M.J. and the two year hiatus

These are fun times we live in. People finish high school, colleges start classes, and young girls forget about the blog they started in the 9th grade.
It's not like I'm posting anything worthwhile. It's not like anyone actually reads what I put out into the world. It's not something that I actually put time into.
But, at the same time, I'm glad this is here. I get to post my favorite stories that I write and actually finished (hence how little I post). I've only had to write a couple of stories throughout high school, but I know during my college years, there will be more. I'm in an English class and a Screenwriting class, so I will most likely be writing until my fingers turn numb. I'm ok with that. Maybe I'll post some of the stuff on here.
I hope so.

New York - a haiku

New York is my home

Tall buildings scraping the sky

I wish to be there

In a little world

My life's insignificant

I want to be more

Life in a small town

Means nothing if I want more

New York is my home.

Kora, the Goddess of Loyalty

"It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be," said Kora Duncan as she stood outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a cold, late December day. She had always wanted to go to the Museum, especially now that there is a New Greek and Roman Mythology section. Kora had always been into art and Greek Mythology, ever since she was a little girl. It always amazed her how the Ancient Greeks could think of so many gods. It also helped Kora that she went to Cobblestone High School. Cobblestone had rich art and Ancient History programs. They let students go on so many field trips, like going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"Trust me, it seems even bigger on the inside," said a voice next to Kora. It was her Ancient History teacher, Mr. Matthews. He was wearing his usual trench coat with a button-up shirt and tie. He was wearing a fedora over his short, going-gray hair.

 "Do you know where the rest of the students from Ancient History went?" Mr. Matthews asked.

"I think that they went inside already," Kora replied.

As Kora and Mr. Matthews walked inside the Museum, Kora's heart skipped a beat. Mr. Matthews was right. It did seem bigger on the inside. And it was marvelous! Beautiful! Stunning! There are so many things, not just Greek Mythology things like those that Kora had thought of, but also Chinese, Biblical, and Norse things... It was overwhelming!

Out of the corner of her eye, Kora saw Mr. Matthews motioning for her to come towards him. He had found all the other students, and now they were in a group. Once Kora got to the group, Mr. Matthews, along with all the students started strolling towards the Greek Mythology section.

"There are so many things in here. I wish that I could show you guys everything, but alas, we do not have the time," He led the students towards an Ancient Greek vase. He started explaining how the Ancient Greeks used vases, and how they liked to tell stories with pictures on them, and things like that. As Mr. Matthews was talking, a man in a light gray suit, who looked no older than thirty, with black, slicked back hair and piercing blue eyes, strolled up to Kora.

"Hello. You must be Kora Duncan. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, "My name is Hermes. Where is your teacher? I would like for both of you to participate in a game." Kora was taken off-guard. Although she felt as if she had never met the man, Kora thought that she recognized him somehow.

"Who are you? You look familiar," Kora asked Hermes.

Hermes shrugged. "Let's just say that I'm pretty important on higher matters."

When Mr. Matthews noticed that Hermes and Kora were talking, he stopped his lecture about the Greek vase and walked up to Hermes. "What type of higher matters?" He asked, with a suspicious look on his face.

"You must be Benjamin Matthews. I am ecstatic to meet you. And when I said higher matters, I meant... Godly matters. And I want your help with one, considering both of your interests in Ancient Greek Civilizations," Hermes replied, "I want you guys to play a little game. I want both of you to find a Goddess. I already know where he or she is hiding. I am going to give you a clue. In the clue, it has a vague idea of which god or goddess that I want you to find. The first clue will lead you to a second clue. Both the clues will have vague ideas of who the god or goddess is, but with both clues, you guys should be able to figure out which god or goddess I want you to find. The second clue will tell you where to find the god or goddess. However, you guys have to work together to figure out who it is. Both of you have something to offer to figure out who the god or goddess is." When Hermes ended, he gazed at both of us with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Do we win anything if we find the god or goddess?" Kora asked.

