An Ode to Life

By Katya Pledger 

Life is a blessing
a gift from God.
God created life
He breathed his life into man
and man lives.

Life begins in the womb
and it takes leaps
from a baby’s first cry
to the last breath
life is full of leaps.

Life is an adventure
we learn as we go
life has ups and downs
it has twists and turns
and we learn as we go.

Life brings sunshine
life showers rain
when life gives lemons
make lemonade
life is all things happy and sad.

Life is a cherished thing
it is snapshots of memories
memories of joy, laughter, peace
memories of sadness, grief, ache
life is precious.

Life spent with friends is sweet
life spent with family is meaningful
life spent with Christ is eternal
life is a blessing
a true gift from above!

Joe’s Beginning

 by Katharine Ingalls    

The beginning of this story my Sister and brother helped me write. So thank you Ben and Belle, for helping me start an amazing story.  

Chapter 1           

Once upon a time there was a cute young boy named Joe. Joe had sandy brown hair, was tall, and he was 16. With his kind brown eyes and friendly smile you would never guessed his secret identity as a hard core spy.

One Saturday Joe was walking along in a forest when he heard a strange noise coming from the bushes by the river, it sounded like a mix between a cry, a sneeze and a scream. He quickly decided to investigate, but what he found surprised him. It was a brown, fat, cute kitten howling like it was starving to death.

“That’s a lot of noise for a little kitten like you! What are doing out here?” He asked the kitten as a young girl walked out of the bushes behind him.

Joe whirled around in surprise, what is a girl doing in a forest like this?  He thought. She was small, looked about age 13 and had black hair.

Before Joe could say anything the girl introduced herself, “Hello, I’m Sally! I’ve lost my kitten but I see you have found him,” She said with a smile.

“Oh, here.” Joe mumbled as he handed her the kitten. “What are you doing out here? Alone in this forest. There are plenty of wild animals.”

“Oh. Um… I lost my kitten, you see,” She said uncertainly, “I just thought about him, all alone out here, and I had to rescue him!”

“I guess that makes sense, but next time I would advise you to come with someone. I have to be going, it was nice meeting you.”

“Wait! I didn’t get your name!”

“Oh. Well, my name is Tomas. Yes, Tomas Hog.” I don’t know if I can trust her so I will give her a fake name. He thought.

“Well, umm.. Tomas, will you escort me home?”

“Oh, sorry. I have to be going home. See you later.” Not ever seeing you again. Hint: Don’t talk to strange girls in the woods!

“Don’t you know who I am!?!” Sally yelled at him.

“Wait, aren’t you the daughter of the director of the FBI’?” Joe answered with a squeak in his voice. Joe knew that FBI stands for: First Benevolent Institution, when spies got captured by The FBI they were never found again.  

“That’s right! And you are under arrest Tomas Hog. Or is that really your name?!” She screamed at him.

“Why? What Have I done?!” Joe replied trying to keep his voice calm.

Suddenly he heard a bang that sounded like a car door slamming, he sensed that more FBI agents were arriving, he fingered his bow in his hand.

That nasty girl trapped me. He thought. If only I could call my friends for help. That’s It!

“Surrender yourself!” Sally Yelled at him

“Not today!” Joe replied as he shot an arrow strait up into the air. Joe hoped that it would signal that he needed help.

Way up in the sky, above Sally and Joe, There was a helicopter with Tod, Jonathan-Joe’s friends-, and Brad-Joe’s Brother.

Jonathan was the one that spotted the arrow, “Hey guys! I think one of our friends are in trouble!”

“Why do you say that?” Tod questioned, “Only the four of us know that shooting an arrow strait up means ‘I need help.”

“Yes. But, there are only 3 of us here. Who is the other person?” Jonathan asked with a knowing look in his dark brown eyes.

“Joe!” Brad exclaimed.

“Exactly” Johnathan nodded, “What is he doing out here?”

“We left him at headquarters, he must have sneaked out as soon as we left,” Brad told John

“How are we going to save him?” Tod inquired of Brad.

“When we get closer to him, we’ll have to lower a rope ladder,” Brad explained. “I’ll send him a message on his radio, so that he will know help is coming.”

Meanwhile back on the ground Joe was getting worried about how he would get out of this mess. Maybe I should have just stayed at headquarters, I would just be sitting around but at least I couldn’t get caught by anyone. Oh well, it’s too late to think about that, instead I need to think up a way to get back to headquarters without the FBI agents following me.

Joe sighed with relief when he got a message on his radio that help was coming, but wondered who found out that he was in need of help.

