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The Meteorite Sample

Meteorite samples weren’t unusual, per say, but this was my first time dealing with one. Exciting for sure, but also nerve-wracking. The bosses were strict about anything from space- even the smallest misstep could lead to your reassignation to a lower, dingier job. So. No pressure or anything. The sample I’d gotten was small, just a speck really, especially compared to what Alice, at desk 9, had. But everyone had to start somewhere, right? So the speck it was. 

I’ve worked at the lab for a good 3 years now. 3 years before I finally got to do what I’d always wanted. 3 years to achieve my greatest dreams. I’d spent all morning fiddling with the microscope, knowing that if I messed this up, I’d miss my opportunity. For good. And that…that would be awful. 

When the sample was finally delivered to my station, I had to physically hold myself back to not tear open the packaging. Careful…careful. This thing is worth more than your entire life. The meteorite sample I’d gotten was barely a shard, but it was enough. My hands shook as I carefully lifted the sample out of its package and set it on a slide, placing it under the microscope. As I adjusted the lens, twisting it ever so carefully to zoom into the rugged surface of the rock, something that looked almost like words caught my eye. But…surely not. How could there be English words on an outerspace rock? But as the lens panned across the meteorite, it was clear- words carved deep into the rock: “If you see this, call this number. Do not tell anyone”.

My hands shook. But in my mind, there was only one thing for me to do- call the number.

Why I Write

I recently wrote this for the prompt of “Explore your impulse to write”. I hope you enjoy!

I write to be seen. My art craves an audience, craves understanding, and visceral, true reactions. I want others, friends, you, to see my work and think- I know. I get it. Me too. 

I write to express my emotions. When it’s too hard to talk to people, when it’s too hard to spill my true feelings, then I write. I turn to the page, to the screen, to the savior and safe space that I can find only in a blank page. The blank page of terror, yes, but the blank page of opportunity, the page of truth. The page of uncertainty, but also the page of making mistakes. Of being allowed to try and learn. The page of looking back and cringing, but also the page of growth. 

I write for myself. I write knowing that everything I do will be for my eyes and my eyes only. I write stanzas of poems, words and words of prose to let my emotions flow, to let myself express, to let myself feel finally and truly me.

My words are my outlet, my way of creating worlds and lands where you believe in magic, even if just for a second. A place where you can really see what I’m talking about- whether it be the resplendent jewel-tones of the Garden of Envy circus, or if it’s the flower field where two lovers took their last breath together. 

 I hope to create words, sentences, stories that evoke emotion. Emotion of any kind- a deep, wrenching pain, maybe, or instead, a hopeful joy that lifts you up.

I’ve always searched for a place to call my own. Something that’s really mine, even as a kid, even as everything I own is not really mine. I’ve always, since when I could first remember, craved that feeling of independentness, of true belonging. And writing lets me do that. Writing won’t judge. Writing gives me a space of love and kindness and acceptance. Is that silly, finding all that in a blank page? Maybe. But I like to think that as I fill up that blank page with my dreams, my hopes, my fears, I lose that “silliness”. I can be me or at least a version of me that can be me without rebuke, without fear of failure- because there’s no failure in writing, just growth. 

So, overall, I write for emotion. I write for me. I write for life. I write to feel alive, to feel free, to feel in general. I write to live, to grow, to be a better human. I write to chronicle, to tell the truth, and most of all, I write so I can find my place in a world that seems destined to shut me out. I write so I exist. I write so that I am me. 

I hope you enjoyed!

Spring

Since spring is now officially here, I wrote a poem about it. This is a sestina, made up of 6 stanzas, each stanza ending with the same words in different orders. I hope you enjoy!

