Student Publishing Program ::

Kianna Pirooz

Neeka

I put down my pencil,

It’s Sunday morning and I have been doing homework for 3 hours

I look outside the window,

And there she is, in the backyard

She swings back and forth, soaring towards the sky

She is smiling at the sun or perhaps the birds overhead

I close my eyes and flashback to the hospital room.

Mom is sitting in the bed,

More alive then I have ever seen her

Dad mirrors her emotions

A nurse comes in carrying what seems to be a French baguette wrapped into a little pink blanket.

She hands the bundle to my mom who takes it gently

She looks at me with her warm smile and says, “This is your baby sister, would you like to hold her?”

“Yes.” I nervously say

She hands me the bundle and I take it cautiously

She’s soft, she’s tiny, she’s warm, she’s pink, she even smells pink

I look down at her face, surprised to see that the eyes staring back are mine

I also notice this is true for her lips, cheeks, and nose, even her eyebrows

Everything about her face is just like mine, however in miniature version

As I study her in fascination, my mom says, “She looks just like you.”

I smile proudly and look back down at her, as a wave of emotion surges through my body

She looks back at me with her big eyes, my eyes

She seems to study me, as if she’s trying to ask what role I am going to play in her life

I say, “I’m your big sister, you have two. The other one is younger and she is eating with grandma and grandpa right now.”

The nurse comes back to grab her from my arms announcing, “I’m going to change her!”

I scowl. I feel like I've just been robbed, as if one of my internal organs was ripped from me

I thought to myself, this baby is mine, this baby is the person whom I will love most, this baby is mine, forever.

I’m pulled back into reality when I hear a high pitch scream

I look out the window to see her smiling and laughing; she has sighted me

“KIANNA!” she screams, “Watch what I can do!”

She pumps and pumps with her little legs that now seem so big

It’s as if she has miraculously grown overnight

Concentration is bursting from every cell in her body, as she continues pumping with determination frozen across her face

She is really high now, so high, high enough to reach the tree branches it seems

I am almost about to say something regarding this dangerous height,

But then- she jumps!

The oxygen gets caught in my throat, and I stand frozen

She soars; she glides as graceful as a ballerina

She flies, she floats, she is fearless

That baby, six years ago is catapulting through the air, my everything

Then bam, she touches the ground, landing on both feet like a professional gymnast,

Laughing all the while

I exhale in relief and begin laughing and clapping as well

She says, “Was I good?!”

I say, “You were amazing, you were a star! You went so high up; I think that you touched the sky!”

Delighted, she exclaims, “I bet I did touch the sky!”

And I look at her little face, my face, and say, “You did, you touched the sky, I saw it”

She smiles and runs inside and jumps into my arms

She’s soft, she’s tiny, she’s warm, she’s pink, she even smells pink

And as I grip onto this little girl, I think, this baby is mine, this baby is the person whom I love most, this baby is mine, forever

Neeka

[TABLE OF CONTENTS, LHS CLASS OF 2012 EDITION]