A Winter Wonderland

Sitting inside with your friends and family

Roasting chestnuts over a fire

Sharing stories and memories

of long ago Christmases

While outside, in the night

Glimmering, twinkling lights

reflect off the ice covering the ground

Creating a beautiful scene

The tiny crystals falling outside

Shimmer in the moonlight 

Adding to the blanket of snow

covering fields and car roofs

In the light of the moon covered in clouds

you make out the silhouette of trees

covered in a layer of snow

Icicles hanging from their branches

Winter

I strolled down the cement sidewalk
breathing in the sharp winter air
my boots crunched in the snow
my face stung from the cold

 while the temperature was low
 my spirits were high
because winter
is the best season of all

Out in the Wild

Author's Note: This poem demonstrates the theme of survival, taking place in a wild forest. 

Hunting animals with amateur weapons

picking plants with your own hands

climbing trees to escape predators

laying low to ambush prey

Building shelter from sticks and mud

but never keeping out the rain

sometimes going days without food

making do with what you have

because that's all you get

The Best Christmas Ever. Not.

Author's Note: Just a little story to get us into the Christmas spirit. Well, kind of. The main character is bedridden for her Christmas present.

Christmas is supposed to be all about giving gifts and being merry and Santa Claus and yada yada yada. Normally I would agree, but this year I’ve been cursed. With the flu. So while nearly my entire family is down in the family room, having a great time, I’m stuck up here in bed watching those boring Christmas specials on the tv in my room.

What makes it worse is that I don’t even get to have any of the delicious food that I helped my mom cook. Apparently the flu is affecting my stomach too, so I can’t eat anything real heavy or it’ll come right back up. Basically I’ll be living on toast, crackers, and soda until I’m better. This sucks. So much.

My mom knocked on my door and came in with a tray of buttered toast and water.

“Kierra. You need to keep up your strength. Eat this,” My mom said. I sat up and took the tray.

“Mom, why can’t I at least go downstairs and watch the movie with you guys? I don’t care if I have to sit far away from everyone, I just want to be included and not feel like a loser,” I complained.

My mom looked at me for a second. “All right. Fine. Come on then.” She was being strangely calm about it. I stared at her suspiciously and moved my blankets out of the way so I could get up. I took about two steps before I got dizzy and my knees got weak.

“See? You can’t even go halfway across your room. You’re in no condition to be up and out of bed,” my mom muttered. I crawled back into bed while my mom arranged my blankets back around me. I’m not entirely sure, but I think I saw her smirk as she walked out of my room.

I took a bite of a piece of toast, looking at my clock. It read 7:42 pm. Wonderful, they’re going to be unwrapping gifts without me pretty soon. I got so angry for a moment that I threw one of my pillows across the room. It hit a picture frame and made it swing from side to side, but it didn’t fall.

Pretty soon I dozed off. When I woke up, there were a pile of presents at the end of my bed. Well, at least they were thoughtful enough to bring everything up here, I thought.

I pushed myself to a sitting position and opened the presents one by one. Most of them weren’t anything special, just clothes and money and other accessories. But the last present I opened was from my Grandma Ginny. Which confused me, because we had her funeral almost five years ago. I read the card taped to the front, bordered in lace that could only be Grandma Ginny’s handiwork.

“To my dear Kierra: For when you turn 15. Love, Grandma Ginny,”  I whispered. So she had put this together a long time ago. But I was still confused, because I hadn’t turned 15 yet. In fact, I wouldn’t for another 2 months. Right then, my Aunt Carol walked in.

“Carol, why did you give this to me now? My fifteenth birthday isn't till February,” I said.

"Because, Kierra, we decided this just couldn't wait any longer. Open it," Aunt Carol said. So I did, and when I saw what was inside I gasped. It was a beautiful light blue gown, one meant for those really fancy dances. Like prom.

"Wait...so this was Grandma Ginny's prom gown?" I asked.

"Well, back then they weren't called proms. But yes, it was hers. Now we're passing it down to you. Wear it to junior prom."

"Cool. Thanks. I will." I didn't mention that junior prom was 2 years away. Guess they had proms early back in the old days.

I sighed and looked out the window. Snow was falling, covering everything in a blanket of white. Then I looked back at the dress. This was the one thing that made this Christmas merry, like it's supposed to be. Thank you, Grandma Ginny, I thought.

Retelling Piece

Author's note: this retelling is about the book Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn.


A teenage girl travels to England with her family to visit their cousin, and once there one of her sisters climbs aboard the Titanic so she must find her and bring her back home. While on the ship, they both get married, but the ship strikes an iceberg. The main character meets Tesla, who screws up time with his time machine. Two years pass before everyone is finally reunited.

Prediction Essay

Lena is just a normal 17-year old girl, living in Portland, Maine, with a government that believes love is a disease. Because of this, all citizens are required to get a procedure, a “cure” that takes away all feelings of love, when they turn eighteen. Ever since her mother gave in to the supposed disease, Lena has been looking forward to the day she will be cured, just 95 days away. But she learns that the was once a time when love wasn’t considered a disease, even thought to be healthy. I believe that Lena is going to bring that back and convince the government that love is not a bad thing, because she meets someone who changes her life and compels her to break rules.
At first, Lena didn't give much thought to the cure and the way the government controlled life. It was a normal, everyday thing. But when her best friend Hana started listening to music not approved by the government, Lena suddenly became curious about Hana's life. When Hana invited Lena to a party, Lena at first objected, but soon became curious, even though she knew it was illegal. She finds a mix of boys and girls, and gets a strange feeling in her gut. Lena sees Alex, an Invalid who lived in the Wilds, at a party while searching for Hana. When regulators find out, Alex rescues Lena by leading her to a closet. After Alex and Lena share a kiss, Lena realizes that she wants to spend her life with him. Of course, him being an invalid, they can't be together. Even so, they meet secretly.

When Lena gets much more comfortable with being around Alex, she tells him about her family. When she mentions that her mom had a special necklace, Alex says that Lena's mom may be alive. He takes her to the Crypts, which is like jail, and finds the cell where Lena's mom was. But when they get there, they find that her mom has escaped by, over a period of many years, scratching a round hole in the wall with her necklace. Now that Lena knows her mom is alive, I think she will do anything she can to find her.

