English creative writing story, by Azzah Alassaad

The images of the fire still burned in Noah’s eyes. The scene haunting his dreams, molding into the flaming monster who had robbed him of his life. Sweat beaded his forehead even as he shivered in the late autumn breeze. He winced, not of the cold biting his feet but of the pain he had felt in his heart that night. Suddenly, he felt a frigid hand touch his arm and jolted awake. The traumatic event faded into the warm smile of a familiar face. The one smile that was able to pull him out of that dark and endless tunnel. The one smile he was determined to keep safe, in hope of never losing her too. She was all he had left. 

June’s porcelain fingers numbed Noah’s skin. It had been hard to keep this nightmare out of his head, sometimes it felt so real he had sworn he was back there again, feeling the heat of the fire blaze his skin. Noah rose from the sheet of cardboard he had currently been laying on. Although it was only autumn, frost consumed the dead leaves which lay motionless on the ground. Much of the world seemed motionless these days. Thick gray clouds devoured the sky, stripping away all joy and color from the town. Much of the world seemed colorless these days. The sudden sound of Noah’s rumbling stomach cut him from his thoughts.  

“You hungry June-bug?” he said, attempting to hide behind his flashing grin.  

June just sat there, returning a light smile. Noah missed the melodic sound of her voice, the harmonious tune of her laugh, the soothing way she would say his name... That same horrific night had stolen her voice and he’d hoped he could one day bring it back. That was why he tried to hide behind a brighter mask, not daring to reveal his suffering to his little sister. 

“Alright, let’s go see if I can get us some bread”. 

He knew the local bakery was just down the street, its warm scent filling his lungs. As he walked on the sidewalk, Noah gripped his sister's delicate body against his, shielding her from any pedestrian passing by and from the cold that nipped their bodies, especially June’s. Noah looked into the peoples’ eyes, some looked away, unbothered by the boy walking by, others cast a look of disgust, judging the torn clothes, worn shoes and dust smeared face. An occasional look of empathy at the innocent young made Noah look down in shame.  

As he arrived at the bakery, a fresh batch of bread had just been added to the stands outside, displaying arrays of different mouthwatering loafs. Noah knew stealing was wrong, but feeding his sister was more important to him. So, he had to think fast. Just as the baker turned his back to the windowsill, Noah grabbed two loaves of bread and bolted in a run. He held June’s hand in a tight grip as she followed after him, trying to keep up.  

Ferocious shouts trailed behind as Noah realized the baker had seen him after all. His legs felt weak, like they could disconnect from him at any moment. He didn’t have enough energy to outrun the baker, so he made a quick turn into an alleyway in hope of losing him amongst the crowd. Just then, Noah’s trembling legs gave up and sent him crashing to the ground, the bread flying out of his grip. He turned around to see a furious figure marching his way. Through a panting breath and a trembling voice, Noah let the desperate words escape his mouth “Please, we are very hungry. Offer us the bread. We have nothing more”. 

But the man didn’t listen, pining Noah to the filthy pavement. Without hesitation, Noah covered his sister, his priority being to shield June from this man. He covered her with his chest and slid his hand under her fragile cheek preventing it from scraping the rough surface of the ground. His back exposed to the predator; he was determined to protect her. Above, the abuser kicked him in his sides and Noah fought the urge to scream, gritting his teeth with a herculean force. He could feel his insides burn, the same flame that took away his happiness. He retained his tears from dripping onto the face of his little sister below him, instead, he continued to whisper in his sister's ear that everything was going to be alright.  

After what felt like an eternity of pain for the homeless boy, the man picked up the loaf of bread residing beside Noah’s arm and turned to walk away. While kicking soda cans out of his path and spitting to the side, he mumbled under his breath,  

“That’ll teach him a lesson, little wacko. One bread ain’t enough eh, always gotta steal two of ‘em. Foolish little loner. Who he feeding anyway eh?”. As the echo of his footsteps faded, so did the sound of his voice and he disappeared down the street of the bakery.  

Noah could barely move. A constant ringing wouldn’t leave his head. Agonizing pain shot through his body as he tried to suck in a breath of air. Swallowing the blood that mounted in the back of his throat, Noah pushed himself off his sister and onto his back, staring up at the endless gray spectrum. He shifted his gaze to see June’s eyes filled with worry. He could feel her wrapping her arms under his, dragging him behind a set of trash bins, to then gently lean his head on the wall. Noah used the one eye that wasn’t bruised to look at the entrancing image of his sister’s delicate features.  

“This one- he didn't – get...”. He winced as the pain in his ribs cut his sentence. Noah pulled out the second piece of bread the baker had not taken. He gestured for his sister to eat it as he knew she must have been hungry. But he was perplexed to see June shake her head in refusal and shove it to his lips, forcing him to eat it. Reluctantly, Noah let his sister feed him smaller portions of the bread. He found it difficult to swallow, partly because of the pain, but also of regret, being the one eating and not her. In reality, Noah knew she helped him just as much as he always tried to help her. He watched June rip a piece of the inner soft part of the loaf and place it on her delicately drawn cupid bow, remodeling it into a mustache. Noah laughed as he remembered how she would do that as a kid, allowing the bread to transform her into any character she decided to bring to life.  

His pain momentarily went away, as the warmth of the joy he was feeling numbed away his suffering. He treasured the smile on June’s face, giving her a glow-like essence that radiated onto Noah. This was his favorite smile. The smile that was worth all the punches and the kicks. The smile that gave him the strength to keep on going. The smile which filled the cracks and voids in his heart. The smile he lived for. 

Noah sat there, in the gloomy and neglected alleyway, on this late-fall afternoon, his only other company, the autumn leaves painted with fire.