all you wanted. It was tranquil, and it seemed unending. It was all chemistry and biology, and no thought. Love in it’s simplest form. Two held together without knowing why and without needing to know why. They, ovum and sperm, melded cell membranes until they were one. Surrounded in each other's embrace. Do you remember how you forgot? Of course not, but know this: things have a way of changing. They somehow always will, and they did. I am Sophie Pettit, best friend and sister of Lulu Pettit. This is the story of the most important day of my life.
I went to preschool that day thinking it would be like any other. I left realizing how wrong I was. I woke up that morning feeling contented as I put on my puffy pink dress that made me feel like a princess when I wore it. I ate my breakfast with my mom and hugged the large bulge on her stomach that would soon be my sibling. Then, I fought through the piercing January weather to get to the car. I had free time when I first entered the classroom, so I played dress up with my friends. We put on elegant tiaras and graceful dresses. The amusement never ended when I was at school. We did finger painting with every color imaginable. Blues as beautiful as the butterflies, greens as bold as leaves. We painted until there was no paint or paper left. That day I was allowed to stay at school for lunch a luxury I was rarely allowed. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with some carrots and crackers on the side. When my dad finally picked me up, he had a Cheshire cat grin on his face and squeezed me half to death when he saw me. “What does it feel like to be a big sister?” Dad asked me, his grin only getting more immense. “I don’t know,” I answered confusedly. “You should,” he said as he buckled me into my car seat. Welcome back to the 2015-16 school year! This year, the Literary Magazine is back and stronger than ever. We can't wait to bring you more fantastic poetry and stories, editorials and reviews. Check back soon to read new writing; we can't wait to show you our members' creativity!
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