Tag: mint girl writes

Our Day Trips in Spain

While on our trip to Madrid, we also visited two neighboring cities- Avila and Segovia. Both were gorgeous places and amazing experiences!

Avila is famous for its walls. The city is surrounded by medieval style walls which can be climbed and walked-on. Additionally, it’s known for being the birthplace of St. Theresa. In Avila, we explored the church of St. Theresa, which was opulent and gorgeous, decorated with realistic sculptures and paintings. It was a treat to see the beauty of the church and to get to hear the story of St. Theresa. After visiting the church, we got to see a traditional Avilan home, complete with a courtyard and gorgeous tiled walls. Finally, we went to a church, famous for its walls made out of “blood stone”. Its stained glass work was astonishing and it was beautifully gilded.

After Avila, we drove to Segovia, a city famed for its Roman aqueducts. After viewing these architectural marvels, we also visited their castle, named the Alcazar de Segovia. It was artfully decorated, with stunning ceilings and breathtaking views.

Overall, I really enjoyed my two day trips! They made me love Spain even more.

Top Books of November

Here are my top reads for November!

  1. This is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
    This was such a beautiful and well-written book! Red and Blue are on opposite sides of the “Time War”. But when they start leaving notes for each other, something changes. The prose was beautiful in this book and I absolutely loved the story and its ending. I totally recommend this book to you!
  2. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
    This was such a good book! Monty has one last summer with his best friend and his sister before all three of them are forced into futures they don’t want. He’s determined to make the most of it, but that’s derailed when he steals something he shouldn’t have and bandits chase after him. This was such a beautiful book and I loved the character growth!
  3. The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
    This was such a well-written book! Yamilet is at a new school and that means a new start for her and her brother. But as struggles build up at home, she feels hopeless, finding solace only in a friend named Bo. I really enjoyed this story and it was great to read!
  4. Liar’s Beach by Katie Cotugno
    This is a really cool book, inspired by Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I loved the story and the mystery, as well as all the different characters and side plots we got to see. It was a really interesting read and I can’t wait to read the second book!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! To celebrate, here’s a few things I’m grateful for this year.

  1. I’m grateful for travel! I’m currently in Madrid, Spain and I’m really enjoying the culture and getting to experience the new food and city. Overall, it’s been really fun and I’ve loved going to museums, markets, and learning about the traits of this city. I’ve also traveled a lot this year, going to Oman and Chicago, making this year incredibly cultured and exciting.
  2. I’m super grateful for books! I’ve definitely had less time to read, with more schoolwork and dance practices, but I still do enjoy reading and whenever I get time to, I love diving into a great book. It’s still so comforting to me to be wrapped in a story and let it carry me away.
  3. I’m grateful for dance! It’s been a huge part of my life, especially this year, and it’s a great place to express myself. I love learning new items and getting to perform them and grow. It’s a way for me to get in touch with my culture and the stories/mythology from it as well, so I’m incredibly grateful for it.
  4. And last, but certainly not least, I’m grateful for my friends and family! I’m super thankful for everything they do for me and the way I can be myself around them! They’re the people I really rely on throughout my life and so, of course, I’m forever grateful and thankful for them.

What’re you thankful for?

Imaginary Friend: A Poem

I wrote a poem for the prompt ‘Imaginary Friend’. I hope you enjoy!

they want me to hate you
they want me to be rid
they want me to not love you
anymore

i could never hate you
i could never lose you
i will always love you
for evermore

but they want me to hate you
they tell me to be rid
they force me to not love you
anymore

i tell them i can’t hate you
i promise them i’d never lose you
and i swear i will always love you
for evermore

Did you have an imaginary friend growing up?

Maybe In Another Life

I recently saw a writing prompt which was, “Write a story that includes the phrase “Maybe in another life.””. Here’s what I wrote! I hope you enjoy!