A sly grin laced Hermes face. "Immortality. Control over a specific thing. In essence, you become one," He replied.

Kora gasped. "Mr. Matthews, can we play? Please?" She pleaded.

Mr. Matthews glanced at Hermes. "Kora, may I please talk to you alone for a minute?" He responded.

Kora agreed and followed Mr. Matthews into another room with Chinese art. Turning to Kora, Mr. Matthews said, "I don't think that this is a good idea. The guy seems suspicious. We don't know whether he wants to hurt us or not, or if he is mentally stable. Seriously? Do you really think that the guy is telling the truth about us becoming gods?"

"Come on, Mr. Matthews," Kora replied, "How else would he know us? Or that your first name is Benjamin? I didn't even know that it was your name before he said that it was. In addition, I did not see Hermes when we walked in, and he didn't stroll in after us. He just appeared, in a sense. Also, when I said that Hermes seemed familiar, he only seemed familiar because he looked like how I visualized him in stories about Hermes. Also, why not give him a shot? Just because he's a stranger, that doesn't mean that we can't trust him. Also, even if we don't become gods, it'll be a fun game to play."

Mr. Matthews sighed. "Fine. But if we find ourselves in trouble, then you are to blame and not me," he responded.

The joyous student and the stern teacher came back into the room with Greek Mythology art and told Hermes their decision. Hermes handed Kora a small piece of paper. They both read it.

The paper read,

The Greek God or Goddess that you seek has a name that starts with the letter, "N." The next clue is hidden in a shop that starts with the same letter. The shop also ends with the letter "R."

 

 "Oh, and I almost forgot to mention. Everything that is happening around you will stop once you guys begin, so no one will move until you're done" Hermes stated.

"What?" Kora said. She looked around for Hermes, but he was nowhere to be found. "Where did he go?"

Mr. Matthews also saw that Hermes was not there.  "Oh, well. So what does the clue mean?" He asked. They both thought for a moment.

"Well, there quite a few Gods and Goddesses that have names that start with the letter N. There is Nemesis, the goddess of revenge, Nyx, the god of the night, Nike, the goddess of victory, Notus, the god of the south wind, and Nereus, the titan god of the sea before Poseidon. We've already narrowed it down to five. That makes it much easier for us. But what about the shop? What shop in New York starts with 'N' and ends with 'R?'" Mr. Matthews voiced.

"That's easy," Kora spoke up, "Naturalizer. It's a shoe store in Times Square."

Hermes was right. Once Kora said where the next clue should be, everyone froze. No one moved an inch. It seemed unnatural.

Mr. Matthews glanced around "Well, I guess that we should start there. To Times Square," he said as he headed for the exit. Kora followed him.

Although it would take a lot longer to get to Times Square via foot rather than car or the bus, both Kora and Mr. Matthews figured that since time stopped, traffic wouldn't move an inch. Therefore, for a little less than an hour, Kora and Mr. Matthews walked to Times Square.

***

Since they were going to be walking for about an hour to get to Times Square, Mr. Matthews decided that it would be a good time to start a conversation with Kora. Mr. Matthews had only started teaching a couple months beforehand, so he wanted to get to know some of the students better.

"So, Kora, what do you like to do in your free time?" He asked.

"Art, mostly. It's one of the only ways that I am able to express myself. It's my outlet for my feelings," Kora replied. Although he was her Ancient History teacher, Kora didn't know Mr. Matthews very well. This was his first year teaching. But Kora thought that he was interesting in class, so she wanted to get to know him a little better. But having a conversation with Mr. Matthews felt a little awkward to Kora, since he was so much older than she was. "So... Uh... What do you do in your free time?" She inquired

Mr. Matthews was about to answer when they heard a loud roar from their right. It sounded far away, but not far enough away.

