Life Behind Glass By Kristen Bachman

     Steve is a very hard working man who never misses a day of work. He is very smart and always concerned about everyone else's well-being. Tuesday morning is what changed his life forever. Steve woke up that morning and stretched his arms and slowly began to work himself out of his bed. When he could not lift himself up he knew something was wrong. He began to uncover himself and look down slowly because he was afraid of what he would see. As the blankets began to reveal his body Steve was shocked at what he had just seen. Legs, legs of a bug. They were sticking to everything he touched. He knew he couldn't leave his house. This will be the first day of work Steve has ever missed.

     Steve is the care-giver of his family. He never thought twice of handing over his money to help out his mother and father. They were always tight on money and Steve was their only hope.

     His mother called up to him and told him he had a visitor. He was nervous, no one could see him in this condition. As the stairs began to creak he knew he had to hide. Steve crawled under his bed and yelled out the door saying he was not feeling well. His boss Tim was there to check on him. It was not usual for Steve to miss work so Tim knew something was going on. Steve said he would be back to work as soon as he was feeling better.

     After Tim left the house Steve crawled back on his bed. His mother walked up the stairs and slowly opened his bedroom door. She nearly fainted after seeing that Steve had gained characteristics of a bug. His face was still the same. The face of a hard working man. His body changed into a bug with seven legs and a hard shell like back. His mother ran down the steps screaming to everyone that something terrible had happened. The only thought running through her head was money. She worried that Steve would never be able to work again and they would become poor. Liz, Steve's sister, tried to come down there mother and say maybe he will change back to normal. After days of not changing the family came together to think of a plan.

     Liz thought of a brilliant idea that could even provide the family with an income. They would make advertisements for the human-bug that would draw everyone from around the world to there small town. The family will charge five dollars for every person to witness this creature. They built a glass tank for Steve to live in. The day had come that Steve was put out for the whole entire world to see. At first, he didn't mind all of the attention. They even fed him food. Old food from the garbage was thrown in to Steve's glass tank and he surprisingly loved it. People were visiting at all hours of the day and this left Steve no time to sleep or be alone. He grew tired and sad. All he wanted was to go back to normal.

     Steve's family was loving the attention he had brought in and of course the money. They hoped it would never end. They started to ignore Steve and his feelings and rarely let him out of his tank to roam the house. They would even forget to feed him and left him sad and hungry. One morning his mother went out to check on him and found him on his back not moving. She tapped on the glass and yelled at him to roll over. Nothing happened. Steve did not move.

     Visitors came to witness the human-bug and were disappointed at what they had seen. They complained and began to throw things at the home. The family hid inside not knowing what to do. They now had very little money left and would be forced to move. The next morning the family took down Steve's glass tank and removed him from it. They buried him beneath a tree in the backyard. They began to pack their belongings and took a train to a town that was hours away. They were forced to work for the rest of their lives. If only they had taken the time to notice how grateful they were for Steve.

Long, Beautiful Arms by Lena Fu

Jason had never met such a beautiful girl who had such long, beautiful arms. He saw her at a  concert, while she was playing the violin on the stage. Not only was he obsessed with the music   that flowed out of her violin, but he also remembered the beauty of her long arms. They were not   playing, instead, they were dancing. They were slender, like two pieces of lotus roots, swaying in   the wind. When she stood up and took a bow, those beautiful arms danced again with her shadow, which occupied his mind totally. So as soon as the concert was over, he went back to the         backstage, looking for that special girl.

He saw her packing her violin among the players, so he stood by the door to approach her    when she was passing by.

“Your music is amazing!” He smiled

“Oh, thank you. Thank you for listening.” Her cheeks became pink.

“Hum...Would you like to have some coffee? I know a great place.”

“Oh, I’d love to, but it’s too late and I need to go home.”

“Okay. I am Jason, and may I know your name?”

“Grete.”

“Beautiful name...” He stared at her delicate skin, and it was too white to be true. Somehow it made him think of the tender grass, which was flicking his heart. He gently took up her hand and   pecked on it, feeling like he was kissing a river, so tender, and so refreshing.

“I think I can go home a little later,” she looked up at him, and said.

For him, it was the first time he asked a girl out. He was a good-looking guy, and always dressed properly, which showed the wealth of his family. So there were  many pretty girls who were into him and always asking him out. But after dating them several     times, he realized that he was looking for someone special, like Grete, who was cultivated, elegant  and refreshing. 

On their second date, they sat on the chairs outside a soda fountain shop with two cups of    lemon soda and mint soda, and the mint soda was for Grete. They talked about music, literature   and flowers on the table. Everything was a great topic to them and they just couldn’t stop.

Then he remember a famous violin work, he said: “Oh, The Flight of the Bumblebee is a very  interesting piece of work. Very interesting and amazing. Have you ever played it?”