A pink umbrella. It was unusual, to say the least. But Elion couldn’t help but follow it, silently tracing its pattern through the rain, watching as it bobbed and weaved its way over to the small alley where Elion was working. She held her breath, hand pausing over the canvas which was just beginning to be drawn on.
“It’s raining.” The owner of the umbrella’s voice was playful, though its melodious lilt wasn’t lost on Elion.
“Yeah. I’m not an idiot.” Elion was sharp in her retaliation, though she couldn’t help but feel strangely…captivated by this stranger- with her pink hair that matched her umbrella and by her hat with its small, but bright pawprint.
The stranger laughed brightly, “Didn’t think you were. Do you not have an umbrella?”
There wasn’t much Elion could say in response. She shook her head, turning back to the painting, studying in it the faint glow of the streetlamps. “No. I like the rain”.
The stranger cocked her head, though her voice was as bright as ever, “You’ll ruin your outfit. And your painting,” She held out the umbrella, an almost dare in her eyes, the water droplets catching the light- and Elion’s eyes- as they fell off the umbrella, “Here. Take it”
Elion furrowed her brow, “…What about you? You’ll be the one ruining your outfit, then.”
The stranger just winked at Elion, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine.”
And with that she was gone. Had turned and walked away, ignoring Elion’s protests of “Wait! I don’t…”
Elion trailed off in frustration, her hand wrapped tightly around the umbrella. She studied it, a small smile on her face. It was pretty. And…and quite thoughtful.
Her thoughts turned back to the pink-haired stranger. How confident she was. How playful. Picking up her canvas, she tucked it back into her bag, thinking to herself as she got up. Maybe…maybe in another life, things would’ve been different. Maybe they could’ve gotten to know each other more. Maybe the only remnant Elion had of her wouldn’t have been the umbrella.
Maybe.

Top Books of October


Here are my top reads for this month!

  1. The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber
    This was the second in the “Once Upon a Broken Heart” trilogy and I really enjoyed it! Evangeline has promised herself to never trust Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, again, not after what happened last time. But when she’s cursed again, he’s the only one who can help her. I really enjoyed this book and its plot! It was really well-written and all the characters were wonderful!
  2. A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber
    This was the final book in the aforementioned trilogy and it was a really good read! Evangeline, now without her memories, must fight to remember who she is and why she feels like this. It was such a good conclusion to the series and I enjoyed it a lot!
  3. A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
    This was such a beautiful book! Effy is the only woman at her college and she lives knowing that she has to prove herself against the teachers who believe she is unfit for the school. She gets the opportunity when she applies, and is selected, for a competition to redesign her favorite author’s house. I really enjoyed this book and how well written and beautiful it was!
  4. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
    This was a classic that I was so excited to read! When Carmen got a new pair of jeans, she shoved them to the back of her closet without thinking about it. But now that her and her 3 best friends are going to be apart this summer, the jeans are their good luck charm. I really loved the plot of this book and I thought it was really well done!
  5. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
    This book was really well written!

The Royal Tiara of Lady Martian

For an English class assignment, we had to take a very plain and uninteresting paragraph and turn it into an interesting story following certain steps. I hope you enjoy!

The cagey jewel-thief, owner of all the prizes jewels, slunk into the despondent, dreary room, confirming that it matched the photo messages to him a few days prior. As he entered, he shivered, wishing for a brief moment that he’d thought to bring a jacket. he shook off the thought and looked around, slipping his earbuds into his pocket as he did so. His heartbeat quickened and he was forced to press a hand to his chest to calm himself down. Taking a deep breath, the man brushed his greasy, dyed-as-a-disguise hair out of his face with a trembling hand. The room was dark, seeped in shades of sepia and gray, making it hard to see. He walked over to the window and looked out apprehensively, hands shaky as they drew the curtain closed. His steps made a noise on the bare floor as he moved to examining the room. To his nervous ears, they sounded as loud as an elephant thundering through the jungle. He turned around anxiously, looking to see whether someone else was in the room, but he saw nothing but 5 pieces of furniture underneath a thin, dusty sheet. “Is this really it?” he thought, a tremulous grin blooming on his face. Nothing could stop him now. The royal tiara of Lady Martian would finally be his!

This was a fun writing exercise and forced me to be creative with all the details I added!

The Jack of Hearts: a Poem

I recently tried a prompt about pulling a card from a deck and writing a poem based on that card. My card was the Jack of Hearts, which represents young love and playfulness. I hope you enjoy the poem I wrote!

The Jack of Hearts walks eagerly along a path,
plays with his crowns, tossing it
up, down, up down.
He surveys the courtyard, plucks a rose,
tucks it into his hair. 
Sits on the swing, lets 
the breeze push him
back, forth, back, forth.
Lets himself relax, lets himself
hear the beat of his heart.
Lets himself feel free,
allows himself a moment to 
fall in love with the world.