It’s spring again
The flowers bloom, the birds chirp
Rain patters on the windows
The season of life,
that’s what spring is known for
beauty, not just in the eye of the beholder, but everywhere

The greenest trees, everywhere
Saturated by the rain again
whimsy bleeds through for
just a moment, as the chirp
of new life 
echoes outside the windows

The spring breeze, crisp, clean, wafts through the window
And for a second, everywhere
is united, under the life
and love of a new spring again,
where the buzz and chirp
just signify the land we all live for

Spring is cleansing, for
finally there are no cold gusts against the window
just the melodic chirp
that echoes from everywhere
Yes, beginning a new season again
truly brings some kind of life

And everywhere you see, the earth erupts with life
with no concession for
the ones who wish for winter again
The pollen will still coat your window,
maybe it gets everywhere,
but that is just the price to pay for another chirp

Life grows anew when you hear that tiny chirp
proof that spring brings life,
that spring brings joy everywhere
not just for one, but for
all, so open your window
and embrace the magic of spring come again

When you hear the first chirps of the season, winter is done for
Life blooms outside the windows 
and everywhere is bathed in the light of spring again

Top Books of March

Here are my top books of March!

  1. The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic
    This was the first book in the All For the Game trilogy! I really enjoyed Neil’s point of view and that way that he finds a true family with the Foxes, no matter how dysfunctional they seem. He starts off with a plan to leave, yet as they grow together, he realizes just how much they mean to him. It was such a great book!
  2. The Raven King by Nora Sakavic

This was the second book in the All for the Game trilogy! Neil knows that he can’t run from Riko and his past forever, but with the Foxes supporting him, he has more of a fighting chance that he ever did before. I really enjoyed the characters and the plot, especially how the relationships between the characters ebbed and flowed. It was really interesting!

3. The King’s Men by Nora Sakavic

This was the third and final book in the All for the Game trilogy! Neil has done everything to protect his teammates. But in the end, his past catches up to him, and he has to make one final stand. I loved this conclusion so much! Each character is so unique and all the plot points fit together so perfectly.

4. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

This was such a fun and unique book! Locke has been raised to be a thief his whole life and now is undertaking one of the biggest quests of his lifetime. The book’s style was so fun and I loved the characters. It was a great read!

5. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Katsa is a grace, blessed with a skill. However, her skill, killing, means that everyone around her is frightened of her. She acts secretly to rescue those in need of help, when she stumbles upon a dangerous secret. I loved the storytelling as well as the whole idea of this book! It was really interesting and well-written!

The Spanaritar

This is a short story that I wrote for the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition! It won an honorable mention.

It had been a nice, normal, spring day. Before the man, before his daughter, before…well. It started with cherry blossoms. They were the first thing Aryan noticed as he headed outside, his plan to relax, to take a break. The pink flowers littered the pavement and as Aryan passed the movie theater, the smell of popcorn wafted through the open doors. All around, kids were laughing, couples were talking, and, well, everyone seemed joyful. As Aryan scanned the crowd, a pleasant smile lit up his face. It really was what some would call a perfect day. 
As he continued to observe the sights, setting a leisurely pace, he startled at the sight of someone unhappy. A middle-aged man was sitting on a bench, his face buried in his palms. Something drew Aryan to the man, something that he couldn’t quite explain, but couldn’t quite ignore either. Aryan laid his hand on the man’s shoulder, startling him. The man looked up, alarmed, his teary gaze meeting Aryan’s calm, steady one.
“Hey. What’s wrong? Well, obviously, I’m a stranger, but…if you have anything that’s troubling you…you can tell me”.
The man tried in vain to smile, “That’s-that’s nice of you, thanks. I-, well, I guess I sound stupid, but um. My daughter- she, she’s going to kill me, I swear”
Aryan furrowed his brow, “Um, well. I’m sure it’s not that bad, but you can stay with me for now? If you prefer?” 
The man shook his head frantically, “No. I must get back to her, I must! I can’t, I have to see her again!” As much as Aryan was put off by the situation, he couldn’t help but pity the man. He must have been having some family problems, maybe a fight had broken out between the two and his daughter had gotten terrifyingly vicious. Though I don’t understand why he’d exaggerate so much…
Aryan sighed, “Fine. But promise me you’ll let me walk back with you. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
The man’s face collapsed in a relieved grin, “Yes. Yes, thank you so, so much. I’d appreciate that. Just…stay back, ok? If…if it happens again, you should stay safe.”
No matter Aryan’s wariness, he nodded, following the man closely. 

