Risk

~Day Eight Post~

 

Not hesitating, I jump out of the plane with ease. I wait for the right moment to pull my parachute. I give my sky-diving partner a thankful smile. He knows why.

 

 

Light, fluffy snow blankets the streets. Lights and decorations cover most houses on this block. Today is Christmas Eve and I am on my way to the store to pick up something for my older brother. My mind is buzzing with ideas. I decide to pick up some art supplies to make my brother a painting, instead of buying him a simple, cheap gift.

The craft store is almost vacant. These days, people buy meaningless gifts from the mall. I chuckle to myself as I imagine trying to squeeze through the stampeding crowds of people at the mall. My chuckle gets cut off when I see my brother outside the window. He is walking towards the bookstore. I hastily buy a canvas and paints and rush off to follow him.

Curious as to what my brother is going to give me, I sneak into the bookstore after he goes in. Peering through the shelves, I see him picking up two books. My interest quickly decreased when he started reading. I pick up a book and read to pass the time. So much time passed that I don’t see him leaving. When realization struck, I hurriedly put the book down and ran out the store and back home.

Sprinting into my room, I almost trip. Hastily, I lock the door so I am not interrupted during my painting. Hours pass. I squint at the clock. 12:25A.M. I wrap my dry painting with tin foil from the kitchen because I despised cliche Christmas wrapping paper.

Silently tiptoeing down the stairs, I breathe a sigh of relief when I reach the bottom. That moment was short lived when I heard a crack by the Christmas tree. I approach the tree gingerly.

“Boo!”

I scream, frightened of the abrupt noise.

“Haha, you should have seen your face,” My brother steps out from behind the tree. “You looked like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Who’s to say you won’t become one after tonight?” I mutter to myself.

“So,” he says nonchalantly, completely ignoring my threat. ” What did you get me?”

I shrug and hand him his wrapped gift. His eyes light up, probably relieved that I didn’t get him a book like I did the past several years. He hands me a shoe box. Rolling my eyes and wondering why he didn’t bother to wrap it, I open up the lid.

“You got me,” I start. “Books?”

He nodded. “That’s what you’ve been giving me so I thought I’d give you a taste of your own medicine.”

“Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater,” I read. ” I am so excited to start reading!”

My brother smiles and his dimples show; dimples I am jealous of. “I’m glad you like it, little sis.”

He tears at the tin foil, making me jump in surprise. After crumpling the foil up and tossing it in the trash can, he studies the painting.

It was of two people. On the left side was a boy and on the right was a girl. On the boy’s side, was a cliff and below the cliff was green grass. On the girl’s side was a bookshelf.One side of the painting depicted a very safe and cozy place whereas on the other displayed a risk-taking, rewarding environment.

“I,” he starts. “I really love this, little sis. Thank you.”

He pulls me in for a long and tight hug. Only for it to be ruined by our parents.

“Brother-sister bonding!” Our mom says. “This is great!”

“They are finally growing up and setting aside their differences,” our teary-eyed dad sniffed.

Rolling our eyes, my brother and I left for our rooms. I plop onto my bed and start the beginning of what will become one of my favorite books. Divergent. And I start the beginning of what will become a waste of time. The Scorpio Races.

I finished the Scorpio Races before Divergent. It was an okay book with an okay plot but not very inspiring or interesting.

A few days later, I finished Divergent. It inspired me to overcome my fears. The next day, I knock on my brother’s door.

“Yo,” he greets me. “What do you want? I’m busy.”

“I want to overcome my fear of heights,” I explain. “Wanna jump out of a plane?”

“Risk is my middle name,” he brags. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go!”

 

~By Lisa Ha~

2 Responses

  1. TheRhymeMaster at |

    WOWOWOWOWO. THIS WAS AMAZING……

    Reply
    1. dystopianwriter at |

      Thank you!

      Reply

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