Lena learns that Alex lived in the Wilds, unregulated land outside of Portland. There are no rules there, which sounded really appealing to Lena. She believes her mom ran off to the Wilds, so she would not be found. Lena desperately wants to find her, so Alex offers to escape with her. Lena and Alex plan their escape. But they get caught, and Lena's aunt schedules her procedure to be done early. But Alex cares too much for Lena, and helps her escape into the Wilds.

With Lena’s clever wits and Alex’s quick thinking, I think the two can stay together and successfully live together in the Wilds. The fact that Lena’s mom isn't really dead is driving Lena on, so she can find her mom. Alex desperately wants to be with Lena, and protect her. Eventually, I think Lena and Alex will find a way to convince everyone that love is not a disease, and that they have been living under a blanket of lies for their whole lives.


My ending:
"Mom, when are we getting home?" Lena asked, holding Alex's hand.
"We're almost in Portland. Be patient!" Lena's mom exclaimed, laughing.
"I wonder if it's changed at all since we've been gone," Alex said thoughtfully.
"Oh my gosh, what if it's completely gone?!" Lena panicked, suddenly cutting off all circulation from Alex's hand, which she had been holding for a while.
"Relax, Lena! Remember they show they daily weather reports for the whole area? We just saw one this morning!" Alex said.
"Oh...right...but something could have happened after then," Lena mumbled, clearly embarrassed.
"Look, there it is. See? You had nothing to worry about." Lena's mom had bent back a couple of tree branches and they were now standing directly in front of the fence of Portland.
"We made it! Alex, I can't believe everything's still here!" Lena exclaimed.
"Yeah, I know! Come on, let's go!" Alex said, picking Lena up and running to the fence.

What are YOU Thankful For?

You sit around the table
chatting with friends, family
The fire is burning, keeping you toasty
Be grateful for this

Passing around loads of food
stuffing, cranberry sauce,
mashed potatoes, gravy
and let's not forget the grand turkey

Merriment all throughout out country
celebration and partying
lasting even after Thanksgiving ends
All the way after the new year begins

Shopping, buying presents for everyone
Spoiling them all with what they want
But giving is better than taking
Be thankful for for everything you're given

Different Worlds

Author's Note: I wrote these two small pieces just to show how much they differ in content, not only because they're opposites but because of the mood of each piece. Each one is sort of a metaphor, for instance in the first piece, the "dark prison" isn't really a prison at all.

I stared up into the bright light, squinting at the sudden change from the dark prison I had been kept in all these years. My hands were freed from the shackles that bound my wrists together, making them sore and raw. All around me, things were coming back to life, blooming and healthy. I felt a new emotion inside of me, one I couldn't describe. Tingling, peppy, alive. One that made the empty space in my chest fill up, one that made it skip a beat.

(Basically what this piece is about is a man who was in depression, but then he finds a love in something and it's like all his interests are returning.)

My heart laid on the ground in front of me. Broken into many tiny pieces that, no matter how much glue you used, would never heal properly. Who was the one that shattered my heart? The very same who won over me almost a decade ago. I stood leaning against the wall, gazing down at the mess. The evil contraption that ran over what was to love. Now my world meant nothing, it was pointless to go on living. I started heading down the road to look for a new love.

(You may think this piece is about his girlfriend/wife, but it's actually about his pet dog, who got run over by a car. Hence "the evil contraption that ran over what was to love.")

Character Development- Katniss Everdeen

Imagine yourself in the midst of what seems to be an endless battle, unknown yet the star. Weak yet strong. Scared yet confident. This is Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old girl who volunteered as tribute for the 74th annual Hunger Games in place of her sister, Prim. After Katniss made the decision to volunteer as female tribute, her life went from difficult and boring in the Seam to hectic in the Capitol before the Games. She and Peeta, the other district 12 tribute, went through intense training along with the tributes from the other districts. This training, along with the actual Hunger Games, molded Katniss into a determined, courageous girl.

At the beginning of the trilogy, Katniss cared only for herself, her family, and friends. She doesn’t let anyone try and help her, to show that she can deal with anything and not look weak. But as the book progresses, she learns to respect human life and appreciate others, and not just people who are close to her. She starts to develop more feelings she never knew she had, like her love for Peeta. During the Hunger Games, when Rue is dying, Katniss sings for her, a song she learned from her father. This shows that she has developed a respect for all humans.

In the second book of the trilogy, Katniss is forced to enter the 75th Hunger Games, a Quarter Quell, which is a Hunger Games of previous victors. She and Peeta are both taken away by the hovercraft, in an attempt to save Peeta’s life. But on their way to the Victory Tour, President Snow tells Katniss that he is keeping an eye on her, and that he doesn’t want to see anymore “rebellious stunts” like in the previous Hunger Games, when Katniss and Peeta are the last two tributes so they attempt to commit suicide with nightlock berries. When they arrive in district 8 on the tour, Katniss discovers that the people are on the edge of rebellion. She decides her Mockingjay pin will become her symbol of rebellion, so she becomes known as the Mockingjay. This helps boost her confidence, to help her become stronger.

But while she and her team are making preparations for the rebellion in the third book, she learns that Snow has captured Peeta and injected some memory-distorting venom into his veins. This meant that all of Peeta’s memories about Katniss would become bad memories. When Katniss finds out that his recovery will be next to impossible, she turns into a cold, angry person. This shows how much she has developed true feelings for Peeta, and cares about him. Katniss’ new mission is to kill President Snow. She gets her wish after the rebellion, but also ends up killing President Coin in the process. This causes Katniss to completely lose it, as in thinking about committing suicide by not eating or drinking, and taking a lethal dose of medication. But slowly Peeta’s mind recovers almost completely, and Katniss returns to District 12 with him.

Katniss never truly changed her personality, just opened up her world to more than just a few close people. But interacting with many others helped her change from a girl who was only set on providing for and caring for her family, to a tough soldier who helped to ultimately save Panem from destruction. She met a lot of different, caring people who helped her open up to everyone else. Even though Katniss sometimes has trouble controlling her emotions, she has developed a lot from when we first met her at the start of the trilogy.

Heaven's Not Fun 3 *Work in Progress*

The previous scene...

