Motionless Crowd

  Gratitude?

  Clearing my throat, I dangled the jewel from the chain.

  “The Archanian Jewel…” Renaldo whispered, dark eyes shining.

  Renaldo stalked towards me and snatched the jewel out of my hand. He put it around his neck. “At least one of you is honest. The next time you lie to me Clarissa,” his eyes flashed dangerously, “your life is mine.”

  Renaldo disappeared and Claire collapsed onto the floor. I kneeled beside her and checked her wound. It had started to bleed again.

  “I’m so sor--” I started. She cut me off with a wave of her hand.

  “Where’s your mom? I need this bullet out.”

  “I’m not sure.” I said tentatively. “You want me to go find her?”

  She shook her head. “Not enough time.”

  She managed to stand and she staggered back into her room. She rummaged through the drawers until she found a scalpel, gauze and some gauze tape. As if it were an afterthought, she added a bottle of Advil to the pile.

  She laid on the bed on her stomach and looked at me.

  I stared back, not fully believing what she wanted me to do. She rolled her eyes. “Hurry up. As soon as he realizes that the jewel you gave him is a fake, he’s going to come back and kill us both.” She grabbed the scalpel and forcefully gave it to me.

  I gulped, suddenly wishing I’d done as I was told and stayed in the room. “This isn’t safe.” I said, and added silently to myself, “It isn’t sanitized. I…I’ve never done this, I want to faint when I see blood, I’m not a doctor...”

  She must’ve been able to tell what I was thinking because her eyes softened. “Please?”

  I swallowed and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and placed a corner of the pillow in her mouth.

  Years ago, I went with my older sister when she got her ears pierced for the seventh time. The lady behind the counter did it so swiftly and just talked all the way through it. Never warned her, just did it. Didn’t count to three or anything.

  That’s how I got the bullet out of her leg.

  Her scream was muffled by the pillow and when she stopped biting, the fabric was slightly torn. I stitched and bandaged it up quickly and tried to rid the sound of her scream from my mind. She took three Advil and shakily stood.

  “Let’s go.”

  I looked at her, wondering why she wanted me to go with her. Again, almost as if she was reading my mind, she answered. “He’ll come back when he realizes it was a fake.” I kept staring, thinking that it really had nothing to do with me. She pursed her lips. “He’ll think you’re in on it.” I swallowed. She shifted her hands to her hips and tilted her head. “You aren’t safe anymore.” She sighed, crossed her arms, and looked out the window to the sunny afternoon. I had to strain to hear her. “He’ll kill you.” She whispered.

  She looked back at me, scoffed and shook her head. “Fine. But don’t come crying to me when you wind up dead.”

  She left.

  I just kept standing there, asking myself why I hadn’t gone with her. She was dangerous, and I couldn’t leave my parents. I didn’t know her.

  But then I started thinking of reasons why I should’ve gone with her:

  She would keep me safe.

  I didn’t want to die.

  Life would always be filled with adventure.

  She seemed like she cared.

  I trusted her.

  It sounded crazy, but as soon as I thought it I knew it was true. I trusted her.

  Before I could change my mind, I followed after her.

  Connecting Community Hands

  By Gaby Morazon

  (Winner of the Columbia Heights Sister Cities Competition – Poetry)

  Community is

  A rainbow after a storm

  Diverse and peaceful.

  Prosperity is

  The fruit of humility

  Requiring great care and hard work.

  THUMP! THUMP! Our hearts beat in unison to the same exact song,

  “Together we win.”

  Hope, peace, love, joy

  All come to life when the monster of greed is dominated

  We are all just looking for a little tranquility in our stars.

  From the inside out.

  Elements Poem

  Ashley Roberts

  I’ve questioned many things I’ve seen and endured

  Pain has always been unanswered

  Pain is unavoidable, of course

  However, the right chemical can decrease the amount

  Despite the temporary escape,

  I cry because I yearn

  I laugh because I’m sad

  I fear because I don’t understand the things I see

  I hate thinking because I fear the thoughts inside my head

  To feel has caused me to understand sanity

  I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m struggling between good and evil

  I’ve avoided the elements of life far too long

  However, at times, I feel life has been avoiding MY being

  A Small Tiny Boy

  Robbin VanWyck

  A small tiny

  Boy from the small island

  Country decides that he wants to

  Do what no other boys have

  Ever attempted and to brave the giant green

  Forests. But

  Green giant forests are no place for boys who

  Have small tiny feet the don't even fit

  In his shoes. So he decides that he'll set out on his

  Journey, leaving these shoes behind.

  Kids all come stumbling and shouting out

  Loud a chant that

  Means goodbye. For the children shall

  Never see the small tiny boy

  Of the small island country again.

  People are pacing the stone streets of

  Qatar. It is now nighttime and the

  Rats come for dinner and the boy has yet to be

  Seen. Adults stay awake and

  Talking till sunrise

  Until they see the boy from a dream.