She stopped talking suddenly, and her face turned white.

He didn’t know what was wrong, so he waited for a while and asked :“Are you alright?”

She looked at his eyes and said: “No, I’m not alright! And I hate bugs or any type of insects!”

He was surprised because she had never talked to him like that. And at that moment, he       seemingly saw a light greet light penetrating her skin from inside. Maybe because the sunshine was  too blinding and the mint soda was too green, and it was just an illusion. Then he changed the topic to flowers again, because he knew it was normal that girls overreacted to insects. Those greet      lights disappeared and she looked calm again, with those long arms stroking each other slowly, like she was playing a violin. Her graceful movement caught his breathe as usual, and he thought: “Oh,  she is special.”

...

After dating for three months, they became very close. He loved how she sipped a cup of mint soda, loved how those beautiful arms danced when she played violin for him, and loved how those  long arms stroked each other when she thought. She was an adorable girl, and behaved so elegantly. He believed that she was the one he was looking for. One day, he suggested to visit her family and she agreed.

It’s a small apartment, and the rooms were very tidy and clean. He noticed there were some   potted flowers on the windowsill. “She really loves plants!” he thought. Then her mother called him to have dinner. 

After some trivial chatter topics, “So, how’s your work?” Her father asked.

“Oh, I work as a financial controller in my company,” he answered quickly.

“Hum...impressive. I used to have my own business, but unfortunately, I failed. So young    man, no matter how successful you are, do not pay less attention on your job!”

“Definitely!And I believe that you can be my model.”

Clearly the old man was very satisfied with this answer. He looked Jason up and down - what he had done all the times since Jason came in - with admiring eyes. 

“You must be very proud of Grete. She is a wonderful girl,” Jason said. It looked like Jason   had engaged her father’s affection, so Jason added this sentence to please him more.

“Yes, she is our only child, and our most precious thing. So please treat her well, sir.”

Suddenly, he heard a weird sound, like many tiny feet were creeping on the floor. He looked   around, and there was nothing moving on the floor. The others looked at him curiously and asked   him what he was looking for. He hesitated a little and answered: nothing. “There should be nothing!” he thought, because everything in the room was too clean and too neat. Maybe it was just the    wind. But some weird feelings still puzzled him, maybe because the rooms were too clean.

He tried to get rid of these strange ideas and looked at Grete. Sensing his sight, she looked up  at him from her mint soda. At that moment, he thought he could smell a faint whiff of grass. When her father gushed and talked with excessive enthusiasm, she just became more silent and kept      supping a cup of mint soda. He knew that just like her father was proud of her, she was proud of  Jason, which made him to feel happy enough to abandon all those weird thoughts. “She is special,” he thought again, “I’m willing to do anything for her.”

When he left, he kissed her goodbye and he heard the rustle again. Jason glanced around the   room, and found that the shadow of the droplight hung on the ceiling of the drawing room had a   shape of a beetle.

Clearly Jason’s job, family and manner reached the standards of Grete’s parents, and they     approved of their planned marriage. Jason and Grete planned everything about their life after their   marriage and it was really exciting. Although he owned a bigger place and lived alone, she suggested that they spend their wedding night in the apartment she was living in because she felt more      comfortable there. Her father thought it was unreasonable but she said that was the only thing she    required, so the others agreed with her. Jason was still crazy about her and tried to meet all her   demands. He wanted nothing but her, with her fresh smell, and those beautiful arms. Those arms  were even softer and smoother than when he met her for the first time. Now, they were like tender twigs that grew around the violin when she played it. He wanted to kiss her many times but she did not allow it, even though they were engaged. He thought she was so pure that she wanted to save  everything for their wedding night, which made him treasure her more, and she just controlled him with no words.

...

     Six months after they first met, it was their wedding day. Exhausted but happy, Jason stepped into her room. And there, was his beautiful bride, sitting on a side of her bed. He couldn’t wait  to kiss her and let those beautiful arms cradle him like she held the violin. He sat beside her, closed  his eyes and lowered his head to kiss her. Grete held his head gently, and whispered in his ear:  “ May I tell you a secret?” 

“What? You love me?”Jason felt that he was melting and all his dreams had come true.

“No, my dear.” Grete said. One of her hands left his face. Jason still closed his eyes to wait for the answer.

The rustle came again, and it was definitely not the sound of wind. It was the sound of       thousands of bugs creeping, or of a huge bug. This time Jason was sure that something was wrong, so he opened his eyes. At the same time, a sharp thing stabbed him deeply in the heart.

He saw his dear Grete, still pure, but one of her slim, soft arms had become a long, green arm of a mantis. He wanted to say something, but he was too weak to speak any word. The smell of    grass pervaded the whole room, and all the plants on the window sill were dancing like the violin   with green light shooting from Grete’s body.