     "Wait a second...Alison, is that you? It's me, Rachel." Rachel! I had met her when Kailyn had given me a tour of the city we lived   in. Rachel worked in one of the bakeries, but I hadn't realized she was a spirit binder like me, or all the other people in that disgusting place. I spoke my thoughts.
     "I didn't know you were a spirit binder," I said.
     "I was about to say the same thing to you," Rachel answered. I glanced at Prince, who was clawing at the iron bars of the cell.
     "That's not going to work, Prince," I said, shaking my head in amusement. Then I remembered that I had a paperclip and a bobby pin in my backpack. I fished through the side pocket until I found them. Joining them together, I made a lock pick.
     "All right Rachel," I said. "Let's get you out of there."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     I wiggled the lock pick inside the rusty lock on the door, while Prince kept guard and watched for the devil. Speaking of the devil, I couldn't see him anywhere. It was like he vanished into thin air, and it was making me nervous. 

     The lock pick wasn't working, and I gave up. 

     "I'm sorry Rachel," I said. "It's not opening." Then I discovered a small jagged piece of metal on the stony floor. I jammed it on the free end of my bobby pin, then stuck it back inside the keyhole. There was a satisfying thunk, and to my delight the lock opened. I caught it before it it the floor, and it was surprisingly heavy. I pulled the door open, and I winced as it creeeeeeaked, because I was afraid the devil would show up and throw me into the cell that I had just gotten Rachel out of. But the whole room still showed no sign of those red, beady eyes.
     "Thanks so much, Alison." Rachel sighed, relieved. When she stepped wearily out of the tiny cell, I got a good look at her. She looked the same as Prince had after I found him, except she didn't have any injuries. 
     "How are you feeling?" I asked.
     "Fine," Rachel answered. I made a disbelieving face.
     "Okay, I'm starving," Rachel admitted.
     "Then why didn't you manifest some food?" I asked pointedly. "All spirit binders can manifest things, right?"
     "Usually, yes, but the devil took away my powers, and everyone else's."
     "Do you know what he did with them?" I asked hopefully.
     "No, but I do know that he has a secret lair around here somewhere, because I heard him talking with one of his henchmen before he kidnapped me and threw me in here."
     "Did you hear him say where it was?" I persisted.
     "I think he said something about a button and a hidden passageway," Rachel answered thoughtfully.
     "Great! Now we just have to find that button."
     "I wonder what it looks like, and where we'll find it?" Rachel asked.
     "If I know the Devil, and I do, he'd have probably hidden it right in the open, but where no one would think of looking," I said, determined.

Casey at the bat: Character Development

Casey was up at the bat, after 2 players had struck out and the next two had made it safely to 2nd and 3rd bases. Casey lets the 1st two balls strike out, but then gears up for his 3rd one. He misses, and strikes out, as evidence shows from the poem: "But there is no joy in Mudville-- mighty Casey has struck out." So the crowd goes wild. Casey was too cocky, and got ahead of himself. His huge ego would just make him more full of himself, so he wouldn't change. 

I think Casey will always stay the same because he has probably been making these mistakes for his whole baseball career. He's so excited/nervous that it's his turn at the bat, and he gets all three strikes. He seems like the kind of person that will keep making the same mistakes over and over again. The poem doesn't really give you a good enough perspective of Casey, more of what he is doing. Casey is too confident, and he thinks he is better than he really is. I think he will stay the same because his huge ego will not ever change.

Casey relates to most boys who play sports, because they almost always have a big ego. They are always confident, sometimes over-confident. Even when something big happens, like they get kicked off whatever team they're on, they usually don't change. They don't really care, because of their giant egos.

Our Founding Fathers

If you could travel back in time to meet America’s Founding Fathers, what would you tell them? Would you give them advice on how to further help our country, or simply say “good job?” Do they deserve to be recognized for their hard work? Many people don’t even know who the Founding Fathers are. They signed the Declaration of Independence after we won the American Revolution, freeing us from Great Britain. The most important  were George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. They were part of the many men who worked hard to help our country become how it is today.

All of the Founding Fathers worked hard to come together to create our wonderful country. Although they were different, they had one thing in common: They were all leaders. What does it really mean to be a leader? Not necessarily loud, or strong, but respected and confident. These two things are why the Founding Fathers became what they were. Their passion to create a strong government earned them the respect of many.

If the Founding Fathers could see how far their country has come, they would be proud. For example, without them, we wouldn’t have the Bill of Rights, which guarantees us some personal freedom, and limits the government’s power in some areas. Without them, we wouldn’t even have a little freedom, because we’d still be under the rule of Great Britain. Look at us now, creating new technology and ways to make our country even better.

But what if the Founding Fathers had given up? What if they hadn’t been good leaders, and simply said “this is too hard” and walked away? We would still be under the rule of Britain and have no government. Our country would be a mess, and have almost no order. But they didn’t give up, because they were leaders. They worked hard, and that’s what I would tell our Founding Fathers.

Cause/Effect of Frogs and French Kisses

Conflict/Resolution of Crossed

Crossed is about a girl named Cassia who sets out to the Outer Provinces to find Ky, a boy whom she was separated from. She faces many hardships along the way: Hunger, sickness, and the dizzying secrets she learns as she travels. Cassia finds out more about Ky than she would have thought, and all the while she is not even with him. This is one of the conflicts, because Ky has so much he wants to tell Cassia and wants them to be together.

After a long journey through the Canyon, Cassia comes upon a village. She has no clue that Ky is in a cave nearby, burying a friend that was killed by poison. Ky decides to go out, to explore some more and take his mind off of his dead friend. When he goes back up to the cave, he sees a figure and realizes it is Cassia. The conflict is resolved, they are back together.

A Trip to Mexico

Warm, sunny weather. Delicious new foods to try. A whole 5 days of relaxation. This is what I imagined before my family went to Cancun, Mexico because we wanted a vacation and my parents couldn't stand the weather (it was winter at the time). I’d been waiting for that day ever since my parents  booked the trip online, 2 months earlier. Unfortunately, we had to get up at 3 in the morning because our flight was at 7 and we wanted to have time to eat and relax a little. But once we were at the airport we checked the big board, and saw that our plane was scheduled to be at 7:45 because of delays. My brother then started whining because he wanted to get to Cancun really fast, so we hurried to the check-in place.

What was really funny was that when I went through the metal detector thing, it went off. No one could figure out why, but I still had my braces at that time and I figured it must be that. So the security guard let us through and we went to our gate, but it was still only 6:00. So we decided to do a little roaming around until about 7:15. My mom asked one of the people at the help desks where we could get some breakfast, and she pointed us to a Starbucks.