"What was that?" Kora asked, "I thought that everything stopped!" It roared again. And it as closer that time.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, I don't think that we'll want to face it," Mr. Matthews replied as he protectively put his arm around Kora's shoulder. Both of them started to walk faster.

All of a sudden, they heard thumping, almost like heavy footsteps, from the direction that the roaring came from. As the thumping came closer, Kora and Mr. Matthews saw what was causing it. It was a hideous creature. It was so dirty. It had the body of a lion, but the head and wings of an eagle. It seemed to be over seven feet tall. In addition, it smelled horrific. Like someone left sweaty gym shorts and rotten eggs in their locker overnight.

"My gosh," Mr. Matthews breathed, "It's the Gryphon." He took Kora's hand and bolted. They needed a place to hide before the Gryphon saw them. The Gryphon heavily relied on scent and sound rather than sight, which made it a little easier for Mr. Matthews and Kora. Mr. Matthews found a street filled with empty cars and hid behind one with Kora. They needed to find a weapon of some sort. The thumping footsteps of the Gryphon were fast approaching. Suddenly, Kora saw it. It was a pink, abandoned umbrella. It was closed and small, but it was a weapon. Kora hastily grabbed it and was ready to attack. Just when Mr. Matthews and Kora thought that the Gryphon would pummel them, the footsteps halted. They could hear the Gryphon sniffing with his giant nose. Mr. Matthews saw an opportunity moment, and he seized it. He grabbed the pink umbrella that Kora was holding, and threw it across the street. The Gryphon heard it and ran after it. Mr. Matthews found another weapon. It was an old, bent pipe. He took it, just in case the Gryphon came back. He checked to see if the Gryphon was gone for good.

"It's clear," Mr. Matthews said as he stood up and gazed at the store in front of him. "We made it," he continued, "I can't believe we found it."

Kora followed Mr. Matthews' gaze. It was a store. The store sign said, "Naturalizer." She gasped and rushed inside to look for the next clue. Mr. Matthews was close behind.

Since Naturalizer was a shoe store, there were many places to look in. So many shoe boxes.... Kora and Mr. Matthews immediately went to work. Mr. Matthews started checking near the cash register while Kora went to the back to start checking shoeboxes. While he scanned all open areas, he heard a ching. He glanced at the cash register. It was open, although he was sure that it was shut before. Mr. Matthews peered inside. Obviously, there was money, but there was a random piece of white, folded up paper. He picked it up, and strode to the back of the building to find Kora.

"Kora!" He said, "I think I found it!"

'"What's it say?" Kora asked as she put the shoebox that she was checking back and stepped towards Mr. Matthews.

Mr. Matthews opened the piece of paper and read aloud.

You are looking for a Goddess, not a God. She is a Goddess who can rise against others in order to win. Go to a place where people act differently than normal life in order to find your Goddess.

"It's Nike, the Goddess of Victory!" Kora said after Mr. Matthews had finished.

Mr. Matthews gave her a quizzical look. "I thought that it sounded like Nemesis, the Goddess of Revenge. See? She rises against others in order to win. Sounds like revenge, right?" He replied.

It was Kora's turn to be confused. "I thought that rising against others in order to win sounded like victory," She responded.

They went back and forth about whether the Goddess that they were looking for was Nike or Nemesis, until Mr. Matthews had an idea as to how to solve the argument.

"You know what? Maybe we should pursue the Goddess that we think that it is separately. You try to find Nike and I try to find Nemesis," Mr. Matthews voiced.

That statement surprised Kora. She never would have thought that he would want to separate. "But... What if another beast, like the Gryphon, attacks the one that is right? Then whoever is right has less of a chance of survival, without the other protecting them. There is safety in numbers," Kora replied, "Anyway, where do you think the place is? Maybe that'll help us."

Mr. Matthews sighed. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to follow his instinct or Kora's He read the paper again. "Well, it's supposed to be a place where people act differently. Maybe a movie or musical theatre? There are both on this street," He said.