Grete bent over, still whispered: “I never loved you, dear Jason. I dated you because you were the only one I met who could satisfy my father and all his harsh standards.”

“I am sorry Jason, but I just could not control myself.”

“The violin is the only thing I love, and mint soda, and plants. You were right Jason - I am    special, because I have not been a girl for a long time.” 

Grete tilted her head, now the huge head of a mantis, and drew out the green arm, with Jason’s heart impaled on it. It was the most delicious thing in the world to her! Grete bent those beautiful green arms - her another arm had also transformed - like a praying, pure girl, then began to bite the bleeding heart.

Who am I?

Who am I?

By: Jessica Bardol

            The sun was shining high in the sky that morning; it was going to be a beautiful day. Gregor sighed as he rose from his bed and opened the curtains. He was still attempting to adjust to his new life. Growing up he was always a good student, straight A’s to be exact. He even graduated third in his class. At the beginning of Gregor’s freshmen year of college he began to change. No one on campus accepted the fact that he was an artist who had his own vision in the world. This tore him apart on the inside, and eventually he decided to drop out of school. If no one on campus would appreciate his work, then no one would ever offer him a job. He began roaming the streets as a low life who saw no reason to be sucessful.

Things changed one afternoon while Gregor was walking home from the store. He stumbled across a group of men standing in the alleyway. They beckoned for him to come, and he did.

“Hey kid, do you want to try some?” The man in charge asked. It was clear who the leader was going to be in the group. He was a tall man mabye 6'4- 6'6 the tallest, he smelled of weed, his clothes were torn, and he looked as his he could be a bouncer in a club.

A puzzled look appeared on Gregor’s face, so the other man continued “drugs stupid!”

 Gregor was silent for a moment,  he had been taught better to give into peer pressure, but he so desperately wanted to fit in. At this point he would do anything it took to finally be considered cool. At first he wanted nothing to do with the drugs but he ignored that little voice in his head and ever so  slowly he reached for the stash. The other two men standing in the alley stared walking away, for now their job was done.

The leader stayed behind and pointed a finger to Gregor saying “If you run low come back here, we come back twice each day.”

A few minutes later Gregor was rushing up to his room, and he scatted the drugs on the floor of his room. He looked like a little child on Christmas morning, looking at all the bright colors and wondering which gift he should open first.

Out of nowhere his door flew open and in walked sister Gerte. “Hey Gregor, Gregor! What are you doing?” She asked and began moving around the room touching everything in her path. Finally she looked at her brother, but she noticed that he was not giving her any attention. She now noticed the bottles on the floor, and she shrieked. “Gregor! Why are you doing drugs? Stop this terrible habit right this second.’’ She snapped, now showing that she was in charge of the conversation. Gregory rolled his eyes and said “You cannot tell me what to do.’’ Gerte had always been a stubborn little child and even to this day she gave her parents a run for their money. She jumped on her brother, trying to pry the bottles from his hands. “No they are mine, mine own!” Gregor screamed. Gregor knew he should not have yelled at his sister, after all she was just trying to help. She was the only person in the world who he loved and knowing he upset her just made him feel possitvely awful .

After that first day with the drugs it did not take long for him to get hooked, and every day since he went back for more. When Gregor was alone that night there was a plethora of things on his mind. He knew his new life was a sad one, but it was something he had come to know and accept. However he felt terrible he could not provide for his family. He was used to doing the shopping, cleaning and working. Now he was useless, and he just wanted to help but there was nothing he could do. He was a cockroach, an ugly bug cast out from society.

The following morning Gregor opened the door and saw his boss standing before his eyes. She pushed the door open wide and said “I see you have not died, just more disgusting

looking than usual.” Gregor just stood motionless with his hands in his pockets, and said nothing. Before his transformation he never missed a day of work. He was the good worker always did what he was told, but never spoke to anyone.

His boss pointed a finger at him, and said “Seriously look at you: old t-shirt and jeans full of holes, and that hair. Honestly no one has had hair that long since the 60’s.’’

A few weeks later the house was filled with beautiful music. Mom, dad and Gerte were down stairs celebrating because dad was going back to work. He had been laid off for the last three years, and finally he was returning to work. He would be working at the car dealer that laid him off because they finally realized how important my father was. From the bed room Gregor could hear the music playing, and Gerte was nice enough to open the door just a crack so he could hear it as well. Still to this day it is one of my favorite songs, and it brought me great comfort to hear it. As the months went on everything began to change. Mom and dad would not come to visit Gregor they were beginning to think of him as a burden and should be out on my own. That same night they brought a letter into my room. With my new arms holding the letter was near impossible. So mom opened it for Gregor, and she left him with his thoughts.

