I was looking back at my old writing assignments I did for ELA in 7th grade and I found this narrative. It was supposed to be an emotional one. I remember this as one of my favorite assignments.
Last Chance
5 deep breaths, check. Hope for safety, check. Don’t look down, um, already did that.
Taking a glance at the press, while trembling with fear as I gaze up ahead of me to look at the river course, I start to worry about the outcome of this adventure. Flash. Snap. Flash. Snap. The journalists and photographers are snapping pictures of me before I undergo this adventure. I can’t back out now. Let’s do this. 3, 2, 1, 0. “Aaaaaah!”
Two Weeks Before
I love adventures and thrills. I am not the girl who would sit around dressing up. I’m the one who would take any risk. But, that was the old me. The one before my accident. My parents have always supported me in life. But, after my accident, they became a little paranoid if not already because of my sister. They used to be my biggest supporters and always say that they would support my dreams. That’s never going to happen now. Even though I am off of my crutches, I still feel broken. The sad thing is, the only person who supports me is my sister, Crystal. My dream was to be an explorer going on crazy adventures. But now, that dream has evaporated into dust. One accident changed my life.
I am teased and bullied constantly by kids from my school. All I wanted was to take a risk. Well, let’s see how that ended. Usually, I would talk up and argue back, but now I just don’t have the strength to do it. I let everyone verbally assault me, and don’t say a word. I am tired of trying to convince everyone that I am not stupid for taking a risk. At times I feel so alone like I am in this never-ending mist of darkness where no one can help me. The only person I can lean on to shed my tears is Crystal.
My twin sister Crystal had a heart implant when she was barely 4 years old. Everyone thinks that the surgery had enervated her but it didn’t, it made her stronger than ever!
The Bullying Never Ends
“Ring!” Ring!” “Ring!” I reach my arm across my nightstand and hit anything in my reach. “Crack.” Whoops, I might have broken something, but at least the ringing stopped, and I can go back to my peaceful sleep.
“Alice wake up!!!” My mom yells from downstairs.
“Ugh, I don’t want to wake up,” I mumble.
I am not looking forward to another day of school, which means another day of enduring bullying from everyone in the school. I am so excited about that! Yay! When I walk downstairs I see my mom with her lips pursed together and her eyes squinting, showing me that I am running late. I eat my food as fast as a gerbil running on a wheel, and sprint out of the house.
The second I sit on my seat in school there is a spitball in my hair.
“Ugh, not again,” I whisper.
I stand up. My teacher glances up at me but cannot do anything yet since school has not started. Crystal tries to pull me down, but I resist, trying to find who did that. The second I sit back down a note is thrown on my desk. I pluck the note slowly from my desk, and carefully open it. The note says, “you are stupid for going down that waterfall, and since you failed you are PATHETIC.” I toss it in the trash and look down as tears form on my face. Why did this happen to me? Can anyone even try to feel even a tiny bit of sympathy for me?
The Hospital Rush
Thump. Jolting up from my bed. “Mom, dad, Crystal?” I whimper.
I check the time. It is 3 am. I get off my bed slowly and start to reach for my phone and emergency flashlight. I inch towards the door, tiptoeing, and slowly open it. It is pitch black, and so quiet you can hear a pin drop to the ground. All I can hear is my fast breathing and the sound of my heartbeat. Something touches me, I drop everything, back away, and scream “AAAAAAHHHHH.” Trembling, I pick up my stuff and on my flashlight. The light is so bright, that I start blinking trying to adjust to it. Once my vision clears up I see my parents. I rush towards them and give them a big hug.
“Honey, what are you doing up so late?” My mom asks.
“Yeah, shouldn’t you be sleeping?” My dad adds.
“I heard a noise and became scared of what happened. I tried to go back to sleep, but I was too scared.” I respond.
Then, together, my parents and I inch towards Crystal’s room. We turn on the light only to see Crystal on the floor. My mom and I rush towards her while my dad calls 911. My mom starts shaking her to wake up while I start sobbing. I turn as pale as a child when we see something scary in the dark. I tremble and freeze as stiff as a stone statue, not knowing what to do as I see Crystal’s face that is losing its color.
The ambulance comes to take her away and my mom gets in with her, while my dad and I drive to the ER. I start getting flashbacks of when I was in the ER, but I shake away the thought because once we arrive, I run to the receptionist.
I ask her, “Which room is Crystal in?”
She replies, “Room 294.”
I yell thanks as I start to sprint towards the room Crystal is in along with my dad. We find my mom outside sobbing.
“Mom, what happened? Is Crystal going to be okay? What happened to her?” I continuously ask my mom.
“She. She. She had a heart failure,” she says before she breaks down crying even more.
My dad takes a seat beside her trying to console her. The doctor comes out and approaches me.
The doctor said, “Your sister is in a very critical condition, and we need to find another heart donor in the next two weeks.” He then added, “If she was not to survive her critical condition, would you allow us to do a postmortem on her to see what we can do to help other patients with similar problems?
I gasp.
“How could you say such a thing!” I yell. “She has to, no, she will survive this, no matter what you say!” I wail.
The world starts darkening, and the last thing I see before I collapse into the chair is the doctor’s sympathetic face.
The Visit
I haven’t slept since the second I came home from the hospital. All I have thought is Crystal has to be okay. I get ready and head downstairs only to see my dad wiping his tears.
“Dad, where’s mom?” I ask.
“She won’t get out of bed,” he replies back.
“Will she not come to the hospital then?”
“I think she will.”
Once we enter Crystal’s room, she looks at us smiling. We all rush over to her and start asking a million questions.
“Are you okay?” My mom questions.
“Do you need anything?” My dad asks.
She starts looking overwhelmed with these questions. The only thing she says is, “I’m fine.”
