t was a sunny day. That day when it happened. When the tree fell. When my life turned upside down. When I began to fall into the sky. We have lived in New York for as long as I can remember. We don? live in the city; Jeff- my step-dad ? says its too noisy. We live in a small town-one to small to even have a name of its own. It was like the watermelon seed that you spit out. There are only ten families that live in my town, one store, and a post office. Oh- there? an ittty-bitty school too; it has one teacher and twenty-three students. When anything goes wrong, everyone goes to the city square, if they can. Well, not this time. We live in the mountains, so there? a lot of really tall trees; which doesn? bode well for storms. We hardly ever get storms. Sure, we get rain- tons of it. Just never storms. This time, we got rain, we got a dark sky, and we got a storm. It was afternoon and the little kids were playing hop-scotch, when the sun disappeared. Vanished. Never to be seen again. To us, it was to dark to be day; never before had the sky been so dark and angry during the day. We ran into our houses, just as the rain began to fall. Everybody gathered around windows, watching the storm progress. Soon, thunder and lightning danced around the sky. Children buried their faces into their parents? shoulders, waiting for the nightmare to end. My family- me and Jeff and Momma and Little Becca- who is only one and is the cutest thing ever; we huddled together underneath a giant homemade quilt, nest to the window. Becca was in my lap, and I was trying to teach her patty-cake. Then, It happened. We have a large tree in front of our house; its dead and looks like it should be in a kids Halloween book. We all- even Little Becca-looked up as a bright flash of sickly yellow light, struck at the giant, haunted tree. It trembled- for what seemed like hours- deciding which way to fall. We all stared, transfixed. We couldn? move, it was as if someone had glued us to our seats. I began to hold Becca more firmly in my lap- a life line for me not to scream in terror. Then- it hit. First the roof, then the second floor came crashing down on us- just before the tree landed on top of us. When I woke up, Becca was still in my arms- but- oh lit me tell you- we weren? in Kansas anymore Toto! I had on a white hospital gown- like the one Momma wore when she had Becca- only smaller. Everywhere I looked was white; it felt like I was in one of those movies, where crazy people get locked up in white, cushioned rooms. I looked around but Momma and Jeff weren? there- that? when I knew something was terribly wrong. Ever since Becca was born, the two of them haven? left her side- unless they for sure that the other was there. So why would they her with their unconscious eleven-year-old daughter? Just as I was pondering what could?e happened- the door was opened to reveal a man in his late thirties, wearing a white doctor? coat. He had a moustache that looked like a caterpillar, and large, square glasses. He had a nice, shiny, bald head, squirrel cheeks, and a name that explained everything. Dr. McGleam. That name sounded as if it should be the one in bed. ?hh-you?e awake. How are you feeling, Miss. Brown?? As I nodded my head, out of my mouth popped, ?here? my parents?? The doctor looked uncomfortable- shifting his weight from foot to foot and looking down. Finally Dr. McGleam whisper-so soft I had to lean in to hear him-?akala,? I interrupted him saying, ?icky.? He started again, a little stronger then before, ?icky, your parents- your parents passed away several days ago- on the way to the hospital. I? sorry for your lost.? I froze- shocked- for what had to be several centuries, before my mind and began to work again. ?hat! How long have I been here? Where will we go? What happened to all of my clothes? Oh-my-God. What happened to the house!?? I kept rambling on and on- no end in sight. Poor old Dr. McGleam looked liked he was just pushed into a room full of lions- not an eleven-year-old girl and her sleeping sister. His eyes darted from side to side, sweat appeared on his neck, and he gave the impression of being slightly smarter then a worm- cut in half. Then again, I was scared for life, sure, but calm enough to say, none to nicely, ?ook- can you just tell me where we?e going to stay?? Dr. McWorm- as I now call him- stuttered, ?