                                                           

Gregor,

I know this is going to pain you a great deal, but it is time. I met a wonderful man last week and I know he is going to be the one. We decided just yesterday to run off to Vegas and get married. It is hard to imagine that I am going to be a bride.

Love,

Gerte

Gregor slowly moved from the letter, he was in complete shock that his sister would just abandon him. Even though he was no surprised because Gerte had changed as well. She was no longer the loving and friendly sister that Gregor had known; she had become cold and often hated the world.

A few nights later Gregor was called into the kitchen by his parents. “Son there is something we have to tell you.’’ His father said. For a moment everyone in the kitchen was silent but his father spoke with “We do not know who you are anymore. This drug addiction needs to stop, but we do not know how to help you. But your mother and I have spent the last few nights talking. We think you should go to rehab. Find your identity again and then come home. We will manage without you here promise.’’  Gregor stormed out of the room, locking his bedroom door and throwing everything in his sight. If he were to truly leave his family he would be alone, he would have no one in the world. Gregor loved his family with all his heart even if at times they did not feel the same way. Without them he was a nobody, and this scared him down to the very core.  He was angry at the fact that his parents so desperately wanted to get rid of him. First he turned into a terrible bug and now his family was trying to abandon him. What a horribe life poor Gregor had and he started to cry. The next morning Gregor took a deep breath, he got in the car and never once did he look back.

Red and the Trickery by Kelsey Osucha

Red and the Trickery

There once was a very well known young lady named Rya. However, in her town she was not known by this name, everyone called her Red. This was due to the fact that she had long, beautiful, vibrant red hair. She also always wore red clothes to match, with coordinating red lipstick and ruby red shoes. Red was so well known because she was the granddaughter of the richest woman in all of the land. Grandmother lived alone in a gorgeous highly secured cabin privately set far into the woods. Red and grandmother were the best of friends. Red went to visit grandma as many times a week as she possibly could. In order to reach grandmother’s house she had to travel a path in which she was very familiar with all by herself in the woods. However she was not fearful, for she was a strong and independent young woman. Grandmother’s house had the highest security system that you could ever imagine. Not even a machine gun could make it through the walls. It was known by all that Red was the only person alive that knew grandmothers security code to enter her house. Grandmother trusted Red with all of her soul.

Now you see, it was every teenage girls dream in town to become a model. All over girls longed for the opportunity to someday pursue their dreams. They even held modeling clinics together so that one-day, if they ever got the chance, they were prepared. Red was the leader of this club and had the greatest passion for modeling.

In the village there also lived a family of wolves, that no one associated with and everyone tried their hardest to avoid. All that was left of the family was 4 brothers. Their parents passed away in a hunting accident years prior and after that accident occurred the boys were never the same. They became evil wolves that hated all humans and wanted nothing but revenge. They were vicious young wolves that were feared by all.  The oldest brother was by far the most evil 4 brothers.

The Eldest brother, Walter the wolf, knew everything that was going on around town and knew everyone’s personal business. Walter was the only brother who was old enough to support his siblings, and was struggling day by day to do so. Knowing that grandmother was filthy rich and that Red dreamed of being a model, he came up with a twisted plan that was extravagant, so he thought…

Red was home alone on a warm summers day while her parents were at work. Her mother always told her every day to never open the door for strangers while she was home alone. Red was practicing her runway walk when suddenly… 

(Knock, knock, knock)

“Who goes there?” called Red from inside her house in the heart of the village.

“It is I, Sir Walter Watson. You may not know me, but I am the President of a modeling agency called Surely Beautiful; maybe you have heard of it?”

Red quickly fluffed her hair, checked her make up, and stood tall and confident as she flung open the door. Standing in front of her was the most handsome man she has ever laid her eyes upon. He was tall, dark, and well groomed in his suit and tie.

“Nice to meet you sir.” she said, shaking the man’s hand. “My name is Rya, but people call me Red. How did you discover me?” wondered Red.

“Ahh very wise question young lady. You see, I ran into a very sweet woman this past week at the market; she told me she had a beautiful teenage granddaughter who had wanted nothing more than to get the chance to model. After she showed me your picture I knew we needed to add you as a member to our team.” said the man.

"How flattering sir, I would be honored to be a part of your agency and to pursue my dreams with Surely Beautiful. Let me just go call my mother and make sure this is okay.” proclaimed Red.

“Oh no my dear!” called the man quick and loud. “That will not be necessary. Your grandmother has already spoken to your mother and she has given full permission.”

The man gave specific instructions for Red to follow, he said, “simply run along quickly. You don’t need to bring anything but yourself. Please leave your cell phone at home, as well as any other personal belongings. Make sure not to speak a word to anyone of this opportunity, for it will be a surprise.  Please bake a cake, our cameramen enjoy cake very much so and would love a small treat. Don’t forget chocolate milk is their favorite as well!” he said.

