Student Author

A Write to Learn recognizes outstanding student authors throughout the country. This section provides an opportunity for teachers to submit work by their students and for homeschooling parents to celebrate their children’s achievements.

Please submit short stories (maximum length: 850 words) and poems to awritetolearn@yahoo.com

This month features a short story by Joshua Hollander, age 12 of New Jersey

A Dangerous Light
By Joshua Hollander

The glowing circles of light gathered in squadrons around the bare, scraggly tree. The wind whistled loudly. The moon faded in and out of the looming clouds. It was an extremely intense few minutes. The Brighties were thinking. They were coming up with a plan.

Sean stepped into the shallow, sliding light and opened the dark wooden door to his house. He took one last glance at the complete blackness around him, stared deeply into it, and then shut the door frightfully. Sean had hated that awful walk home from Damien’s house. It was long, and hard, and so creepy. Why couldn’t they live closer to each other?

As he put his coat away, Sean heard his mother hollering. She was asking him why he had come home so late and if he wanted dinner. Sean was too tired to answer, so he just sighed and slumped up the stairs to his room. When he finally got there, he fell on top of his bed and immediately, uncontrollably, his eyes shut tight. Sean felt protected in his endless, swirling dreams, and happy. That is, until they came.

The Brighties were squinting in the glimmering, flashing light. They saw the dead-looking lamp on the wall. Then they saw him. Sean had heard the smash, but now he just heard murmuring. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes slightly and looked around dreamily. He stared. He screamed!

Sean anxiously rushed down the cold, wooden staircase, and ran through the dark living room. He opened the door quickly. When he was outside, Sean threw up his arms and ran wildly across the street, streaming towards the friendly sight of Damien’s house.

When he started to knock on the door, Sean was surprised to see that it slid open easily. A dark figure stepped toward him. The figure suddenly gasped.

“Damien?” Sean’s voice stopped abruptly.

Damien’s eyes were almost purple, and his hair was matted wetly to his forehead. Damien spoke surprisingly calmly.

“Don’t worry. It will get you too. Soon.”

Damien stepped forward. Suddenly, he lunged towards Sean. Sean frantically jumped away as Damien landed on the carpet and melted slowly into nothing, like he was made of wax.

Sean ran back home. He stepped cautiously into his dimly lit house. He ran back up the stairs and when he came to the door of his room, he stopped, dead quiet. Sean then gathered up all of his courage and peered inside. He didn’t see them at first. Then Sean screamed as he heard the huge, bubbly balls of light murmuring softly. Without even thinking, he ran down the hall and burst into his parents’ bedroom.

“Mom, Dad!” Sean screamed. “Come and see this!”

His parents didn’t even stir. He turned on the light, searching the room frantically. Then he remembered. His parents weren’t home. They were at the local diner. Sean couldn’t count on his parents now. He had to figure this out himself.

Sean cautiously peeked into his dark room, terrified that he might see those awful creatures again. But no, he saw nothing. Nothing but the inky blackness of night. Sean felt safer, calmer, so he slowly started to tip-toe past the door, into the room. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move swiftly towards him.

At the same time, he felt a stinging, burning pain in the center of his back. Sean spun around, shocked, and saw a vast, glowing ball that was bigger than his bed. It swooped toward him, and Sean was so scared that he kicked at it; penetrating it and making it vanish into nothing.

Before long, another Brightie dived ferociously at him. And again, Sean kicked it and the Brightie disappeared. Soon, his room was empty. The only thing that Sean noticed was a shiny ornate bottle that lay in the dark, shadowy corner of the room.

He picked it up and put the bottle to his nose. Why did he suddenly have such an urge to drink it? Slowly, but surely, Sean gulped it down, feeling the warm, sticky, sweet liquid make its way down his throat. When he was done, Sean felt a tingling sensation on his arm. No – on his whole body.

Then he felt his skin tightening, then expanding. His entire body heaved into the air and now he was floating. He realized then. He had become one. After all his struggle, Sean had become a Brightie.