I Remember

• Sofia Tripodi, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2017

The once verdant fields are now sable and motionless.The millions of stars don’t beam in the night nor the moonlight. The sun declares punishments to us survivors and my city is demolished. The people are gone. All of them but me.

Italy 1943. We prayed that the invaders wouldn’t strike against our town.But all was refute as the first bomb embarked.The bombs tumultuous.The soldiers brutal.The once safe place now possessed with death, including my biological mother. An avalanche of smoke blurs my vision. My ability to move or stand or run has departed. My legs turn to jelly the ground and I hug.They think I’m dead.That’s why I survived.

The war was deadly. I was weak. But now I am strong and have the power to leave.The invaders successfully now rule the land. They thought I was dead and since the war the old me has been dead.They had seen me, one even carried me around. But my stay will no longer be extended, because now, I will leave.

Cascades of Earth’s tears plunged from the night sky. The arctic air smashed onto my face, my bones aching from the journey. Two long months of running. But now I regret going in winter. I could barley see mum’s star in the azure sky. Covered by clouds the stars turned invisible. My tent was broken and yet I felt comfort inside. There is no turning back I thought, as my eyes filled with darkness.

I awaken to an unknown place. It looks like a prison cell. Dull and grey. The floor seemed to move beneath me, as the place turned and twisted. Only meters away from exiting the room, when suddenly I faced what seemed to be a nightmare. The sign says Australian cruise ships. I’d rather be dead. Not away from mother’s grave.The window panes were talking as the wind swept through them.

I jumped out the window and landed on unsteady ground.The deck of the boat I think as I examined my surroundings. Something moves from under me. In a sudden moment I find the deck cracking near my feet and my body slowly descending into the water. My head smashes against the wood.

The water was salty. My body pummelled with waves. The waves swallowed the earth as the water continued to rise. All my thoughts drifted away as my head is flooded with water. My eyes are forced shut. My mind goes blank. I feel my mother’s presence.

* * * * * *

Isabella, in time you will remember, they say. Things will start to make sense, they say. But I don’t care if they think it will happen because it has. No one believes me. I survived the war. Mother didn’t. Till this very day her star shines over her grave. They think the amnesia is getting to my head. The boat accident messed with my memory but didn’t change it. They’re the fools, I remember.