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Sunday, November 29, 2020

"Turn" by Karis G.



“Just….leave me alone, ok?”

 

Joni pushed her dad’s hand away, “Hon, are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” his patient persistence frustrated his daughter even more. “How could he possibly understand, he had the chance to participate in the Olympics, the Olympics.” Joni thought. She would never have that chance. To be in the hall of fame, to even walk down a hallway again, for goodness sakes.

 

The nurse came in, “Are you ready for your therapy session Joni?” her father nodded and placed both hands on the back of her wheelchair. Approximately one week ago. Joni would never forget the day. Nothing had been or would be clearer for the rest of her life. She remembered contemplating whether to drive to her niece Jayme’s birthday party, she had just turned two years old, but decided against it. Too far. Similarly, It was too late to join her sister Kathy and her boyfriend who had already left to go swimming at the Bay. Just as she had given up on her plans for the day, Kathy drove up – she had forgotten her handbag. She glanced at Joni smiling and called, “Want to go with us?!” Joni sprung up, grabbed a swimsuit and jumped into the back seat of her Volkswagen. It was the last time she would get into a car using her own two legs.

 

She remembered laughing as she climbed onto the raft she had swum so far out to reach, she looked out over the water, Kathy was laughing, the sunlight bounced off of her already fair hair, making it appear golden. She had only glanced down at the water in front of her…… and dived. The memory shifted, she was lying face down in the

Chesapeake Bay. Her blonde hair foated up to the surface of the water, she heard a snap, she didn't know where it had come from but as she tried to move her arms and legs to swim back up to the surface, she suddenly found she couldn’t. She lay there staring through clouds of flmy water, “How long was it going to take for someone to notice?” she thought, “did anyone see? Surely Kathy watched me dive off of the raft, she had to...” a small silver needlefsh swam by her face and continued on its way. She wanted to shout “Can you see me?” but her nasal passages began to burn, her vision slowly grew blurry and the clouds of water she had been able to see through just

seconds ago began to blacken. Had anyone seen? “Am I going to die?” was the last thought that foated Joni’s mind before the world went completely dark.

Joni felt a hand clasp her shoulder, her dad startled her out of the memory, she was grateful. As he placed a hand on Joni’s shoulder he bent down to whisper in her daughter's ear, “I know this is the last thing you want to hear this right now hon, but maybe this is part of His plan, a bigger one, one you could never have imagined.” Joni closed her eyes, she couldn’t hear that right now. Didn’t want to. How could this be part of His plan. The verse she used to hear so often as a child “...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” those words tasted like dirt in her mouth, she would never say them again.

Joni heard a voice behind her, “How’s she going dad?” She would have recognized that voice anywhere, it was Kathy. Her vision was obstructed so she couldn’t catch a glimpse of either of them, but knew they were communicating silently with their eyes. She heard her father’s footsteps retreat as he began to back away from the chair. Kathy took his place, placing both hands on the wheelchair. She bent down and whispered in her sister's ear, “There’s something important I have to tell you, Joni.” her voice was urgent and serious. Kathy began to wheel her sister away from the Recovery Room. “What?” Joni whispered, she couldn’t talk to Kathy right now. Not because she was ungrateful, but because she could hardly face herself. “Joni, I wasn’t going to turn around.” Her sister’s tone suggested something no one had considered. Joni frowned, she didn’t understand, she knew Kathy had been the one to pull her from the river to safety, she assumed Kathy had seen her leap off of the raft. Dad had told her everything, right? “I didn’t see you.” her sister repeated “I didn’t know.” Joni frowned, “There was this sharp pinch on my toe,” she began,” and when I looked down this crab had bitten me, I turned around to warn you, but you were nowhere to be found, the last time I saw you you were swimming out to that stupid raft, but you weren’t on it, or anywhere. Something told me to go fnd you -- quickly. So I did.” Joni watched as a small smile began to form on her sister’s face. “Joni, He knew, He saved you.”

Her sister’s eyes were sincere, Joni knew she was telling the truth.The room began to spin, and she closed her eyes trying to absorb the words her sister had just spoken. She couldn’t stop the tears as they began to roll down her face and for the first time since sitting on the beach of the Delaware shore with her, mom, dad, and sisters,

hearing stories of Moses, David, and Daniel, and how God used them to do the miraculous, she began to pray.

 

Narrative based on the story of Joni Eareckson Tada

30 comments:

  1. Hi Karis,

    Such an amazing literary piece, and I really enjoyed it! I hope you can continue creating and writing pieces like this.

    Best,
    Zhenwei

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  2. This was so beautifully written and really told a story that was full of passion. I really loved reading your piece and thought it turned out amazing. Really well done !