Overwhelmed with all that has been thrown at her, going through countless different emotions, Red simply nods yes to the handsome gentlemen standing at her door.

“Oh and one more thing.” said the man, handing Red a piece of paper. “Here are the directions you must take in order to get to our agency building. Leave your house promptly in a half hour. We will be seeing you soon my dear.” and off walked the man quickly pulling away in his car.

Red had not a clue what to think of what had happened. She felt as though this seemed too good to be true and was worried to trust the man’s word. But then she remembered her grandmother had referred her and her mother had given full permission. She quickly baked the cake, grabbed the directions, and headed on her way.

Walter Watson was indeed not named Sir Watson at all; in fact, his name was Walter the wolf. Walter had the ability of transforming himself into a handsome gentleman, of whom he called Sir Walter Watson. The wolf knew that if he approached Red as Sir Watson, pretended to be part of a modeling agency and told her that her mother and grandmother gave her permission, that he could surely trick the girl into his evil plan.

Skipping down the path feeling elated, she began to notice that she was familiar with her surroundings as she looked around.

“This is the way I take to grandmother’s house, the agency must be right around the corner from her house and all this time I never knew it!” thought Red.

Out of nowhere a big, scary wolf popped out at Red. “Hello my friend!”  she said to the wolf with no fear at all.

When this didn’t scare Red enough, the wolf sent out another brother to scare Red in order to hurry her along the path. This time, two wolves had approached Red.

“Oh my goodness you startled me, have a good day men.” Red said as she continued to skip along.

 However, this time she had become slightly nervous. So the oldest brother sent in yet another wolf brother to scare Red and make her run right to grandmother’s house. Sure enough, out jumped the third wolf with his two other brothers, growling with their awfully large teeth showing, chasing Red as fast as they could run. Red had never been so frightened in her entire life. As she was running away she decided to run to grandmother’s house in order to get to safety. As she approached the house the three wolves ran off, leaving Red frantically entering grandmother’s security code as fast as she possibly could. Little did Red know, Walter the wolf was hiding in grandmother’s bushes waiting for Red to open the door so he could sneak in with her.

Surprised to see Red, grandmother said “My dear what a pleasant surprise I was not expecting company.”

Throwing the cake and milk down on the table she said “Grandma I am here because I am in great trouble, I was chased by three vicious wolves in the woods and”…

Before Red could even finish her sentence the evil wolf had jumped through the door and attacked grandmother. Right in front of Red’s eyes she had to watch her grandmother get ripped to shreds by the wolf.

The next thing she knew she was waking up in a daze. The last thing she remembered was seeing her grandmother’s life get ripped away from her by a ferocious beast. With tears streaming down her face as she was gaining her vision back, she realized she was strapped to a chair. Out of her blurred vision she saw the wolf packing all of grandmother’s money, jewelry, and valuables into a large duffle bag.

 In a soft, sad voice Red had whispered, “why are you doing this?”

Quickly turning around the wolf explained to Red that there was really no Sir Walter Watson after all, that he transformed himself in order to gain Red’s trust and get her to unlock grandmother’s house. He told her that there was no modeling agency and everything was simply a lie in order to trick her. He explained why he needed the money to support his family and that he chose grandmother because she was an easy target and the richest of them all.

 Thinking through all these thoughts and realizing exactly who the wolf was, Red became disgusted that she had fallen for this trick, and infuriated that because of it, it caused the dearest person to her, her life. As her anger grew, so did her strength. Ripping herself free from the ropes, Red charged at the wolf with a knife that was lying on the counter. Decapitating the bad wolf, Red stood over his dead, bloody body in shock.

She had defeated the wolf and given him what he deserved.

What happened to the grandmother and Red was nothing short of a tragedy. Every day Red found it more difficult to cope with her grandmother’s loss. The big bad wolf was dead, and the three other brothers were locked in prison for life.

Red was the only person grandmother had included in her will. It specified that all her money and everything she owned went to her granddaughter Rya. Needless to say, Red had inherited all of her grandmother's riches. With these funds, she decided to start up her own modeling agency in which she named Granny’s. She was the president of this organization and gave all young girls the chance they had always hoped for to fulfill their dreams.

Red learned her lesson that mother always told her to never open up the door for strangers when she was home alone. The people of the village were inspired by Red’s strength and courage. They also admired her for taking the wolves out of their town so they no longer had to live in fear. Red and her family were then able to live a comfortable life knowing they were safe, but they missed grandmother more with every day that had passed.