While I was munching on a donut and sipping hot chocolate (yummy!), I watched my brother gaze at all the planes that went by. He kept trying to take pictures of the planes, but all of the planes were going too fast. So the pictures either came out blurry, upside down (somehow), or of random people outside. At around 7:30, people started lining up to have their boarding passes checked. The plane had arrived a few minutes before, and workers were attaching the tube walkway to one of the doors (my brother finally got a decent picture of a plane).  

Once the lady at the desk had stamped our boarding passes, we walked through the door to the walkway. I immediately started shivering, because as you know Wisconsin winters are not the least bit warm. There was a flight attendant standing at the entrance to the plane, and he greeted everyone with a smile. My family’s seats were near the wings, which my parents feel is the best place because you get to see the flaps open and close.

When we had stuffed our carry-on stuff into the overhead compartment and sat down, I watched other planes take off and land. Suddenly we started moving, slowly, and in a couple minutes we were at the runway. I absolutely love being on the runway, because it’s so fast and feels like a roller coaster.

The plane finally started speeding down the runway, and I watched everything go by in a blur. We lifted into the air in a couple of seconds , and I gazed out the window as the buildings and trees got smaller and smaller, until we were above the clouds and I couldn’t see out anymore. After about half an hour, I was hungry, and one of the flight attendants came around with drinks and pretzels.

When we landed in Cancun it was a big change, because we went from temperatures in the single digits and white everywhere to 70's and green plants. I was excited to get to the resort, but we still had an hour drive ahead of us. Apparently we had to wait for a specific taxi, and it was late getting to the airport. When the taxi arrived, we all got in and drove to the resort. The drive was really cool because I got to see all kinds of things that you can never find here in Wisconsin.

I was totally mesmerized by everything: The lush plants, the delicious food, the white beaches. It was kind of like a dream, and it felt so good to be away from being an icicle every day. From the moment I arrived in Cancun, I knew I would enjoy my vacation.

Quote

"Don't throw away your old shoes until you have got new ones."
                -Dutch Proverb

The meaning of this quote is to not get rid of something until you know you have a replacement, or another one to use. I agree with this quote, because you may think you don't need something, and then you get rid of it. But later on you are wishing you had kept it, because you don't have another. You should always think ahead, and make sure you absolutely don't need the item or items anymore before getting rid of them.

I don't recall having read something involving this quote, but I can relate to it (literally; it has to do with shoes). Last year I got new shoes, because my old ones were getting dirty. I threw the old ones away, because now I had new ones. But one day I forgot my new shoes in my gym locker, and I had volleyball practice after school. I suddenly found myself wishing I had kept my other shoes, no matter how dirty they had been. My mom finally decided to take me shopping for another pair of shoes to keep at home. True story.

This is an important thing to remember, because it will definitely help you sometime in life.

School Already?

It seems like it was just a few days ago that June 10th announced the end of the 2011-2012 school year. Us 7th graders were excited that we would rule the school as 8th graders, and the former 8th graders shivered at the thought of starting high school on September 4th. Now that summer has come and gone, it is time to get back into learning mode. September 4th has passed, and I, as an 8th grader, feel that it is nothing special that we are the oldest in the school.

Pandas

Author's Note: Don't even ask how I came up with the topic of pandas, because I have absolutely no idea. So....yeah.

Pandas
are fluffy
black and white
like a penguin
or a zebra
or a newspaper
which makes
me think
of a joke:

What's black
and white
and read
all over?
A newspaper!

Wait....
I thought
I was
talking about
pandas....
that just
shows you
how off topic
I can get
sometimes...
like right now.

Dark River

Dark, murky waters wash over me as I weep, clinging onto a fallen tree. I weep for all the things I loved that had been ripped from me and thrown into another world. My warm, salty tears feel like fire on my face as they fall into the black hole of the river.

Somewhere inside that black hole are all my childhood memories.

Somewhere inside that black hole lies all my happiness.

Now all that remains is an empty chasm of sorrow and hate.

I let myself be swept into the raging whirlpool of death, knowing that there is no more hope for me. I will be lost forever, but I do not care. I no longer have anything to live for.

Churros

 I love churros
because they are
so sweet and
chewy and sugary
with their doughy
centers and
crunchy outsides
They are heavenly

Love story

Author's Note: Mrs. Reagles made us write in the point of view of a person of the opposite gender. Even worse, she picked the age of the person, and we have to write about them falling in love. So I have to write from an eighteen year old guy's perspective.

      I slammed my locker shut and raced to French class, which was on the opposite side of the school. Glancing at one of the many clocks on the wall, I saw that it was only forty two seconds till the late bell rang. Picking up the pace, I ran the whole way to French.
      When I pulled open the door, I saw her staring at me. Her. The one girl I would die for. Aimee. With her beautiful, silky brown hair. Her funny, girly laugh. And those eyes. Hazel with just a little more blue than green.
     "Brian!" Madame Duval's voice snapped me back to reality. "Peux vous répondre à la question?" She asked (that means "Can you answer the question").
     "Umm....what was the question again?" I asked. She repeated whatever the question was, and I answered. For the rest of the class, I zoned out and thought about Aimee. I really have a huge crush on her, if you haven't already noticed. I can't wait to ask her out to prom, but I keep wondering if she might already have someone else in mind. Oh well, prom's like three months away so Aimee has that long to choose me to go to prom with her.

Poe Theme Essay

 Author's Note: This is a theme essay, about 2 of Poe's stories: The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Masque of the Red Death.

     All of Edgar Allen Poe's stories have a similar theme: Death, blood, killing. A lot seem to take place in a dark room at midnight, and have something to do with hiding. These include The Tell-Tale Heart and The Masque of the Red Death.

      In The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator kills a man who haunts him with his "evil eye" while the man is sleeping. The narrator does this at midnight, which is a common theme, and is careful to leave no evidence. The room is dark, as usual. He hides all the body parts, which is another common theme, and tells the police that he is innocent. But after the police have done a thorough inspection, he gets a weird sensation in his chest, and he fesses up to the crime.

     The Masque of the Red Death is about a prince who holds a masquerade ball, and he decorates the rooms of his palace with different colors. The last room is painted black, to represent death, just like in the Tell-Tale Heart, where the narrator kills a man. Also in the last room, there is an ebony clock, and when it rings at midnight, a victim of the Red Death appears. The prince chases him to the black room, and when he finally catches up to him, he dies. The other guests come to investigate, and they, too die.

