... place on earth. It's tranquility and solace makes it easy to imagine being my grandmother during her youth. So, I lie back and I dream. I will share a day's journey of my grandmother's youth when she still lived at home and perhaps this will give some insight as to why I like to return here, if only in my dreams. In ... making. The calmness of those nights is still fresh in my thoughts; so much so, that I can still perceive the chirping of the crickets in the dead of night before we scampered off to bed. I shake my head as to wake myself from this dream and focus on the reality of today....

• Word Count: 1180
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... by blood, he was the only one that I ever knew, would visit, our house was always their last stop of the long journey made back to Cleveland from their winter vacation, spent in south Florida. My brother and I counted down the days, making marks through the boxes on the calendar as if to encourage their arrival date to come sooner to save yet ... another box from the shame of not being "the day". The night before, I always lie awake, restless, anxiously waiting for the morning to come. "What time ... confines of the drive, as he told me stories about his life and the places he had been...

• Word Count: 524
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... the first day. While the families were unpacking and setting up, Dominic and Jeff decided to ditch the work and head into the woods with their paintball guns. Everyone was very unaware of where the boys might have been until a loud scream ... from woods. Jeff emerged suffering from a close range paintball shot from his beloved friend Dominic. The shot was fired after a long argument in response to a disagreement of whether or not Dominic's paint was very visible . To resolve this problem Dominic put his ... all while never trusting any of us again. Nicole ran horrified up the stairs and s...

• Word Count: 910
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School