Collection of Words An Eclectic - Burnaby School District

An Eclectic Collection of WordsFreedom, BewareJessica Giang, Moscrop Secondary, Grade 11-12 ProseIn the impending night a slim, lanky silhouette leans against the tarnished concrete wall, animpeccably white sneaker forced against the wall while the other barely balances her miniaturebody."This is my liberation! Do you hear me? I'm free!" She triumphantly bellows.There is no response from the pallid lights of the streetlamps, the quivering trees of CentralPark, the quiet humming of the skytrain escalator, or the ebony coloured crows gazingintensely at her."Hey, Alice, is that you?" An eager, unfamiliar voice calls out. Intrigued, she slowly shiftstoward the puzzling figure until they finally meet under the meager aura of the streetlamp,illuminating her porcelain skin."Lucas? What are you doing here?" The darkness casts a shadow across half of his face,but the overall impression of his face - the faded acne scars under his sullen cheeks, his thin,slightly-parted lips, and distant, wandering eyes, like those of someone disconnected fromreality - is easily recognizable.An impish grin on his face, he emits a boyish chuckle. "What are you doing here?""Just problems at home ... It seems like every time my mom's life seems to spiral out of hercontrol she just tries so much harder to keep a firm grip on everything - including me. I couldn'thandle it - the constant supervision, the nagging, and the suspicious glances when I walked inthe door. It felt like I was being drowned, like I was being relentlessly compressed tighter andtighter into this little box that she wanted to preserve forever. I just - oh I'm sorry!" Shestopped herself quickly, you fool! She berated herself; you can't just go around telling your lifestory to everyone!Mouth curled downward and brows pulled together, he thought to himself, maybe she's tooyoung. .."And do you like this newfound freedom? Does it satiate your thirst? Can you feel theadrenaline pumping through your heart, filling your lungs and clearing your brain?""It's hard to explain. Two days ago I had a roof over my head and for awhile I even had afunctional family, and then I gave up the remnants of my life to get here. I yearned for freedomfor so long that I've lost sense of what it should feel like! Ironic, isn't it? I can't believe I'mtelling you all this." She threw her arms up in desperation."Is that a tattoo?" He extends his hand, reaching for her wrist. She motions closer to him,feeling drawn in by an inexplicable aura that emanated from him."It's a phoenix. They live for a few centuries, building a nest to prepare themselves for theirdeath and when that time comes they just spontaneously combust! Out of their ashes rises anew egg, but the same phoenix as before."WORDS Writing Project 2008/09 54