The 12 Floors of Kindness

buzzed . . . It was a notification. Your computer was at ten percent. Then you found out the hard truth . . . after you reach zero percent sent.. something would happen. But then you realized the final hope of going to settings and doing a virus scan. You were going to settings fast, and you decided to press the button. It would take ten minutes for the scan to finish, but not so shortly, you could hear a bash in the distance. It looked like a virus because it had the word “virus” across its body. You ran around as fast as you could, and lucky for you, the virus was very slow, so you outran it easily. But you went to five percent, so now you were slower than regular. You were so slow now that the virus could catch up to you. And then the virus started to shrink. The scan was almost complete, as it was counting down from ten. Ten, nine , eight, seven, six, five— But then the virus roared, "This isn’t OVeRrrr—” The virus was gone. And then you woke up from your bed. You realized that it was a dream and never happened. Although you had time until your appointment, you couldn’t go back to sleep now as your heart was beating out of your chest. So, you got ready and went to your appointment. You reached there one hour early, but they took you in early. They said that your computer had a few viruses and a huge one, but the huge one is gone. They said the total was twenty-three dollars and forty-five cents. So, you gave them your credit card and you left. On the car ride, you wondered if it was real, but you forgot about it a few hours later.

Nia Hatter, Age 11

Nia, age 11, lives in Ypsilanti. She likes to write because it’s fun. In addition to writing, she enjoys art and expressive reading. She hopes to one day soon join a reader’s theater group. Most of all, she would like to live in a world where COVID was gone and where people didn’t hate each other so much.

The 12 Floors of Kindness

One day, in a world where some people smile and some don’t, there is a twelve floor building of kindness that has a giraffe at the entrance named Careaffe. It also has a pink runner that you walk on, which takes you to the front door. Additionally, there is a galaxy-themed revolving door! Lilly is twelve years old, and she hates smiling. She is an only child and likes to go to the beach. Henry, on the other hand, is full of energy and outgoing. He is thirteen years old, has two younger siblings, and he wants people to be nice to him. Amazingly, one day this twelve floor building caught their eye!! They stood in front of the building and said, “What in the world is this building?” “I’ve never seen this in my life!” “This is such a tall building!! Let’s go inside and explore! Phew!!!” “I wonder if we need to check in,” said Lilly. “Check in? No, let’s just go!” Henry shouted. Before they explored the first floor, they checked in at the front desk. When they were at the front desk, they smelled treats like candy and doughnuts. It instantly made them feel happy! They looked to the right and they saw a sign that said, “Odd Floors are for demonstrations (watch) and Even Floors are for participation (join in).” There was also a sign that listed what was on every floor. The sign displayed the following: First Floor: Doing Good Deeds: this floor is full of people who are doing things for others without them asking. Second Floor: Helping Someone in Need: this floor is for people who like to help someone who is in need. Third Floor: People Who Love Smiling: this floor is full of people who are happy and smiling.

Fourth Floor: Giving Each Other a Hug: this floor is for people who really need a hug. Fifth Floor: Having Happy Memories: this floor helps people focus on happy times they have had. Even if they are sad today, when they think about good or happy times, it can renew their spirit. Sixth Floor: Friends and Fitness: this floor has multiple activity stations where you are able to exercise. Seventh Floor: Spending Time with Family: this floor is for people who want to spend more time with their family. Eighth Floor: Spending Time with Friends: this floor is for people who want to spend time with friends. Ninth Floor: Be Kind to Your Friends: this floor is for people who want to be kind to their friends. Tenth Floor: Clean Someone’s Room: this floor is for people who love to clean their room. Eleventh Floor: Give People a Break: this floor is for people who barely ever take a break. They are able to read a book, drink tea or coffee, and have a quiet moment. Twelfth Floor: Meet Chatty Maddy: this floor is for lonely people. Not just people who live alone, but people who feel alone. Chatty Maddy will talk to you and be your instant friend! So, after they checked in, they went around the corner and entered the hallway of Doing Good Deeds. Immediately, they saw people who were down and sad. There were also tour guides who took them to another room, where they were able to listen to why these people were down. After leaving the listening room, they went to the action room to watch short videos on KindTube. Henry was very excited to learn that holding the door for someone coming in behind you or doing the dishes after dinner without being asked are both great ways to do a good deed. Next, he suggested that Lilly go to the second and third floors, and he would go to the fourth and fifth floors. After that, they would meet back up on the sixth floor. Lilly said, “Great! Sounds like a plan!” So, off Lilly went to the second floor, Helping People in Need. The tour guide welcomed her to the floor and said that there are three different rooms. “What is in each room?” Lilly asked. “One room has food, another room has clothing, and the other room has toiletries,” said the tour guide. Lilly wondered to herself, “ . . . Hmmm, I wonder what can I do to help?” She soon found out that she would be able to help by boxing up items for people to come and pick up! Once Lilly saw the third floor was for People Who Love Smiling, she was kind of nervous. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go on that floor. When she got off the elevator, she saw a puppet theater. She sat and watched three different puppet shows. Her favorite one was the second one because it showed her how smiling can make anybody’s day happier. Henry got on the elevator and eagerly pressed the button for the fourth floor. When the elevator doors opened, he immediately saw a welcome sign that read, “Welcome to Have-a-hug Central!!” There were ten people standing with open arms waiting to give hugs! Henry was excited to go to person number three because that person looked the happiest to him, and they gave him a very big hug! Henry left the fourth floor feeling joyful and happy inside! He then went to the fifth floor. He remembered that this floor was for having happy memories, but he wasn’t quite sure what to expect. So, when the elevator doors opened, he saw multiple screens on the walls that went around the entire floor. Each screen played an inspiring video from KindTube. Henry was drawn to the screen where it showed a boy cooking with his Grandma, and it brought him happy memories because his Grandma had passed. Henry went to the sixth floor to wait for Lilly because he remembered they were going to meet back up to explore the rest of the floors together. When he got there, Lilly was already there waiting for him. “Hey Henry, perfect timing!” Lilly exclaimed. “I didn’t have to wait long at all,” she said. Henry replied, “Great! Let’s see what this 6th floor is all about!” They saw a sign when they entered the floor that said “Friends and Fitness” in flashing lights. There were trampolines, jump ropes, and treadmills. Lilly liked to jump rope, but never had anyone to jump rope with. Henry wanted to jump on the trampoline because he had one at home and loved it! They decided to jump rope first, and then they jumped on the trampoline. Lilly was very excited that Henry jumped rope with her. Better yet, Henry did not realize that he was being kind to Lilly by jump roping with her. He just thought it was fun!