Kora thought for a moment. "Well, since New York City is known for their Broadway shows, it's probably that. Also, people are acting differently there, and it's live," she responded.

Mr. Matthews shook his head. "That would be the typical answer. It's probably the movie theatre."

Kora decided that she was exhausted of fighting. "Fine," She said, "You go to the movies, and I'll go to Broadway." With that, she headed out the door and towards the closest Broadway Theatre.

***

As she strolled inside the Broadway Theatre, Kora started to feel remorse for leaving Mr. Matthews like that. She wanted to go back and apologize, but she felt as if it was too late for that. So she continued into the auditorium part of the building.

As she walked into the auditorium, Kora was astonished when she saw a lady on the stage, moving around. Most of New York City had been either frozen in time or deserted, so viewing someone maneuver around the stage was bewildering. The lady portrayed an aura of power and confidence. She had short, black hair and olive skin. She was wearing a blue business dress and black heels.

It must be Nike, Kora thought as she gathered up the courage to go and speak to the lady. As she strolled towards the stage, Kora realized that the lady, whoever it was, was muttering something. A monolog, maybe? Kora was too far away to be able to tell. Once in earshot, Kora could tell that lady was not reciting a monolog, instead, she was reciting a motivational speech, and, by the sound of how the lady had written it, Kora knew that it was for a group of soldiers to rally them for battle.

As she finished, the lady finally noticed Kora. "May I help you?" She asked. She seemed slightly annoyed by Kora's presence.

"Are you Nike?" Kora asked, "My name is Kora Duncan. I've been looking or you."

The lady glanced around. "You are right. I am Nike. However, I thought that you had a friend with you. Benjamin Matthews, correct?"

The guilty feeling of leaving Mr. Matthews rushed back to Kora when Nike said that. She lowered her eyes. "We... Um...We had a disagreement. He ended up going one way and I went the other," Kora replied.

Nike nodded. "Well, congratulations, Kora Duncan. In finding me, you have earned yourself immortality and control over something. Since I am feeling a little extra generous today, I will let you pick what you have control over. It could be anything. Shopping, trees, deep-sea creatures, anything. Choose wisely, you will be in control of that thing for the rest of eternity. Take your time, if you need to."

Kora already had in mind what she wanted to be the Goddess of. Without hesitation, she replied, "Loyalty. I want to be the Goddess of loyalty."

Nike thought for a moment. Then she clapped her hands twice. "There. Now, you are officially the Goddess of Loyalty," She remarked with a smirk, "Now, as protocol, before we go to Mount Olympus, I will grant you one wish. Again, it can be anything, even something impossible, like a ride on a unicorn."

Kora didn't even have to think about what she wanted her wish to be. It almost seemed like an instinctive reaction. "Make Mr. Matthews a God!" She replied.

Nike cocked her head to the side. "The God of what?" She asked.

Kora had to think about that question. She didn't really know what Mr. Matthews liked. Then Kora realized that the answer was easy. "Trust. Make him the God of Trust," She responded.

Nike nodded her head in agreement. She clapped her hands and gave two thumbs up.

"Is that it? Should we go and look for him?" Kora asked.

Nike held up five fingers. Then four, three, two, one....

Someone burst through the door. "Kora!" It was Mr. Matthews!

He ran up to Kora and said, "Kora, I'm sorry I doubted you. I should have trusted that you were right."

Kora smiled. "It's alright. But I was right," She replied as she turned to Nike.

"Nike... Does this mean..." Mr. Matthews stuttered.

Nike gave a half-smile. "Congrats, Benjamin, you are now the God of Trust. Shall we go to Mount Olympus now?" She turned and walked upstage. Before going backstage, she turned back to Kora and Mr. Matthews and asked, "You guys coming or not? There's a party up here."

Both Mr. Matthews and Kora laughed. "Be right there," Mr. Matthews replied. He gazed down at Kora.