     As indicated by the summaries of these two stories, murdering and things happening at midnight are common in Poe's stories. Most have similar themes, and the narrator is usually the one who is murdered or the one who murders.

     

The Sensitive Keyboard

Author's Note: This story is supposed to be in the point of view of a sensitive computer keyboard, which is one of the many odd writing topics Mrs. Reagles came up with for us to use.

      Clack, clack, clack. This is the sound of my keys every single day when Anusha brings me to school. Hour after hour after hour I suffer, suffer from the pushing of my keys. She shows no mercy, no sympathy. She says it is necessary, although I see no need for it. My keys are very sensitive, and every time one is pushed, a little life is drained out of me. The only relief I find is at the end of the day, when all my energy is gone, and I am plugged in to charge. Then the cycle starts all over again, and I suffer even more. I do not know why I am so sensitive, it has just developed over the months as I have been cruelly pounded. Also, I am thankful that the school year is ending in a couple of weeks. But, I recently found out that Anusha's parents are making her take summer school classes! Which means I still will not be able to find salvation from the horrible pains of the tap tapping.

Heaven's Not Fun 2

The previous scene...


       "Good night, Prince," I said. I manifested a comfy dog bed for him, then turned out the light with the diamond sitting on a satin pillow on my nightstand.

     The next morning, I leaned over to say good morning to Prince. But he was gone.
     "Prince? Boy? Where are you ? Priiii-iiiince? PRINCE?!" I yelled. He was nowhere to be found. I searched frantically around the large house, but to no avail. I slumped down onto a couch and cried. Sure, I could have manifested another puppy, but I felt like Prince was my loyal, irreplaceable friend. Suddenly, I heard a howl. It was very, very faint, but a howl nonetheless.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   "Prince?" I called out hopefully. I ran outside to my front porch, but I still didn't see Prince. The howl came again, a tiny bit louder this time. Then I saw a large hole in the ground. With caution, I peered in, half expecting a scary monster to jump out and attack me. But to my surprise, there was a staircase leading down. 
     After running inside my house and grabbing a flashlight and a backpack filled with essentials, I ventured into the dark, humid hole. I heard another howl, even louder than the last. 

    The staircase became long and windy, and I grew thirsty. Luckily, I had brought plenty of food and water. I walked a little more until I came upon a small platform on the side of the pathway. Since my feet ached, I decided to rest for a while and have something to eat.
     While I was eating, I heard another howl. That reminded me that I needed to hurry up and find Prince before something happened to him. Or maybe something already happened to him, and he was fighting an evil dragon to the death. Or maybe he was kidnapped and being burned at the stake. 
     Or, he could have just dug a hole and discovered this pathway, I thought, being sensible. But then why would he be howling? I thought, while Prince let out another howl. I decided to quicken my pace, and I deeply regretted not bringing my bike or scooter with me. But I knew that it was too late to turn back; Prince might be in serious danger.
     Then I remembered I could manifest anything I wanted. So I quickly thought up a speedy electric scooter, then zoomed down the path. But the path was only made of dirt and rocks, and was very bumpy, so I had to slow down. I hated not being able to go faster, and I was anxious to get to Prince and find out what was going on.
     It might have been an hour or two, or maybe just twenty minutes since I ventured into this hole. I lost track of time, and I didn't know if it was light or dark outside. But I found out when a row of lamps going along both sides of the ceiling flickered on. I guessed it was about 8 pm, but I didn't know when to stop and take a rest for the night. In fact, I didn't know where to stop and take a rest for the night.
     As if the dark tunnel had heard my thoughts, a large empty room appeared on the right side as I walked a little farther. I decided that this was probably the best place I would find in this empty hole. So I manifested a table to set down my backpack on, and I parked my scooter underneath. Then I thought up a couple of lamps so brighten my surroundings. Soon after, I discovered a dingy mattress, but I didn't dare sleep in it, especially since there were cockroaches crawling out of it. I'd much rather sleep in a bed that I made, I thought.
     Shivering in disgust, I manifested  a bottle of bug killer. Yuck, I thought as the cockroaches dropped dead. Now I feel like I need to scrub myself. So after manifesting a bathtub and taking a warm shower, I clambered into my nice, clean bed. I fell asleep almost immediately, what with all the day's events.

