Kara felt sick to her stomach. Like she was going to fall. And nobody was there to catch her. When she woke, she was no longer in the dark realm. She was in her house, on the sofa, lying down. Her mother was patting down a wet towel on her forehead, her other arm holding the telephone as she yelled into it. “What do you MEAN, you can’t come and help my sick daughter right now? She’s burning up and you won’t give it an ounce of thought? I’m never calling you guys again!” Kara’s mother slammed the phone down, and looked lovingly at her daughter. “Good, you’re awake. How do you feel, honey?” Kara gasped, frightened and terribly confused. Wasn’t she just in that weird time period with the mysterious lady? With all the darkness? Kara nodded. “I feel okay. Can I go outside for a minute…for some fresh air?” Suspiciously, her mother nodded. “Okay…but only for a little while.” Kara sprinted outside. Thunder rumbled in the distance. “Oh no.” Kara mumbled under her breath. It was the storm from her dreams. The rain began to patter. Kara ran back inside. She needed to warn her family. They needed to evacuate. Now! “Mom, get the baby. We have to go!” Puzzled, but willing, her mother raced to the nursery room to get the baby. They ran outside and hid behind some bushes. And watched. The water started to wash through the streets, tearing up houses and drowning kids and animals. Suddenly, a ray of light burst from the sky, sucking up all the unconscious people left in the town. Kara and her family released gasps of breath. They would never know what happened that day, or what happened to the rest of their town, but all they knew was that they were safe. Kara wrapped her arms around her family. 2nd Place: Laila C., Grade 5 The Hope Tree Me and my friend Melissa were watching. Waiting for something to happen. The Hope Tree was the source of protection for our village. It was fueled by the hopes and dreams of citizens. But lately, the tree had been…weak. Dying even. It was like people were starting to lose hope. And according to our calculations (for we had been watching the tree for a long time), if one more person lost hope, the tree would die. Suddenly, shadows came over the tree. The Shadowborn had been attacking our village for centuries, but the Hope Tree had stopped them every time. Except this time, we were worried. The Shadowborn might be able to breach the barrier now. Without saying anything, Melissa ran over to the tree. “Melissa!” I hissed. “Hope is salvaged with many, not one.” I tried to run after her, but I found myself stuck. Before Melissa even got to the tree, shadows took her. A dark blade hovered over her. I struggled to get free, to help her, but… The blade sank into her chest, her body disintegrating in the wind. “Melissa! No!” I had to keep up hope to save the Hope Tree, but soon enough, it disintegrated just as Melissa’s body did. THE CLARION
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