The second of many

Edited by Emily

As she sat in the car outside of the Prairie View golf course in Topeka, Kansas, she noticed how beautiful of an afternoon it was. It was the first Saturday she had off of work in a long time, and the weather was perfect. It was sunny, but it was wasn't too hot or too cold. As she waited patiently, she found that she was nervous to be going golfing with this new man in her life. She hadn't been golfing in a long time, and she was afraid of embarrassing herself in front of him.

When he returned from renting the golf cart and paying the green fees, they headed to the first hole. After stretching and applying sunscreen, she walked up to the tee box, placed the ball on the tee and got in position. She swung the golf club for the first time in years. When the club came back down, she realized, to her dismay, that she had missed the ball. She looked over timidly at Justin and they both burst out laughing. She accepted his offer for a few tips on how to improve her swing. On her second try, she hit the ball and it landed in the green.

They both showed improvement as they continued to golf through the next eight holes. When they reached the final hole, they were laughing, joking and giving each other a hard time. They had decided not to keep an official score before starting, so they called it a tie even though she knew she had won. As they drove the golf cart back to the club house, she felt like their second date had been a success and began to wonder what the third one might bring. 

The Last Cast

She was sitting on the dock overlooking the pond, hidden behind a row of trees as the sun began to set on a humid July evening. What seemed like hours had passed by, and she had hadn't caught a single fish. Boredom began creeping in. She debated just giving up and going to play with her dog that was sleeping beside her. Her friend had promised to take her fishing and show her a good time, however she didn't want to stay any longer.

“Can we go home?” she asked.

Hearing the boredom in her voice, he stood up quickly and made one final suggestion.

“Why don’t we give it one last cast before we head back?” he asked.

She hesitantly agreed and handed him her pole. He grabbed the hook with a smile; he knew she wasn't a fan of the slimy worms, so he had to bait her hook for her. He finally baited the hook and handed her back her pole. She cast her pink fishing pole into the pond, hoping for one last chance to catch a fish.

They had to wait only a few minutes, and then she finally hooked a fish. She battled the fish, reeling as fast as she could with all her might. She managed to get the fish to the edge of the dock and her friend bent down and grabbed the magnificent fish out of the pond. He held up the great catch, a 5 pound largemouth bass. It was the biggest fish she had ever caught. She had a couple of minutes to admire her catch, and then he released the fish back into the pond. Pleased with the last cast of the day, they began their walk home.

“I didn't know I would like fishing so much,” she said.

“I’m glad, but you’re not going to catch such a big fish every time,” he said.

“How do you know?” she asked.

Welcome Home Karsyn

(Edited)

What seemed like hours were only seconds as she stared at the clock. Although she had just been with her family there was so much excitement it hardly seemed real. Had it already been years since she became an aunt for the first time? It was only a couple of years ago when she met her first niece, Kyndall Ann. Now, a few weeks early, her second niece was born. She longed for the moment when she would get to hold this little miracle, but for now all she could do was wait.

Looking around the house she could tell the arrival of her new niece was unexpected. Every room looked as if someone had just walked out of it. There were dishes piled high in the sink, dirty laundry and toys scattered on the living room floor. With all this pent up energy she felt like she needed to do something. So she did what she could to make the wait a little easier, and she cleaned up the mess. Of course that could only last so long before she knew it she was back on the couch. Waiting patiently for any sign of life outside the house.

Suddenly, the garage door began to open and she was alert with anticipation. She fought back the urge to run outside and greet her new niece. Waiting a couple more seconds would be easy compared to what she had felt all day. The door swung open and there she was, Karsyn Renee. She walked closer to look at her niece and was greeted with big, blue eyes. Those eyes were quickly greeted with a smile and the harsh kitchen lights.

Karsyn began to cry as the brightness of the lights began to overwhelm her. Her aunt felt compelled to do what she had been waiting for all day for. She slowly reached down and cautiously cradled the 5 pound angel, she was perfect.

Karsyn was comforted by her Aunt's arms. It was like she knew that she was surrounded by love. Knowing she was safe she began to take in her surroundings. Her eyes scanned her knew home and looked for familiar faces. Proud big sister Kyndall skipped over to give her baby sister a kiss. A peaceful smile stretched over Karsyn's face. Kyndall was taking her new job very seriously and she loved having her sister home. This little family will always remember the happiness this homecoming brought them. They were surrounded by love and by family, but more importantly they were home.





*Editor's Note: I should not be allowed to edit things!

