New stories from the spring 2022 session of the Kids Short Story Connection
Short Stories by Us!
[An e-zine celebrating the creativity of young writers in Greenburgh's Kids Short Story Connection.
All rights to these original stories and poems are retained by their original young authors.]
Stories and poems from our youngest writers
The Moon Walk by Anjali Mohin, 11
As my family cruised down the road I looked up at the great big moon. We were going to North Carolina to meet our relatives. It's a whole family reunion. Dad’s distant relatives are coming and so are moms! At this point I'm tired of sitting in the stinky car with Linda and Klara, my sisters. However, the moon was so mesmerizing and beautiful it actually made me feel like this trip was worth something.
“We have to find a place to sleep” mom said
“Wait” I perked up “can we sleep under the stars. Right here, in tents.”
“That's not a bad idea” Dad says
“It says here that this is a camping ground to our right,” mom says excitedly. I look over at our camping ground and shelter for the night. It has tons of space and no overhead trees. So I can see the moon, and gaze up at it as a drift to sleep.
We pull over into the ground and start pitching the tent. Linda and Klara immediately give up on the tent, so Dad and I pitch it for them. Mom tells Linda and Klara to get kindling for the fire but they just rush in the tent claiming they have to change. So once again I have to do something for them. As I walk through the woods. I see a patch of grass right in the open. Like our patch. I overhear some people talking.
“Dwight, it's not a bad idea” said man 1
“I don’t know it’s something out of the ordinary, Keith” Dwight replied
“Lots of people are into space travel and things like that,” Keith told Dwight, urging him. Space travel I thought, what are these men talking about?'' I want to do space travel. My thoughts were interrupted by another comment
“You’re the president Dwight” Keith said “Everyone in America believes in you. And listen to you. You don’t need to worry.”
Dwight Eisenhower. As in the president Dwight Eisenhower. Oh my god what is happening today, so many amazing things are happening. Maybe I should step into the path, I thought. I muster all my courage and step into the path.
“Why hello young man” The President says to me.
“He…. He…. Hello” I tell the man slowly. Stop acting like a coward, I tell myself.
“Young boy, do you like space?” The man Keith asked me.
“Oh yes, I love space, especially the moon. This might sound silly, but the moon makes me feel better.” I told the man politely
“Splendid” The President tells me “Here take this.” He handed me a ring with a seal. “Bring this to the White House when you're 18. I will remember you and grant you the opportunity of a lifetime.” With that he told me to head back to my own camping ground.
When I reach my camping ground I try to get my parents and sisters excited about the moon. However, I don’t tell them about my encounter just minutes before.
“Look” I say excitedly, getting my family to look up. “The moon is amazing, isn’t it.” Sadly, my family doesn’t understand my love for the moon.
“So what? It’s just a moon,” Linda says
“Yah, Neil always thinks weird things are cool,” Klara adds. They both start laughing out loud.
“Girls,” Mom says to them.” Neil sees something beautiful in nature.” I think back to what The President and the man told me, and the ring in my pocket, not there’s.
“Ya,” I say, cutting Mom off “You don’t have the amazing view I have. You’re never going to be as special as me.” That shut them up
“That’s enough we should all go to bed” Dad says. Even after my family goes inside the tents. I stay. I can’t leave the beautiful moon; I don’t want to sleep with my family and most of all I want to talk to the president again. Then I have an idea. I quickly rush inside a tent and ask my parents if I could sleep outside. They say yes!
Outside, I lay in my sleeping bag for a while gazing at the amazing sky. I feel like the sky is a blanket wrapped around me keeping me warm, cozy and peaceful. I feel like the sky is my home. Like a warm hug that squeezes me tight, wrapping me with its love.
As these thoughts enter my head I want to tell them to someone. But no one listens. Then I have an idea. I quietly get up from my bed, tiptoe past the tents and then when the time's right sprint to The President camping ground. However, when I get there, no one is camping there, it's empty. Fear rises up in my stomach. Was it just a dream?
[31 year later]
Now I have fulfilled my dreams. Ever since that day 31 years ago I have adored the moon. Ever since that day when the president gave me that ring (I hadn't imagined it, they were in the other camping ground) which I later realized was given to a few kids that when they were older were to join NASA, a new space exploration company. I have loved space and the sky. Since I loved it soo much I decided to take the ring to them and become an astronaut. Flying to the edges of the universe. Because of that day and my choice of path. I, Neil Armstrong am the first person to ever land on the moon.