Next, they went to the seventh floor. This floor had interactive touch screen wall displays that included: How to FaceTime with family Cooking with grandparents Reading stories to younger siblings Have a big family dinner just because! You were supposed to walk up to the wall and select an activity. Lilly decided to select cooking with grandparents. Then the screen took her through a step by step process of selecting a menu and recipes. She was really excited and could not wait to spend time with her grandparents and share the new recipes! Henry, on the other hand, decided to select “reading stories to younger siblings”. Every time his siblings asked him to read them a story, he was always too busy. He was able to explore new and exciting books that he now wanted to read to them! Now, they reached the eighth floor, where there were activities to spend time with friends. The activities included: Painting and/or coloring together Playing a board game like: Candyland Trouble Connect Four Watching videos on KindTube together.

Lilly and Henry had fun playing Connect Four and CandyLand. Then, they moved on to the ninth floor. When they got to the ninth floor, they saw lots of people watching KindTube, learning how to be kind to their friends. They waited for an available screen and watched two videos. The tenth floor brought more excitement. Henry and Lilly participated in activities where they were able to learn hacks on how to organize their rooms. The hack that they both liked the best was learning how to build a bookshelf with crates. By this time, they were starting to get a little tired from their adventure. But they moved right along to the eleventh floor. Upon entering the eleventh floor, they were amazed. This floor had four massage chairs, along with side tables that had tea, water or coffee. It also had a lounge that had e-readers available. They were excited to know that they could select an audiobook or an e-book to enjoy while taking a break from their everyday life. They finally arrived at the long-awaited twelfth floor. When they stepped off the elevator, they were very surprised to see a long line of people waiting to enter a room with blue drapes that covered the entrance instead of a door. Lilly and Henry wondered why the line was so long and what was behind the blue drapes. “Look!!” Henry exclaimed. He saw a screen that displayed a message that was almost like a commercial. As they watched, Lilly read along with the message, “Do you ever feel like you are all alone? Or at times do you feel like no one understands you? Wellllllllllllllllll, help is here!!! Meet Chatty Maddy! She will talk to you, make you laugh, and most of all listen to your point of view!” “Woohoo!” Henry shouted. “I would love to come and visit with Chatty Maddy every week and talk about things that have happened to me.” Lily agreed, “Sounds like a good idea, Henry! I have enjoyed exploring the twelve floors of kindness today, but I don’t want to wait in that long line for Chatty Maddy. Now that I know she’s here, I will come back whenever I feel like I need to talk!” They walked over to the elevator and took it down to the lower level. They had now reached the final stop of their twelve floors of kindness experience. Waiting for them were some very special treats. The choices included cupcakes, lollipops, and fruit (apples and oranges). Lilly chose a lollipop and Henry chose an apple and a cupcake! As they walked out the door into the courtyard and sat on a bench together, Henry turned to Lilly and said, “Hey, can I tell you a secret?” She replied, “Sure!” Henry went on to say, “I’m a nerd, and sometimes people bully me. But my favorite part of coming to the twelve floors of kindness today has been getting a hug from person number three on the fourth floor!”