Age:
High School
Reading Level: 2.8
Chapter One
Watching the older boys play their games, I wish I could join. They used to send me away. Since the bombs fell, I’ve learned to disappear.
Maybe you didn’t even notice me. I stand so still with my back against the rough edge of a wall.
I keep my face turned away from prying, searching eyes.
Chapter Two
We used to have real playgrounds just like yours. I don’t remember much about them.
Mama says they had something I loved called a firepole.
Papa joked I’d grow up to be a fireman.
He would lift me onto his shoulders and run around, making a sound like sirens. We would pretend he was a firetruck.
No one fakes the sounds of sirens anymore. Not since the bombs came.
Chapter Three
When they first fell, the world shook. I thought it would never stop. The sound hurt my ears. I cried and screamed.
Mama held me tightly. She whispered it would be all right. It would end. We could finish dinner.
I remember feeling Papa’s strong arms wrapped around us as little dust clouds rained down. Mama squeezed me tighter and began to pray.
Suddenly it all stopped. Papa crawled out from under the table and looked around.
Then there was a crash. The world went dark.