The Story of the Morning by Annika Lee

It was a morning same as other days except it was raining so heavily. Jane was woken by the bell of alarm clock at seven. After she drank a cup of water in the kitchen, she went to Jake’s room to wake him up and it was her usual daily routine. Jake was quite a good son but he had trouble with waking up at the morning so every morning she had to shake him out of his sleep. She knocked on the door of his room but there was no answer. She thought he’s in the deep sleep so she opened the door roughly. When she entered his room, she found that Jake was still in his bed covering him from head to toe with blanket. She directly headed to his bed and pulled off the blanket. As soon as she saw what’s inside of the blanket, she was startled and fell down.

What she saw was not his lovely son but a giant vermin which she supposed that it might be a centipede because it had so many legs that it couldn’t be counted. It was as big as 10 years old boy which was big enough to frighten Jane. She ran out of the room and tried to calm herself down. She tried to find out what happened to her and her son. Did that monstrous insect harm his son? Or was THAT actually her son? She went back to Jake’s room to look it closely. It was now standing, or lying, on the floor now and seemed like staring at her. Even just looking him straight was so hard for her because of its scary feature, but she instinctively knew that it is her son.

“Oh my dear, what happened to you?” she cried.

Jane called her husband Bob and daughter Emma and they went to Jake’s room. She opened the door and the rest of family saw the giant centipede. Jake’s sister screamed in horror and his father stood frozen to the spot when he saw it.

“What on earth is it?” Bob asked to Jane.

“He is our son, don’t you know? I can feel it. I can feel it is Jake.” Jane answered.

Bob entered the room and went to Jake to look him closely. Jake backed off as his father got close and finally he hid himself under the bed.

“Son, there’s nothing to afraid of. I will not hurt you or hate you. Just come closer to me, dear.”

Jake seemed to hesitate but at last he came out of the bed. He was more horrible than everybody thought he would be.

“Should we call the doctor?” Emma asked.

But Jane and Bob thought doctor would be helpless and they should take care of his son for themselves. They decided to give him food. They had no idea what he would like so Emma searched on the Internet and found out what centipede likes. Bob went out for a while and came with a bunch of small spiders. He gave it to Jake and watched him eating.

“I think he likes it,” he said to Jane.

Bob and Emma had to go to work and to school so they said good bye to Jake and left home. There was only Jane and Jake in the house then. Jane wanted to take a rest and think for a while alone so she sat on the couch in the living room. Why did this happen to his son? He had been a good son to family. He’d never made a trouble or disappointed family. When he was a student, he always studied hard until night and got an A on the exams. After he graduated he entered a large company and dedicated himself to his work. It seemed that he worked seven days a week. Other people might think him as a workaholic but his family knew that he was trying hard to support the household. She found out that he had never been to a family picnic for 30 years. How pitiful her son was!

She went to Jake’s room and stared at him. There was no chance to see him closely before because he was always busy and she was indifferent to him. She didn’t know what to do with him and what he wanted because he couldn’t talk. But she thought he could understand her saying.

“Jake, my lovely son, I don’t know why it has happened to you but still I love you,” she said to Jake.

Jake seemed to listen to her and to be sad. Looking him, she felt all the more sad, so she embraced him and cried. She kept crying for several hours hugging him and after all she fell into a sleep.

When she woke up and opened her eyes, it was afternoon and the sun was streaming into the room. And there was Jake, not the centipede but real Jake. He was sleeping in her arms. Her tears started to flow down her face again, but it was tears of relief and delight. She hugged him tightly until she was sure that he’s really became human not in her dream.

  

by Annika.       (Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka)

Grete's Shape of Hope by Jessica Zhou

Grete’s Shape of Hope

By Jie Zhou

Light is light as a piece of paper.

Light scatters here and there.

Light dies away with applauses;

He is hurriedly singing the unbearable injuries.

The script is on stage performing the last show.

All the people in the city are sitting in their own couch,

Quietly watching how the time abandons this town.

The war soiled his tears, he is asking for candies in the wind.

At the beginning of the story, the dust on the lens has obscured the sun.

Fear engraved on the faces of the children,

Wheat fields backward on the route of chariots’ direction.   

The shape of the Dandelion is blowing it is flying desperately,

And she is only singing and thinking casualties of war.

Candles are burning in the nightmare, the daylight quashes the war.

Mournful songs spread far and rapidly, hometown put down the famine.

The Innocence stumbles on this road,

He was cut by Depression.

What’s the shape of hope in Children’s eyes?

Whether they can get bread and drink bowls of soup for breakfast.

Farmers finally took the gun when they saw the burned land and village,

But he gradually gets used to give up the resistance.

What’s the shape of hope in Children’s eyes?

Whether the yard has swings to swing and whether there is a candy in the pocket.

The Bayonet is polished by hatred and savagery in the distance,

While he doesn’t panic with smiles.

What’s the shape of hope in Children’s eyes?

The Innocence is on this road,

Stumbling, he was cut by Depression.

Farmers finally took the gun when they saw the burned land and village.

The Innocence is on this road,

Stumbling, he was cut by Depression.

