Curveball from China by Elijah

Curveball from China-­‐ By Elijah

The pitcher stood on the mound-­‐ his hand ready to pitch. The batter stared at him and snarled. The pitcher threw the ball, and the batter swung to hit it-­‐ but the ball curved at the last second. Now-­‐ what did he throw?

A curveball? Is that what it’s called? Well, this pitcher isn’t the only one. Life likes to throw you curveballs too. Oh? You want an example? Okay. How about the time that I got a new sibling?

I was 3. Or 4. I can never remember. Anyway, my mom was away. I was with my dad and my brother back at the house. We were celebrating Shabbat, a weekly Jewish holiday that takes place on Friday. I was a bit confused, because I missed my mom and I didn’t know where she was or when she was coming back.

“Where’s mom?” I asked my dad. “I miss her.”

“She’ll be here soon.” He answered. “And with a big surprise too.”

“Okay.” I said. I didn’t really know what to think, though.

And a few days later, she was back. And she definitely had a surprise.

“She’s here.” My mom said to us. I was confused, until my mom revealed what the surprise was…a baby.

I looked confused. “What is that?”

My brother obviously recognized it, because he began to walk away. My dad stopped him and brought him back.

“This is a girl. A baby girl.” My mom told me. “In fact, she’s your baby sister.”

I still looked confused. My parents exchanged looks and my dad grabbed me.

“Let’s go to bed. We’ll deal with this in the morning.”

I followed, not knowing what else to do. I went to bed, and the next day, she was still there.

“How long is the little girl staying?” I asked innocently.

My parents exchanged glances. “A long time.” My mom told me. “Go play now.” I shrugged and walked off happily.

See? A curveball. Life threw me one, and so did the pitcher. Oh, wait, he threw another ball? Batter missed again? Darn shame.

The pitcher threw one more pitch. The batter swung…and missed. Three strikes, you’re out, I always say. Reminds me of the time the Red Sox won the world series and broke the 86-­‐year curse. But that’s another story…