  Valiantly facing the rough island forest, he has seen the

  Wonder of wonders and he is now a great man.

  Xavier the savior of

  Your small island country with its

  Zigzag horizon finally has shoes that now fit.

  Small

  By Levi Archer

  I want to feel small

  I want to fit into the palm of someone’s hand,

  curling into myself while feeling safe.

  I want to be near someone who is tall,

  someone who makes me seem tiny in comparison

  someone who can reach high up

  where my tiny arms cannot

  I want to be by someone’s side,

  pushed and pulled so close

  that I become a part of them -

  a spec on the warm canvas that

  guards and protects its own

  I want to be embraced by warm arms,

  arms that make a place for me

  that not many get to be in

  I want to be hugged tightly enough

  to forget my worries

  I want to have clothes that envelope me,

  clothes that fall off my small frame like a tent;

  clothes that smell and feel of a home I’ve not yet known

  I want to be looked down on,

  I want to be thought of as nothing more than

  a mute child whose mind is blank.

  A child who needs special looking after

  and hugs when they get something right.

  I want to feel small

  An Old Friend

  By Robbin VanWyck

  An Old Friend of mine

  Is coming to dinner

  And I haven’t seen

  Him in years.

  He’s somewhere else now

  In a new world,

  A new town

  That is millions of miles away.
r />   We did make plans

  For all to go out

  One table for ten,

  won’t you please?

  We waited and waited

  No cares and no doubts

  We waited for him

  just to show.

  He did not, however,

  Meet us at five

  for drinks and for dinner

  and the dessert that none of us ate.

  We ate our own food

  And between all the silence

  We would quietly

  sit and chat.

  And then I went home

  and set my keys on the table

  and my box of food

  In the fridge.

  I turn and I see

  An Old Friend waiting for me,

  his face lit up

  with a smile

  We talk through the night,

  About all sorts of things,

  Of life and of love

  And of friends.

  And when it is morning

  We wake when the sunshine

  Tickles our noses

  Having fallen asleep on the couch

  He gets up and goes

  To put on his shoes

  And says he must

  leave once again.

  I sit in the silence

  As he slips out the back

  Wondering if I’ll

  Ever see him again.

  An Old Friend of mine

  Just came by for dinner

  And I don’t think I’ll see

  Him for years

  Dying To Move On

  By Marwa Ibrahim

  I was told that I will never be alone. I was told that my tears will only fall out of joy and happiness. I was told that my light brown hair has enough magic to replace the beauty of this world. I was told that my smile has the power to drift all the pain and sadness away.

  Only later did I realize that I was told lie after lie.

  Last week, after a long and busy day, I came back from college. I inserted the keys and opened the door quietly, trying to avoid the squeaky sound that our wooden green door releases when it opens. I found my dad sitting on the couch with his eyes fixed at the door. I could tell that he was waiting for me. I hid my letter “A” necklace under my hijab and stepped in. After greeting him I asked where mom was, and he said she went to the neighborhood market to do some grocery shopping.

  “And how is college going?” my dad asked. This was basically his introduction question to any sort of topic.

  “Pretty good!” I lied. I mean who wants to tell their dad that they almost failed a Biology test?

  “Which is harder, college here or in the US?” He asked, and I answered with a sigh of relief. “I guess college is hard everywhere papa”.

  I excused myself to go pray because I couldn’t pray during the lectures. I took my path through the living room to get to my bedroom. It was silent; all I heard were my own footsteps until my dad said, in the lowest voice possible, “Abrar, I know you loved Adam, but you need to move on.”

  I turned around to face my dad. I wasn’t shocked at all. This is not the first time my dad had said this, so I was kind of used to it. I’ve been hearing this sentence for the last three years of my life.

  “Papa, I knew you were about to open this topic again, and I don’t blame you. You are a father despite everything else. I know you want to see your daughter married and living a happy life.” I said with empathy, and he nodded.

  “If you know that, then why do you refuse all the marriage proposals you get? You are burying yourself alive, Abrar! That is all you are doing! Egypt is not like America, a girl here needs a husband - a man to be beside her.” I listened and listened. All I did was listen, even though I strongly disagreed. Sadness and despair after Adam’s death taught me how to be silent when I needed to talk the most.

  “You are just living in a dream hoping for the sun to show at night and that is impossible. One day you will realize that your decision to live by Adam’s picture is just wrong, but it will be too late then.” My dad continued and his tone got higher and sharper and all I did was listen. My eyes were wet with tears as I remembered the last day I spent with Adam.

  It was a week after filling our marriage contract. He took me to one of those fancy restaurants in Cairo. This was the first time I saw him wearing a suit. He was tall, approximately 6’2”. I’m pretty short compared to him and I felt protected whenever I walked with him. After three hours of chatting, the waiter brought the check and said, “We were so happy to have you in our restaurant today.”

  Well that is what he said out loud, but the fake smile on his face made me think that he really wanted to say. “Get out of here!”