Aryan and the man walked together in relative silence, the man occasionally glancing over as if to make sure Aryan didn’t disappear completely. Aryan surveyed the apartment complex they walked up to, satisfied when he saw nothing wrong. 
He turned to smile at the man, “There. Is your daught-”. He stopped suddenly, surveying the man’s withdrawn expression, the fear returned to his eyes, “What’s wrong?”
“She-she’s there. Don’t you see her?” He raised a finger, slowly pointing at a figure in the window. Aryan’s eyes narrowed, watching her closely. On first glance, she had blended in with her surroundings- her matted black hair and rumpled clothes matching the darkness of the room behind her. 


As Aryan continued to pay attention, the figure turned around, an almost evil gleam in her eye and a manic smile making its way up those red-lined lips. He found himself backing away subconsciously, his overwhelming selfishness and greed to live overpowering his desire to help the man. Even as his legs trembled, he couldn’t look away, eyes locked onto the girl in the window. 
She lifted an instrument to her lips, then began to play. Aryan watched in horror as the man seemed to collapse onto himself, clutching his head desperately. As he gazed upon the man’s obvious turmoil, terror bleached his brain. 
The instrument….it couldn’t be? Unless… it was what he thought it was. But there’s no way- she shouldn’t have one of those…
If it really was what he thought…well, they were all screwed. It was a device of legends, an instrument said to control the listener, to force them to listen to its twisted tunes, burrowing its way into their brain, until…well, until they were gone. 
The last Aryan saw of the man was him getting dragged into the building by some kind of force, his eyes dark and tornmented, his lips barely pushing out the words, “No- please. The Spanaritar, please. Save me.”

I hope you enjoyed!

Kyoho: A short story

Here’s a short story I wrote based on the song “Lost Umbrella” by Inabakumori!

Mayumi held her hands over her head, a makeshift umbrella, as she bobbed and weaved through the throngs of shoppers, her gaze solely on the small black cat in front of her- Kyoho, as she had dubbed it. The cat glanced back, as if to check she was still following, then plodded on determinedly. Mayumi’s breath caught as Kyoho disappeared from her gaze, eyes narrowing as she searched the crowd, before it reappeared, letting out a plaintive mewl. Mayumi exhaled, relieved, increasing her speed. 

Kyoho had appeared right when she had lost her umbrella, the wind sweeping away the bright yellow parasol. Mayumi had stared after it despondently, hand reaching out in a futile attempt to grab it. It had been yet another unlucky event on top of a slew of bad days. Just when she was about to step into the protection of an awning and wonder if she should just go home, the sensation of something winding between her legs caught her attention. She had looked down, startled, to see Kyoho, the small creature looking up at her innocently. As she bent to scoop it up, it had taken off, with the occasional backwards glance to see if she was following.

She was. She didn’t know why she was, but she trusted the cat. Call it a soft spot, call it idiocy…but still. Kyoho seemed like a friend. A feline friend who couldn’t quite talk, sure, but a friend all the same. 

Kyoho rounded a corner, and Mayumi, nearly out of breath, did the same moments later- only to come face to face with the umbrella, tangled in the branches of a tree. Mayumi sucked in a breath, staring wonderously at the cat, back to winding around her feet. She cautiously made her way over to the tree, reaching up on her tiptoes to try and nudge it back to the ground. It fluttered down, along with a few ginkgo leaves, a young, bright green, hopeful, determined. As if to symbolize that it wasn’t all lost. That there was still hope. Mayumi picked up the umbrella, turning to thank Kyoho, to express some form of gratitude to the cat, but when she turned back…it was gone. Vanished into the sea of people, off to perhaps save another lost soul. 

Mayumi took a deep breath, hefted the umbrella back over her shoulder, and set back off on her journey. 

I hope you enjoyed!