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  3. Wow this story was so captivating. I absolutely loved it. This piece was filled with so many twists and turns and never once did I feel bored. I would have liked to know how specifically she got into the wheelchair, but maybe I might have missed some clues that you put in. But honestly the specifics on how the main character got into a wheelchair wasn’t the purpose. Your story centered around perseverance and trusting in faith even when it’s tough. This story beautifully showed a success story on how to take the best out of each situation. It has honestly inspired me and I’ve realized how grateful I am to be healthy. It also gives me hope for the next time I feel disappointed or doubtful. Great Job!

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  4. This was so well written! I felt like I was experiencing each excitement and heartbreak that the narrator was along with her. This is a very inspiring story and I hope it can show people how to take the best out of every situation. Good job!

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  5. Karis this is amazing! I loved all the imagery used to describe her injury and how she felt about not being able to compete again. I feel like you told her story extremely well and I love how you were able to convey her emotions throughout her journey. Beautiful writing!

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  6. This is so beautiful Karis, I love the narrative and how easy the dialogues were to follow. It felt like I was reading a movie/short film, well done!! -Brianna Musa

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  7. The Imagery you have used to describe her injury is something an athlete fears for their entire career, very scary stuff. It was an amazing narrative hopefully you continue writing with stuff like this you are really good!

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  8. Wow! this was insanely AMAZING it was so literal and very very well written i loved how well you where able to show her emotions so well!

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  9. This was such an amazing piece, it is well written and very emotional. I really did like this piece.

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  10. This was so amazing and I kept wanting to read more. The imagery, details and format you wrote this in just made it so much more interesting and really allowed me to imagine the story in my head. You told the story very well!

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  11. I really enjoyed reading your story! The story line was really unique and had me wondering what was going to happen next. I could truly feel the emotions of your characters.

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  12. Karis, you are such a talented writer. This was beautifully written. Your use of imagery painted such a clear picture in my mind. You should absolutely write a book in the future.

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  13. Great work! This story displayed a deeper knowledge of so many emotions making it very influential and captivating.

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  14. The amount of imagery in this piece truly made it come ti life! I have experience a grueling injury during sports as well and it is truly scary to go through. However, things get better and beautiful life goes on, great work!

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  15. Karis, I loved how your story kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what happens next! Not a lot of people can accomplish this, so I think you did an AMAZING job!!!

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  16. I love when people take a real story and turn it into a narrative piece like this. This was masterfully crafted with imagery and emotion, really great stuff.

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  17. I like how the story was very intreasting to read(Malachi Hawkins)

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  18. What a captivating story! Taking a true story and turning it into an amazing literary piece that fills the reader with emotion takes a lot of skill, and you did it greatly. The imagery given especially during the flashback is beautiful and really helps to immerse the reader. Great job!

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  19. Hi Karis! I thought this piece was really well written. That part where Joni was remembering her experience in the water was super captivating, it was as though we, the readers, were there in the water with her. Overall, this piece was extremely powerful and did a wonderful job detailing the journey of one's loss.

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  20. Eniifeoluwa OluwadaraDecember 8, 2020 at 10:18 AM

    Very entertaining story! Taking a real life occurence and turning it into an amazing essay with passion is not easy, and you did it exceptionally. The imagery given during the flashback is mazing to see and puts the reader into a different perspective. Great job!

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  21. I liked how you showed the main character's thoughts when they found out that they were paralyzed. It really showed the panic and emotion that they were going through at that moment, and it created this fear of the well being of this character.

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  22. Great narrative! I loved the how the dialogue portrayed the emotion and frustration Joni went through. The imagery as well, made me really become apart of the story. Definitely a story many people can relate too.

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  23. Hi Karis, I really loved your story, I love how you brought in His plan. I also liked the part of the flashback when it all happened so quickly.

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  24. Wow, I absolutely loved this story. It was so well written and I loved how much emotion was put into it. GREAT JOB!!!

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  25. You're such a great writer! I loved how you closed up into her thoughts. It in a way gave us a closer connection to her. The whole time I was reading I could imagine everything that was going on from start to finish. Amazing work!!!

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  26. I really love the amount of imagery put into your story.Great job putting emotion into this character!

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  27. This is a Fantastic story! The way everything is written is perfectly and it lets the reader know all the information needed to let them imagine the scene and to understand some things about Joni.

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  28. you did a great job with this story. I really liked that it flowed well with a lot of imagery. It reminded me of a short movie. As I was reading I could imagine what was going on. So you did an amazing job.

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  29. Hi Karis! I loved reading this because it was so easy to follow along and the dialogue felt so genuine. Even though I'm not religious, the ending gave me chills and it was such an inspiring point of view! I really enjoyed the way this was written, great job! - Estella Poirier :)

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  30. I liked how you showed the main character's thoughts when they found out that they were paralyzed. It really showed the panic and emotion that they were going through at that moment, and it created this fear of the well being of this person.

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