"The Journal"
by Olivia Curtis
The street outside of 42 Melaby Road was positively flooded on the night of Jasper and Jasmine’s ninth birthday. The clouds had rolled in that morning, and by afternoon their contents had been spilled atop the roofs, the perfectly trimmed lawns, and the heads of the few unlucky children who happened to be outside at the time. Jasper and Jasmine, unfortunately, were two such children.
The twins had been playing a game that involved climbing the tree in their front yard and seeing who was the bravest based on how high each climbed. Their mother had warned them on several occasions that it was unsafe, and that pushing their luck now would leave them woeful later, but they paid her no mind and started the game up whenever she was out. The other neighborhood kids did not join them, though they yearned to have access to a climbing tree like the twins’ in their own yards. It seemed unfair that Jasper and Jasmine were the only ones with such an entertaining yard ornament, but it was custom in the neighborhood to have neat, clean lawns free of anything more than a flower garden. The other neighborhood parents were people who followed custom, and when they saw the overgrown chaos of Jasper and Jasmine’s yard, they saw a willful disregard for the rest of the neighborhood, and banned their children from playing with the twins.
Jasper and Jasmine, though, didn’t notice that their family had been made into the social pariahs of the neighborhood, for the two of them were all the friends that they needed. On this particular day, they had wheedled their way into getting pancakes for breakfast before their mom went to work by reminding her that it was their birthday that day. Their mother Eleanor hadn’t forgotten, per se, but working long days and nights recently had made it difficult for her to keep track of the date, and as an apology she whipped up their breakfast of choice. Eleanor had grown up with the dream of becoming a chef, and her food was enough to give anyone faith in her reaching this dream. Life, however, had had other plans, and so she waitressed at a restaurant near their house, saving up money in her pocket where she had placed her dreams for safekeeping. Jasper and Jasmine, however, did not know about the pocket dreams, and knew even less about how hard it was on their mother to keep them there. They thought, like many children their age, that the pursuit of dreams should be a zealous one. One that could not and should not possibly be delayed, but children don’t always recognize the consequences that can come from moving upwards too quickly, to reaching your dreams right away. For where can you go from there, and how can you be sure that your dream won’t leave you falling with nothing left to grab onto?
On this day, the twins were not thinking about dreams at all, but rather about the fact that they were turning nine. They knew their mother had to work most of the day, but predicted that their birthday would at least warrant a cake and a gift when their mother returned home. So, with high spirits, they waved at the taillights that became smaller as they moved down the neighborhood, and they picked up their game of tree climbing once they knew that it was safe to do so. The game had been invented by Jasmine less than a week ago, and it had reached its zenith of popularity a day ago when Jasper had touched a branch they hadn’t even come close to when they first started. Of course, turning nine years old would have made them stronger, and they were determined to dangle their feet over their previous achievements.
After a number of unsuccessful attempts, however, they ate a quick lunch that consisted of fluffernutters, their mother’s least favorite sandwich, and pineapple juice. The twins, though they loved their mother’s meals, were fans of simplicity, even when Eleanor scolded them for saying that simplicity was the same thing as unhealthy. Their mother was no doubt a zealot when it came to food and what her children ate, but Jasper and Jasmine figured that it was their birthday, and they should be able to get away with a lunch that didn’t fit their mother’s requests. While they sipped their juice and wiped their sticky hands on the jeans they were wearing, they gazed up at the tree and mapped out what path they would be taking to reach their goal. Unfortunately, just as Jasmine began taking her turn up the tree, a breeze winnowed its way through the branches, and the clouds that had been gathering decided it was time to water the earth. The twins had little choice but to dash through the knee-high patches of grass, over the crumbly steps, and into the dry safety of their house.
The twins were disappointed in the weather that had interrupted their birthday plans, however their woe was forgotten that evening when their mother entered the house with a cake and two grocery bags that contained the ingredients for their favorite dinner. While she whisked and fried in the kitchen, the twins peered at the cake that had been placed on the kitchen counter. Eleanor said that her friend from the restaurant had made it and brought it to work for her to bring home. She didn’t mention to the twins that this was because her friend knew that Eleanor would forget to make one herself, but it wouldn’t have mattered to the twins anyway. Who cares where a cake comes from when it is yours?
After their dinner had been devoured and the cake served, Eleanor disappeared for a minute before returning with the twins’ two gifts. She had bought these a few weeks ago and had been waiting to give them until their birthday because she had wanted to have a good gift to give. As the kids ripped away the wrapping paper, they each saw a small notebook underneath with their names on the cover. Eleanor explained that they were journals in which to write their dreams or hopes, and they could carry them around to remind themselves what they were working for. Eleanor had also included the small surprise of a pack of stickers for each twin, for she knew that they loved to decorate with the small pieces of paper, making sure to leave their mark.