Being in a Production

Recently, I was part of a production of Kannagi, a classic Indian myth. I was part of the ensemble, playing small roles here and there, such as Kannagi’s friends in one section, or personifying bad luck in another. The entire production was around 18 minutes long, therefore being a shortened version of the story.

In the story, Kannagi meets Kovalan, a merchant, and the two fall in love and get married. However, when out on a trip, Kovalan meets the dancer Madhavi and spends all his money on her. Kannagi forgives Kovalan and gives him her anklet to trade and get money for. However, when he tries to get it sold, the jeweler charges him with the theft of the queen’s anklet, which had been missing and looked like Kannagi’s anklet. The king, normally just, orders the execution of Kovalan. When Kannagi hears of this, she is furious, opening up her anklet to prove that, unlike the queen’s, hers has rubies inside. She curses the city of Madurai to burn and becomes a goddess.

In our production, we played the role of Kannagi’s friends, dancing with her when she was joyous and celebrating the wedding, the role of bad luck, chasing Kovalan when he goes to sell the anklet, the role of soldiers, killing Kovalan, and the role of fire, showing the city burning down.

We learned this entire item in a week and I had class most days- Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday- leading up to the performance (Sunday the 8th). We learned the item in the first 4 days, using the last 2 as days to review and clean up the dance. Often, classes were 2 hours long including time to choreograph and practice.

The dance itself was a mix of styles from Southern India as the story originated from there. This included Bharatnatyam (Tamil Nadu), Mohiniyattam (Kerala), and Kathakali influences (Kerala).

During this time, I had the misfortune of injuring both my knee and my ankle. We made sure to order braces as soon as possible, hoping to alleviate the pain. Luckily, the braces did help, providing support for both areas and allowing me to continue to dance while still “resting” my leg. I wasn’t able to properly rest it with all the classes, but over time, as I continued to use the braces, the pain faded, though still there. For the final performance, I did end up wearing the knee brace.

While the performance wasn’t perfect, I was proud of what we’d learned and performed, especially at how emotional and powerful it was. It was an amazing item and I really enjoyed it and hope to learn something like it again.

The Summoning

I wrote this short story based on the prompt “Start your story with people arriving at a special ceremony”. I hope you enjoy!

Suspicious glances were thrown around the circle as everyone lined up in order. For a good reason, really. If anyone had caught word that they were here, that the ten people currently holding hands, cloak hoods drawn securely over their faces were traitors to the king, traitors to the country they stood for, well, there was no doubt. They’d surely be dead in a matter of seconds. No matter that the queen had called them there or that each of them were high advisors of the court. No, no matter their status, their heads would be adorning the wall the next day. A warning more than anything, proof that their king was all-mighty and to be respected.
In unison, the ten gathered around the fire, dropping each other’s hands and pulling out their letters. The queen had hand-written each one on the palace’s finest stationery, the cursive loops elegant, fitting of a queen. A quick glance wouldn’t procure anything out of place, no, everything would seem just as it should be. But reading the letter, even holding it, would be the worst form of treachery- conspiring against the king.
The letter was short, to the point: “Meet tomorrow. 11 pm. Summon whatever you must. Rid this city of my husband.” With practiced ease, as ten hands flung the letter into the fire, watching as the flames greedily gobbled up the parchment, the only remnant, ashes.
A figure stepped forward, the unofficial leader of the night. It was understood, without saying a word, that this was the spellcaster. The one who would be doing the summoning. They withdrew a handful of salt, tossing into the fire, chanting the words written oh-so-carefully on the back of the parchment. They were memorized to a T, their ancient words slipping off their tongue in practiced fashion.
Soon enough, a figure began to rise from the center, its body seemingly forming from nothing, the mist coalescing into a ragged shape of a figure. Its voice roared around the open field, more than one person clasping their hands over their ears.
“Who dares summon me to your pitiful excuse of a realm?” Looking around to see cowering figures, the brute smiled- a terrifying, ghastly smile, but a smile all the time, “Ah. I see. What a bunch of cowards.”
With a sweep of its arm, the pasture was set ablaze, the screams of the cloaked figures just white noise to its ears. It didn’t take long for the fire to spread, to burn throughout the town, to run up the buildings. A proclamation of chaos, a foreshadowing of death.
That was the last sight to many- a city on fire, the smoke choking the sky, the fumes thick and stifling. Within a few hours, it was all gone. The city was burnt to ashes. The ritual hadn’t gone exactly as planned, but, well, it had worked. The king was dead. Long live the queen.