***

     I woke up feeling well rested, but at first I couldn't remember where I was. Then I thought of the previous day and with a jolt I remembered that Prince was still at the end of the long hallway ahead of me. But I couldn't hear anymore howls, so I was a little worried. 
     For some reason I thought that there was something else I was supposed to remember. I thought long and hard, but nothing came to mind. I'm probably worrying for nothing, I assured myself. But as I packed up my stuff, I was not so sure.
     I manifested a door and a lock and key so that my bed and shower would be safe. As I turned around to slip the key in my secret backpack compartment, a little piece of paper fell out. Curious, I unfolded it. Then I remembered: Kailyn had drawn a silly picture of the devil to cheer me up. Then I froze: Today I was supposed to fight the devil! That's what I had been forgetting!
     In my moment of panic, I didn't notice footsteps coming in my direction. But I stopped spazzing long enough to hear them tap- tapping down the hall walking up to me. Next thing I knew, ropes were being tied around my wrists and ankles. A blindfold was wrapped over my eyes and my backpack was shoved into my lap. I was kidnapped.
     I was glad that I had left my scooter in the room and locked the door, because I could hear whoever kidnapped me rooting around trying to find anything worthy of stealing. But, it wouldn't have mattered anyway since I could have manifested another. My kidnapper shoved me onto a wagon, and I heard a dog bark in pain as a whip cracked. I started panicking, because I had no idea where we were going. For all I know, we could have been going even farther away from Prince.
     We started moving, and after about ten minutes we abruptly stopped. 
     "Leave her here for now. There's nowhere for her to go, anyway," I heard a menacing voice say. "Let's go, boy." I heard two pairs of footsteps fade. Then a dog whimpered.
     "Prince?" I called out. My voice was hoarse from not speaking for so long. Then a wet tongue rubbed against my face.
     "PRINCE!!" I shouted in relief. Prince barked with joy, then bit through the ropes that tied my wrists so I could take off my blindfold. Then I widened my eyes in shock: Prince looked terrible! His fur was matted. One of his ears was torn. I could see some of his ribs. His nose was no longer wet, I noticed as he rubbed it against my hand, and he was limping. His leg must be broken, I guessed.
     "What did they do to you?" I whispered in sympathy. Prince whimpered and showed me his tail. I gasped. The end of his tail was gone! 
     I manifested a tub of water and soap, then washed Prince up until his fur was good as new. Then I set to work on fixing his ear. I got some sewing thread and stitched his ear back, then wrapped his foreleg in a cloth bandage. I did the same for the end of his tail. 
     Prince turned and showed me his sides, which were scarred with whip marks.
     "Oh, you poor thing," I muttered as I rubbed antiseptic on his scratches. After I finished, Prince looked better already. But his nose was still dry. I didn't know what do do for that, so I gave him a huge bowl of puppy food and another with water.
     "There you go," I soothed, stroking Prince's head. He snarfed up the food; he was starving by the looks of it. "Are you better now?" I asked, burying my head in Prince's fur as he lapped up the water. He stopped drinking the water and nuzzled my neck. Then I heard footsteps and voices. I looked up and was shocked at what I saw: The devil! Standing next to him was one of his henchmen, I guessed.
     "What are you looking at?" The devil asked in a menacing voice. I knew that if I showed my fear, he would just take advantage of that. 
     I stood up. "You. I'm looking at you," I answered. Both the devil and I were surprised at how clear my voice sounded. I continued. "What is this? Why have you brought me here? What did you do to Prince?" I had so many questions, but I wondered just how many the devil would be willing to answer.
     He just laughed. "Silly Alison," he said. "I didn't bring you here, you brought yourself here. I simply used your dumb dog as bait!"
     "Prince is not dumb!" I said, appalled. "You are, because you lured me here for no reason!" I yelled. 
     "Alison, Alison. You know you have to fight me, so I just saved you the trouble of having to hunt me down!" The devil cackled. "You know I will defeat you!"
     "Yeah, I'd love to see you try," I retorted. "I'm going to be fighting alongside lots of other people like me."
     The devil doubled over in laughter yet again. I rolled my eyes, but I was starting to get a little worried since the devil was so confident. 
     "I wouldn't be so sure about that," the devil said, grinning.
     "What do you mean?!" I demanded. But the devil just gestured for me to follow. I hesitated, then followed him with Prince by my side. 


     "Umm...where exactly are we going?" I asked as we walked down a long, dark hallway. I felt like I was walking through the tunnel that led me here for a second time. 
     "Just keep following," the devil answered. I stopped walking. That didn't answer my question! I rolled my eyes and made a face at his filthy back. Prince growled, and I followed, seething. The devil was so annoying!
     The long hallway finally deposited us into a small chamber. I looked everywhere, but I didn't see any doors or windows. I didn't see anything, actually. I finally lost my temper and let it out.
     "You have some serious issues!!" I screamed. The devil looked a little taken aback, so I kept going. "First you torture Prince half to death, then you kidnap me and drag me to this...this...this dump, and now you won't even tell me where we're going!" My face was red after I "exploded" but I felt much better. I smirked at the devil when I saw his bewildered face. I guess he wasn't expecting me to be so confident. 
     "So, why did you bring me here?" I prompted impatiently. "All I can see are three walls, a ceiling, a floor, and the tunnel that we walked through. Surely you didn't bring me here to see that?"
     "Of course not," the devil replied. He pressed a button behind a sconce and the wall that I was leaning on turned over.
     "Hey!" I yelled from the other side. A few seconds later, the devil and Prince appeared. When the devil flipped a light on, I saw that the room we were in was much bigger than I thought. But when I looked a little closer, it looked more like a jail. There were rusty iron doors running along both walls, and when I peered into one I realized in horror that there were people inside all the little cells.
     I shone my flashlight into one, and a solemn face squinted up at me.
     "Hey, shine that somewhere else, will ya?" I thought I recognized the voice. "Wait a second...Alison, is that you? It's me, Rachel." Rachel! I had met her when Kailyn had given me a tour of the city we lived   in. Rachel worked in one of the bakeries, but I hadn't realized she was a spirit binder like me, or all the other people in that disgusting place. I spoke my thoughts.
     "I didn't know you were a spirit binder," I said.
     "I was about to say the same thing to you," Rachel answered. I glanced at Prince, who was clawing at the iron bars of the cell.
     "That's not going to work Prince," I said, shaking my head in amusement. Then I remembered that I had a paperclip and a bobby pin in my backpack. I fished through the side pocket until I found them. Joining them together, I made a lock pick.
     "All right Rachel," I said. "Let's get you out of there."

To be continued...

Living in Darkness

     The rain pours outside, and I sit alone in this cave. While everyone else is protected by the safe walls of a warm house, I am drenched by the freezing spray that the wind blows in. Why, you may ask, am I in this cave? I was outcast, that is my answer. Yes, I was banished from the evil city that now taunts me in my dreams. Why was I banished? Let me tell.
     As a young college man, I sat in my dorm, planning a scheme. I aimed to kidnap the ruler of the city and kill him, for he had killed my father. We were poor as a young family, and my dear father attempted to nab some food from a street vendor. The ruler sent his guards to kill him. He died right in front of me. So I plotted revenge.
     At midnight on the day exactly five years after my father left this earth, I sneaked into the ruler's palace. I outsmarted the guards, who never thought to hang lamps in the shadowed corners of the long, twisted hallways. When I finally reached the tall door leading to the ruler's living quarters, I eased it open and immediately sighted the ruler, asleep at his desk.
     The guards did not sight me, for this room was also poorly lit. I crept along the sides of the room and tranquilized the ruler. Afterwards, I glanced at the guards, but they never turned in my direction. When I closed the drawstring of the burlap sack, I heard a clatter. The clock sitting on the desk had fallen over, and a guard looked my way
     Momentarily panicking, I struggled to lug the sack with me. But the guard was drawing closer, so I had no choice about what I did next. I opened a window, then with a final heave of the sack I climbed out. But the rope drawstring caught on the window latch, and I couldn't move. Now more guards surrounded the window, and I accepted my defeat.
     The guards grabbed me and led me to the edge of the city, outside of the comforting walls that I had lived inside for my whole life. They stripped me of my belongings, leaving only the clothes on my back and the small amulet I wore around my neck for luck. Before the gates closed, the head guard gave me a stony glare. I recognized him with a jolt as the one who had struck the killing blow with a sword to my father's throat.
     I traveled for days, doing what I could to survive, even if it meant sleeping in a tree to protect me from bears. As the guards had not spared a morsel of food, I was starving. But I finally came upon a cave in a forest, and found many spears and other weapons as if someone had been here before. I decided to take the risk of staying in someone else's place.
     So here I am today, in the same cave as I had discovered the weapons. No one has ever found me here, nor have I tried to find another city or village to live in. What would be the use? At one point, someone would find fault against me and plot my fate. But here, in this cave, I feel at peace. No one to punish me. No one to throw me out. No one to tell me what I can or cannot do. I live by my own rules here, and that is how it will stay until I join my dad in another world.

