Whirlwindcmd+n ~Sabrina M.48
WhirlwinddThis Is My SecretBy Haya A.“This can’t be true,” I mumbled. I just stoodthere with no feelings, no emotions, with my tearfulface in great shock. What should I do? What shouldI expect? I was looking at my mom and my grandmacrying, I felt empty inside. I would ask myself, “Isthis really it? Is this the end?” It was one of thesaddest moments of my life. I know you’re thinkingto yourself and wondering, what is happening here?But this is something special I own.I’m very grateful for my loving family. I have abig family, especially from my mom’s side. She hasfour sisters and one brother. My sister and I reallylove seeing them and our cousins. So we try to seethem once every one or two years. They all live indifferent countries.In 2014 It was my aunt’s wedding, andeverybody was there. We all gathered on this specialoccasion, we were ecstatic. Then everyone returnedhome.After a few months, my uncle came to mycountry, Iraq, where I lived at that time. I rememberme and my sister running up to him and saying,“Uncle Ahmad, we are so happy to see you, wemissed you so much.” We had so much fun withhim, it was very joyful.Then he left for Jordan, and he would send uspictures. One day when my uncle returned to hishome, in Jordan, something happened. We were atmy grandparents’ house eating lunch when my auntcalled my mom.My sister and I didn’t know what washappening, but when my grandmother started to cry,we were scared, frightened. Then we knew the badnews, It was my uncle, my only uncle, he had died. Itwas horrible and miserable, it was very shocking.After we heard, my father and my mom’s unclecame, as well as one of my aunts. It was one of themost miserable moments of my life. Everythinghappened so quickly; it was like a stroke oflightning…. After a few months, when the summerbreak started, we went to Amman, Jordan, that waswhere one of my other aunts lived. All the familyplanned to meet there. We got to spend time withmy cousins, it was a thrill for us, we had so muchfun. After a few days, me and my cousins heardmy mom and aunts sobbing and crying; they hadluggage with all of my uncle’s things in it. I felt verydepressed.We went into the room, where they were sittingand sat down next to them. My sister asked, “Canwe take something from the luggage.” She tooksomething that was put in a little box, she openedit and saw a beautiful black and white pair ofheadphones. They were very smooth and soft. Wetook and kept them. After we came back to Iraq,we kept it in a special place. These headphonesare very special to us. Sometimes when I smell themeaningful headphones, I can imagine him wearingit. It was very hard for all of us. We would alwaystry to make mom feel better and say, “Everything isgoing to be okay,” or, “Be strong, Mom.”Those headphones have been with us for fouryears. They have a lot of meanings. Every timeI look at them I remember old memories like,when he came to visit us, or when we went to myaunt’s wedding. These might look like any otherheadphones, but they mean a lot to me. They haveso many beautiful memories behind them. They arenot ordinary headphones; they are filled with loveand wonderful memories.RecitalRehearsals, training, it all comes down to thisEvery fluorescent colored light stings your eyesCostumes twinkle in the light, illuminating excited facescaked with makeupIt’s time to wipe away the blood, the sweat, the tears, andmost of all, the frownThis is ballet, a dance for warriors, so get out thereAnd no matter what it takes,Love every second of it~Zsa Zsa A.OrchestraA room full of instrumentsBeing tuned for playingConductor waves her batonDeciding the key in which to playExcited to perform in front of an audienceForever being grateful for the experienceGoing to after school rehearsals are a painHappy about the amusement park trip atyear’s end~Julia G.49