###
The Sun
By Anjali Mohin, 11
A blazing ball of gas lighting up the sky. The blaze shines down on me like day and night. Showing me the path. I gaze up knowing that its presence isn’t everlasting for it soon will die out and rot like you and me. However even after we're gone the sun will live on telling every star its tale. The sun shows us where to go and what to do and much more. I worship the sun like a god, for it takes care of us like a god. However, the sun hides behind the clouds of shame if it has done something wrong. Sometimes the shame becomes sadness but once the tears are out the light of happiness is back.
#####
Sun
By Sami Merchant, 10
What is the sun
Really?
You barely notice it
But without it
You’d die.
Look at the sun,
But not direct.
What is the sun,
Really?
A star
Smiling from up above
Making it possible
For us
To live
But then
One day
In millions of years
It’ll burn out
And that will be a sad occasion
Indeed.
#####
Spring
(Written from a one word prompt: spring)
By Dillon Lee, 11
Flowers that bloom is what I love most in spring. Even though they contain pollen, the vibrant colors and sweet aroma pull me in for a sniff. With petals swirling through the air whenever there is a breeze makes the world feel so pretty. There are so many flowers they choke the air and wherever you look, they’re there. That is why I love spring.
#####
Untitled
(written from a prompt to create a mythical beast)
By Anjali Mohin, 11
Once in the year 1 there lived a catnoceros Bert. Bert had paws like a modern cat and 2 horns like a rhino. Bert was the kindest animal anyone met.
Except one day a new creature came to town no one knew who, or what this creature was. The creature built a shack and lived there for a while. However, one night the creature attacked.
That morning the citizens of the town noticed Ana the goat-pig was missing. After that more attacks came, Dave the dog-mermaid, Anesa the mermaid-rat and more. Bert knew he had to do something. So he called for his best friend Daisy the rat-bird.
“Daisy” he told her “We have to figure out what is happening to our friends”
“Yes sir” she chirped “I will get to work attaching cameras to everyone's home to figure out who the imposter is”
You read my mind, Daisy” Bert said as Daisy flew off.
#####
Untitled
(written from a prompt about an important garden)
By Sami Merchant, 10
“But why?” Thomas McBrown asked one evening as his parents proposed an idea. They were going to stay with their grandma. Well, technically, his great grandma. Ma’s grandma.
“I’ve already told you, son, we need to get away from the city.” Pa said. Thomas, or Tom, harrumphed. He didn’t see anything wrong with the city. The excuses were always the same. “It’s too polluted,” or “Too crowded, Tom.” He tuned back in as they said “... has a garden to help you connect to nature, okay.” He nodded, but secretly, inside his head, he thought, “As if that’ll make things better.”
(Ma and Pa)
“James, what on earth were you thinking? It was too early to tell the poor boy!” Ma was quite annoyed. “But Michelle, we’re leaving very soon. And it’ll go by quick, and he’d notice. Let it be. He’ll be fine.”
(To be continued)
#####
The Crazy Mall Adventure
(written from a prompt about getting stuck in a mall after closing hours)
By Anjali Mohin, 11
Chapter 1
Kayla and her best friend Marg were in the Shopping Galaxy, the best mall in the world, it was located in Southern California. At around 6:00 Marg said” we should go home soon. The mall closes in 8 minutes.” Kayla agreed but said “Can I step into this store first?”
“Sure” Marg replies “but be quick.” While Kayla was shopping Marg stepped into the bathroom. It was the worst time, 6:05. When Marg came out it was 6:10 she noticed shutters on the shops and also that no one was there. Marg sprinted to the store that Kayla was in. The shutters were closed, and Kayla was still inside!
Chapter 2
Meanwhile Kayla had found everything she wanted and went to checkout. That's when she noticed the closed shutters and that there was no one in the store. “No!” she wailed. Kayla whipped out her phone and furiously texted Marg. Too bad mom and dad are in Atlanta, Kayla thought as she put her phone away and Marg doesn’t have her parents new phone number yet. After contacting Marg asking her to find help or at least a janitor she decided to look for some more clothes.
Outside the store Marg started running up and down the mall. Sadly, there were 36 floors and they were on the 22. Finally, Marg saw a janitor on the third floor, he was whistling a tune she couldn’t catch, but that didn’t matter. Marg ran up to him. “Janitor, my friend is stuck in the Gap on the 22nd floor” she yelled panting, The janitor swished around and screamed.
Marg skidded to a stop.
Chapter 3
Marg urged the janitor to help her but sadly he wasn’t much help.
“You can take the ladder.” he said in a rough voice. Guess there’s no other way she mumbled.