Top Books of February

  1. This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff
    I read this book for school and it was really interesting! Tobias, or Jack, has followed his mother to Utah, hoping for a new life. However, wherever they turn, misfortune follows them, as Jack learns who he is and what he truly wants in life. It was a really interesting book!
  2. One Thousand and One Nights by Hanan al-Shaykh
    This was a retelling of the story of Scheherazade, who told stories to a cruel king so that she wouldn’t die. I really loved the way the stories were written, each individual story a part of something bigger. It was beautiful to read and I definitely recommend it to you!
  3. Tales of India: Folktales from Bengal, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu by Svabhu Kohli and Viplov Singh
    This book contained folktales from India, as well as the most gorgeous illustrations! I really enjoyed the way the stories were told in simple terms with Indian vocabulary. It was really enjoyable to read and learn about all these folktales!
  4. An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson

Lennon’s life, once ruined, was saved by the Drayton College. The college specializes in “persuasion” and Lennon is one of the most gifted students. But the corruption that lurks around the school is terrifying, ad well as its past. I really enjoyed this book and its plot!

The Geysers

While in New Zealand, we decided to explore the geysers- hot springs that erupt due to the pressure of gases below. We explored both the geysers at Rotorua and at Taupo and they were both magnificent!

First, at Rotorua, we visited Te Puia, which also housed the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute and a Kiwi Conservatory. We started off by getting to see the bubbling mud, which is known for having medicinal properties. After that, we headed to the Kiwi Conservatory. The conservatory was kept dark and quiet, as kiwis are sensitive to light and noise. We weren’t allowed to take photos, but it was definitely a unique experience, as kiwis only live in New Zealand. Then, we saw the geysers, the main one being the Pōhutu geyser. Finally, we concluded with a performance of the traditional Māori war dance, which was really cool to see!

After this, we went to Lake Taupo. The lake is unique as the whole area was formed by a series of explosions. The explosions formed a crater, which was filled by water, forming the lake. The lake itself is quite large, roughly the same size as Singapore. We took a floatplane, a small plane that takes off and lands in water, from this lake to another geyser- the Orakei Korako Cave & Geothermal Park. The park was lush, full of tropical foliage, and geysers ranging from big to small. It was a great experience!

The Glowworm Caves

While in New Zealand, one of the places we went to was the Waitomo and Ruakuri Caves- caves famous for their glow worms.

The glow worms are the larvae of fungus gnats and them glowing is how they signal when they’re hungry. The light attracts smaller insects like moths and flies and as they fly closer, they’re caught in the glowworms’ sticky threads and eaten. Eventually, the glowworms form pupa and turn into the fungus gnats. However, these gnats are born without a mouth and a digestive system, clearly not born to survive. They live for around a week or two.

The first cave we visited was the most famous- the Waitomo cave. In these caves, we explored the vast caverns and got to go on a boat ride to view the glowworms from all angles. They didn’t allow pictures, but the experience was legendary and will always be a part of me.

Secondly, we visited the Ruakuri cave, where we were able to take pictures! Other than the glowworms, the cave also had a ton of gorgeous stalagmites and stalagtites, as well as fossils from years past!

Top Reads of January

It’s already been a month into the New Year! Here are my top books for January.

  1. The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan
    This was a reread, but as always, I love diving back into the world of Percy Jackson and his adventures! This time, to get into college, Percy needs 3 recommendation letters- each from different gods as he completes their quests. His first quest is from Ganymede, the cup bearer of the gods. Percy is forced to deal with trial after trial in this sequel to the Percy Jackson series! It was really fun to read and had all of the classic humor!
  2. Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender
    This was such an amazing book! Set in a world where anyone can do alchemy, we meet three amazing characters- Ash, Callum, and Ramsay. Together, they’re trying to find the legendary ‘Book of Source’ to destroy it, but Ash’s father is against them, tracking their every movement. It was incredibly fun to read and I loved all the characters and the plot!
  3. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
    I’ve watched the movie before, so I was eager to read the book! I loved seeing more of Lara Jean, especially as she tries to figure out where exactly she fits into the world of high school and boys and family life. Seeing the movie moments in the book added a lot more context and were really fun to read! I loved reading this book as well as all the characters!
  4. The Umbrella Man and Other Stories by Roald Dahl
    As a kid, I loved Dahl’s children books and so, I was incredibly curious about his other works! These short stories were a perfect mix of silly and scary and were really fun to read! Dahl’s writing style is very clear and very interesting to read, so I had a lot of fun revisiting one of my childhood authors.