A Warrior's Homecoming (Edited)

By Megan Dortch

As dawn broke through the clouds and into the cabin of the airplane, the passengers closed the blinds covering their tiny windows. The pilot had just announced that the plane was beginning to descend.

A middle aged man in the aisle seat wearing a crisp navy t-shirt with the logo of the wounded Warrior Project held two teddy bears in his arms. He was visually nervous as he bounced his prosthetic leg up and down. A elderly woman sitting across the aisle from him noticed  his uneasiness and ask if flying made uncomfortable. He smiled shyly and nodded. When the wheels of the plane touched down on the runway, the man gritted his teeth and clutched the teddy bears tightly to his chest while keeping his eyes closed until the plane was completely stopped.

When the seat belt light flashed off, the sound of seat belts unfastening filled the cabin and passengers jumped to leave their seats as the man with the teddy bears waited patiently for the aisle to clear. Then, he stood up and retrieved a camouflage duffel bag from the overhead compartment and walked slowly down the aisle, the two teddy bears tucked carefully between his left arm and side.

As he exited the gate, two high-pitched screams began to echo throughout the terminal .The man instantly dropped his dufflel bag and teddy bears to the floor and crouched down with open arms as two little girls with bright blond hair ran toward him. He enveloped them in his arms as tears poured down his face. A tall woman stood close by clutching a sign in her left hand that said, “Welcome home, daddy!” and her right hand tried to wipe the steady stream of tears from her face. The man motioned for her to join the embrace.

Onlookers stood by, many with tears welling up in their own eyes, as the family reunited. After a few minutes, the family stood up and the man gathered his things from the floor. As he handed the teddy bears to the little girls, he told them that he loved them and they embraced him yet again. 

Bonded at birth

(Edited)

Through the glass of the intensive care unit, a mother sat patiently awaiting the first meeting with her newly born baby girl. The baby laid sleeping in a small incubator covered in tubes and gadgets used to assist the child's breathing and temperature. 

Although the baby, who was born just seventeen hours before, was napping, the nurse wasted no time pulling her from the warm glass box she now called home. Unhappy and alarmed by the coldness of the air outside of the incubator, the baby let out a gripping shriek. She cried out in dismay toward the nurse, wanting  back in the warm box she had become accustomed to since leaving the comfort of her mothers womb.

The nurse attempted to soothe the baby, but eventually plopped the infant right into her mother's arms. The new mom stared at her precious girl, tears streaming down her face, smiling as the baby continued to cry, still startled from her abrupt awakening. The mother leaned closer and whispered hello to her new baby. Instantly, the tantrum stopped and the room fell silent. The baby looked up at her mother, feeling more comfortable now than since leaving the womb. The voice of her mother, the only thing unchanged since her birth, soothing any troubles the baby girl might have. She stared up at her mother as her mother stared down at her.

They sat that way for what seemed like hours, studying each others faces. The mother matching feet to kicks she felt earlier that week and hiccups to the young baby that had grown inside her tummy. The baby matching the comforting voice and heartbeat to her mother's loving embrace.

And just like that, their first of many visits ended. 

The goose, the gander, and the eggs.

Johanna's Rewrite: Group 1:

Gander protects nest from potential threats

It was a warm Saturday afternoon, she watched as a gander stood strong and idle on the small island in the center of a pond located at the Trianon apartment complex in Topeka, Kan.

She noticed that the gander was unwavering in his stance on the east edge of the island as he watched for signs of approaching danger. Although most of his body remained still and motionless, he turned his neck at the slightest of sounds. The sounds of a cracking of a tree branch, the splashing of a fish and the honking of another goose all kept him alert and focused on the task of protecting his family. She noticed that the mother goose sat quietly several feet away and tended to their nest of unborn goslings.

At the north end of the pond, she noticed four mallards swimming and playing in the water. As the mallards began to make their way to the island, she noticed the gander quickly moved and stood directly in their path. Ignoring his warning, the mallards continued to approach the island. She noticed that when they were just inches away, the gander suddenly stood erect, spread his wings and began to hiss menacingly at them. Alarmed, the mallards formed a side-by-side line in front of him and quacked simultaneously.

As she watched for several minutes she noticed that the gander’s perseverance paid off. The mallards surrendered the fight, they left the pond and waddled over to join a group of mallards gathered under a tree.

Confident the threat had subsided, the gander walked over to his nest to ensure that the eggs and mother goose were unharmed.

She then watched as the gander went back to his initial spot on the edge of the island. As the sun began to set behind the trees she noticed that peace had returned to the pond once again.