She steadied the ladder on the window and started going up. On the 250th rung her hand slipped and so did her feet, her drop down was 100 feet (about). Thankfully she made it. Finally, she opened the emergency window and hopped in, but she found her friend lying on the floor from starvation. Marg rummaged through her bag and found some strong perfume that worked. So, they went out the window, down the ladder and away from the mall.
#####
Untitled
By Dillon Lee, 11
I was slipping. The ground was far, far away and there was not much time left until I fell.
I searched for a grip but there was none. I started slowly going down when I finally found a
foothold! On the left of me, there was a ledge of a cave-like area and I scrambled toward it.
Exhausted from my near-death experience, I collapsed like a rag doll onto the cold stone.
As I let my head rest, my hand found a strangely shaped formation on the floor - wedged in,
as if it were a part of it. It was very strange. The formation was, I realized, not a part of the
floor… but in it? I had a weird feeling it was more than just white stone. I reached for my
backpack, expecting to find it beside me. But with a cold feeling, I realized it wasn’t!
In the midst of my panic, it must’ve slipped off my back! I groaned. Best I just die now!
I didn’t even want to go mountain climbing in the first place and now…I’m stuck with
nothing in a cave with some weird white thing, stranded and lost. There’s no way I could
ever escape or survive, backpack or no backpack!
#####
The Mysterious Supermarket
By Anjali Mohin, 11
Chapter 1
While Katie jogged in the park she noticed a shadow behind the tree. Thinking it was her imagination she moved on.
The next day at the supermarket Katie was in the milk aisle when she saw the mysterious
creature AGAIN this time Katie followed it. As she followed the creature she noticed her
surroundings change. Instead of the supermarket she noticed black walls. However, the
shadow just stepped through the walls. What in the world Katie thought? Then she took
a step closer to the wall and found herself sucked in. What she found was perplexing
except she didn’t see it for long because she got knocked out and couldn’t see any more.
Chapter 2
Katie woke up dazed, as if a part of her was taken. Propped up on her elbows she
noticed the same supermarket except no one was there. That's when she noticed a boy
just about her age. Slowly Katie walked up to the boy. “Do you know what happened
here?” she asked. The boy slowly turned around that's when Katie saw his multi-colored
eyes
“Oh My God” she gasped and fainted on the ground.
Katie woke up in her house, unsure of what she had just seen. A pixie, but those
were rare in Emerad City. It was said that the great wizard Vernex had banished all pixies
in the year 2000 - aver 1,000 years ago. But had this pixie come back? Were the pixie
and shadow related in any way?
#####
[Writing from a one-word prompt: bicycle]
Bicycle
by Sami Merchant, 10
When I was slightly younger, and it was still fall, I decided for the first time that year,
to go and ride a bike alongside my mom to school. So obviously, I put my bike in the school-
yard and went inside.
**************** 7 hours later ******************
I had an after-school club that lasted until 4 p.m. But when my mom came to pick me up,
we realized something. She had come in a CAR, and my bike was still in the schoolyard.
So I got my bike, but the problem remained as “What are we going to do with this bike?”
So, we made a decision. I was going to ride home, and she would follow in the car. This
might not sound super exciting to you, but I’d never walked or biked home alone before.
Although, technically, it doesn't count as alone because we had some rendezvous points,
such as an ice cream place, and the bicycle place to get a bottle-holder. And eventually
we reached home. But that day, a Thursday in 2021, remains the first time in my memory
I biked home partially alone.
#####
The Shadow
Ay Anjali Mohin, 11
Chapter 1
Clara sped down the sidewalk. She had to make it, if she didn’t. Well, we couldn't think
about that. She peddled as hard as she could except she saw something which slowed her
down. A shadow emerged from a nearby bush. The thing had her mesmerized. However,
she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going! Before she knew it she went “BAM”
right into a tree trunk. Everything went dark.
She woke up dazed. She looked at the bike on top of her and the dent in the tree.
She quickly looked at the bush where the shadow had been. There was nothing.
Realizing she was late for school, Clara heaved up her bike and hobbled to school.
“Clara!” said Mr. Pemberwickle, her teacher, “Where have you been?”
“Oh! I was stuck in traffic” Clara fibbed.
“Okay” Mr. Pemberwickle said slowly “Just sit down and try to figure out what we’re doing.”
Later at recess, Clara’s best friends Sophie and Ava came up to her “Clara, where
were you this morning?” Ava asked.
Clara stared at the ground and noticed a picture taking shape. The picture showed. Her!?
Yes, she was on her bike when a truck went too close and she swerved into a nearby bush.
That is exactly what she told her best friends.
