Branches Book

BRANCHES

she felt comforted by Francois. Like they were connected in a way unlike anyone else. That night when they sat next to the river, Francois read a book to Leo and Valerie. Valerie was unable to focus, instead day dreaming about her experience that afternoon. Joseph, one of the school tormenters, walked up to them. He stood there, hovering over them for a minute, his vile scent lingering in the air. Valerie could feel her insides churning, and molding, dread filling her up. Then all at once it happened. He reached down and lifted Leo up. Before they could comprehend what happened, Joseph had thrown Leo into the river. Leo sank and Francois jumped in after him. Unable to swim, he began to sink lower and lower. Valerie screamed out, but water filled up her lungs. She started to feel the water wrap around her, dragging her down. She saw only the inky depths of the river below her. The water even seemed to swell into her ears. But she could hear voices too, murmuring to her. She looked down at her hands, but in fact they were not hers at all. They were Francois’s. Or were they Leo’s, they appeared to be Valerie’s again. Their bodies were no more, their souls intertwined. All at once, she was back to the holy place she was in the afternoon. There were people smiling at her. But not at her but up to her. She was floating above and she was not alone. She could not see Francois or Leo but she could feel them. As if they were sitting there inside her. But not inside, just together. That was when she heard Francois’s soft voice speaking to her and suddenly it all became clear. “He is the Father, I am the Son, and you are the Holy Spirit.” Creative writing has always been a passion of mine. From a young age I loved to read stories, which soon developed to a love of writing stories. My stories express the parts of me that I am unable to say out loud, so instead I write them down. This piece is an interpretation of a story I wrote when I was a child. As I was reading my original piece, I was inspired by my whimsical writing style and wanted the story to continue with that feeling. I tried to use a childlike outlook for my characters but still create sophisticated characters. The world my characters live in is both an imagined one and also real. Some of my intentions were to confuse my reader enough that they need to get to the ending. The beginning of this story is an adaptation from a story I wrote in 2 nd grade. I reused the characters and the structure of Francois’s family! Something the reader should keep in mind while reading my story, is that everything is not quite what it seems in my stories. Author’s Statement: Julia Luisi

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