- well?our- mugh.? I blinked once, before saying, with as much sarcasm as I possibly could, ?xcuse me? Are you trying to talk to me?? Startled, Dr. McWorm snapped, ?iss. Brown! Keep your mouth closed! You and your sister are going to some aunt of yours- in South Dakota! She will be here sometime tomorrow. So- good day!? With that- he marched out of the door- slamming the door with a loud bang, behind him. I sat there, my long wiry brown hair tangled around me, holding my sister tightly against my stomach- in shock. Never in my whole has a bomb this big dropped into my life. I?e heard about my Aunt Rhoda- my first father? older sister. Momma always said she wore a black, straight, dress to their wedding. She said that Aunt Rhoda had a pet lizard- two feet long- that rides on her shoulder; she said its name was Elephant. I couldn? believe- couldn? comprehend- that I was going to spend the rest of my childhood with her; that my baby sister was going to grow up with that as a mother-figure! Mother always said that I was over-dramatic, but I felt like I had a pretty good reason! I? allowed to be dramatic now. I moved Little Becca onto the small space beside me, before snuggling down to sleep away my troubles; that what Jeff did when something was wrong, and usually, when he woke up, everything would be clear to him. Right now, I? sitting in a lime green bug. A car. Becca is in a car seat and I? up front with Aunt Daree- as she told me to call her. She was nothing like what I had expected- well, she did have a two foot long lizard named Elephant, but that was it. She wasn? wearing black clothing, she was wearing baggy sweat pants and as advertising shirt( you know the kind that says what its for- like a collage or a disease). Her hair was like mine- brown, long, and wiry- only she made it look good in a simple pony-tail! She kept laughing at Becca- who kept yelling, ?orm!? at the top of her voice- and- well she was exactly what I thought she wouldn? be. When she stopped laughing, Aunt Daree turned her flushed face to mine and said, empathy painted in her voice, ?eels like your falling into the sky, doesn? it?? I scrunched up my nose- causing her to laugh- and asked, ?hat do you mean?? Her face went blank as she stared ahead at the twisting road, and said, ?ell, most people say, ?ike the worlds turned upside down?, but, to me, it feels like your falling and falling and falling. You try to look up, to call for help, and you see the earth. And, then, finally, you look down and all you see is clouds and blue sky.? I nodded, understanding a little but of what she was saying. ?ou know, when my baby brother died- your father- I cut every single tie I had to your family? I tried to climb my way out, but only managed to fall faster. It was only a couple of years ago- when your mom- darling that she was- sent me a Christmas card. First sign of anything in six years and there it was. It was a picture of you, did you know? You were sitting up in a tree, with a book in your lap, just staring at the clouds. It was truly a beautiful picture. But- you know what your Momma wrote on the back of that card? She wrote: ?his is my Micky Mouse. She is nine years old, and is turning out more like her father everyday. She likes climbing trees, reading, and looking at my picture books. My Micky Mouse asked me one day if her daddy had any family, and I said, Micky Mouse, he had the bestest sister ever, and right now she? wasting her beautiful life mouring for her father. Merry Christmas- Your Little Sister? She looked at me side ways before going on, ?ou see Micky Mouse, there? a trick- for falling into the sky.? I turned to face her and said, ?eally?? She nodded while she said, ?ee, you have to learn two things: one, never, ever bring some one else with you- unless they happen to have an- earth magic. Like your sister- she? going to grow up fine- after a while. The second trick is, you have to learn how to float; how to adjust your life so that instead of falling rapidly to your death, you?e floating slowly down to a peaceful landing.? Seeing that I was mildly confused she clarified her first ?esson? for me, ?ecca is so young that she won? remember her Momma and Poppa. At first she?l cry- but then she?l get used to it and forget it ever happened. You shouldn? try and push your troubles onto someone else- it? not fair. Don? go being at all mean to Becca or even me! I know its all going to hurt- once its sunk in. so write it down or something; it?l help a lot more then taking it out on us, ok?? I looked her in the eye, searching desperately for a like boat to grab hold to, before saying, ?ou know- falling into the sky might not be so bad after all.? I paused for a moment, then, turning back to my only living relative, said, ?nd, ya?now Aunt Daree- I never ever asked if my daddy had a family.? She only smiled as Becca screamed two loud words, into the sunset, ?all Sky!?

The End

Story by: Leah, age 13, USA

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