Previous I think there are more people in the Worlds Stadium than I’ve ever seen in one place. “The Tuvarian team is in our session,” Coach Eleasea explains when Erena asks why the stadium is full for prelims. Music blares from the speakers as we march in, right behind the Tuvarians. They’re wearing white warmups […]
Trigger warning: discussion of verbal and emotional abuse When I first started writing, for real, I was a Level 5 (now 4) gymnast at a regionally well-known gym. Since I was older, taller, and more developed, I was in the “B” group. I was lucky by being in that group. I wasn’t on the receiving […]
Previous … Worlds are just over a week away. We’re flying to Tuvaria in two days. “Are your parents planning to come watch?” Coach Eleasea asks me. I shrug. They’ve been fighting even more. I’m thankful for gymnastics keeping me out of the house. If I could, I would sleep in the gym. Anything to […]
Aarae 1120 The door slams shut in my face. I turn and walk away, through city I’ve lived in since I was born. The houses, with their red-tiled roofs and shiny metal gutters, line the white sea walls that keep more than just the ocean back. Fir trees and ornamentals dot the narrow yards. The […]
I’ve been thinking of California these past weeks. My dad’s daily worried texts have stopped, but I still feel for all the families who’ve been displaced, during a pandemic. I feel for everyone who is struggling to breathe during this time, who is homeless, who is afraid for their home or possessions, who is missing […]
Previous New Years Day 1008 The moon was setting when we finished crossing the ocean. I followed the woman and the girl to a cave in the cliff that bordered the shore. The woman had stayed at this cave before, I was sure of it. She pulled out some metal tools from her bag and […]
Previous Solstice 1007 You could probably walk across. I kept thinking about what the man had said while I walked, now on the sand of the beach. The ice did look thick here, but what if it wasn’t in the middle? I kept walking, hoping to find some kind of shelter. Erincateri lay to the […]
Previous Winter Solstice Holidays 1007-08 The sun woke me up. I remembered that I was outside. I’d found a spot between trees that was relatively sheltered. I’d laid down bare branches under and over me, so my clothes wouldn’t get wet. I grabbed a bite of bread—I couldn’t cook the grain, not with all the […]
Previous Late Le Esel 1007 “I have sad news,” Mrs. Mirin said. I looked up from my spinning. I’d never enjoyed housework, but they gave me food to eat and a warm bed in the attic in exchange. Mrs. Mirin hadn’t asked me too many questions. Her oldest daughter, Eliya, had just had twins. “What […]
Previous “Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to announce the 1,128 Rhetian World Team. Erena Nato, two-time Continental Champion and nine-time National Champion; Sunlissia, 1,125 Bars Continental Champion and two-time National Champion; Elila Orro, 1,126 Bars Continental Champion; Tyanna lya Azon, 1,127 Bars Continental Silver Medalist; Tara Tlaer, three-time Vault Continental Champion; and Reana lya […]
Richenda 
You must be logged in to post a comment.