Children's Story

  My Best Vacation Ever

Free Write

The irony in the air as he pushes me down with his words. He said he would always be there for me. He said we were a team. When she’s around he’s all smiles and hugs. Alone all he does is criticize and complain. When did love become conditional? When did it become ok to say one thing and show another. “I may not show it much but I do love you,” was all he said. Or maybe that was all I heard. Clean my heart of all trust. Clear my mind of all expectations. They all lied. They all knew and they all lied. And now no one hears this silent scream. Why can’t they see what is so blatantly in front of them. Maybe they don’t want to see it. Maybe they just don’t care.

Creation

The History of Townsville

Around 180,000,000 years ago, there was an active volcano called Sheila that erupted three times a day everyday for a thousand years. She killed all of the dinosaurs and caused the birth of millions of monsters. Over time, the monsters evolved into super villains that established an evil city on volcano Sheila. People from all over the world came to see the city and eventually settled into little towns around the volcano; thus the city of Townsville was born.

Plagued with villains constantly destroying their towns and the occasional eruption of Sheila, the early citizens of Townsville lived in fear in their foggy city. Daily life was a struggle until a scientist named Professor Utonium accidentally mixed his chemical x with sugar, spice, and everything nice and inevitably created the Powerpuff Girls. These three special little girls saved the city from the evil villains and helped its economy by lowering the people’s insurance rates, all while in kindergarten. Since then, Townsville has become a major American city with many tall skyscrapers and beautiful recreational sites.

Horror Story

Mirrors

I know you hear that. You pretend you don’t know what’s going on, like I’m the only one but I know you know. That noise, a thudding noise. A terrible cacophony as It grows louder and louder screeching! Vibrating the whole room as It moves closer. Faster and faster It moves toward me. Help! Someone help! Don’t just stand there, I know you see It! It’s almost right before us. Racing, racing It’s running now, trying with all Its might to pursue me. There’s no time to run, there’s no time to hide. As It moves closer my heart beats. It’s going to crash into me. Someone help! As It moves closer, I find myself stuck in an uncontrollable agony. I can’t move, I can’t think, I can’t breath. All I see is my own reflection. Where are you? Why won’t you help me?

As the room grows warmer, I’m drowning in perspiration, wondering why I’m the only one. Don’t you feel the room boiling? It moves closer, loving to taunt me. I've seen It before but this time is different; this time, It is going in for the kill. I know because I can see it in It’s dark eyes that are darting at me with an almost fearful anticipation. Why won’t any of you help me? Can’t you see It trying to devour me? My face is growing red from anger, why doesn't anyone try to stop It? The screeching, growing louder, that It echoes makes my body tremble violently. You’re just standing there, spectating my little dance with the devil. Is this all entertaining to you? Do you like to watch me suffer? Crash! It hits me and precipitates to the floor in a million pieces. What if I told you that I am you? Would you believe me or trust in your mirrors? Clean your mirror, then look again.

Eulogy

A Lifetime of Freedom: The Caresse Venable Story

Caresse Venable was a vivacious, free spirit. Born in Richmond, VA on August 10, 1998 to a delinquent mother and a teen-aged father; Caresse was adopted by Pastor Robin Wilson at age two. Her childhood was full of love and care as she was the baby girl of the family and was very spoiled. Caresse also faced many hardships growing up without her parents around. Her birth mother, Latanya, would often take her away for days at a time to show her what life would be like if she were living with her. At a young age, Caresse was exposed to a wild life of crime and by the age of 8 years old, she was fully aware of all types of illegal activities around her and became determined not to grow up to be like her mother. She was a gifted student who was in honor’s classes from elementary school all through high school. When Caresse was 10 years old, Latanya got married to a man named James, who Caresse had only ever seen once a few months before. Two years later, her mother, Robin married a  Caribbean man named Dean Wilson. At age 13, she met her birth father and half brother, Antonio who lived in Norfolk, VA. Caresse graduated from L.C. Bird High School with an advanced diploma in 2016. All through college, she stayed on the dean’s list and earned her Master’s Degree in literary art in 2022.
After graduating college, Caresse moved to Norfolk to live with her brother and began her writing career. As she grew closer with her father’s side of her family, she met many different people and charmed them and her readers with her witty sense of humor. Although she enjoyed her new life in Norfolk, she decided to move back home to Richmond. As she said her goodbyes to her father’s family as she thought about the decisions she would would soon face upon returning to her parents. Coming back to Richmond proved to be just as stressful as she’d thought it would as her parents and everyone in her mother’s congregation were asking her when she was planning on getting married and having a family. Shock swelled when she informed them all that she had absolutely no intentions of finding a husband nor having any children. She faced much criticism from her friends and family even though she had been saying this her entire life so she wrote a couple comedic and serious books of poetry expressing the hardships of being a single black woman in America under the age of 30 and how people assume they are feminist. Her work was given mixed reviews as this was a very controversial topic at the time but Caresse was determined not to give up.
As Caresse was pushing 30, she made new friends both through her books about anti-feminism and natural hair care. Because she had been natural from age 14, people were constantly asking her about her hair so she chose to capitalize off of it and her hair story made her a big success in the natural hair community. At this point in her life, Caresse was very happy as she saw herself becoming the positive role model she had always wanted to be. Although she still had no children of her own she was always a favorite among her nieces and nephews and she always helped her family as much as possible. Caresse continued to march to the beat of her own drum as she later moved to Ghana to help underprivileged women and children. There, she learned many interesting African cultures which eventually influenced her writing styles. After spending five years in Ghana, Caresse moved to her second home in Atlanta where she’d partially grown up with her extended family. This move gave her even more success as she ended up with a writing position at TBS. Tragically, at the height of her career, Caresse was killed in a car accident by a distracted driver in 2048. Her free spirit and selfless charisma will live on in our hearts as we remember her laughter and her willingness to help others.