8th Grade AP English Collection of Historical Short Stories

In the year 2021-2022 the students in the AP English class read several historical short stories. They researched the historical topic and analyzed the stories which enhanced their understanding of the causes and results of the historical events, as well as gained a deeper understanding of what it may have been like to live then.

We discussed the importance or lack of importance of learning from history, debating if humans actually can make a change by learning from mistakes. Opinions were divided, especially when discussing current events in the world.

The last step, which enabled this book to be printed was for each student to envision, plan and write their own historical story. Some stories are based on history with fictional characters. Other stories are based on true historical characters, in which the writers tried to bring their thoughts to life. Some are based on stories told by students’ grandparents, sharing their own adventures and feelings as they participated in historical events.

We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoyed writing the stories!!

If Only They had Listened by Alma Eyal

This morning I got a letter from the IDF ( Israeli Defence Forces). I opened the letter with shaking hands because I knew that this letter would tell me what my job in the army would be. I am Avinoam Shapira. At that time, I was graduating high school with excellent grades in all subjects; especially in math, English, Arabic, and science. Kids in my class used to laugh at me and bullied me just because I was different. I have a unique ability to remember things and analyze different materials.

I was drafted into the army in August 1973, to the Intelligence Service where I could prove my skills in Arabic, listening and understanding the secret codes of our enemies. This was right before the “Yom Kippur War”

While I was listening to the radio, which was part of my job, I heard some strange signals which were suspicious from our enemies. I immediately decided to report this to my commander Eran. “ Eran you must listen to me. I have very important news that I heard on the radio !!!” He didn’t even look at me. “Eran please it might be something very bad, large numbers of military troops are getting closer to our borders !!!” I tried to tell other commanders as well but unfortunately, they didn’t listen to me and even underestimated my warnings.

Within less than a week, our worst nightmare came true. Two Arab armies attacked the northern and southern borders at the same time. Our leaders, as well as all the IDF top commanders, were surprised and unprepared. It was one of the biggest intelligence failures in our history. It was a bitter horrible war; a lot of soldiers were killed, and wounded and many were taken as prisoners of war.

After the war was over, I got promoted and I was appreciated more for my talents, but one thing I promise that I will never forget is my friends who died in the war. I also hope people today are more patient and tolerant of other people

Aftermath: Israel was unprepared and outnumbered. Israeli casualties were 2,569 killed and 7,500 wounded in the three-week conflict. Syria lost an estimated 3,500 dead, with 21,000 wounded. Egypt had an estimated 15,000 killed and 30,000 wounded. Iraqi casualties were 125 killed and 260 wounded. Avinoam Shapiro had tried to warn his superiors, but no one took him seriously.

A Covid-19 Tale:  A Short Play by Elisha Raveh

Rob: John! John! John!

John: WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME AT 2 AM, ROB?!

Rob: I have the craziest story to tell you!

John: Oh fine… but this is the last time!

Rob: COOL. So, I was at home watching T.V.

Narrator: Thus he began his explanation, a story beyond all expectations. (Over the noise of a loud T.V.))

Reporter: But the monkey was rescued at last!

 Rob: Phew! I was getting really worried.

Reporter: Hold on viewers, we’re getting some big news. Apparently, there is a massive outage of… TOILET PAPER?! Uuhhhhhhh would you look as that folks? It’s the end of my shift! See ya!

Narrator: (Reporter sprints out)

Rob: Hmmmm I should probably also do that! (Rob sprints out the door as well…)

But when he was about to continue the story, John interrupted and put a stop to all of Rob’s glory.

John: You really are stupid aren’t you Rob?

Rob: Why?

John: I mean, wouldn’t toilet paper be useless without any food?

Rob: BACK TO THE STORY!

Narrator: So, he continued his tale, yapping all about.

Rob: So, I got to the store, and bought all the toilet paper! I even fought some people for it!

Narrator: Suddenly again, John started to shout

 John: WHAT? ARE YOU INSANE?!

Rob: Would you please stop interrupting me?

John: Whatever, I’m calling the police.

Rob: YES! Please do!

John: Why?

Rob: Well… the reason I called you was because the customers got kind of angry with me so after I paid

for all the toilet paper they stole it!

John: Ohhhhh! So you need me to bring you toilet paper?

Sure, that too, but I actually called because these people were searching for my house after I left

the store, and now they finally found it and are throwing the toilet paper at my house…

Narrator: That is it for this time, and hopefully, Rob won’t commit any more crimes.

The End

Explanation: This story takes place in 2020, when everybody went crazy during the Covid-19 lockdown. One strange occurrence was hoarding toilet paper.

Black September  by Ori W

My alarm clock started beeping. September 3rd, 1972, 6:30 a.m.  I`m so tired and yet so excited. ”Ronaaa,” I heard my best friend, Noam, calling me and knew she was just as thrilled as me. We both had been waiting for this flight for so long, to finally see one of our best friends fulfilling his dream after so many years of training. Being in the Olympics had been his goal since middle school.

After a long and tiring flight, we finally landed in Munich. It’s funny to think that I didn’t even know, how in just 24 hours, my life was about to completely change, but back to the story; It’s September 3rd 9:50 p.m., Noam and I had decided we were going to sleep early so we could get up soon to visit the town before the game. So, excited and not knowing at all what was happening, we slept very soundly that night.

We got up at 7:30 a.m. As we left the hotel, ready for a fun day, we were met with a shocking scene. I just couldn’t believe my eyes. So many people stood there and were being so loud that I could barely hear myself. I tried to figure out what was happening while Noam tried to calm me down. Some cops came and told me to calm down and go back to my hotel. At this point both Noam and I were freaking out and decided to go to our room for some quiet and privacy. As we turned on TV, the news headline flashed, “11 people from the Israeli delegation at the Munich Olympics were killed last night. Names will be announced later.

” I started shaking. This can’t be happening. The reporters on all channels had reported the names by now, but I just refused to believe it. I refused to believe that one of my best friends was killed last night without fulfilling his dream.

 It’s now September 7th, 1972. I am on my way to the airport, holding 3 tickets even though there’s only me and Noam.

Columbia Disaster by Pelleg Aram

My alarm clock started beeping at 7:00. I was so excited to finally see my dad after a long time that I hadn’t seen him. I jumped out of bed, and I went to brush my teeth. I washed my face, and I could barely stand straight from the excitement. I went to see if my mom and my sister had woken up. My sister saw me and smiled, and I could see that she was also excited to finally see dad.

At 7:30 we got in the car and started driving towards the landing site in Texas. As we were driving, I asked mom how she was feeling and she replied, ” I’m very excited to finally see your dad and I hope he had a good experience and that everything will be fine at landing.”

When we reached the site, it was 7:45 and I could already see a lot of people standing and waiting for the Space Shuttle. My mom, my sister and I joined them. As we were waiting, I could feel my body trembling and my hands started to sweat. My sister saw that I was shaking and hugged me; she whispered in my ear that everything would be fine. I looked at my mom and I could see that she was also nervous.

It was already 8:15 and the space shuttle still hadn’t landed yet. I asked my mom what was going on because the space shuttle was supposed to have already landed. She smiled and said that they will land soon but I could see that she was worried too.

Suddenly someone approached us and asked if we were one of the families of the astronauts. He told us to follow him into the building. I didn’t understand why we had to follow him, but we did anyway. As we were walking, I held my sister’s hand, and I could feel her shaking. After a long walk we finally got to the building and the guard took us to a small room with a table in the middle with some white chairs. The guard told us to sit because he had something important to tell us. I had never been so scared in my life. What could have happened for the guard to tell us to sit?

We sat down and the guard started talking, ” I wish I didn’t have to do this, but I have bad news.” My hands had never sweated as they did at this moment. I could see on my mom’s face that she was going to cry soon. The guard continued,” There was a malfunction and the space shuttle exploded. I’m sorry to inform you that no one survived.” As we walked out of the room and I knew our lives would never be the same.

Iceberg Right Ahead : The Story of Frederick Fleet by Ella Yardeni

      It’s the first day and I’ve never been this excited! I can’t believe I’m a crew member of the biggest and most advanced ship in the whole world. The first few days went exactly as planned, the crew was thrilled and energized, and the passengers were already relaxed.