Right!—regretful—very, very dreadfully regretful Grete had been, and is; but why will I say that she is mad? The disease had sharpened her senses—not destroyed—not dulled them. Above all was the sense of her seeing acutely. She said that she saw all things in the heaven and in the earth. She saw many things in hell. How, then, is she mad? See! And observe how healthily—how calmly she can tell you the whole story.

I can see what my parents think. Their new dream is to find a good husband for me. I can see what those people who see me on the street think about me. They must be thinking how good-looking and shapely I am. Why do I tell you about this? Because they envy my beautiful appearance and lively movement.

Why do you say I am mad? I can prove to you I am not. Every time, when I go to work wearing my brown fur coat, people avoid walking or standing closely with me after they see my fancy coat. They must think my prettier coat is so shiny so that their coats cannot compare with mine.

I am walking on the street and thinking about the fight with my parents. My mother mentioned my brother during the dinner time, weeping silently. I have managed to pick our current apartment for them, running back and forth behind the counter at the request of the customers. Our apartment is smaller and cheaper than the older one, which Gregor had picked for them. As they wished, we have a smaller and cheaper apartment and they have picked a boyfriend for me. Why has my mother kept talking about Gregor? “It’s a monstrous vermin! Mom, stop crying!” I shouted to my mom. “We should take him with us, at least he’s your brother, Grete, remember?” Her voice quavered grotesquely. I felt she doesn’t care for me anymore because she’s not satisfied with my work compared to what Gregor did. I became angrier and could not stand it anymore. “Fine, go live with Gregor! He’s your best child and I am nothing. You even like a bug more than your daughter… I gave up my music dream… Do you know how I feel every time when I saw my violin? I know you do even not care, let me tell you what you care about! How much money I would earn and how soon I can marry Michael, whom you think is my perfect match…You think…” my father interrupted our conversation, “Grete, how can you talk to your mother like this…” he walked into their bedroom seeing my mom weeping in the left corner and I standing in front of her pointing out her faults. Yes, it’s all her fault…not mine.

“Father, you also think me so; it’s my fault that my brother has become a bug. I made him become a bug! Right, that’s me! I used magic to change him to a bug!” I couldn’t watch his face without complaint as if I said something bad about my brother and made my mom cry.

“Don’t… Do not say that, my Grete…” my mother was clumsily attempting to stand up.

“Are you okay, slow down…” my father was rushing to my mother without noticing pushing me towards the wall as if I was in his way.

Nooo… he must have done it intentionally… I know that. So I am still walking on this empty street, St. Hollowwood. It’s Monday, so few people on the street this early at 5 o’clock.

I must be ill; I feel some kind of slight pain. Oh… It must be the first sign of a bad cold due to running out of my house without saying anything to my parents after my father pushed me away.

At this time, Grete’s father sleeps very well on the couch and talks in his dream, while her mother is tossing and turning in bed.

Light is light as a piece of paper, scatters here and there. My eyes feel a slight, dull pain, too. It must be because I am hungry and tired and don’t have sleep last night. I see a shop at the end of this lane. I prepare to run to the store and get some croissants and drink bowls of soup for breakfast, but I slide back into my original position. I must be tired and I try to reach the shop to grab some hot food. Suddenly, I seem to see my brother is struggling to walk on this street too through the glass window. It must be my imagination!

It’s six o’clock now. Grete’s mother is talking to the police on the phone. “My daughter’s name is Grete Samsa, she… we had a little quarrel last night… she never… never left home like this and spent night by herself outside. She’s just 18 years old…” she is crying on the phone like she will lose another child.

“She will come back. Don’t need to worry about her. She left home with nothing, so she will come back when she’s cold and hungry… Where can she go? Michael broke up with her two days ago, so she will come home.” Mr. Samsa just woke up from his favorite couch talking to Mrs. Samsa after she puts the phone down.

People are rushing to work in the street; suddenly, I can see their grey faces, grey shirts and dresses. I can hear raindrops hitting against the glass window. Nooo, oh, no… A little girl, she looks like 17 years old, walking towards to me, when she is near me, her face changes and looks very horrible. Do I look horrible, why? Because I didn’t sleep so my face is pale or dirty? I try to look into another glass window of a clothes store. You must be astonished about what I see. I see my brother again. No way! He follows me, is he dead or not? Is he coming for revenge because I moved his furniture out and wanted to get rid of him? Another pair of grey women is walking towards me. When the shorter one sees me, wearing a grey knit coat whispers something to the tall woman, who also wears grey clothes, but a grey dress. Her dress is covered in sequins which twinkle as she moves. Why do the way people look me so weird, they seem to avoid walking or standing closely with me. I speak to my annoying brother, “Hey, leave me alone, don’t follow…” Oh, my god!! Why his mouth is moving when I am speaking. “Don’t follow me… me… Don’t…” I try to say something randomly, so he won’t know what I am about to say. But he’s still speaking the same thing I am saying. I am so angry and about to pick up a little stone on the ground. I see my squirming legs when I drop my head to pick a grey elliptical stone at my left foot.