"Trust? Really? You guys couldn't have thought of anything better?" He asked.

"Hey! It was the first thing that came to mind," Kora continued with a humorous smile, "It's also something that you need to work on."

Mr. Matthews jokingly hit Kora on the head as they walked upstage to where Nike was standing.

"You guys ready?" She asked.

They nodded. Nike pushed the curtain back so they could go backstage. To Olympus they went.

True Story

The first time that I saw him, I was at Church.

He was halfway across the chapel, speaking in front of everyone present. I mostly paid attention because I thought that his face was nice to look at. He told everyone his name and a brief life story. His name is Noah, and he's new at my church. He was home schooled for most of his life. And Dang. He's a good speaker. He was also going to youth group next week. I decided to also go to youth group. It wouldn't be very suspicious for me to go or even want to go. I normally go every week. So going to youth group and trying to meet Noah wouldn't be a problem.

***

It was a week after the first time that I saw him. It was at youth group. Both Noah and I got there early, but I did not talk to him yet, because Noah was chatting with one of the youth leaders. I decided to wait it out and talk to him later. So, I sat down at a table with a group of my friends. After a bit, the table that I was sitting at started getting crowded. So I decided to move to another table that had some of my other friends at it.  My friend, Maria, and I started to converse. That is when he came over.

"Hi. My name is Noah," Noah said as he sat down next to me, "what's your name?"

"Hey. I'm Skylar," I replied.

"Nice to meet you," Noah smiled and we shook hands. 

He has a strong handshake, I thought.

Then Noah and Maria started talking. Apparently, Noah and Maria knew each other. And Dang. Not only is he a good speaker, but he is also personable.

And since he was sitting next to me, I could see Noah's facial features very well. He had short, black hair, fair skin, hazel eyes, and a hawk-like nose. And he looks amazing when he smiles. He also wears a lot of black, as if he's goth or he works at Starbucks.

When youth group started, since it was casino night, every person there got a bowl of poker chips. Then we dispersed into different groups and started playing different casino games. So I decided to go to Texas Hold 'Em. Noah was in charge of that game, since he knew how to play that game the best. After I learned how to play the game, I also learned that I'm very good at it. At the end of the night, I have one of the biggest amounts of chips out of everyone in the youth group, and so did Noah. The people with the biggest amounts of poker chips and got prizes. Since I had so many poker chips, I got a gift card. After I received the gift card, I started talking with some of my friends. Then I realized that Noah was gone. I wanted to at least say goodbye.

***

I have come to a realization.

To put things into perspective, I met Noah in late June, and it is now mid-September. My realization is that you can like a lot of someone's traits without actually liking the person. Noah is an amazing person. He is humble, funny, personable, intelligent, genuinely nice, a great speaker, Soft-spoken yet firm with what he believes in, and he is a Christian who can quote the Bible better than anyone that I have ever met. And that's saying a lot, since I practically live at my church and with my youth group. Noah is also quite nice to look at. Also, have I mentioned his dimples yet? Doesn't matter, they're amazing just the same. Another realization that I've had is that Noah has all the traits that I would like to see in my husband. Yet I don't have a crush on him. Yeah, I like him as a friend, but no more than that. Mostly because I don't see us working out more than that. We live very different lives. And that's all right.  However, in the end, I wish him the best.

Yet I don't think that I should like Noah anyway. It is typically frowned upon to have a crush on a priest.

A New Idea

Skylar woke up on a Tuesday morning, crawled out of bed, and smiled. Today was her second day of spring break! The lovely thought of it!  She could run outside, climb a tree, hang out with friends, stay in her PJs and watch Netflix all day...

Then a thought made her stop in her tracks. I forgot about my blog!

Skylar came downstairs, got on the computer, and opened a new Word Document.

Hmmmmmm.... What should I write? She thought, without any ideas, I've already posted anything and everything that I've finished.