Now that Joe knew that help was on the way, he decided to act cool and try to give whoever was rescuing him some time. “Hey Sally, How’s your day been?” He asked her in a surfer dude voice.

She glared at him, said nothing, and then punched him in the face.

“It was that bad?” He said with a laugh that even sounded fake to him. I might have been able to take her out if she was younger, or if I knew we were alone. But I’m sure her dad will be here any second, I just hope help will come before then. Because I can’t risk them following me back to headquarters.

Just then a helicopter with a rope ladder hanging from it started to descend closer to the ground. Joe recognized the helicopter, then he made a quick decision. He shoved Sally and she fell to the ground, while he quickly jumped and grabbed the bottom rung of the rope ladder. Joe hurried started to climb up the rope ladder as the helicopter started to fly higher in the sky.

While the helicopter was flying away, Sally was hanging on to a tree, while screaming, “He’s getting away! He’s getting away!”

As Joe kept climbing up the rope ladder he realized how exhausted, hungry, thirsty, and tired he was. As he stepped off the ladder into the helicopter, he felt himself falling, then it all blacked out.

Chapter 2

“Joe, Joe! Speak to me buddy!” Joe heard Tod say, but he couldn’t seem to get his eyes open.

Finally Joe was able to get his eyes open, then Tod and Johnathan helped him into a chair.

“Tod? John? What are you all doing here? When I knew help was coming I thought it was probably the Barker’s helicopter.” Joe asked in amazement.

“We decided to head west before going back to headquarters.” John answered

“And you should be glad that we did.” Brad frowned at him, “If we had went back to headquarters, everyone would be looking for you. Not only that you could have got captured by the FBI, and put some of the other spies in danger.”

Joe hung his head in shame, and for the first time Brad noticed that his brother had scratches all over his arms, and a big purple bruise on his left cheek.

“What happened to your cheek? Are you ok?” he asked in a softer voice.

“Well, it still really hurts,” he said with a frown, “It’s because the girl punched me in the face.” Joe explained what happened while Tod and John howled with laughter.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t try to fight her single handed, and I’ll get you an ice pack for your face.” Brad said with a slight smile, “But, I’m positively sure that you’re still going to be in big trouble when we get back to headquarters.”

Joe let out a big sigh, “I know.”

After Brad grabbed him the ice pack, Joe sat in silence and thought about what had happened. Why did I let myself get caught? I hadn’t even found what I was looking for, I never do. He let out a long sigh.

By the time they got back to headquarters Joe’s cheek was really hurting and he just wanted to go lay down in his room, but he knew he had to face his parents.

When they were getting out of the helicopter, lots of the spies that were working turned and stared. When Brad and Joe’s parents saw them, they came running.

“Joe? Where were you? What happened to your face?” His mother asked in concern.

“I-” He started, then Tod interrupted him.

“Oh, Mrs. Bentwood, Joe went for a little walk, tripped and fell on his pretty face.”  

Jane Bentwood looked at Tod with a frown, but when no one said anything she decided it must be the truth.

Joe knew he should say something, but at the same time he didn’t want to get in trouble.

Joe saw Brad looking at him and he decided that he would tell the truth. “No Tod, You can’t make up stories for me,” he said to Tod then turned to his parents, “I didn’t just walk out to get a little bit of fresh air, I sneaked out.” He then explained what happened.

“Joe! FBI agents! You could have been captured!” His mom yelled in a horrified voice.

“You’re grounded, for a month! No playing with friends, nothing fun, only training until you can be trustworthy.” His father said to Joe.

Joe looked down in shame. I am trustworthy, I told you instead of going with Tod’s lie! He thought in anger. “Yes sir” He mumbled.

“Excuse me? Is that what you say to the Commander?” Robert Bentwood asked him.

“Yes sir!” He said louder.

He then turned and hurried off to his room, before he had to do extra training.

Chapter 3

Later that day after Joe did 100 pushups he sat on the hard cement floor in the training room and thought about what happened today.

“What were you doing out in the woods?”

Joe got jerked out of his thoughts and turned in surprise.

Brad was standing there with his light brown eyes staring straight into Joe’s brown determined eyes.

Then Joe realized that he was waiting for a reply, he glanced away and said, “Oh, I was just wanted to go exploring.” He hoped that it sounded like a real answer.

   Brad saw him glance away. There’s something he doesn’t want to tell me. “And you weren’t looking for anything other than that in the woods?”

“No,”

“I don’t believe you. What were you really doing in the woods?” Brad said his voice getting louder.

Joe glanced around nervously, “Shhh… I’ll tell you, if you talk quieter.”

“Ok, fine.” He added in a softer voice.

