Look at Me Now
(This original epilogue completes a science fiction story entitled “All Summer in a Day.” Parents who initially settled on Venus have found the environment dangerous for their daughter, compelling them to return to Earth.)
My mom always tells me not to use the word hate, but I hate Venus, I hate the rain, I hate the ashy -covered forest, and I hate being sick. The decline in my health due to being locked in the closet and not receiving my vital vitamin D has forced my family to move back to Ohio, a sunny, warm, yellow, golden, and magical place. My father gave me a camera for my first birthday back on Earth. I could not ask for any- thing better! On this glorious summer day, I am the leprechaun at the end of a rainbow, a term I recently learned, so I photograph everything I see. Early in the morning, Dad and I climb to the top of the barn, and we see a sunrise as magnificent as a thousand angels coming down from heaven. I take pictures of the dawn as she rises and spreads her majestic, golden wings. Dad takes the camera from my hand and photo- graphs me. It is the first time he has noticed the sparkle in my eyes and the glow on my skin. I am nothing like the pale, colorless nine-year-old girl who had been lost in the rain for years. My family sits down for a celebratory breakfast on the porch. Mom and Dad enjoy their espressos on the porch swing, but I cannot help taking pictures of my breakfast meal: freshly squeezed orange juice, a sunny-side-up egg, and fluffy, golden pancakes with maple syrup. After breakfast, we go fishing at the lake. We load up Dad’s truck with a picnic basket, blankets, and fishing rods. To our delight, the salmon are jumping in and out of the water. I grab my camera and snap a shot of the fish, shimmering and shining, mid-air. I see the salmon's vibrant scales above the slightly murky blue water and feel their energy as they shoot up in the air. The water is rippling, and splashes are flying everywhere. Roses, trees, and mounds of grass can all be seen in the backdrop. I'm so relieved to be back on Earth. Of my many pictures, I choose the best ones to get developed. I place the photos in an album with care, package it, write the correct address on it, and deliver it to the USOSPS (United States Outer Space Postal Service). I can't wait for my “friends” on Venus to see my album, All Day in the Summer.
Ethan Sadka, Seventh Grade
5
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