“Will Crystal be ready for her surgery?” I ponder.
Then I realize she does not know about it yet. She shudders and then shouts, “I don’t want surgery!”
I find out she is averse to having surgery when my family leaves the hospital to let Crystal rest.
The Accident
I am finally ready to share my accident details with the world. The thought of not saying out loud and keeping it bottled inside of me was killing me. I arranged a press conference for the next day to share the accident details, which Wyoming state was longing to know.
“Kayaking is an avocation of mine but I have decided to now take it professionally. So what happened was, I was on my first kayak ride down a waterfall and the problem happened in the rapids before I even reached the waterfall. The current was stronger than I predicted, so I was unprepared. I kept on flipping over and jamming into rocks and stones. By the time I got out of the rapids, I had lost my paddle and my life jacket had been punctured. I reached the waterfall and fell down it.”
I hear very light applause, but lots of clicks of video cameras ending the video.
“I have one more thing to add before this press conference is finished. I feel that since my sister is sick and too afraid to get surgery that could save her. I want to prove to her that I may have been broken but I can still heal. Parts of me broke the day of the accident but a new part of me was reborn when I healed. In order to show my sister if I can heal she can too. I cannot do a tiny waterfall, I have to do a huge one. And I know just the right one, Palouse Falls in Washington! It is every kayaker’s dream to go kayaking down a waterfall this height, but few have ever succeeded.”
This time I hear applause as loud as thunder on a day with lighting.
Prep Work is Hard
I have started preparing to ride down Palouse Falls. It takes at least a year to finish preparing but I don’t have enough time. I have to finish preparing in two weeks before Crystal’s surgery can start. One of the main things that need to be done is to gain upper body strength, do a lot of pushups and curl-ups, to gain strength. I also have to gain lower body strength because it’ll help with proper form and get better strokes when paddling. Another thing that needs to be done is to study how tall it is and the most efficient way to get down in a kayak. Palouse Falls is 189 ft tall, and it has a very vertical drop. I also have to study the rapids of Palouse Falls more carefully so the same result as last time will not happen again.
On Top of Palouse Falls
It took a full day to fly up to Palouse Falls. I have finished setting up and putting on my gear. My kayak has been fully inspected by yours truly and prepared with safety gear, in case something goes wrong. I am so afraid to go down. All I need to do is be careful during the rapids and then I will be going down Palouse Falls. I try to inhibit my fears of going down to show a look of bravery to the press but it is too hard. 5 deep breaths, check. Pray for safety, check. Don’t look down, Ummm, let’s save that for later. Time to start counting down, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, I got this! I’ll be fine. No, I won’t! Yes, I will. Let’s do this, 3, 2, 1, 0. “Aaaaaah.”
The rapids are too strong. I have to push through. You got this Alice. There is safety at the end. Only a few more minutes.
I see lights flashing as I open my eyes. Why are lights flashing in my head? People with white coats are looking down on me. I feel trapped. I struggle to get out and a set of strong arms hold me down. Pinch. Something pricked me. The world starts darkening again.
This memory scares me. It was from when I was in a critical condition from my accident. I try to push away the thoughts but it is just continuously coming back. I keep on pushing while my thoughts push back with strength so hard I can’t push back anymore. I have to face it.
A large current splashes over me and I start to feel too many currents pushing against me, but I trained for this moment. I push against them using all my strength and I feel as though I have finished. I see the end of the rapids and prepare myself. I breathe in and out and reach the end. Looking ahead of the water path I see misty air rising. Understanding that it is the drop of the waterfall I push through the currents trying to get to the end. I finish with one strong push which leads me to the drop! I feel the kayak
I come out of the water breathing heavily. I did it. I take a seat on a rock and gaze upward toward the height of the falls. The media are taking pictures of me and trying to ask me many questions. I try to catch my breath but I am so amazed at myself for such a big accomplishment. Crystal will see if I can do this, she can get better. Wait, Crystal!
I check the time and see it is almost time for Crystal’s surgery, I tell the press I will hold another press conference with time for questions. I sprint to the nearest helicopter pad and fly it as fast I can back home. From there I drive as fast as the speed limit allows to the hospital. I reach just in time to see Crystal enter the surgery room. I ask the doctors to give me a second to speak to Crystal. I tell her I did it, I am not afraid anymore. She gives me a bug hug silently and then the doctors usher me out. I am sitting outside the surgery room when I see my parents. They rush up to me and give me a big hug. They are mad and happy; giving me a million hugs and kisses.
“I am so mad and proud of you!” My dad exclaims.
“My baby is so brave!” My mom squeals.
“Why did you do that?” My dad asks.
“Sweetie that was so dangerous, you could have gotten hurt again!” My mom says hurriedly.
“Mom, dad calm down!” I yell.
I tell them the whole story of what had happened including what happened in school. It felt like such a big relief to tell them about everything knowing that I was safe in their hands.
After 4 long hours, we see surgeons exiting the surgery room. They say Crystal is doing very well. We sigh in relief. After a doctor checks on Crystal, we are allowed to see her.
“CRYSTAL!” All of us yell!
We run over and give her hugs and kisses.
“Alice, I am so happy you did it. You are my hero!” Crystal exclaims happily!
“Aw, thanks, Crystal!” I responded. With one more thing to say to my family, I straighten my posture and look at them with a professional look.
“Dad, mom, and Crystal, I have something important to say. I have decided to leave water kayaking, since I feel I have completed all my goals using it,” I say. I elaborate by saying, “ I feel I want to try different activities than just kayaking or risk-taking adventures.”
When I finish, my parents and Crystal say together, “We will support you no matter what you choose because we believe in you!”
Hearing those words made me sigh in relief knowing that they are ready to support me.
It feels so good to be connected as a full family once again, but the adventure isn’t over yet, because it never ends!
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