Jasper and Jasmine were pleased with their gifts, and before being tucked into bed that night they each wrote their first goal: reach that branch. In the years to come, the journal pages would fill with hopes and dreams. Jasper’s book would be neatly spaced out with check marks next to the goals he had accomplished. Jasmine’s would be messy and harder to read, but it would be legible to her despite what anyone else said. At times, the journals would become places to write homework assignments when they couldn’t find their agenda books, or they would be a place to write down a telephone number. Jasper and Jasmine would often look back over the dreams they had written over the years, always eventually landing on that very first one that they had written on their ninth birthday.
The following morning, Eleanor didn’t have to work, and so her plan was to sleep in and trust that the twins would be able to find breakfast for themselves. What she didn’t know, however, was what had been written in their journals the night before, and that they were planning on accomplishing that goal while she got her sleep. The two of them hustled out of their bedroom early in the morning and ate a quick breakfast before they dashed outside and looked up into the tree’s branches. It was decided that Jasmine should be the first to climb as she had been getting ready to do so when the rain had started the day before.
Cautiously, Jasmine began to follow the path that had been mapped out in her mind since the previous day, putting first her arms on a branch, and then her feet, over and over again. As she climbed, her excitement began to skyrocket, for she was going to finally accomplish her goal, and she was going to do it before her brother too. At last, she grabbed the branch she had been aiming for and pulled herself up to it, her arms shaking with that final effort. As she began turning around on the branch to sit down, however, the bark that had been made slick by the downpour the previous night caused her to lose her grip, and Jasmine felt herself tumbling backwards off of the branch and falling, with what she thought was empty air yawning behind her.
On the ground, Jasper watched in a daze as his sister fell, hitting several other branches on the way down. It didn’t take him long to realize what had happened, and he ran into the house at the highest speed a nine year-old boy is capable of so that he could wake his mom and explain what happened. It only took a few minutes for an ambulance to arrive and for the three of them to be rushed to a hospital, though it was certainly enough time for Eleanor to yell about the dangers of climbing that tree.
After they had gotten to the hospital, a doctor explained to Eleanor that Jasmine had broken her wrist and bruised several of her ribs as she fell down from the branch. The doctor also said that, had Eleanor not hit those other branches before she hit the ground, the damage would have been much worse, and that she had been lucky that those branches had been there below her.
When the three of them returned home, Eleanor instructed them never to climb that tree again, and the twins promised that this time they would listen to her. After the kids had been put to bed that night, Eleanor noticed something in the grass underneath the tree. The cool, damp air surrounded her as she walked over and picked it up. It was Jasmine’s little journal. She looked at the first page and saw the messy little goal scrawled along the top: reach that branch.
Eleanor walked inside and picked up a pen that had been lying on the table, and carefully she put a neat little check next to her daughter’s messy writing.
by Olivia Curtis
The street outside of 42 Melaby Road was positively flooded on the night of Jasper and Jasmine’s ninth birthday. The clouds had rolled in that morning, and by afternoon their contents had been spilled atop the roofs, the perfectly trimmed lawns, and the heads of the few unlucky children who happened to be outside at the time. Jasper and Jasmine, unfortunately, were two such children.
The twins had been playing a game that involved climbing the tree in their front yard and seeing who was the bravest based on how high each climbed. Their mother had warned them on several occasions that it was unsafe, and that pushing their luck now would leave them woeful later, but they paid her no mind and started the game up whenever she was out. The other neighborhood kids did not join them, though they yearned to have access to a climbing tree like the twins’ in their own yards. It seemed unfair that Jasper and Jasmine were the only ones with such an entertaining yard ornament, but it was custom in the neighborhood to have neat, clean lawns free of anything more than a flower garden. The other neighborhood parents were people who followed custom, and when they saw the overgrown chaos of Jasper and Jasmine’s yard, they saw a willful disregard for the rest of the neighborhood, and banned their children from playing with the twins.
Jasper and Jasmine, though, didn’t notice that their family had been made into the social pariahs of the neighborhood, for the two of them were all the friends that they needed. On this particular day, they had wheedled their way into getting pancakes for breakfast before their mom went to work by reminding her that it was their birthday that day. Their mother Eleanor hadn’t forgotten, per se, but working long days and nights recently had made it difficult for her to keep track of the date, and as an apology she whipped up their breakfast of choice. Eleanor had grown up with the dream of becoming a chef, and her food was enough to give anyone faith in her reaching this dream. Life, however, had had other plans, and so she waitressed at a restaurant near their house, saving up money in her pocket where she had placed her dreams for safekeeping. Jasper and Jasmine, however, did not know about the pocket dreams, and knew even less about how hard it was on their mother to keep them there. They thought, like many children their age, that the pursuit of dreams should be a zealous one. One that could not and should not possibly be delayed, but children don’t always recognize the consequences that can come from moving upwards too quickly, to reaching your dreams right away. For where can you go from there, and how can you be sure that your dream won’t leave you falling with nothing left to grab onto?
On this day, the twins were not thinking about dreams at all, but rather about the fact that they were turning nine. They knew their mother had to work most of the day, but predicted that their birthday would at least warrant a cake and a gift when their mother returned home. So, with high spirits, they waved at the taillights that became smaller as they moved down the neighborhood, and they picked up their game of tree climbing once they knew that it was safe to do so. The game had been invented by Jasmine less than a week ago, and it had reached its zenith of popularity a day ago when Jasper had touched a branch they hadn’t even come close to when they first started. Of course, turning nine years old would have made them stronger, and they were determined to dangle their feet over their previous achievements.