      On the fifth day on the ship, I got called on a lookout duty with Lee, my best friend and the second sailor. I was looking at the beautiful, calm ocean; the waves were as blue as the sky when I spotted a tremendous, white iceberg, the iceberg that changed it all. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I immediately started ringing the bridge to proclaim, “Iceberg right ahead!” Lee became hysterical. He didn’t know what to do and neither did I. The captain tried to spin the enormous ship, with all of his strength and power, but it was impossible. The ship was going too fast. They tried again and again and again but they couldn’t spin the ship. They knew that we were going to crash into the iceberg, and at that point there was nothing that they could do.

      Suddenly we heard a horrible, terrifying noise. The invincible Titanic has crashed into the iceberg. Water began to leak in as I heard people panicking, yelling and screaming, children crying although they didn’t really know what was happening. The stewards and the rest of the crew tried to calm all the passengers down.

      I panicked. Lee and I looked at each knowing that something horrible was about to happen. I felt that fear started taking control of me. Everyone was in denial, but I knew that the ship wasn’t stable, I knew that we weren’t going to make it.

     And then it hit me, I could have seen it sooner. I could have seen the iceberg sooner and we could have turned. In a few hours Lee, the whole crew and thousands of innocent people and I were going to be dead, and it was all because I was looking at the stupid water.

Aftermath: Frederick Fleet survived the sinking of the Titanic. Years later when Frederick testified at the subsequent inquiries he said, “We could have seen it a bit sooner.” When asked how much sooner, he said, “Well, enough to get out of the way.”

After the crash, Fleet suffered severe depression and committed suicide at the age of 77, about 53 years after the crash. Due to speeding, the ship could not have avoided the crash even if he had seen it.

Nightmare at the Shore by Eliana Rosen

It was a regular day for me in Rostov, Russia. I woke up at around 5:00 a.m. on a Monday morning. I got up, brushed my teeth, and took an apple to eat on way to the shore. I was going fishing to get fresh fish for dinner with my family. I left quietly, without waking up my wife and daughter. I walked along the empty street down to the shore and listened as the birds were singing and the light wind was blowing the leaves on the trees.

It was a peaceful morning until I reached the shore. I hopped into my boat and was about to start sailing when suddenly I saw something huge covered by a garbage bag. The thing was surrounded by lots and lots of crabs and ants and had a foul smell.

There was a bad feeling in my stomach. I suddenly started to remember what had been written all over the news about the new serial killer in town killing women and children and dismembering them and even more grotesque eating his victims. “But it couldn’t be it, could it?” I thought to myself.

  I was too scared to open the bag, but my curiosity got the better of me and I got off my boat and started to approach the thing under the bag. My whole body started to sweat out of fear. I was questioning myself twice, and before I knew it, I took the bag off and instantly regretted it.

My body was frozen with fear, I was shocked and stunned when I saw a woman’s dead body. I knew it then and there, Chikatilo had struck again.

This is based on a true story told by my grandfather. I only heard it second hand but tried to visualize what it may have been like.

The Funny Thing by Gal Shuster

The Gulf War had been going on for some time. I never delved too deeply into the war but heard all sorts of things. There was something about toxic missiles filled with gas and we even had gas masks in the house. The war didn’t really stress me out, it was just something they talked about in the news.

I remember one evening. I was sitting with my family. We were watching some T.V. and eating dinner. Suddenly the T.V. screen changed color flashing the words “Viper Snake” a couple of times. This was the first time I actually felt the war. I felt it in my chest.

 My parents took me and my little sister to the basement. We put on gas masks and for a moment, I could not breathe, I heard nothing except my mother Who shouted at my dad to put the rags under the door so the gas wouldn’t get in, I saw nothing but my baby sister who did not understand anything about what was happening.

 Sitting there with her little mask and her teddy bear, I wanted to scream at her, “Look look at what’s going on! Why aren’t you crying!? How can you be so oblivious to the situation!?” But to be fair she was about 6 months old so I had to cut her some slack.

 This was one of the scariest nights of my life, I was stressed over this for some time later. There were a few more times that we did that thing, with the basement and the masks. But do you know what’s the funny thing? There wasn’t even one missile launched throughout the whole war, at least not ones with toxic gas.

Where I was when the Twin Towers Fell by Gil Raviv

It was a beautiful day but no one knew what was going to happen, I worked at the Twin Towers, and that day I decided to go to eat lunch at a restaurant nearby with my best friends John and Dennis; John was the funny one and Dennis was the shy one.

So we decided to go to our favorite restaurant, The Sweetcatch Poke. We started walking towards the restaurant which was only 2 blocks away. We reached the restaurant and ordered our poke. That was when we heard a loud whoosh in the sky and seconds later a loud boom

We ran outside to see what had happened. We were met with a picture of our workplace with a plane flying through it, halfway up the tower. We were so shocked we didn’t know what to do. We saw ambulances and firetrucks pass the ‏‏restaurant with screaming sirens as they headed towards the twin towers.

As we stood there helplessly watching the upper floors burst into flames and smoke. We immediately knew what had happened. We thought about our friends that weren’t as lucky as us.  It was a tough time.‏‏

THE FEELING   by Ortal P.

I hate this feeling, the sensation when you’re surrounded by humans but experience the feeling of being alone. I was sitting on a metal bench, staring at the white clouds. The clouds moved slowly to the right as my brilliant blue eyes observed them.

       “Zoya Parl!” my commander shouted and I jumped up in shock and muttered, “Yes Sir.”

 “Are you ready?” he asked. I wasn’t equipped, not even a little. It was hard enough being the only woman soldier in my battalion. It was so tough to get in as a woman. Inside the IDF I wasn’t really given the opportunity to be a combat soldier, and yet here I’m training like a horse for a race, because of the War of Independence. I looked around noticing the dark trees as I felt the mild breeze hit me. I took a deep breath and that day I trained harder than I ever had.  Weeks of hard training followed. We were equipped to fight for our country: for Israel!

     One of my mates, Itan, hugged me and wished me good luck when my commander called, “Zoya Parl.” I went up to him as he coldly informed me,” You are dismissed from the upcoming battle.” I was taken by surprise. I had trained so hard so I could defend my country and he told me I couldn’t? Some tears started dripping from my eyes and I softly asked, “B…but…why?”

 “You are a girl. It is dangerous for you.” I felt warmth spread up my cheeks I was mad. Sorry I was furious. I straightened my back and walked away. I was determined not to listen to him. So, when I found myself under fire, I finally understood how dumb I had been pretending to be a boy simply so I could fight. Yes, I fought and we won, however so many good soldiers died during the war.

     A month after the war ended, I visited the families of 20 mates who had been killed. Years later I’m married with 3 children and a grandkid on the way.

So, I can say the whole thing turned out pretty well for me.  -Zoya Parl’s dairy

Orio Joseph Palmer by Sean B.

I was just about to lose another poker game, while relaxing with my friends at the downtown fire station, when suddenly multiple calls came in about a plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers. We all geared up as fast as we could and rushed off to the towers.

       We got there after a couple of minutes and checked how the buildings were doing. It looked like a scene from a horror movie. A huge fire was raging above, and the upper part of the building was impossible to reach. We had to hurry. As we were looking up, a second plane crashed into the second tower. We decided that we would try to save the people there.

      As we rushed up the stairs, hundreds of people were running down, like a herd of animals fleeing for their lives. We ran up, and started to look for people, and we found them in different places like stairs, elevators, corners and some of them were injured. We tried to rescue everyone but we knew we couldn’t. We were determined to save as many people as we could. The halls were full of smoke, and as we climbed, it only got worse. Suddenly, we heard an unbelievable crashing sound, the first tower was collapsing. Petrified, we looked out the window as the huge building disappeared into a cloud of dust and smoke. We all understood that it was a matter of a few minutes, for the second one to crash too. Our commander gave the command to evacuate the building immediately. We all joined the herd of hysterical people running down the stairs.

      That was when we found a pregnant woman, who had sprained her ankle, and couldn’t run. I got really scared because I remembered my fiancé. I had proposed to her five months ago and she was three months pregnant. I got very anxious because I didn’t want my baby to live without a dad, but I knew that I needed to concentrate and save this woman.