Joe sat there for a minute wondering how he could explain.

“You can tell me,” Brad smiled at him, “I won’t tell.”

Joe quickly looked away them mumbled, “I was looking for Alice,”

Brad looked extremely surprised, then he said softly, “Joe, you know she’s dead.”

“I don’t believe that, I think she’s just captured. So I have to find her.”

“Joe, listen to me, we’ve searched and searched for her.” Brad looked at Joe straight into his sad eyes, “And you need to stop blaming yourself, it wasn’t your fault.”

Joe looked away.  It was my fault, it was.

“Just promise me that you won’t go out searching for her.”

“I promise,” Joe mumbled.

“Great, I know you’re grounded, but if you want I can come talk to you so that you aren’t bored?”

“Yes, thanks Brad.” Joe smiled.

“Your welcome. I better be going now, see you later.”

As Brad walked out of the room Joe thought about his sister, Alice.

Joe remembered it like it was yesterday, he was 10 and Alice was 12.  Joe had been closest with Alice, Brad was 15, always wanting to just train and work and never have any fun. Alice would play with Joe, and make up the best and most exciting stories.

Three days before Alice’s birthday Joe suggested that they should go play in the woods and pretend that they were super heroes. Alice- being the awesome sister she was- of course said yes. But Joe didn’t know that, that day was the last time they would see each other.

As they went deeper into the forest, they didn’t know someone was watching them. Joe was a super hero saving the day, from Alice the villain. After they got tired of playing that, they decided to play hide-in-seek. Joe was finding and Alice was hiding, after Joe counted he started to say “Ready or not here I co-”

But he was interrupted by a scream, he knew too well that it was Alice’s scream. He ran as fast as he could to find her, when he did find her, she was tied up with a FBI agent holding on to her.

Joe ran up to the one closest to her, and cried, “Let her go! Let her go!” as Joe was kicking at the agent, but he didn’t seem to do much because he was small for his age.

The FBI agent laughed at him and kicked Joe to the ground.

“Stop! You can take me, just don’t hurt my brother!” Alice cried looking at him in concern.

Joe felt at tears, one, from knowing that his sister cared for him that much, and two, knowing that they might be some of her last words. Even though everything hurt from getting kicked, Joe forced himself to get up, so that Alice would not be concerned.

“Well, we better be going, before this little shrimp calls in some help,” the second FBI agent said as he was mocking Joe.

“Please! Take me too!” Joe cried.

“No, we don’t need a little thing like you,” The first agent said as the other one was walking towards their helicopter. “But, your sister here, she might have some valuable information,”

“Please,” Alice begged, “Let me have a word alone with my brother before you take me.”

“Not alone. But you may talk to him while I stand right here,” The agent told her.

“Ok,” she told him, then turning to Joe she said, “Joe, I want you to listen what I’m about to say to you.”

Joe nodded at her, and looked into her dark brown sad eyes. “I will, I promise, I will always remember,”

“Joe, I love you. Don’t ever give up hope, and if you do I will still love you,”

A bang awoke Joe from his thoughts of his past, he realized it was just a broom falling on the concrete floor, in the training room. He remembered those words his sister had said, but he didn’t know what they meant.  Give up hope on what?

He gave a big sigh and went to his room for the night.     

   

 Chapter 4

The next day Joe was very confused, it seemed like all the spies were giving him weird looks. He wondered if it was because he almost got caught.

Later that day when Joe was sitting on the bench in the hall, Joe’s dad walked in.

“Son, there is something I need to tell you,” Robert Bentwood said in a serious voice.

Joe looked at him in surprise. What has happened? It sounds like it is something bad! Is that why everyone was giving me strange looks?

“I don’t know how to say this to you,” He looked straight into Joe’s eyes. “But, somehow some of our spies saved a captured girl spy that was from here.”

Joe sighed with relief, “Oh, that’s great dad! But why are you telling me this?”

“You didn’t let me finish.”

“Oh, Sorry. Go ahead.”

“What the spies described the girl as, we think it might be….Alice.”

Joe looked taken back. Alice! His sister? He could see her again! He didn’t lose hope!

“Now also remember, it could be a different girl spy, and not our Alice.”

Joe nodded, but he wasn’t really listening. He was thinking how wonderful it would be to see his sister again.

When Joe’s thoughts finally cleared, He realized his dad had walked away.

After lunch Joe went and cooked some peanut butter cookies, because those were Alice’s favorite kind of cookies. Then after he made the cookies he went to his room until 5 o’clock, about 10 minutes before Alice arrives.

At 5:07 Joe was waiting in the corner of the main room that you come into first. Over by the door Joe saw his mother waiting there to greet her when she comes.