I am a monstrous vermin, haha, just like my brother, Gregor. Oh, my poor brother. I am lying on my back as hard as armor plate, and when I lift my head a little, I see my vaulted brown belly, sectioned by arch-shaped ribs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of me, are waving helplessly before my eyes. Once again, after the same exertion, I lay in my original position, sighing, and again, watch my little legs struggling, if possible more fiercely, with each other and see no way of bringing peace and order into my mindless motion. I am thinking about my parents, my brother, and the happy life we had before my brother’s metamorphosis. I suddenly miss them so much, and I tell myself I need go home now, and tell my parents I was wrong about my brother. He’s a great brother… He liked watching me play violin and insisted I go to the Conservatory… I hope I can go home now having breakfast with them. My father would read newspaper for us and my mom would scoop my favorite beef into my bowl. For my smallest hope of freeing myself from this street, I try to keep calm and start to control my legs and learn how to get out of here.

At first, I need to avoid people passing by in case that they won’t hurt me. After several exertions, I can control my squirming legs and find that I can move so fast using those little legs. I feel a little bit comfort and I am ready to go home. It’s getting darker and darker. I didn’t realize I ran off almost half day practicing how to walk and avoid pedestrians.

Finally, I return to my apartment and see the door is open. I am about to go inside, but a policeman is walking towards me, “what happened? How’s my parents, are they alright?” I ask him in a worried way.

But the policeman doesn’t notice me and walks away towards the police car as if he will find something. I am rushing into the house and check my parents.

“I will find your daughter, don’t worry. Mrs. Samsa.” Another policeman is talking calmly to my mom.

“She’s missing almost a day, where could she go?” My mom looks so pale just like those days after Gregor turning to vermin.

“Mom, I am home!! See, I am here.” I say it loudly to my mom. But I am shocked to hear my own voice talking, unmistakably my own voice, true, but in which, as if from below, an insistent distressed chirping intruded. I want to answer my mom in detail and explain everything, but given the circumstances, confine myself saying, “Mom, I am home… am home. Don’t cry again. I won’t say anything bad about my brother. I was wrong, mom. Mom… forgive me… I am regretful…” I use all my energy speaking those but in vain, my mother can’t hear me.

I feel the world is collapsing, and I see all things are grey. At this time, I see my father is looking at me. “Dad, it’s me. I am sorry. I love you and mom… Please forgive me, please. I was wrong about my brother… Sorry… I am… sorry… sorry…” I am crying loudly.

“Another bug again, seriously? Get out of my house!” My father clenches his fist and grabs my armor-plate back throwing me out of the door. I fall heavily on the ground, but I don’t have so much pain as what I thought when I was in my father’s hand. They must think I am missing, how I can let them know I am Grete, this vermin is Grete. I hope they can hear me. How much I hope I can get in this apartment though it’s small and cheap. I am thinking of my brother again. I can’t help my tears when I recall my memory how I treated him. He must hate me, why I didn’t talk to him, why I moved all his furniture, why I said I should get rid of him… He must hear and see all of things I have done to him. “I am regretful… my dear brother, please forgive me” I weep to myself.

The door is open, it’s not for me… it’s for the policeman who carries some paper standing in front of the door and ready to enter. “We are trying to find your daughter, so we need some information about her, except for what she wears you already told me. Where she could go you think, or where she likes to go, or any places you think she would go?” the policeman asked my parents.

“She… Maybe her high school or her work place?” my father replies with no certain and turns his head to my mom.

       My mom keeps her head down as if she’s thinking something. The policeman asks further, “so where’s her high school? What’s the name of her school and where is her work place at?”

       “Umm… umm… it’s… I can’t remember…” My father looks lacking self-confidence, “where’s it?” he is looking at my mom again.

       Now, I can see all things in the heaven and in the earth as well as many things in hell. Although I feel regretful, I am happy for my brother, because at least my parents and I know he became a bug—this fact. But me, you know they don’t know where I am, even what I am. What a surprising, even happy thing! They do not even know!

The dandelion is blowing, and I can see she is flying desperately, which you can’t see, but I can. I see people are watching The Walking Dead, one of popular TV shows recently; I hope I am a walker, the walking dead. Look at me, I am walking dead now, but I have thoughts, the disease, which have sharpened my senses—not destroyed—not dulled them. Above all is the sense of my seeing acute. My hope I can become a true walker, a zombie, so that I don’t have the ability to think. The shape of hope is blowing just like dandelion is blowing in cold wind in this cold and grey night in my grey world.