DEATH ISLAND JOURNEY

I sat at the front steps of my house, my mom sat behind me carefully brushing my messed up hair. As she did this I stared across the street to the house where our old neighbor lady once lived. It's been three weeks since the doors were last opened and the house had started to become a lonely ghost house. My name's christanna dovetail, but my community and possibly the entire state knew me as dove, which is a name that has stuck to me for the last two years. Dove: hey mom? What happened to mis saleton? Mrs dovetail: She hadn't been feeling well, you knew her condition, it seemed she couldn't carry on with life anymore. Dove: (sighs) It's such a pity, Mis saleton had been living in our neighborhood even before my family moved in when I was three. I still remember our first encounter when me and my then new friends snuck into her backyard and started harvesting the juicy watermelons she grew, we were four then and couldn't differentiate between good and bad but we were severely punished by our parents and asked to clean up our mess in her backyard . But since then mis saleton would invite us over every Saturday for a snack of strawberry tarts and watermelon pops, even as I got older they were still my favorite desserts, but fast-forward to today the lady was gone. The last time I saw her I was walking home in the evening and she asked me to please help her tend to her watermelon garden since she didn't have any strength to do so, I promised her I would but I instead went home and flopped on my bed drowning into a deep sleep. By the time I woke up I heard ambulance noises, looking out my window I saw mis saleton being wheeled into an ambulance, then I got slapped by the hand of guilt. Mis saleton had got divorced by her husband possibly a year before I was even born, he left along with their young daughter leaving her all alone in her house, I guess us kids provided her company as she was sweet to us and would let us play with her daughters leftover toys, give us delicious pastries, play around her house, and even read us interesting fantasy and adventure stories. Due to how guilty I felt, I took it upon myself to take care of her watermelon garden, the only source of life left in her house, I went to her house once a week to tend to it since there were still growing watermelons there and I wouldn't want those to rot away before pollination season. Mrs dovetail: I'm done. Dove: (stands up)Thank you mother, I shall be going now. Mrs dovetail: Don't forget about mis saleton's garden later this evening. Dove: I won't, I assigned the duty to myself. Mrs dovetail: (smiles) So nice of you to take care of the poor woman's prized possession. Dove: Yeah, so good of me. ( walks out of the yard). Now I froliced down the street to my friends place, as I took a glance back at mis saleton's unoccupied house, I wondered what would become of it now. I didn't wanna bother about that so I continued my walk. After my five-minute frolic, I made it to my destination; my best-friend's Millie's house, obviously cause I had nowhere else to go. Millie: hi dove. Dove: sup Millie, are the boys in? Millie: yup, come in! Millie was the sweetest person I'd ever met in my short life, she was the first person I met when I first moved into our community, she lives alone with her cancer patient mother. The boys I was referring to were Bruce and Jackson, the four of us have been together since we were kids and we're the kids whom harvested mis saleton's watermelons. The four of us had a reputation among the people of our town, we were well-known troublemakers since we met and mis saleton wasn't our only victim, we've caused a lot of trouble in our community and even outside, even in school, it's even how I got my nickname DOVE. I would love to mention a bunch but some of you would start wondering how we're not currently behind bars. Our reputation caused a lot of trouble for our parents but you can't really blame us, it's just childhood curiosity, we're older now, 12 years but we don't get into much trouble as before. Dove: So Millie, how's your mom? Millie: (mood changes) Terrible! the doctor said she has less than a year to live (eyes water) who will look after me if she's gone? Dove: It's alright, maybe I can ask my parents to take you in after that, I'm an only child so they won't mind looking after you too. Millie: (smiles) thank you. Dove: No problem. Jackson: Hey girls, over here! Millie: We're coming! UPSTAIRS Bruce: hello. Dove: What's up? Bruce: (grins) just got some new paint guns, let's all head over to town square and vandalize the $1,000,000 statue they have there. Jackson/Millie: YAY! Man, I've been trying to act more mature and not cause any more trouble but these guys are just making it tricky with their temptation. Dove: Guys, I don't think that's a good idea. Millie: Huh? But you love this. Dove: I also love not adding shame to my family's name, guys will be teenagers by next year's grace, don't you think we should be acting mature? Bruce: (facepalms) oh great, the adults have gotten to her. Jackson: Is this about mis saleton's passing? Dove: maybe, but I'm seriously being honest, we'll be adults in a short period of time so we should start doing responsible things that won't one day land us in jail one day. Bruce: (groans) We don't even do much mayhem nowadays, it's just all about studies, errands, chores, obedience, and all that. Dove: hey don't get me wrong, I love going on adventures like that, heck I would even go the extra mile like the ones we read in stories. Bruce: Well too bad those ones aren't real. Dove: Dang right they aren't, but if there was one I would love to hop right into it not caring about the dangers that await me, but now we have to wake up to reality and do our part as responsible kids, right now imma go tend to mis saleton's garden so what's left of her doesn't die too. I made for the door and gripped the door handle, Bruce spoke. Bruce: It is about her, isn't it? Dove: Yeah so? I liked her, didn't you three? Millie: well yeah, I do miss her. Jackson: yeah, and her pastries too, her apple pie was my favorite. Bruce: well yeah I do miss her (tone drops) she would even let me spend a night or two at her place whenever my parents had enough of me. Dove: Good, she was nice to us even when other adults saw us as rotten children. I opened up the door and walked down the stairs, the three of them followed behind me, I stopped. Bruce: Fine, we'll help too. Dove: Alrighty then. We made our way to mis saleton's house, climbed up her fence with style and went to her shed getting the tools and began working. It was easier with the four of us here, I was on weeding duty, Bruce nourished the soil, Millie watered the plants, and Jackson made new plant beds and planted new seeds. Bruce: Urgh, we could be doing more fun things right now. Jackson: yeah (they stop their work) Dove: Oh don't tell me you guys are quitting now? Jackson: we're not tired, just bored. Dove: What? Millie: I hate to say it but they're kinda right. Dove: oh so you wanna get rough and tumble huh? Millie: umm,well, no, I meant....... Dove: Things aren't easy nowadays and being troublesome helps no one, not even us! (throws her shovel to the ground) Bruce: um, dove are you.... Dove: No! I wasted my years creating a reputation that has caused nothing but made people see me as a shame to my bloodline, instead of me to focus more in school, make my parents proud, help around the house, be my brothers keeper, assist the needy and all that! Jackson: bruh, listen to yourself. Dove: All that stuff we used to do won't get us anywhere in life. Millie: Unless it's finding buried treasure. Dove: (sarcastic) yeah sure, when you find a map that leads to a mysterious island were we have to fight for our lives to find buried treasure just call me. Bruce: Dove. Dove: It doesn't exist guys, wake up to reality ( yells to the sky sarcastically) if such adventure exists just give us a sign so we can hop into it right now! As I said that, we suddenly heard the sound of a car pull up , we peaked to the front yard and saw a black car parked at the front of mis saleton's house. Millie: umm, are we expecting anyone? Dove: not at all. Then the drivers door opened and a woman of about 23 years alighted and started unpacking some boxes from the car, she then unlocked the fence and came in. At that moment we quickly jumped over the fence and ran across the street to my house, jumped the fence and landed safely in my yard. Through the fence gates we carefully watched the youth as she took the boxes into the house. Bruce: Looks like we have a new neighbor. Dove: In mis saleton's house? Nah, there's no way they sold it. Millie: Well now you don't have to tend to her garden anymore. Dove: That's mis saleton's garden, her prized possession, and I ain't letting some stranger snatch it up like that. Jackson: What are you gonna do about it? Dove: That, I don't know.