Finally the moment had come, it was 5:10. Joe heard a car drive up and knew it was the one with the spy in it. As the door opened he fixed his eyes on her. But it was the saddest sight Joe had ever seen, yes she had blond hair, brown eyes, and the perfect smile, but it was not his sister.

Joe glanced at his mother he saw her shaking the girl’s hand, and smiling, but on the inside he knew she was weeping. He quickly turned and fled to his room.

Chapter 5

That night Joe didn’t even eat dinner, He just wanted to be alone and think. Why had this happen? She said not to lose hope, but it’s so hard, does she think we’re perfect? He thought about this as he nibbled on one of the peanut butter cookies that were now hard and cold.

Joe knew he couldn’t sleep, so he decided to go to their little living room.

As Joe was walking down the dark hall, he could tell that the light was on in the living room. Maybe dad and mom are talking in there? But as he got closer he couldn’t hear any talking.

When Joe walked into the room he was surprised at what he found. It was his mother siting silently on the couch while holding a pillow. I remember that pillow! It was the one Alice made when she was 9.

Joe’s mother was lost in thought, and didn’t notice him. Until he spoke to her.

“Alice will always love you,” His mother turned around in surprise, but before she could say anything he continued. “Don’t give up hope, and if you do she will still love you.”

“Where did you hear those words, Joe?” she asked him in surprise.

“Alice told me right before she was taken. I struggled with it for a long time. Did she think we could give up hope? Why did she have to get taken?” Joe confessed, “But now I think I know what she meant. She doesn’t want us to give up hope, but she knows we’re not perfect, so we might. But she loves us just the way we are. She doesn’t want us to change even when she’s gone, Alice would still want us to laugh, play games, and tell jokes just as if she were standing right here.”

“Yes, your sister would think that, and she would be glad that you are cheering up your mother,” Jane added with a smile.

“There is something else I need to tell you. That day when I almost got caught, well, I was out looking for Alice. Because I didn’t realize what she meant about don’t give up, I thought she was just saying to keep looking for her.”

“Oh, I didn’t know son, you should have told me.” Joe whirled around in surprise, there was his father and Brad standing in the doorway.

“You should have told us,” His father continued, “I didn’t realize you were trying to help your sister. I think you have been grounded long enough, you can stop all the extra training.”

Joe was greatly shocked, “Really?”

Robert laughed at this, “Of course, and what you said about Alice is true. She would still want us to be happy. I know it’s only 6:30 in the morning, but why don’t we go out on a family walk?”

As they were walking out the door to go outside, Joe was surprised to see Brad coming. Usually when they went on ‘Family walks’ it was just Joe, Alice, and their parents, while Brad just stayed at headquarters training and working.  But they hadn’t gone on a ‘Family walk’ since Alice had been taken.

Up ahead on a little hill Joe recognized something, he quickly ran to it. It was the huge boulder Joe and Alice used to play on, it was their pirate ship, jet plane, or anything they pretended it to be. There is a fallen tree leaning up against it that works perfectly for a ramp up on it.

Joe quickly walked up the fallen tree, so he can stand on top of the boulder. As he got up on it he looked west, Joe could see trees, birds, deer, with hills and clouds in the distance. Don’t give up hope Alice! I will find you, and if I don’t I will still love you. He remembered looking this way so many times when he was young.

“This was yours and Alice’s special rock, right?”

Joe turned around, and saw Brad below him running his hand over the back of the boulder. He saw that his hand stop right next to some squiggly writing. It said, ‘Joe’s and Alice’s Special rock. Its name is Imagination Rock.’ Joe remembered that day, they decided to name it Imagination rock because you can imagine it’s anything you want.

Before Joe could say anything, Brad said sadly, “I always thought that I should just train and work, instead of playing around like you and Alice did. I guess that was a mistake, because if I did play with you all then I would probably know my sister a lot better.”

“Don’t be hard on yourself, when Alice said ‘Don’t give up hope’ she had a look in her eyes that said, tell the rest of the family.”

“After she went missing, I wanted to be a better brother. But I didn’t know how. Will you let me be that better brother to you?”

“Of course! How about we do something fun?” Joe asked with a grin.

“Sure, I’ll race you to the fence across the field!” Brad grinned back.

“Oh, you’re so on!”

Joe and Brad took off across the field, while laughing. Joe knew that his sister loved him, he would try to not give up hope, but he knew if he did she would still love him. Even though he missed his sister, Joe knew that he had a caring brother that would help to fill the empty spot in his heart. Joe thought about this as he raced off across the field with Brad by his side.

                               THE END