      My team called us on the radio and they told us that we had about 3 minutes until the second tower would crash. Still, we decided not to leaver behind. We picked her up and ran as fast as we could. Seconds after we got out of the tower, it began to collapse.

       My team and I saved 37 lives. Tragically, after we regrouped, one firefighter was missing, Orio Joseph Palmer. He was one of the best. He had saved so many people and had sacrificed his life for the life of others. I will never forget him.

Attack of the Dead by Itay

Hello my notebook,

I am Vladimir Karpovich Kotlinsky, Lieutenant of the Russian Imperial Army. I’m the commander оf the 13th company of the 226th Zemlyansky regiment. From the beginning of the war, I have been in the blockade in the castle of “Osovetz’’

Ever since I was a child, I was a big fan of fighting for the truth. Furthermore, I have always been a leader. Nevertheless, I have never appreciated my life nor have I had fun hanging out with friends, just enjoying the little things. But at that time I rethought my life and realized how it is essential and valuable to me.

I was extremely exhausted, we didn’t have sufficient provisions and ammo. Unfortunately, our divisions abandoned us leaving us to fend for ourselves against the German army. We didn’t have any help at all, but we believed that we had more powerful help from the Holy father. Every day we fought against the German soldiers and at night we had a cease-fire. We had been fighting them for more than a year and every day, we had less and less survivors.

The next day we fought and had a successful battle. At the same time, we were sad for the fallen. The next day one of our soldiers returned. We thought he had died. He told us that he had barely survived and that he had seen a German soldier with gas respirators. We understood that in order to beat us, this was their only option.

We prepared the soldiers for the gas attack. We had to be ready. All night we prepared wet towels to protect ourselves. Sure enough, with sunrise, the German shot poison gas at us. Many of our soldiers died in agony. They thought we all had.

       When the Germans approached the Castle three days later, they were sure we were all dead. They did not expect to see anyone fight back, but there we were, disfigured, bleeding Russian soldiers, fighting back. We looked like zombies, our faces and bodies grotesque with wounds caused by the Chlorine gas. In terror they fled, setting off mines they had planted. The few living soldiers, coughing up their lungs fought back bravely with bayonets. Screaming in fear of these fierce zombie soldiers, the Germans fled, calling it later the “Attack of the Dead”.

TITANIC – STAY ALIVE by Dana Cohen

It was April 10, 1912. “Hurry up Oliver!” Emily shouted to Oliver, who was far behind her. “I’m running as fast as my legs can take me!” Oliver shouted back, panting and tired of running. Emily and Oliver ran in Southampton towards the huge ship “Titanic” while they were trying to find their way to the ship among all the people who came to see their families leaving with the Titanic.

“Oliver! I found it!” Emily shouted to Oliver, but she didn’t hear any answer. “Oliver? Oliver!” Emily tried to find her twin but she was much shorter than all the other people around her. She started to worry and was confused when she saw that the ship was about to sail. Then, suddenly a hand grabbed her left arm and quickly pulled her into the ship before it left.

Emily lay on the ship’s floor when her leg started to hurt. She looked up to find out who had pulled her and she saw Oliver. “Oliver! Where have you been?! Why did you disappear like that?!” Emily’s voice was stiff. She was angry at Oliver who had made her worry but also felt relief to see that he was fine. “I’m sorry I disappeared. I found a shorter way to the ship instead of standing with all the people,” Oliver said with a sad tone because he had made his sister worry. “It’s fine, I’m just glad you’re O.K. By the way, what is this place?” Emily looked around her and didn’t recognize where they were. “Oh, we’re in the Titanic’s engine. I found a small opening from the outside.” Oliver pointed to the opening that was a bit higher than the floor. “You’re so smart Oliver, well done but now we have to get out of here before someone sees us. Oliver nodded and they looked for the exit but the engine room was huge, everything looked orange because of the fire and smoke from the machines and there were a lot of workers.

 Oliver looked around with a mischievous smile. He knew exactly what their only option was and he really liked it. “When I count to three, just run as fast as you can.” Emily nodded to Oliver, “One, two, three! Run!” They ran through the heavy smoke and avoided the workers’ eyes. Suddenly Emily fell on something that looked like a pipe but she couldn’t get into trouble so she got up and kept running. Oliver found a big door with the “EXIT”. They pushed the door and got out. They both coughed and tried to catch their breath. “We did it,” Oliver said happily after he relaxed. “Yeah, It’s all because of you Oliver, Thank you,” Emily said with a big smile on her face and Oliver hugged her. They laughed and went to get themselves a room to sleep in.

They walked down the long hallway, looking for an empty room. The hallway was beautiful and enchanting so it made them feel a little dizzy. Finally, when they walked past the last room they saw it was empty and the lights were off. Oliver immediately threw his small bag on the bed. Emily walked into the room and closed the door so no one would find them.

A few days passed on the ship and Oliver and Emily’s birthday came. They sat on the floor in their room. “Happy birthday Em!” Oliver said with an excited smile. We turned 18 today! Can you believe it? Em, we’ll turn 19, 20, 21, and more together until we die together.” Emily smiled at Oliver with tears in her eyes and hugged him. He hugged her back when suddenly they heard a BOOM that shook the ship.

Emily and Oliver sat there, looking at each other with expressions full of questions. They got up at the same time and ran outside to see what had happened. The “Titanic” had collided with an iceberg. Other people next to them started to scream in fear as the staff ran all over the ship to solve the problem. There was total chaos. Water started to flood the ship so the workers went to every room and got everyone up. The water kept coming and flooding the ship as the situation on the ship got worse, people pushed each other so they could jump into the lifeboats and save their own life.

 Emily and Oliver stood there, completely shocked but very fast came back to reality. They ran to the ship’s control center to find out how the ship hit the glacier. “Commander!” Emily shouted to the man in the control center. “What’s the problem? Why did the ship hit the glacier?” The commander seemed worried. “There was a hole in one of the pipes in the engine, turns out this hole isn’t new. Also, the ship was moving too fast so it couldn’t turn around.” His voice was appalled and shivery. At that moment Emily froze. Her skin was pale and she couldn’t think directly. She remembered their first day on the ship when she and Oliver ran in the engine and she hit one of the pipes. “Emily? Emily! Wake up! Oliver shouted. “It’s my fault” She fell to the floor and started crying. “What are you talking about? Get up!” Oliver grabbed her arm and she was back on her feet, still shocked. Oliver looked around and started to run with Emily to the nearest lifeboat while pushing lots of people that were standing in their way.

 Oliver managed to get the lifeboat and pulled Emily into it but didn’t get on the lifeboat with her. “Oliver! What do you think you’re doing?!” “Saving you, I have to help the other people. Look around you. Emily started to cry again but now even harder. “I’m not leaving you behind!

Get on the boat Oliver!” Emily screamed at him with a broken look in her eyes. Oliver smiled sadly, “Em, I can’t leave all these people behind, do you remember what mom told us before she died? Always be there for people who need help because if you help others, that kindness will come back to you. So don’t get so upset! I’m not leaving. I’ll join you soon, you’ll see.”

Emily believed Oliver and relaxed a little. She knew he would never lie to her. The lifeboat was released from the ship and started to sail. “I love you, Oliver! Promise me you’ll come back!” Emily shouted to him with real hope. “Please stay alive,” she murmured quietly so Oliver won’t hear. “I will! I love you too Emily!” Oliver burst into tears but immediately left so that Emily wouldn’t notice and he disappeared amongst all the people.

 Right after Emily left the “Titanic”, it was halfway into the freezing water and Emily still could see it and she was filled with anxiety and guilt to see all the people rushing all over the ship, screaming and falling into the water to their death while she was safe. Emily was able to identify Oliver and her heart stopped when she saw he was still on the sinking ship. She went crazy and tried to go back but then suddenly the “Titanic” sank completely with Oliver on it.

Dana Cohen

Last Goodbye by Liv Harrari

Dad walked into the warm night; the warm breeze hit my face gently. ” We need to make out country proud,” Dad said. Mom kissed Dad’s forehead, my brother hugged him tight and I stood beside him. ” I am going to watch every competition in the Olympics,” I whispered in Dad’s ear.