“You expect us to believe that” Sophie remarked
“Yes” Clara whispered under her breath
“You better tell us what really happened, no lies, we can tell lies” Ava said.
Clara sighed and told her best friends the real story.
“What?!” Both girls exclaimed in unison.
As Clara shifted her gaze to her best friends she noticed something.
“Clara, how could this happen?” Ava asked
“This is HUGE!” Sophie chimed in “Mr. Pemberwickle told us this story in our daily
dose of news.”
“It was about a girl and a shadow that her killed.” Ava took over “As he was speaking,
his eyes looked far away.” The girls continued on but Clara didn’t hear them. She was
looking farther than them in the distance Clara saw the shadow. Everything went black
as she felt herself hit the ground.
While Clara was asleep she had a dream. In it, the shadow was on top of her. In a
raspy voice it said, “I will come for you Clara Rose Marie after all you have done to me
and my family. I will finally get you back MUAHAHAHA.” Then the shadow kept on
repeating her name Clara, Clara, Clara, Clara.
As Clara jolted awake, she noticed Sophie, Ava and Nurse Ann but now her parents
she felt a knot tight in her stomach. As Sophie picked Clara up, Ava hugged her tight
“Thank god you're alive,” she said
“We were worried about Clara'' Sophie added. Nurse Ann just handed Clara medicine looking
like if she spoke she would cry.
“You should go home” Sophie suggested
“Ya” Clara mumbled
“Um, maybe we should take her,” Ava said. “I don’t want her to fall down again.”
We laughed, but I knew she was serious.
“Here, your house” Sophie said, sounding tired.
“You should go and get some rest.” Ava said. “Are your parents home?”
“No” Clara said softly. “They wouldn’t care anyway”
“Maybe we should stay here” Sophie said, putting a hand on Clara’s shoulder.
“No, I’m fine” Clara said forcefully
“Let's go, Soph, Clara needs rest,” Ava said, dragging Sophie away.
As Clara lay in bed she brainstormed how not to fall again and again. Sadly, she
couldn’t do this with Mom and Dad but that was a different problem for another time.
Can I not look at the shadow she thought? No, I don’t know when it comes. Clara
brainstormed more ideas and found the right one. Clara jolted up “I’ll train my brain”
she said joyfully. The whole day and night she spent time training her brain, by the next
morning she was ready.
The next morning Clara skipped to school not wanting to take a risk riding her bike.
“What does y times x equal if z is 2xy and y is 2 times x. Also z equals 24”
Why does 8th grade math have to be soooooo difficult Clara thought. But then she
saw the creature. She tried to get it out of her head.
“Clara?” Mr. Pemberwickle asked “Are you okay?” But when he followed her gaze
he understood. He went and pulled down the blinds.
“Clara, please meet with me after class.”
“Oh, Okay Mr. Pemberwickle” she replied
“Clara, I know you have been seeing the shadow,” Mr. Pemberwickle confessed.
“How do you know?” Clara asked shocked.
“I once saw her to many years ago, so I know how to get her out of your mind”
“Okay”
“I will guide you myself and teach you” he paused “if it's okay with your parents”
“They don’t know or care about this”
Mr. Pemberwickle let out a sigh of relief. “Well then lessons start tomorrow at
recess and after school.”
“Thanks”
As Clara walked out Mr. Pemberwickle said one more thing. “Clara, Nurse Ann and I
are getting married, once the forms are filed and everything is set.” He took a deep
breath “We can adopt you.”
Clara felt like wind was knocking her down.
“You would do that, for me?” she asked.
“Yes,” Mr. Pemberwickle hesitated “Yes I would. Clara, you are the best student
I have ever had. You deserve a better life”
“Thank you” Clara said she walked over to him and hugged him tight, crying in his arms.
(1 year later)
“Clara, breakfast is ready,” her mom calls.
“Coming” Clara shouted down. “Just need to change.” As she walked down she saw
her new mom in her nurse outfit cooking breakfast.
“Where’s dad?” Clara asked between mouthfuls of pancakes.
“Right here” he said as he descended down the stairs. “How’s shadow practice?”
“Amazing” Clara sang. “Thanks to you, obviously.” Mr. Pemberwickle (or Dad)
has helped me so much. Sadly, I’m in high school now so I can’t see him at school
but we meet at other times. It’s great having parents who actually care about you.
‘Ding Dong’
“That must be the girls,” dad says. I open the door, ready for a new day.
“Clara come on - we're going to be late” Ava huffed.
“She’s just a sour puss because she woke up late” Sophie chimed. We laughed.
“Come on let's go” Clara says, and off the trio go.
