A short story by Katherine Osby, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, voted favorite story by teacher and students.
The wind is brushing my long blonde hair against my face. The trees in the forest are swaying from side to side. Running in the dirt of the forest is adventurous, for I see many creatures. The sun is shining high in the sky, making my large brown eyes sparkle. I'm running, practicing for track but suddenly I fall.
I fell into a shallow hole in the ground. But it's not just any hole, there are pictures of people hung on the walls. In the center of the room there was a small, brown, shiny wooden box. I walked cautiously towards it, not knowing what to expect. Carefully, I open the box. Inside there is some type of remote and a piece of paper folded neatly into a square. It said, "Instructions for time travel. Press the red button on the remote. Speak of the day, year, time, and place of where you want to go. Warnings: You can only stay there for 8 minutes, and you can only go once, so choose wisely." As I finished reading the paper, I started thinking. Is this a dream? Should I use the remote?
Abruptly, I knew where I wanted to go. It was obvious to me. I was going to go back and save someones life, and I knew whose life that was going to be. My little sister's. When she just learned how to walk, she walked in front of a car. I would go back and save her.
I pressed the cold button on the remote. I distinctly said: March 7, 2007, 2:15 pm. Suddenly, I was standing in the front yard of my grandparents house. It was cold and snow was lightly falling from the sky. A big oak tree was next to me and on the other side I saw my grandparents talking. I walked over there and tried to say something but they couldn't hear me. Then, I saw her. My sister, Grace, walking towards the road.
I sprinted over to her and took her in my arms. She was with me again. I would not let her go. She looked at me oddly. But then I started thinking, "What will my parents say when I walk into the house with my dead sister but alive?" I knew what I would do. I would tell them about the box. Next we were back, in the present. Back in the hole in the ground. I went up a small ladder, still holding onto her. We were back in the forest.
I started walking home, crying of happiness as my sister was holding onto me. I thought I would never see her again. Her innocent eyes, her little brown curls, hear her little breaths of air. She was with me. Safe. I saw my house up ahead, and I ran there as fast as I could. But then...
I woke up. This was all a dream. I hadn't saved my sister. I screamed at the reality of life I was in now. I thought I could feel her, hear her, smell her. But it was all over now.