  On our way out, the weather was gloomy, the clouds were thick and dark and I knew it was about to rain. It was January cold as we stepped out of the glass door. I was wearing a long two layered black dress and a red hijab covering my head to my chest. I was not very cold. I mean I lived in Minnesota for a long time, and this was nothing compared to Minnesota’s January. Adam’s car was parked about three blocks away because there was no place to park in the street, so we had to walk there. I wanted Adam to hand me his jacket so bad but of course I’m not going to ask for it (Gentlemen rule number 18,5000). He looked at me with that smile that made me fall in love with him the first time and he said, “You’re dying to take my jacket, ha?”

  “No” I teased as I hugged myself trying to pretend I was cold. He took off his jacket and handed it to me. He seemed to be a mind reader.

  “Thank you!” I said.

  “You are welcome, Madam,” he joked.

  Man I was so thirsty, even though all I did in the restaurant was drink water and juice. Adam said he had some water bottles in the car. We were almost there and for some reasons my head was getting heavy and I felt so dizzy that I almost fell.

  “Are you okay Abrar?” Adam asked.

  “Yes, I’m fine, probably just tired.” We reached Adam’s car and I was feeling exhausted. He walked to the door to open it for me. As he did, I fell and my head hit the ground and I felt nothing after that.

  I woke up on a hospital bed. The room was almost dark with a dim light. There was a window right across from my eyes I looked through it and realized that it was already nighttime. The raindrops were still on the window. Slowly, I turned my face to my right to find Adam, my parents, and Ahlam, my best friend. There were only two chairs, which my parents used. Ahlam and Adam were standing. I felt numb and I didn’t feel like talking but I had to know what had happened. My dad realized that I opened my eyes, so he stood up and placed his cold hand on my forehead.

  “What happened?” I asked, with a low tired voice.

  “Don’t worry about what happened. You are okay! that is all we care about,” my mom said.

  I stared at Adam, and the tired look on his face made me think that something was not normal. His eyes seem sad and he was still wearing the same suit. A nurse entered with a glass of water and some sort of medication.

  She smiled and said, “How is our strong lady doing, now?”

  I said I was fine as she placed the water and the medication on the counter.

  “I’m sorry, but the doctor requested to have only one person with her in the room. Thank you guys for your support.” Then she left. Now everyone started to look at each other asking who should stay and who should leave. Adam convinced my parents to go home and rest. Then it was either Ahlam or Adam. “I’ll leave and Adam can stay with you” Ahlam said with a cute wink. She kissed me on my forehead and asked me to take care of myself.

  Then it was only me and Adam.

  “Adam, what happened today?” I asked with a confused face.

  “You mean yesterday?” He corrected me.

  “I’ve been here since yesterday?”

  “Yes”

  “Adam what is wrong with me? Why did I stay in the hospital for so long?”

  He seemed very hesitant. It wasn??
?t like I was dead. I didn’t even feel pain or anything. It was just dizziness.

  “Abrar, I know you are a believer. And you know that God gives us what is best for us.”

  “Yes indeed. Just tell me Adam”

  He moved the chair closer to my bed. He held my right hand between his fingers and I could feel the warmth of his hand transferring to my hand.

  “Abrar. Promise you will stay by me no matter what.”

  “I promise! Just tell me!” I demanded.

  “Yesterday I brought you to the hospital and the doctor said you have diabetes, but you know what? he said that you are lucky because you came right away before anything worse happens.”

  I closed my eyes to absorb the shock and I could feel the tears falling from my eyes. I’m a believer and I believe that everything happens for a reason, but I still felt sad inside. Adam pulled one of his hand and wiped off the tears and he said, “Abrar. I don’t want to see those tears again! Ever! From here on those tears will fall out of joy and happiness. ONLY!”

  I opened my eyes and looked directly at him. “Allah doesn’t burden us beyond our abilities. I will handle it as long as we’re together,” and I smiled. He saw a male doctor coming into the room so he took the hijab from the bed and placed it on my head and said, “Just because you’re sick doesn’t mean anyone can see your hair.”

  “My hair isn’t even that beautiful.”

  “Shhh! Your hair has enough magic to replace the beauty of this world.” He said, and I smiled.

  “Even your smile has the power to drift all the pain and sadness away.” He continued and my heart was dancing.

  The doctor came in and told me that I would be leaving the hospital tomorrow.

  “Finally we will have some time to plan for our wedding! By the way Abrar, can you close your eyes for a second?”

  “ Yeah, but why?”

  “Just do it.”

  I closed my eyes and when he asked me to open them I saw a red box on the counter with a letter next to it, but Adam was not there. I could hear his footsteps leaving the hall. I opened the box and found a letter “A” necklace. I hugged it and opened the letter:

  Abrar, Your dad will come pick you up in a few minutes. Ahlam will bring you a dress and all I want you to do is wear it and go with your dad. See you in two hours! Wear the necklace, and by the way, roses are red, violets are blue, your blood is sweet and so are you.