“Good job buddy,” he hugged me tight like he was a mama bear and I was a baby bear.        “We love you,” we shouted. “I love you too,” and slowly dad disappeared into the dark.

 After dad left, the T.V was always on with live broadcasts of the  Olympics. We liked the sound of it; like we were never alone, like dad was protecting us from far away in Germany. I went to the T.V and turned it on, I slowly sat on the green couch when the news reporter started talking, He was talking so fast that I did not understand him; he was as fast as a rocket.

Suddenly a list showed up on the T.V, it was a name list, a death list. I was reading the list like my life depended on it and then I stopped. There was one name that was screaming for me, and every time I had heard that name I had felt like I had just eaten a warm delicious cookie, but now it felt like a punch in my stomach. It was dad’s name.   “Sweety,” mom said, but I was already gone.

It was September 6th when I woke up and saw mom crying. I felt like the whole world was crying with her. I stormed into my room as all my feelings painted me with all kinds of shades and colors. I was mad. I was mad that mom didn’t tell me. I was upset because dad was far away from me. It felt like a big empty hole.

I missed his voice, his smell, his laugh but more than anything I wanted to tell him I missed him and that we would meet again in heaven because this was not our last goodbye.

The Great Emu War by Ori Gamzu

I was sound asleep when I was woken up by the sound of loud screeches coming from outside. I shakingly got out of my bed, and walked to my son’s room. When I opened the door I saw him, hiding under his bed. “Dad,” he whispered, “I saw monsters outside my window,” he said with tears streaming down his face. I took my flashlight and tried to see but it was too dark. So, I woke up my wife and told her the situation.

 I grabbed my shotgun in one hand, a flashlight in the other, left the house, and told my wife to lock the door behind me. I quietly and slowly approached my farm when I saw all my crops ruined. Before I could even digest the disaster, again, I heard a loud screeching noise. I turned my flashlight off and dove right into the bushes next to me. The screeches were getting closer and closer until they suddenly stopped. Then I heard a crunching sound.

 I turned my flashlight on and saw something eating the remains of my ruined crops. I aimed my shotgun towards it and shot. It made a loud screech and ran away; I could have sworn that I had hit it, but it managed to escape.

Ori Gamzu 8th Grade

Historical Story Based/Inspired by: Baseball Saved Us

From the perspective of an Australian farmer in the bush during the Emu War when Emus destroyed crops in Australia

Flashbacks by Alon Ravgad

 Little did I know at the time how my life would take a turn for the worst that day. It was January 13^th, 2020 – a totally ordinary Monday. I was eleven years old, preparing for school. My mother made me a sandwich, and the smell was amazing. I put my shoes on and put the bag on my shoulders. I shouted to my brother who was getting ready for school in his room upstairs too because my mom and dad wanted me to walk with him to school, which was truly annoying because he was usually late. I recall being a bit anxious, since that day, my class was about to get grades on our science exam and we had to analyze a film in English class. My brother came down from his room and ran towards me. He took his bag, and we left the house.

 The streets were full of kids heading to school, though most of them would not hear the news for the next couple of days. We arrived at the school after about five minutes of walking. I immediately saw a few of my friends playing soccer, so I said goodbye to my brother and ran towards them. After playing for a few minutes together, we heard the bell ring and we rushed to our class. Being the “Computer Kid”, I helped my friend Rotem prepare his presentation for our Current Affairs class.

His presentation was boring and I don’t remember much of it, but there is one thing I do-The final slide of the presentation; the title which would make anyone decades later shake in fear was, ”Lately a new and mysterious virus was found in the big city of Wuhan in China.”

It was March 14^th, 2020 when the first lockdown was announced by the president. During the first lockdown, stores,  schools, universities, and kindergartens were closed. Even public transformation was minimized, with a lot of safety measurements. Probably the worst of all was that seventy percent of ALL workers in Israel were forced to take to an unpaid vacation, which hurt the economy badly for years to come due to many bankruptcies.

A lot has happened since that lesson when I was eleven. After many lockdowns and countless mutations of this so-called “Mysterious Virus” or as we know it today – COVID 19, it finally stopped spreading. I remember that day; it was probably the happiest day of my life when it was announced that it was not a danger anymore and that we did not need masks and lockdowns. The world was set free after 28 whole years!

Wild Attack by Itamar Ozeri

About a month ago, I  realized that my farm was producing less food. farm. A bit about myself; I’m a farmer living in the bush in the remote wheat belt of Western Australia. I’ve got a family consisting of my wife, Jenna, and my 2 boys; Cody and Elliot. I have been living with them for almost 40 years and I’m about 56-57. I don’t really remember. I love my life. I love being a farmer. I love Australia. The year is 1932 and I have been living here my whole life. However, life isn’t perfect every day.

Being a farmer can be stressful, having to produce enough crops to market. The drop in production scared me. I am not afraid of thieves, since there are none around here. What concerns me, is the shipping company that demands its quotas, and if I don’t meet them, I am in trouble of losing their business.

Anyways, about a month ago, the day after I had made a deal with the shipping company to get them some fresh vegetables when I woke up, I realized that the whole farm’s vegetables had disappeared. They gone! I was scared. I didn’t want to get yelled at but then again, how could I get them this much food? I asked my friend, Charlie, if he knew what had happened and if he had anything to do with it. His answer was quite shocking to me. He said that the same thing had happened to him.

 This thing, whatever it was, it was insane. More and more people started reporting the same thing and all were from Western Australia. Rumors emerged with pictures of the thief as well! Though, none of them even came close at the end when I found out who was responsible.  After that, the police put a bounty on this sneaky and incredible thief.

Now that I’m thinking about the whole situation after the whole thing had blown up; still, if it had been a human it would’ve probably been the biggest heist of all Australia.

The bounty was $1,000 which raised my interest faster than my farm growing every single vegetable since I had missed a huge payday. I was EVEN MORE determined to get this guy than I had previously. But I, the dumb-dumb that I am, stupidly assumed I would be the only one to search for the thief.  Apparently, EVERYONE wanted a piece of the action. My plan was to wait at my farm for the thief to come again once I have grown some more vegetables. Then I would catch

the thief right then. If you that sounds crazy, I am sure people had even crazier ideas and tactics.

In order to have energy once he appeared, I had taken a short but satisfying nap before I went to work on my plan. I took my flashlight, some baggy clothes and even a pistol in case he would run away immediately. I know it’s psychopathic in nature but believe me, WE DESERVED IT. I felt ready. I was ready. I really to catch the thief, turn him in and get that sweet-sweet 1,000 dollars I desperately needed. “I am ready,” I kept telling myself, “Anytime now, anytime anytime, aaaand……zzzzzzzzzzz” I fell asleep.

Apparently, I hadn’t taken into account how drunk I was that night. Seriously I took it hard and got a fair share of alcohol for myself and got as drunk as a stupid hoot! However, no one had found the thief At least not the real thief. But this meant that I was back on track for the race to the thief.  Every farmer was chasing this dude down. Every house in my neighborhood was still lit. As I said, everyone wanted a piece of the pie.

I was thinking to myself at that moment, “If this thing were actually a human, he would probably be so proud of himself,” and I giggled. That was when I heard a blood-curdling loud screech which was unsettlingly the most not human sound ever. It had emerged in the seemingly close woods. I was terrified. For a second, I even thought to myself, “This is a mistake, whatever this is it will most likely kill me. I’m better off going home to safety,” but I was reminded by the money that it was either me or my family. (SPOILERS; I chose my family like the man I am now). So, I kept my feet outside and what do you know? I’m still standing (yeah, yeah, yeah).

I held my ground as the sounds came closer, and closer, and closer until I saw it lurking in the shadows.  I felt not just fear but some kind of weird excitement. Not the one which makes you jump as high as you can to the moon, but the kind of excitement that leaves you on the edge of your feet and fills you with teaspoons of tension. I felt something behind my back too. However, it was just the wind, or was it? I legitimately FORGOT my legs existed and just stood there like a moron waiting for the uneasy revelation.

Now, as I said this might be shocking for some of you guys reading this, but as I said, in the end, the thief was a create, not close to even living as a human so I hope you’re ready to hear this. I shined my flashlight in the direction of the sound. I was startled to see a tall monster with a long neck and legs, with dark wings, and it screeched shrilly. This is what had been causing all the hiatus in the farming business Western side of Australia. Then I realized, it was not a monster, it was a big scary bird-type animal. It was an emu.