Ice cream or Hot Cocoa?

Sometimes I wonder
what is going on
with Mother Nature
because some days
in spring
it's unbearably hot
but others
I shiver with cold
should I wear
shorts and a T-shirt
or a fleece sweater
I can't decide
but I sometimes
really wish
that I could fly
so I could
travel to wherever
the weather says
I should go.
That would
make me happy

The Tell-Tale Heart

 The narrator is telling the story, but he can't necessarily be trusted. Why? Because he is described as "mad." His point of view might be that he was not exactly innocent, but he hadn't done anything wrong. He was just protecting himself from "the evil eye." Or he could have thought that he had nothing to worry about; the cops wouldn't find out. He thinks he's so awesome. But then he ruins it by blurting everything out.

On the other hand, if you thought about it from the cop's point of view, he probably would have thought that the narrator was hiding something. In the story he wasn't completely satisfied until he'd had a complete search of the narrator's house. If we had been reading from the cop's point of view, we would have been walked through the whole search of the narrator's house.

This would be the story from his point of view:

I pounded on the door. "Open up!" I yelled. The door swung open to reveal a man who looked very calm. As if he hadn't done anything wrong. But I knew that he had killed someone. So I asked him to give us the complete tour of his chamber. We searched every nook, every cranny, every closet, every possible hiding place. But there was nothing there. Not even blood. "Well, I guess you're clean," I admitted. He beamed, and we all sat down and chatted. Then he started to get a guilty look on his face. After about five minutes of his melt down, he fessed up. "Villains!" He shrieked. "Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! Tear up the planks! Here! Here! It is the beating of his villainous heart!" I knew he had been guilty! We handcuffed him and drove off.

Separated

If you lived in Germany while the Berlin Wall still stood, what would you do? It would tower over you while you tried to get on with your life. If you tried to cross the border, you would be shot at. Life wouldn't be much different if you were an animal living on Manor farm. You would work as a slave, while Mr. Jones, the farmer,  loomed over you and did nothing to thank you for all your hard work. Even worse, you were underfed!

On August 12, 1961 Walter Ulbricht, the East German leader, signed the commands to close the border between East and West Germany, by building the Berlin Wall. This was to prevent people in East Germany from escaping to the West side, where they had more freedom. Plus, East Germany had already lost 2.5 million people by 1961 since the big war, so they decided to build a wall to prevent them from crossing the border to West Germany. Similarly, Napoleon the pig prevented animals from escaping the newly named “Animal Farm.” How? By having his guard dogs attack animals who tried to get away.

    People on the east side of Germany became angry, and they wanted to figure out a way to get to the other side of the wall. So they started running underground train lines to and from West Germany. But there were West Germany guards everywhere you looked, so anyone caught was shot and killed. Almost the same, Napoleon thought that Snowball was evil because he kept destroying the windmill that all the animals worked so hard to build. So Napoleon had his dogs run Snowball off the farm, and he killed all the animals that he thought were in league with Snowball.
    Many people attempted to tear down and cross the Berlin Wall, but never succeeded. Over 100,000 people tried to escape across the Berlin Wall between 1961 and 1988. More than 600 of them were shot and killed by GDR border guards. The rest were threatened by guns from communists. This is just like how many people tried to regain control of Animal farm, but the animals always prevailed, although many were wounded. Some were even shot and killed.
    The Berlin Wall was finally opened in 1990, because of political pressure. But the strange thing is, it wasn’t all torn down all at once. It wasn’t torn down by the guards or communists. It was gradually taken apart piece by piece by people from all around the world. Animal Farm was never reinhabited by Mr. Jones, or any other human as a matter of fact. But the disturbing part of this is that as the animals on Animal farm continued to rebel, and Napoleon continued to give orders, the pigs became just like the humans they wanted to get rid of.

