11-Year-Old-Me Edited Writing
Hey, ya’ll! I thought it would be fun to share some of my writing from when I was about 11 years old. It’s been slightly edited for easy read but it’s otherwise mostly the same. 🙂
Backstory: Two cousins who live next door to each other and are practically siblings are going on a road trip to see family for Thanksgiving. Enjoy!
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The car made its slow way around the bend in the road in the “wail of the gale” as the cousins had joked a few hours before. The wind wasn’t really that strong, but it still made a howling noise.
Suddenly, the car lurched to a stop. Ezra banged his hand on the steering wheel for the fiftieth time.
“Stuck again! We’ll have to clear out that ice again! Come on David.” The two men opened the passenger door and both disappeared in the freezing wind. When they finally stepped into the SUV again, they were covered in snow and ice, and their noses were red from the cold. Ezra took the wheel again, and they drove off at a very slow pace.
But it was only a few minutes before David cried,
“We’re stuck!”
“Yep! We sure are. Hey kids! Wanna help?”
“Really, Ezra! Are you sure it’s safe?” asked Thea.
“Yeah, sure it is! It’s just a snowstorm, anyway. We’ll get the car moving the faster we get it unstuck.”
“Please, may we help!” pleaded Anda. The mothers glanced at each other and gave in.
“Alright, but promise you’ll be very, very careful, and you must hold onto the car at all times!” Aria warned the children.
“Yes, and obey your fathers.” Thea added.
“Get your coats!”
“Keep your gloves on the whole time!”
So, amidst worries and warnings from their mothers, Anda and Philip slipped out of the van to help David and Ezra. Anda took a deep breath and cold air rushed up her lungs. Then she hobbled over to the other end of the SUV in her heavy jacket to assist her cousin. The two chipped and pounded with their fists, but the snow kept melting into water and freezing the tire into a fixed place on the road.
Anda began to notice the cold. Her hands felt like pins and needles in her gloves. The freezing snow streaked across her stinging face. Not only did she feel the cold, but she also noticed that the wind had begun to pick up. Quickly, quickly! Find out how to detach this car from the ice! thought Anda. Suddenly, she had an idea. “Hey! Maybe we can find a stick in that tree to use!”
“But Anda! Mom said…” But Anda had already taken off. Philip ran after her. With every step, the wind gained strength. Anda reached the tree and grabbed a strong limb firmly in her gloves. Philip grasped the other side of the branch.
“Three, two, one, pull!” Philip shouted over the storm. The two children yanked with all their might, and though the branch did make a slight cracking sound, it didn’t budge.
“Oh great! Now what?” wondered Anda.
“Well, don’t give up so easily!” exclaimed Philip. So the cousins heaved and yanked and pulled and puffed and gasped as the wind grew yet stronger.
“You’re right!” Philip huffed.
“Let’s go ask Dad what to do.” The cousins turned toward the direction of the SUV, but the wind-carried snow made it increasingly difficult to find the van in the whiteness. Anda had to squint to keep snow out of her eyes. The car was nowhere in sight. They walked until Anda was sure they had hit the road.
“If we dig, we can be sure we are standing on the gravel.” Anda realized. So her cousin stuck his hand into the whirling snow and pushed it aside until his hands ached from the freezing wetness. But his fist hit twigs and dirt. The two children peered into the distance. A sound had caught their attention.
“We must be very close to the road. That sounded like a car!” Anda and Philip proceed towards the sound.
Just then, Philip shouted, “Anda! Isn’t that our car?” He pointed to a shadowy appearing object. It was the car! Anda and her cousin stumbled and slipped in the snow towards the shadow, but at that moment, the shadow began to move. Slowly at first, but gradually faster and faster!
“Oh no! The SUV is leaving without us! Run Anda! Mom, Dad, Aunty Thea, Uncle Ezra, wait!” screamed Philip. But the van was long gone.
Lord, I don’t understand, but help me to still trust you, Anda prayed.
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You may never find out what happens next… *evil cackle*