My Dream Came True by Eden Katriel

 I saw my dad coming home from work, he was so happy that he couldn’t stop smiling. He said, “Our dream is going to come true tomorrow.” My mom had a hard time breathing for a few seconds. We couldn’t believe what he said. He told me that 51,000 Jews were going to immigrate to Israel from Yemen, and we would be one of the families going.

I asked my dad how we were going to get to Israel and he said that a giant bird would help us get there. I still couldn’t believe what he had just told me, it took us by surprise. I ran to my room and started packing, brushed my teeth, and went to sleep early.

The next day came and the sun lit up my room. My dad came home from his last day of work and told me that we had to hurry up so we would not miss the giant bird. We took a few packed belongings and ran to the bird. Hundreds of people from my town were there. My parents and I just wanted to sit down and relax, but what we didn’t know is that there would not be enough space on the bird. We got inside and we saw a lot of people, babies, children and adults, all shouting and yelling. The babies were crying and our ears started hurting. The sound was horrible.

 But inside my head, I just thought about the fact that I would be in Israel in a matter of minutes or hours. We didn’t know how long it was going to take. I couldn’t go to sleep because the people didn’t stop moving. Suddenly I felt like the bird was falling. All of the people started panicking and thinking that something had happened to the bird. I started crying and we all thought that this was going to be our end. However, to our surprise the bird didn’t fall, the bird landed. All of the people started clapping and crying with joy. A man, who I later learned was the pilot came to us and said “Everyone, we are in the land of Israel.”

This is my grandmother’s story of how she made Aliyah to Israel as a young child in Operation Magic Carpet

9/11 by Rona Elbaz

I got up in the morning, but today was different because I was getting ready for my new job at the Twin Towers. I was very excited because I hadn’t had a permanent job for a while and we had a bit of financial debt. I was very tense because I didn’t want to let my wife and my little girl down.

I got on the train and we started rolling. After a short walk from the stain subway station, I arrived. I stood below the towers and looked up. They were so tall, they seemed to reach the sky. I breathed deeply.  My hands were sweating, I’d never been nervous like this. I didn’t want to screw up this job either. I took a big breath and stepped into the building. I pushed the button for the elevator and hoped for the best.

I couldn’t believe it but it actually was fun; the people were nice and I even made some new friends. I got back home with a big smile, telling my wife all about my day as I played a little with my daughter. When I closed my eyes that night, I went to sleep with a good feeling about the next day.

Tomorrow arrived, and I went to my new job and started working.  Suddenly as I was working, I saw an airplane flying very low getting closer to the building. “How strange,” I thought for a second, but I didn’t have time to blink before it crashed into our building.

I heard a horrifically loud noise and I saw people jumping to their death because it was either that or burning alive. I didn’t know what to do. I was terrified. I felt paralyzed. I couldn’t move. And then I realized that I needed to act because if I didn’t act, I would not survive; I would never see my family again. I started running, I found the stairs and I ran the fastest I had ever down the stairs filled with smoke and hundreds of terrified people.  I managed to get out.

Forbidden Flame  by Carmel Haitner

I look at the moon. It’s almost completely full, just a bit bigger than yesterday. I wonder if my mom could see it too, wherever she is. I haven’t seen her since the Nazis invaded our village and we had to escape. We live in the woods now, me and my sister, along with two other kids that used to live on our street. We’re on our way to the Swiss border. My cousins live in Switzerland and hopefully, they can provide us with shelter.

Of course, I have no idea how to get to them, or how long it’ll take. I told my sister that I do, and I told her that it will be soon. Just around the corner. They all trust me to lead them to safety, and I’m afraid I’ve led them on. I guess we just have to keep going until we can’t anymore. The days are long and exhausting, and they melt into each other until they feel the same. But the hunger must be the worst part. We steal to survive, from farms and small towns. But it’s not enough. I wonder if I …A light noise interrupts my thoughts.

I turn around as quickly as I can to look for the source. Nothing. Pitch black. Maybe I’m getting paranoid. I go back to leaning on the thick tree trunk. Due to the dangers around us, we decided to guard the camp in shifts. I took the first shift, and I’m starting to regret that decision. The cold November wind stings my bare skin like a thousand tiny needles. It’s so cold here at night, but I know in a few months it will get much worse, when the winter comes. I’m sitting in a small pile of blankets and sheets we picked up to keep me warm but it’s not really helping. If only I could light a fire. A small one, just to warm us a little bit. The only downside is that someone could see the smoke. Someone who shouldn’t. But… we’re in the middle of the woods. And it’s so dark outside.

I don’t think it’s very likely that someone will be in this area right now when the moon is the only light source around.  Before I could regret it, I crawled out of the blankets and stepped away from the improvised camp. I pick up a couple of wooden sticks and start rubbing them together. The sound this action makes is horrible; a high-pitched squeaking sound that makes my ears hurt. But I’m way too into the idea of heat to stop now. My hands are getting tired, but I’m stubborn. After the longest twenty minutes in my entire life, a small spark appears. And then another one.

Very soon there was a campfire on the ground in front of me. I exhale in relief when my body starts to defrost. For the first time in weeks, I can relax a little bit. I let myself close my eyes, and imagine that I’m back at home, in the village. I imagine that I’m sitting in front of the fireplace with my mom and dad. God, I hope they’re okay. I couldn’t live with myself if …

I hear the noise behind me again. It’s louder this time. It’s closer. I’m scared. I get up and start stomping on the small fire quietly. Another noise. I recognize it this time. Footsteps. Leaves getting stepped on and small twigs getting snapped into pieces. Oh no. My heart starts beating fast as I try to figure out my next move. But my mind is completely empty. In a desperate move, I run back to the sleeping area. But it’s too late.

The Real Version by Shai-lee Ziv

In the time of corset and ball, being a woman is hard. but what they did to me is simply unacceptable. Let me tell you, my story.

I looked perfect, with my long straight, black hair, my crown, and jewelry. I hearג a knock on the door. It was my husband’s servantףhe came in to give a message from the king. You may wonder why my husband’s servant got a message from the king well, I’ll explain. My husband is the king, and I am the queen. You have probably already heard of me; I am queen Vashti and my husband rules from India to Cush.

I let him in and listened. No way, I’m not going to do that, he can’t be serious, he can’t possibly expect me to leave my party to go to his naked with only my jewelry. I refused so he left. My ball ended and I went to the king. He yelled at me telling me that I had embarrassed him and that I should leave the palace before he made me. So, I did.

It’s been a week and I am living with my parents. I was cleaning the house when I heard someone yell up the street that the king was looking for a new queen. Can’t believe it. We only broke up a week ago. After all this time together, he was just going to replace me with another. Doesn’t he care about all the time we spent together? Did he ever care?

Another 5 days had passed when I heard the same man yell that the king had found his queen. It’s hard for me to hear but I am an adult, so I will try to be happy for them. My dad actually introduced me to a cute guy a few days ago. His name is Alexander and I think I really like him. Actually, I know I like him.

It’s been a few weeks and yesterday was the wedding. I went to it with Alexander. It was sad seeing the king with another woman but I guess I never loved him, not really. I do love Alexander. Overall, it was very nice and I’m happy for them and for me. Alexander proposed to me and I said yes.

I’m so happy, actually, I’m the happiest I have ever been. I guess that in the end, it wasn’t that bad, only that they made me bad even though I’m not. I am Vashti and I am not a bad person.  I was simply a victim of my life circumstances; everything has a few sides to it and not everyone can see mine. But I’m happy. Now you know the real version of this story, I am at peace with myself.

The End

Nothing Good Ever Happens by Matan Wolfman

I don’t know why, but all of a sudden my parents began yelling at each other. I’m sure it started with Father, and he never fights with Mother, so I was definitely skeptical of something irregular happening. To begin with, a few days ago, I began to lose track of normal household things like furniture, thinking that they just disappeared or vanished. I asked my parents about the situation, but they did not want to talk about it. At this moment I realized that this is going to be the start of something that will have a great impact on my family, which sent a cold shiver down my spine, I think.

