Fiction 59: kids winners

First place

The Sound of Downtown

That man. He keeps downtown alive during the autumn rain. Playing his saxophone to make someone’s heart feel warm when it is cold. He doesn’t speak, he just plays. Not for money. He plays in front of the coffee shop with the huge mural of the cat. The large cat. People buy him hot coffee. Dark blend, no sugar.

Aveline Travis

Sherwood Montessori student Aveline Travis’ favorite school subject is history. In her spare time, however, she likes to sing, dance (hip-hop and tap), bake (chocolate chip cookies) and, she says,“I like studying Greek mythology … I love the story of Athena.”

Second place

The Sassy Drainage Pipe

I’m Arnold, a drainage pipe. One day a rock came down my pipe. I held on to the rock. It could have fit down my pipe. You can guess it clogged my pipe. Workers replaced me with a newer pipe and threw me in the dump. I wish I would have stayed down there even though it was boring.

Selah Paulson

Selah Paulson joins a long line of Sherwood Montessori students who’ve been published in the CN&R’s writing-contest issues. The school’s instructors send us folders full of their classes’ writing. Selah says that, in addition to this specific assignment, “I like writing short stories.” She also enjoys drawing, soccer and playing with her friends.

Third place

Why the Lake is Sparkly

There was a giant named Flutter who was doing an art project. She tripped on a stick and glitter fell. Little people below saw glitter sparkling down from the sky. It made the lake sparkly.

The little people said to the giants, “Look at the sun sparkling down onto the lake.”

Flutter said, “I dropped some glitter.”

They hugged.

Ilya Salmon

Ilya Salmon’s mom, Emily (see honorable mentions, adult division), says that “Juniper”—the nickname she’s used for her daughter since she was a baby—wrote her fantastical tale during a car ride to the beach. The Blue Oak Charter School student uses her creativity mainly to do crafts and stitching, and when she’s not doing either of those, you’ll find her swimming or riding her bike.

Honorable mentions

The Three Weird Dimensions

Well guys, this is the worst day of my life. I got stuck in a parallel universe. With random people from the different dimensions, with people from the milky way riding on cows. There were aliens. There was even horse people with magic wands. Seriously guys, this is the end. Wait, one more thing, this is the only story.

Jaxson Ransbarger

Untitled

What if dragons did exist—or what we imagine them to be. They would be at the top of the food chain. Almost everything would be their prey. There would be more fires, too. Most animals would go extinct. Who knows, some things like us might not even evolve and just become extinct like the rest. That might happen.

Liam Steffenson

My Chance

I am sound asleep. Out of a fog I hear: “Do you want to go for a walk?” I am up hoping I didn’t miss my chance. Suddenly, I have a leash on me. I pull towards the dirt path as hard as I can and they follow me! The smells, the squirrels, the trucks. I hear, “Good dog.”

Clover Bailey