Whirlwind 2021

Whirlwind
Siblings
~Katherine D.
Annoying as can be
Bridges that you cross together
Common courtesy towards them…
what’s that?
Dinner when we’re all together
Extreme pain after fighting
Family comes first, stick up for
them
Gratitude, I’m glad I have them, a
little bit
How was your day? Something we
never ask each other
~Joseph M.
Modern Vermeer
~Liyah C.
Breathe
You’re always busy
Studying in pure silence
Breathe for a second
~Kavya K.
Relax
The birds chirp sweetly
The winds sing in harmony
The sounds of nature
~Kavya K.
~Katherine D.
It was a pleasant surprise. The fact that it was pleasant was
even more of a surprise because it was obviously of no value
whatsoever. He stared, blinking in almost-confusion at the single
paper that had been lying outside his doorway. Decorated in the
haphazard, but endearing, manner only a child could accomplish,
the card was violently out of place with its immaculate
surroundings.
The odd little scrap of paper had apparently been left by
the neighbors that had arrived just days ago, along with a small
package that was, by the looks of it, a homemade dessert of some
kind. They had come noisily, the child shrieking and squealing
with little regard for proper decorum, the parents doing nothing
to temper her obnoxious cacophony of sound. Their behavior
had been absolute barnyard and humiliating, and so he hadn’t
bothered to acknowledge in any sort of way. After all, they had
seemed excessively boring and dressed themselves in drab, cheap
clothing. In the days since they had done nothing but wreak
havoc in his life: the TV blared noisily at all hours of the night, the
child shrieked and laughed startlingly loudly, and they clattered
up and down the stairs in a stampede. It was infuriating.
And yet, despite his simmering hostility over the past days,
they had left him a present, one that left him feeling off , in some
way. It wasn’t as though he had never received any gifts before. In
contrast, his entire flat was filled to the brim with presents and
various possessions, each more glamorous than the last. Each
The Pleasant Surprise
By Angeline Z.
63
piece of china was decorated with fine etchings along the edges,
the furniture was engraved with gorgeous carvings and though
nearly a decade old, possessed the polish and gleam of an unused
piece of furniture. His wardrobe was a lengthy hall, one wall
entirely glass, the others overflowing with designer clothing and
tasteful decor.
Frankly, many of his possessions were simply placed about in
the most outwardly appealing way possible and left there, despite
there being no one besides himself to appreciate them.
Despite the undoubtedly lavish gifts he’d received over the
years, he had been left unsatisfied, no matter how beautiful they
were, how long he spent admiring them. And so, in a desperate
attempt to quench his never ending thirst for more and more - of
what, precisely, he had no clue - he continued on, filling his life,
his entire world, with every beautiful piece of art within arm’s
reach.
He hadn’t felt as though his life was lacking in any sort of
way, but evidently, something was holding him back. Frustration
bubbled up as he stared curiously, for perhaps the tenth time, at
the crooked lettering on the offensively bright card. He looked,
once more, at the beautifully and painstakingly decorated space
of his apartment and his life, and back at the worthless scrap of
paper in his hands, and wondered why despite all of his efforts,
the first seemed so much duller in comparison.