The pensive look on Mother’s face kept growing every day, too. It’s just as if she was going through all the phases of grief but very slowly. Father, on the other hand, looked calm and collected but I’m still positive that something was surely going on, especially since a man in a worn-out suit started taking carrots from the garden I was working on. Apparently, Father’s “stocks” thing was “crashing” which I’d overheard that it means that he’s losing money, and from what I can tell, that’s no good.

Though, this whole situation has apparently got something to do with me too, because I can’t find my best friend, Tender Thomas the Teddy Bear. I almost feel like I need him, I don’t know what I will do without him. I’m scared, my parents are scared, and Father is talking to his “landlord” person now. It’s about rent, or rather, lack of rent. I don’t want to be a person in torn clothes, picking carrots from gardens, or in other words, homeless. I miss Thomas. I want the bad things to end. I want to go back and do something that would cause this to never happen.

Notes: This story was written about the financial crisis in 1929 after the stock markets crashed.

Super Fires and Super Powers by Gal G.

It’s the year 2021 and everything in Australia is burning. The fire that burnt Australia is a super fire witch spreads faster, is way more destructive, and burns your eyes when you look at it.

One day, Gal saw kangaroos hopping away fast, faster than usual. He went to see why. He was shocked to see a burning house as well as Ori, an old friend from middle school. He ran quickly to the house where he found Ari.

Gal was trying to put out the fire in Ori’s house with his special ability to create special air from his hands that can destroy the super fire. Ari, on the other hand, had a special ability to create the super fire from his hands.

When Ori’s house was burning, Ori sat there and ate ice cream as if nothing had happened. Then Ari came and threatened to burn Ori. After that Gal came and yelled at Ari to release Ori. Ari ran away because he was afraid of Gal. The house was still burning like a burning campfire. Then Gal came to Ori and helped him escape the burning house. Then Ori and Gal chased after Ari, when they finally caught up to him he melted Ori to ashes. At that moment Gal wanted his revenge on Ari.

Gal shot his fierce air at Ari. Ari kept running away to weird places. Suddenly Ari stopped running and started shooting fire at Gal. Then Gal found out it was a trap;  Ari had led him to a place as hot as hell where Ari had an advantage. Gal ran away from Ari, he ran as fast as he could towards Ori’s house. When he got there he found a fire extinguisher . He knocked Ari out with it. After that, he sprayed the fire extinguisher at Ari and it took away his evil powers. In the end, Ari went to jail for what he had done and Gal put out all of the fires in Australia.

Huge fires raged across Australia in 2021. This is a creative story based on the fire as well as superpowers; both human and fire.

Here Were Dragons by Lior Hxchi Niv

This tale happened not so long ago, in 2019, a worker of a facility that covers strange creatures started taking care of one of these strange creatures

Audio log, Day 1: My name is Lior, I am an intern at the S.C.P foundation in England, not long ago we found a strange box with the saying: “Here be dragons”… Strange… We’ll research more about it tomorrow.

Audio log, Day 12: It’s been a few weeks since we found the box, some weird paper dragons started coming out of the box, with a letter claiming that they come from a land of fantasy with fairies, giants, and gnomes and…

Audio log, Day 34: The dragons have stopped coming out of the box… Strange…

Audio log, Day 63: It’s been a while since my last audio log, since there was nothing to report, the dragons come in fewer and smaller groups, I am afraid they’ll stop coming at all

Audio log, Day 85: The dragons have completely stopped coming, I feared this might happen…

Audio log, Day 96: A single dragon came out of the box, almost torn apart with a letter which reads, “Friends, we failed you, the belief is gone, and so are we, please forgive us, and let’s hope we meet again, in another life…”, kind of depressing if you ask me…

Audio log, Day 100: The letter and the box remained here, for a few days, and then, out of nowhere, it started burning! We couldn’t do anything, the fire was everywhere, but after a few minutes it stopped burning, the letter was burnt along with the box…

Audio log, Day 110: The box started shaking, it built itself back together, with the words on it now saying: “Here were dragons”…

And until now, the box remains like that, but maybe one day, the dragons will return, and so will their magic

And that is the tale of S.C.P-1762

Lior/Hxchi Niv, 8th-grade no.2, 202

We are not sure when and when this took place. It could be that this is another genre, possibly fantasy.

Exodus by Ari Efrat

“Dad, I am scared,” Adam moaned when his father told him they were immediately leaving Egypt to return to the Land of Canaan. After God had inflicted much pain upon the Egyptians for enslaving the Israelites, Moses came to the Pharoah Ramses, who had had enough, and agreed to let all Israelites free. He demanded that they leave quickly, as he wanted them banished. Everyone was both happy and scared.  Adam a ten-year-old boy was terrified. He didn’t say anything. Who would listen to a young boy? Little Adam had only been 10 years old when he had gone with his father to Egypt, while his mother stayed home to take care of the rest of the family, while his dad had taken him to Egypt to get food. Little did they know they would be enslaved in Egypt.

 Anyhow, Adam’s father made sure Adam was okay, packed a little bit of food, and took Adam with the rest of the Israelites, who were leaving for Canaan with Moses. After they had gone a short way, in the distance, they could hear yelling. Ramses regretted his decision and demanded the Egyptian army to bring the Israelites back to Egypt.

Everyone ran. Adam could barely keep up with his father, who ran on his right, holding his hand, pulling him forward. But then, a problem was revealed. They were running towards the sea. Then, Moses prayed to God, as the Egyptians were running towards them, catching up from behind. Moses then took his stick, hit the rocks, and the sea magically divided into two parts, leaving a path in the middle.

Everyone continued running into the narrow gap through the sea. At that point, little Adam lost his dad. Adam knew that he had to run, since everyone did so, and his instincts told him to do it immediately. He ran. Still couldn’t see his father, he kept running, falling, getting back up and running. Adam was close to the other side of the sea, from where he could walk back to Canaan with everyone else, but something caught his eye on his way there. His father was laying on the wet rocks, struggling to get up. He tried to get to his father so that they could both escape and go back home, but he saw that the sea had started collapsing into itself, and that time was running out.

 As he was trying to pull his dad’s left hand, while his right hand was trapped underneath rocks, Adam got picked up by a man who wanted to help everyone out, forcing him to leave his father behind.  Adam cried like crazy, while on the old man’s back, looking back at his father, the angry Egyptians getting closer, and the sea collapsing into itself once and for all.

 As everyone gathered up again, Adam had no one else he could talk to, no one he could cry to, no one he could hug. Left empty-handed and completely broken, Adam continued wandering with the others in the desert. One day, as everyone was in their tents, eating, talking, and resting, Adam was in a tent with other people he didn’t know, preparing to fall asleep. He remembered his father again and started silently crying. As he closed his eyes he dreamt that he was back home with his mother and father.

Notes:

1. I’m aware of the fact that his whole story could potentially be false, but it’s correct according to the bible. The story is about an event that no one can really prove that it happened.

2. As mentioned in the first note, some information if not all information in this story could be false, as there is no way to prove otherwise. I’m taking the bible’s word for it, and I decided it would be a good idea to write a story about something interesting that could spark something new into an old story that everyone already knows.

This story was written by Ari Efrat.

Y2K by Daphnie Serlin

It’s New Year’s Eve tonight! A new Millennium is commencing. And I am turning 30. I am determined to do something exciting before I turn 30. I have limited time, only 24 hours. I decided what my exciting something will be, it isn’t necessarily exciting but interesting. I’m going to conquer my fear of heights. I guess I’m going to Disneyland.

 I got there and instantly heard the roller coaster wheels screeching, kids playing, fighting, and the ticket men calling “next please.” A second later a gust of wind blew.  l could smell it all, the popcorn, corndogs, soft pretzels, cotton candy, and the famous and my favorite Disneyland churros. Once I finally entered the park, I could see the excitement of kids waiting to go on the rides, I could see the food booths, the games the long lines, and all the thrilling rides.

I started walking toward the 150-foot-tall Ferris wheel. The moment I saw it, I was in awe, the line was so short, I had been hoping the line would be long just so I could stay on the ground a little bit longer. I went to the back of the line, and it suddenly felt so real. Up till now conquering my fear was only an idea I had thought of a few hours ago, but now I was really going to do it.