After a number of unsuccessful attempts, however, they ate a quick lunch that consisted of fluffernutters, their mother’s least favorite sandwich, and pineapple juice. The twins, though they loved their mother’s meals, were fans of simplicity, even when Eleanor scolded them for saying that simplicity was the same thing as unhealthy. Their mother was no doubt a zealot when it came to food and what her children ate, but Jasper and Jasmine figured that it was their birthday, and they should be able to get away with a lunch that didn’t fit their mother’s requests. While they sipped their juice and wiped their sticky hands on the jeans they were wearing, they gazed up at the tree and mapped out what path they would be taking to reach their goal. Unfortunately, just as Jasmine began taking her turn up the tree, a breeze winnowed its way through the branches, and the clouds that had been gathering decided it was time to water the earth. The twins had little choice but to dash through the knee-high patches of grass, over the crumbly steps, and into the dry safety of their house.
The twins were disappointed in the weather that had interrupted their birthday plans, however their woe was forgotten that evening when their mother entered the house with a cake and two grocery bags that contained the ingredients for their favorite dinner. While she whisked and fried in the kitchen, the twins peered at the cake that had been placed on the kitchen counter. Eleanor said that her friend from the restaurant had made it and brought it to work for her to bring home. She didn’t mention to the twins that this was because her friend knew that Eleanor would forget to make one herself, but it wouldn’t have mattered to the twins anyway. Who cares where a cake comes from when it is yours?
After their dinner had been devoured and the cake served, Eleanor disappeared for a minute before returning with the twins’ two gifts. She had bought these a few weeks ago and had been waiting to give them until their birthday because she had wanted to have a good gift to give. As the kids ripped away the wrapping paper, they each saw a small notebook underneath with their names on the cover. Eleanor explained that they were journals in which to write their dreams or hopes, and they could carry them around to remind themselves what they were working for. Eleanor had also included the small surprise of a pack of stickers for each twin, for she knew that they loved to decorate with the small pieces of paper, making sure to leave their mark.
Jasper and Jasmine were pleased with their gifts, and before being tucked into bed that night they each wrote their first goal: reach that branch. In the years to come, the journal pages would fill with hopes and dreams. Jasper’s book would be neatly spaced out with check marks next to the goals he had accomplished. Jasmine’s would be messy and harder to read, but it would be legible to her despite what anyone else said. At times, the journals would become places to write homework assignments when they couldn’t find their agenda books, or they would be a place to write down a telephone number. Jasper and Jasmine would often look back over the dreams they had written over the years, always eventually landing on that very first one that they had written on their ninth birthday.
The following morning, Eleanor didn’t have to work, and so her plan was to sleep in and trust that the twins would be able to find breakfast for themselves. What she didn’t know, however, was what had been written in their journals the night before, and that they were planning on accomplishing that goal while she got her sleep. The two of them hustled out of their bedroom early in the morning and ate a quick breakfast before they dashed outside and looked up into the tree’s branches. It was decided that Jasmine should be the first to climb as she had been getting ready to do so when the rain had started the day before.
Cautiously, Jasmine began to follow the path that had been mapped out in her mind since the previous day, putting first her arms on a branch, and then her feet, over and over again. As she climbed, her excitement began to skyrocket, for she was going to finally accomplish her goal, and she was going to do it before her brother too. At last, she grabbed the branch she had been aiming for and pulled herself up to it, her arms shaking with that final effort. As she began turning around on the branch to sit down, however, the bark that had been made slick by the downpour the previous night caused her to lose her grip, and Jasmine felt herself tumbling backwards off of the branch and falling, with what she thought was empty air yawning behind her.
On the ground, Jasper watched in a daze as his sister fell, hitting several other branches on the way down. It didn’t take him long to realize what had happened, and he ran into the house at the highest speed a nine year-old boy is capable of so that he could wake his mom and explain what happened. It only took a few minutes for an ambulance to arrive and for the three of them to be rushed to a hospital, though it was certainly enough time for Eleanor to yell about the dangers of climbing that tree.
After they had gotten to the hospital, a doctor explained to Eleanor that Jasmine had broken her wrist and bruised several of her ribs as she fell down from the branch. The doctor also said that, had Eleanor not hit those other branches before she hit the ground, the damage would have been much worse, and that she had been lucky that those branches had been there below her.
When the three of them returned home, Eleanor instructed them never to climb that tree again, and the twins promised that this time they would listen to her. After the kids had been put to bed that night, Eleanor noticed something in the grass underneath the tree. The cool, damp air surrounded her as she walked over and picked it up. It was Jasmine’s little journal. She looked at the first page and saw the messy little goal scrawled along the top: reach that branch.
Eleanor walked inside and picked up a pen that had been lying on the table, and carefully she put a neat little check next to her daughter’s messy writing.