Finding Luck
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Luck said sadly, patting my shoulder. The February air was cold and the trees bare. I brushed wet leaves from the damp picnic table and laid my backpack across it like a casket. I unzipped the backpack and pulled out the battered black Chromebook, covered in scratches from my dogs. […]
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Soften Your Grip, But Don’t Let Go
Names and identifying details have been changed. “I’m gonna do it.” “What do you mean?” I asked, locking the door to my room, because part of me knew the answer. My heart raced. “Hello? You still there?” “Yeah.” Her voice wavered. I could hear people screaming and laughing. “Where are you?” I asked. Alice was […]
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For You Are With Me
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” –Psalm 23 Names have been changed. Nestled in the Conservative Jewish part of northeastern Pennsylvania, Camp R in the Poconos is a place many of us who have passed through its wooden bunks call home. […]
Read MoreThe Foundation of Friendship
The crowd erupted in triumphant noise. Cheers and cries rose from every parent as they saw their child walking into the auditorium, about to graduate Rego Park Elementary School. Unlike my 5th-grade classmates, a feeling of happiness and ecstasy did not rain on me when my name was called. My parents were not present; they […]
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