This would pester Skylar all day if she didn't think of something soon.  Just looking at a blank Word Document for an extended period of time would be absolute torture to any writer.

Well, Skylar thought, I should probably get myself breakfast if I don't have any ideas.

So she got up, and left the blank Word Document to itself.

 

***

 

After breakfast, Skylar forgot about the empty Word Document until she got on the computer in the afternoon to check social media. I should at least TRY to write a little something for my blog, so people don't think that I'm dead or anything... But what should I write? I still have no ideas!

But then Skylar realized that she could just write about her not having any good ideas.

She's so Mean.

I  woke up on Saturday morning and I knew something didn't feel right.   I thought I was just getting a cold, with the normal headache and sore throat.  I went on with my normal day, getting out of bed, putting clothes on, and heading downstairs to eat breakfast.  That's when I realized that my twin, Astrid, wasn't home.  I groaned.  She runs away from home a lot.
Oh well, I thought, I should go looking for her.  She must not have gone far.  After I finished my breakfast, I put my shoes on and headed out the door.
As I strolled down the street, I caught a glimpse of something to my left. It looked like a person in the shadows, but I couldn't tell the gender.  The person looked as if it was insane.  It was shaking, and it was slowly falling to the ground.
I walked towards it, and could start making out the figure.  It was Astrid!  I ran towards her.  "Astrid? Are you ok?  It's me, Raelyn!" I asked.
She gazed up at me.  "Raelyn... My twin....  I... I made pills that would help us...  Get stronger... We could.... Rule the world..." Astrid forced out.  Then she handed me a pill bottle.  "It'll make you feel... Fatigued at first... But then it.... Makes you powerful..."
 Then it hit me.
That's why I was feeling sick this morning!  "Astrid," I remarked, "you gave it to me, didn't you?"  She stared at the ground.  "I'm sorry...  I put in... Your dinner... Last night.  I  didn't know... What else... To do.  I want you... To help me.  That's... What sisters... Do... Right?" She asked.
I was furious.  Couldn't Astrid have asked me if I wanted to be stronger?  Or if I wanted to rule the world? Astrid always wanted to have control. I was so enraged, I wanted to take all control away from her. So I made up my mind.
"Astrid, I won't fight with you," I told her, "I'm going to fight against you.  You don't deserve any kind of power."   I immediately started walking back to the house.
I'm starting to feel stronger already.

David, the Crusader

Walking up a mountain.  Breathing heavily.  Occasionally looking back to make sure no one is following.  A few years ago, I wouldn't have ever imagined that my life would be like this. Now, it's just a day in the life of a Crusader.  I honestly want to go back to when I was a baker's apprentice, when my friend, Aadil, and I didn't have to fight against each other.  Those were good times.  Aadil and I would run through the town, trying to beat each other to the market whenever our master needed something.  Yes, we had our differences, but we didn't care.  We liked having each other around.  But alas, those years did not last long.  Now we have to fight on opposite sides of the Crusade. 

 

"David!" I snapped back into reality when I heard my name.  I gazed over at where the voice came from.  It was from my fellow soldier, Peter.  He was smiling at me.  "Thinking of a girl back home?" he asked.  I smiled back. We always teased each other like this.  "Well, it's a lot better than thinking of who I'm walking next to!" I replied.  Peter and I laughed and kept walking.  We tried to keep things light-hearted, even though we were, in essence, walking to our deaths.  We, along with thousands of other soldiers, were marching towards the Holy Land to reclaim it.  Every single one of us vowed to fight until the Holy Land was ruled by Christians again.  I both wanted to and didn't want to be a part of it. I wanted to be a part of it because I wanted to see the Holy Land as a Christian place again. I didn't want to be a part of it because I was afraid that I would never see home again. I would never see Aadil again, or my master.  But now, I have no choice as to fight in the Holy Land. Last I heard, we were halfway there.  That was three days ago. We have been traveling for almost a week now.  We should be there soon.