Heaven's Not Fun

     "Run! Ali! Get out of there!" I stood blankly, staring at my mom, who was shouting at me to save myself. But I couldn't. My feet were glued to the ground. All I could do was stand there as the tree trunk came down in my direction. I was too frightened to run. Too frightened to even scream. I didn't notice the streaks of lightning crashing down around me. The thunder that boomed in everyone else's ears didn't reach me. Even as cold drops of rain ran down my face, I didn't move.
     "What is wrong with you? Get out of the way!" My dad yelled. He stared running toward me, and I finally came to my senses. But as I tried to get away, something pulled me back. I looked behind me and grabbed at my leg. But it was too late. I blacked out as I was crushed under the falling tree.
     As I floated up to heaven, I watched my family members and neighbors desperately trying to move the tree trunk off of my body. I wanted more than anything to go back down to Earth, but I couldn't. It was impossible. Too sad to even put into words, I hung my head down until I felt my feet hit ground.
     At first I thought that I had somehow come back to life, but then I realized that there were clouds all around me. I reached my hand up to scratch my nose, but I noticed that it had a faint pinkish glow. Cool, I thought. I had no idea where to go, so I just started walking down a path.
     There were trees all around me, but no animals, which I found very queer. No birds, squirrels or anything. Heaven is supposed to be a place where all dead beings can have a new life, not just humans. I considered this until I came upon this HUGE golden gate, which I figured was the entrance to heaven.
     I always thought that heaven was just a bunch of singing angels with harps and whatnot, but as I entered, it looked more like my daily life, except on top of clouds. There were glowing people everywhere, just carrying on with their normal.....afterlives, I guess.
    A girl who looked to be about my age walked up to me.
    "Hi there! My name's Kailyn. What's yours? You look lost. Are you new? I can show you around," She offered with a big smile.
    "Uhh...Hi, Kailyn. My name's Alison, Ali for short. Yes, I'm new, and it would be great if you could show me around, 'cause I'm lost," I said.
     "Great! I can be like your guide. So how did you wind up here so early in life?" Kailyn asked as she led me up a path. It wasn't really early in life for me, because I was twelve.
     "I was crushed by a tree in a thunderstorm," I said, still saddened. "How about you?"
     "I got cancer when I was six. No one could treat it," Kailyn said. For a few moments, her eyes clouded up with memories. But then it was gone, and she was happy Kailyn again.
     We kept walking for a few minutes, then I saw a huge castle behind another golden gate, although this one was not as large.
     "Who lives here?" I wondered out loud. Kailyn stopped walking and looked at me like I was an idiot who didn't know anything.
     "God, of course," Kailyn said. We entered the castle and immediately we saw him. The ruler of everything, who could change one's life with the snap of a finger. I wondered why he had chosen to end mine and other young people's lives like this. I always believed in God, so I hoped he would not send me to the other place where bad people go (because believe me, I have done some things to my siblings in my life).
     "Ah, Ali. Welcome to heaven, where you never feel the hectic rush of normal lives," God said in a booming voice.
     "Umm....thanks, I guess. But let me ask you something: Why do you choose to end some people's lives so suddenly, like Kailyn and I, while you let others live? How are we different?" I asked.
     "Well, there is no specific reason, but I feel that some people have rougher lives than others, so I choose to take the stress off of them. I know you have had a rough life, Ali. But don't you feel better now?" He asked.
     "Actually, I don't," I answered, beginning to feel anger bubbling up inside me. "You ripped me away from my family and home, where I was perfectly happy in my "rough" life! And if you took my life, why didn't you take their lives, too? Why me?" I demanded, seething on the inside.
    But God stayed calm. "Because, Ali, you are special. You....well, you don't need to--" He was interrupted by someone bursting through the door. It was a messenger, with something very important to say.
     "Master! I have gotten word that Ali Baker's family is going crazy because they need her!" Said the messenger breathlessly.
     "Why? What is so special about me?" I turned to face God. "You didn't finish your sentence before," I reminded him. "Tell me."
     "All right. Ali, when you were born, we felt a disturbance here in heaven. This only happens once every 500 years, sometimes even less. You weren't born normal. We knew this could only mean one thing. Alison Baker, you are a Spirit Binder," God said. Suddenly I felt dizzy, and I couldn't focus. I felt like I was dying for a second time. Kailyn and the Messenger caught me as I fell over, and God manifested a bed for me. I lay there, blankly staring at God.
     I know what a Spirit Binder is. It's a person who keeps everybody you know together. Without one, you couldn't survive. The Devil tries to pry the spirits apart from one another to turn them into demons. So I was basically in a war with the Devil. How was I supposed to do anything?
     "So you brought me here because I need to fight the Devil?" I asked. "I thought you said heaven is a place where you can escape the hectic rush of daily life."
     "Ali, Ali. You have it all wrong. You don't need to do anything, just your spirit. Your spirit never tires, even if you do. When the Devil is at it's most powerful, everyone like you lets their spirits escape to fight the Devil," God said. "And that time is in exactly three days."
     "What?! Three days? That's it?!" I felt like the fate of the whole world rested on my shoulders.
     "Relax, Ali. You won't be alone, remember. In the meantime, Kailyn can show you around, and take you to your house. But first, I need to give you this," God said, stretching out his hand. It was a small berry, but it was a rainbow color.
     "Umm...thanks, but what is this?" I asked, wondering whether I was supposed to eat it or not.
     "It's a Dreamberry. Once you eat it, you will have the power to manifest almost anything you want," Kailyn explained. "You could decorate your new house, or get a pet, but there are some rules. You can't manifest people, or Devils, or demons."
     "So...I could use this to help me defeat the Devil?" I asked hopefully.
     "Well...not exactly. The Devil is invincible. All anyone here has been able to do is keep him from destroying us, or any of the living people down on Earth," God admitted. "Eat it. Be careful, it actually tastes kind of sour."
     I popped it in my mouth, and my lips puckered, but I immediately felt power coursing through my body. Then it was over, and I felt like Ali again.
     "So...how do I use this new power?" I asked, thinking I was supposed to wave my hands or point my finger or something.
     "It's simple. You just concentrate really hard on what you want to manifest, and after a few seconds it appears in front of you," Kailyn explained. "Go on, try it."
     I concentrated real hard, and when I opened my eyes after a few seconds, there was an adorable lab puppy wagging his tail in front of me. I picked him up and he licked my face.
     "Aaaaawwww!" Kailyn exclaimed. "What are you gonna name him?"
     "Prince. I had a puppy exactly like this one on Earth. I want him to be with me," I said. Prince barked and pointed his nose at the door.
     "What's wrong, Prince? Do you want to show me something?" I asked. He squirmed out of my arms and ran outside.
     "What's wrong?" I asked again. But Prince was dashing off. I manifested a bike and followed him as fast as I could.
     I was panting with exhaustion by the time Prince stopped after leading me all the way across the city. Prince was standing on the front porch of a house that was just the right size for a girl and her loyal dog. He wagged his tail happily, then clawed at the door.
     "What is this place? Is this my new house?" I asked Prince. I opened the door and inside was all I could ever want in a home. The perfect living room, a modern kitchen, my dream bedrooms, and a luxury master suite with a bathroom and a jacuzzi.
     Prince scratched at the patio door, whining to be let out.
     "Okay, okay," I laughed. He shot out and immediately began digging for something. A minute later, his head popped out, covered in dirt. But he was holding something in his mouth, which he dropped into my hands. It was caked with dirt, so I couldn't tell what it was. I washed it off in the fountain, and it started sparkling.
     "It's...a diamond," I breathed. "Prince, I love you." He wagged his tail and jumped into my arms. Soon, my face was covered in puppy kisses.

***

     "Good night, Prince," I said. I manifested a comfy dog bed for him, then turned out the light with the diamond sitting on a satin pillow on my nightstand.

     The next morning, I leaned over to say good morning to Prince. But he was gone.
     "Prince? Boy? Where are you ? Priiii-iiiince? PRINCE?!" I yelled. He was nowhere to be found. I searched frantically around the large house, but to no avail. I slumped down onto a couch and cried. Sure, I could have manifested another puppy, but I felt like Prince was my loyal, irreplaceable friend. Suddenly, I heard a howl. It was very, very faint, but a howl nonetheless.

To Be Continued.....