 I’m finally on the Ferris wheel and I got a capsule to myself. The operator announced, “Gates are closed.” The wheel started to spin slowly, and I got higher and higher. The wheel gained speed and I felt like I was going to fall out of the capsule. I started to panic. I was breathing heavily; my hands were shaking, and I was sweating like never before. I finally got to the top and realized how pretty Disneyland was at night, a few moments later the Disneyland firework show had started. I slowly stopped panicking and I felt I had finally conquered my fear. Once I got to the top once more the wheel stopped. I was stunned. All the panic from before had come back. I heard from the adjacent capsule “This must be related to the Y2K bug.” At once I remembered what everyone had been talking about in the past few months. All computer systems were supposed to be maintained to avoid the risk of crashing due to the change of the Millennium. I wonder what Disneyland did to avoid their computers from crashing…

Historical background: The Y2K bug was a computer flaw or bug, that may have caused problems when dealing with dates beyond December 31, 1999 – https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/Y2K-bug/

Author: Daphnie Serlin

Breaking into Pieces (The Spanish flu) by Romi Modai

“How ridiculous! If they had any manners, they would have known that you shouldn’t treat a woman like that. We are living in the 20^th century for god’s sake! Are you listening John, dear?” Henry Hoyt said, after the story, Mrs. Ethel told him and his son John during dinner time.

They were eating pigs in blankets that Mrs. Ethel made earlier that day. But John was not paying attention at all. He could not stop thinking about what his friend William said two weeks ago, about how his mother went away because she got sick from a strange disease, and about how some of his neighbors got sick too. He hasn’t seen William ever since that day, but he thought that he was just busy. William’s parents tend to keep him busy, so it made sense, but still, something did not feel right. John nodded quickly and ate another bite out of his food.

 After a few minutes, John decided to bring out the topic that has been bothering him by asking, “Have you heard about what happened to William’s Mother? He told me that she got sick.” Mrs. Ethel and Henry stared at each other with terrified looks on their faces and silence fell on Hoyt’s big dining hall; since neither of them knew what to say. They did not want John to find out the truth because he tends to get anxious easily and they wanted to protect him. After all, John was only 11 years old, and he shouldn’t worry about things like these.

Henry thought about it for a minute and realized that John deserves to know. “There is a deadly pandemic spreading in the world right now, and recently it got to Boston too. I’m pretty sure that this is the disease that William’s mother caught.”

“What?” John looked at Henry with teary eyes. Mrs. Ethel quickly got up and hugged John while whispering to him that everything was going to be okay. John hugged her back, sobbing. After a few minutes, Mrs. Ethel asked John softly, “Do you want to go to sleep?” John nodded and ran upstairs to his room. That night, everyone at Hoyt’s residence was having trouble sleeping. John was terrified to death, while Henry and Mrs. Ethel were worried about him.

The sun was up early the next gloomy morning, and none of the people in the house had gotten any sleep. They ate breakfast in silence, as Henry read his daily newspaper and left it on the coffee table once he was done. John glanced at the paper and realized it was August 19^th, 1918, and it has been exactly two weeks since he had last seen William, so he decided to visit him after finishing his breakfast.

When John finally finished his food, he mumbled something about his plan to go to William’s house. Since he was terrified of the virus, he got dressed in multiple layers of clothing because he didn’t know what to do to protect himself. He needed to see William, who was his best friend, and he might be in danger because his mother had already caught the virus.

John went outside and started running towards William’s house. Luckily, he only lived two blocks away. He knew that William would understand him, and he just needed to see him. John was scared, and while running down the streets, he tried to keep his distance from people, since he didn’t know how the virus was spreading and didn’t want to take any risks.

After a few minutes of running, John found himself standing in front of William’s house. He paused for a few minutes, panting heavily before he rang the doorbell. No one answered. “Maybe they are still asleep,” John thought to himself. After a few minutes of waiting, a tall man with a muscular figure opened the door. Even though John had only met William’s mother, he guessed it was his father since he looked a lot like him. “Are you John? I’ve heard a lot about you from my son,” the man suddenly spoke, breaking the awkward silence. “Yes sir, I am. Is William at home?” The man was quick to react, “Can you perhaps come with me inside for a few moments? There is something important I need to tell you about William’s health condition.”

They entered the house, and William’s father motioned to John to sit next to him on the couch. “Have you heard about what happened to my wife?” William’s father said in a sad tone. “Yes, I heard that she got sick. Is she feeling better now?” John answered curiously. With tears in his eyes, William’s father whispered, “No. Her condition got worse, and I got a letter saying that it’ll be hard for her to make it out alive. “I am so sorry to hear that sir, is there anything I can do to make you feel better? John began to say… “William passed away three days ago. He got the disease from his mother, and it was so severe that his body couldn’t bear it. He was already sick beforehand and wasn’t a very healthy boy. I had so much time to help him, but I did nothing. I was always so busy at work that I was never there for him. I don’t know if I will ever forgive myself…”

John sat there in silence. He didn’t know what to say or do. The only person that understood him, his only friend was dead. There is a deadly pandemic spreading quickly and it felt like his entire world had crashed down on him, breaking him into small pieces.

October 17^th, 1973 by Yarden H.

It was October 17th, 1973, at 2:00 in the morning when we finally found a safe place for us to sleep somewhere in the middle of an endless desert. I got into my sleeping bag thinking about my friends and about my family. I imagined them probably sitting near the radio praying not to hear my name. I looked at my arms. My stomach was covered with bruises. I looked at my friend, he was lying near me. He looked at me; shook his head and as if he read my mind blurted out, “Don’t worry, they’re fine.”

I looked around and saw my commander, he never takes a break. I don’t think I have ever seen him sleep. He was holding this picture, walking around, tapping the picture against his finger. I started falling asleep when suddenly, my commander shouted, “Sam!” My eyes opened so fast that I didn’t remember them being closed. I got up. Took my gun, my hat, and my water and started walking toward him. I was terrified. Everybody knows that if the commander calls you, it’s never good.

I started thinking about my wife, home alone with nobody there for her. Probably worried sick about me. My brothers and sisters. My sister is the oldest, she’s 30, and my brother is the youngest he’s 16. My parents are getting older. What if something had happened to them?

I reached my commander and looked at him. He gave me nothing: no sadness, no smile. Nothing! He just looked at that picture. He looked up at me with no facial expressions. Suddenly a smile broke out across his face. He tapped my shoulder and gave me the picture. “Congratulations soldier, you’re a father.”

I looked at her. It was a girl. My baby. She had hairs as dark as chocolate, and eyes as blue as the ocean. She was as beautiful as her mother. Her mother had to go through it all alone. I missed my baby being born. I can’t believe it. I have no way of talking to my wife. I need to fight not for me, for her; for my new baby.

This is the true story of how my grandfather found out that my mother was born.

Operation Wall Guard by Mia B

      The sound of a siren woke me as I heard my mother Estelle yelling at me, “Molly! Molly!” I ran in the direction of my mother’s voice, into the shelter. When I walked in, I saw my father Tom talking to my mom at the end of the room and my 6-year-old brother Leo standing apprehensively, not understanding what was going on around him. I hugged Leo and he asked me, “Molly, Dad said only big kids know why there are sirens you are 12. Why are there sirens?” I wanted to tell him, but the problem was that I still did not know. The siren stopped, and we ran to the living room and turned on the T.V. They said the Hamas was firing rockets at us. I guessed that was what was happening.

      The next morning, we did not go to school because the missiles kept coming, but Dad went to work. After each siren, I checked on the safety of my friends and family, and they checked on me too.

      When Dad came home from work today, we arranged mattresses and we all slept in the shelter. At night, I saw that Leo could not sleep as he told me, “I’m scared.” I could not understand how it felt at age 6. I tried to reassure him that everything would be fine, and we went to sleep.

      The next day we stayed at home again except for Dad who went to work.

In the morning there was another siren, but we were already in the shelter, I checked the news on my phone and saw that a rocket had hit a bus in our city. I decided not to share that with Leo.

        Later that day there was another siren. When I checked where it fell – it was in the building where dad worked. I ran to show it to Mom and she called Dad non-stop but he did not answer. Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Three policemen stood there. They told mother that dad had been killed when the missile hit the building. I gently told Leo what had happened and he started crying. Mom and I had to look strong for Leo and show him he would be fine, even though I was not sure.

