The Storm

• Ella Plowman, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2021

Praying it would be enough, he held the fragile leaf above his sopping wet body. It was raining hard now, and all traces of the way home had been washed away along with any prints he had left behind. So clearly, it felt like a marching band in his hairy auburn ear, he could hear the thunderous storm booming his warning to all. So bold that he could feel the muddy ground vibrating in its rein, he could see the lighting crack like an electric whip in the dark stormy sky. His mind drifted to his sick and helpless siblings, cradling each other in fear as he courageously ventured from the treetops to find them food.
His parents were long gone, caught in a similar storm many years back.
Keeping his long fingers crossed that he wouldn’t be next, he continued towards what he was sure were banana trees.
Suddenly the worst of the worst happened.
The leaf began to tear.