 

Suddenly, I heard battle cries from almost every man in front of us. They all started running, as if something was chasing them. Peter and I looked at one another.  We made it! I thought.  I screamed and ran.  At first, all I saw was a jumble of Christian soldiers.  Finally, the Turks broke through. One of them marched up to me and slashed his sword at me.  I deflected with my shield and cut my opponent in the arm with my spear.  We went on like this for awhile, attacking and deflecting, deflecting and attacking.  When all of a sudden, my opponent wailed in pain and fell.  I wondered what the heck just happened.  I went over and inspected the body.  With my foot, I turned my opponent to his back.  There was an arrow sticking out of his shoulder blade.  Who did that? I thought.  I glanced around for someone with a bow and arrow.  Then I saw him. 

 

Up in a tree was my friend and fellow soldier, Jacob.  I should have known.  Jacob's weapon of choice was the bow and arrow.  I saluted Jacob and went on.  After that fight, my adrenaline felt like it was through the roof.  No one paid very much attention to me.  They were all off in their own battles.  Then I heard something.  It sounded like crying.  I advanced towards the noise.  It was coming from a bush.  I moved some of the leaves to find a cowering young woman hiding there.  She let out a yelp when she saw me, and I jumped back.  I took a deep breath and checked again.  "Ma'am, are you alright?" I asked.  The young woman stared up at me. "Are... Aren't you going to hurt me?" She replied.  I gave her a confused look.  Why would I hurt her? I thought.  Then I noticed the gash along her stomach.  "You're hurt!" I remarked,  "come with me, I promise I won't hurt you."  I held out my hand for her to take.  She stood up, but didn't grab my hand.  She started walking in the opposite direction.  "Hey! Wait up!" I told her.  The lady turned to face me.  "What's your name?" I asked.  She scowled.  "Why do you need to know?"  I gave her a puzzled look. "If I'm going to help you, I should at least know your name," I replied. She turned away.  "Helia.  My name is Helia."

 

Before I could say anything back, I was pulled back by two Turks.  I tried to fight back,  but they were a lot stronger than I was.  The Turks threw me into a wagon, tied me up, and drove off with me in the back.  We traveled for what felt like forever. Finally, we stopped, and all I heard was mumbles.  Eventually, a man came into the wagon and threw me out of it.  He untied me almost completely, except for my hands; which he kept bound.  The man took my arm and pulled me through a crowd of people who were facing the same direction.  Why are all these people here? I thought.  The man who was pulling me shouted, "WE HAVE ONE MORE!"  There was another man on a stool facing the crowd.  When the man on the stool saw me, he came up and pulled me to the stool. "Stand on it," the man said.  I wasn't sure what he would do to me if I didn't listen, so I obeyed.  The man shouted, "WHO SHALL TAKE THIS MAN FOR THREE SHILLINGS?" I was being sold into slavery!

 

 Everybody was silent for a moment.  "I WILL," shouted a voice from the back.  "ANY OTHER OFFERS?  GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE.... SOLD! TO THE MAN IN THE BACK FOR THREE SHILLINGS!"  Said the man who was selling.  The man in the back came up and gave the man who was selling me three shillings.  The man from the back then took my arm and pulled me through the crowd.  After we walked past the mass of people, the man who had my arm turned down an alley and untied my hands.  "Why did you do that? I asked as I examined his face.  The man looked into my eyes. They seemed.... Familiar.  "Your name is David.  I know this because mine is Aadil," he said.

 

AADIL! I thought.  My childhood friend and I were finally reunited.  And he remembered me enough to save me from slavery!  "Aadil!" I exclaimed as I hugged him.  Aadil hugged back. "I thought that we could open our own bakery, and have all our favorite foods from childhood there," he announced as we released each other from the hug.  "That sounds like a fantastic idea," I responded.