      The day after we saw on the news that Operation Wall Guard had ended. The missiles stopped and everything went back to normal for most, but not for my family. I will never forget this period. I have never seen Leo scared like that, and Dad was killed. I am grateful that the war has ended, and that not too many people were hurt. Still, for me, the sadness of losing our father will never pass.

His Only Crime was that He was Black by Amit Hasin

      I saw her, my sister her beautiful black eyes, her black curly hair.I screamed but she didn’t hear me. I blinked and she vanished. “No!” I screamed in horror, tears running all over my face, and then I woke up. I woke up with sweat all over my face, breathless, to the sound of people screaming and throwing trash at the glass. It was worse, but it wasn’t a nightmare, it was real. I was trapped in a cage, at the zoo where people put animals, but this time they put a human being. Every day the white men came to see the black man, throwing food at the glass and mocking him.

       I looked at the only thing that reminded me of home, the green trees. I took a deep breath, smelled the familiar smell of their leaves, felt the rugged texture and the tears of sadness started to come. “You can’t cry”, I thought but it was impossible to ignore. I missed the sound of our music, the sound of nature, going to sleep to the sound of the jungle when there is no light and the entire rain forest is covered with darkness. I miss my Aka family, our culture that was engraved in my head.  It was home, the home that they took me away from.

        Suddenly I started to feel his glance. The orangutan was staring at me, and I at him with a look full of hate. “Why?” I thought, “Why am I with him? I’m not like him, I’m a man, not a monkey.” The anger started to build up till I couldn’t control myself. “Don’t shoot at him; he is innocent!” my brain screamed. I turned my back, took the bow and arrow, covered with the chalky, wet ground, and shot with anger at the glass, trying to scare the people who mocked me. I shot and shot with no control. I wanted to hurt them, I wanted to shoot them in the heart to make them feel how I felt, to show them how they had broken mine, to show them how they had ruined my pride.

        I am Ota Benga, one of the Aka people, trapped in the Bronx Zoo in New York, forever.  I am thought to be a monkey in the zoo while the rest of the world quietly doesn’t care. I stopped the shooting and closed my eyes, blocking the tears, the feelings. Every day, waking up to the same nightmare, to the Orangutan’s glance that doesn’t stop hunting me.

Explanation:Ota Benga was taken from his village in 1904.He was brought to an exhibition in the zoo for unlimited time. After the successful exhibition, he was freed. He lived in the USA, and he tried to go back to Africa but failed. In 1916 Ota Benga committed suicide and died.

Everything is OK by Nicole Lando

It was a stressful day in New York. We were approaching the location we were called to as fast as we could. We heard a plane had hit the Twin Towers. As soon as we reached the area we jumped off the truck. All I could see and hear was fire, smoke, and people running and screaming everywhere.

My first instinct was to help as many people as I could reach a safe location. That’s when a scream disturbed my thoughts, “John!” my partner Lucas Yelled in my direction. Come on we need to go into the building!” I ran after him into the smoke-filled building hearing screams for help. As we climbed the stairs, hundreds of people were desperately running down.

I was so determined to save those people, I didn’t even notice I had reached a high floor. I wasn’t bothered by that because I saw a woman laying on the ground whispering desperately for help. I picked her up and slowly got her to safety. Two people ran towards us and took the weak woman away.

I started running towards the entrance of the building to go in again but someone grabbed my arm and screamed, “No John! It’s too dangerous there!” but I did not care. All I thought about was saving as many people as possible. I ignored them and ran into the building once again sweating and tired, slowly trying to run up the floors, but then, suddenly the ground started to shake I quickly sat on the stairs with my hands protecting my head, praying, that everything would be okay. All of a sudden everything turned black.

I woke up feeling a sharp pain in every part of my body, opened my eyes, and saw that I was buried under the rubble of the building. I tried to scream for help, but no one was there. I tried to push the rubble away from me, but I couldn’t. It was too hard for my tired body to handle, so I closed my eyes and thought about my family, friends, and my whole life, how I had so many things I wanted to do, how I could’ve been better.

Without any water or food, I lay there slowly losing hope. “So that’s it,! I thought, not crying or anything, just thinking. Wow John look what you got yourself into,” I laughed trying to stay positive, but as much as I tried I couldn’t, l couldn’t do it anymore. I started relaxing my whole body waiting for it to end, but suddenly I heard people screaming and bricks moving . Suddenly I had this last bit of hope and energy. “Help!” I screamed as loud as I could, trying to move my body to make noise. I heard the sound of people talking get louder and louder, “Hello? Is there someone here?” they screamed. “Yes! Yes! I’m here please!”

With all the strength I had, I stuck my hand out of the rubble hoping they would see me waving for help, and then, I felt that someone had grabbed my arm. Slowly easing me out of the rubble. I smiled at them and whispered, “Thanks” and passed out. I woke up in the hospital hearing people talking around me. As soon as I opened my eyes I saw, my mom and my partners cheer in joy as they saw I was awake. My mom hugged me and cried loudly, I smiled and said, “Everything is okay”.

The Smartest Bank Robbery Ever by Ori Shechter

Hi my name is Richard and I was in one of the smartest bank robberies ever

I was with my mom in line and in front of us was an older man everything seemed normal then

This is how it happened The older man in front of us approached the employee who pulled out a gun and gave her a note that with her not bringing him $ 50,000 he would kill her she gave it to him and we approached her we were surprised she called 911 and from what she said we understood what happened and that we were behind a criminal

When 911 asked us what we saw we explained to them that we had seen an older man or with a mask in front of us in line

And later we found out he went to another 15 banks after he was at the bank we were at, so he got $ 800,000 and disappeared in 2011

To this day, the FBI is working to find him.

THE GREATEST HEIST OF ALL TIME by Arteum

LEADER:

My name is Leonardo Notarbartolo, and I have been in prison for 10 years for robbing Antwerp Diamond Centre in Belgium. it was a hard robbery, as there were so many security cameras that we thought it would be impossible. So anyway, it happened on February 15-16 in 2003, we made a team, let me introduce them to you:

THE CREW:

“Speedy” – an anxious and paranoid friend of mine, he was scattering the rubbish in the woods.

“The Monster” – tall, muscular guy, an expert lockpicker, electrician mechanic, and our driver, he was a very strong fella.

“The Genius” – our alarm specialist, he also was an electronics expert as well as a nerd, honestly.

And finally, “The King Of Keys” – a gramps, one of the best key forgers in the world, he is the only one to escape the police, he had a nice sense of humor and even though he was over 60 y.o. he was hell of a forger.

PLANNING:

We spent 18 months planning this robbery, we took photos of the vault with camera pens. I often visited there as a diamond merchant in order to get security to trust me and get used to me. We used those photos to recreate the replica of the vault and practice our heist. When the day came, I was near the vehicle (playing angry birds 2) waiting for my team to get out quickly. We all wore plastic gloves so we wouldn’t leave our fingerprints there.

THE ROBBERY:

So basically we couldn’t get in through the main entrance, because of the police, so the King of the Keys pick locked an abandoned office that adjoined the Centre. The funny part of this is when the deal came to the vault, they couldn’t take all 160 safe boxes, so they took only 123 of them which was all we could handle and escaped!

SENTENCED:

I was found guilty and put into jail for 10 years for being the leader, others got only 5 years. In 2009 I was released,and  I was arrested again in 2011. I violated parole conditions and was arrested again in 2013 at the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris during a layover from the US to Turin. I was made to serve the remainder of my prison sentence until 2017.

Now people call this “The Greatest Heist in History”, but I personally think that if we had taken took more people in our team then we could have cleared all the safe boxes and this would be the greatest heist of all time.

The time when the police broke into our hideout all of a sudden,I understood what the definition of terror was; my body trembled as I froze in fear, they handcuffed all of us but the king who disappeared somehow, and as they threw us in jail we felt like we are done. Even the cell I was in smelled funny, like a pile of manure, I was completely alone in my cell, but I still couldn’t get any sleep because the inmates in the other cells were so loud that I wanted to choke every one of them, but my story ends here, I told you enough I hope, goodbye

Leonardo Notarbartolo