Equus Literary Magazine

The Lonely Wolf

Ashlee Levine

Grade 8

Sitting in the green grass shimmering with dew, a crisp summer breeze passing by, caressing my cheek like a kiss. The tall trees swaying gently with the breeze.The midnight blue sky with gray puffs of clouds moving slowly across. The prickly damp grass beneath me. It's fall and the leaves are turning all different colors like orange, yellow, and red. It smells like pumpkins and cinnamon. Even though the breeze is chilly, the moon distracts me. I came to my field to clear my mind of everything. Good and bad. My daydreaming suddenly stops abruptly when a lonely cry of a wolf wakes me. The wolf calls again and falls silent. I feel like this too, lonely and alone......all is quiet again. I let my mind wander to far places and the distant future. What will happen? No matter. That's the future, not the present. I start to doze off.....and I see him, the lonely wolf. I climb on his back and we ride. He is no longer lonely, I tell myself, he has me, his friend. Then it all fades away as I hear his cry again, but this time it's not so lonely.

The Time I Tried to Zip Line

By Amanda Schwartz

Grade 8

I stood up on the first platform. We were at Catamount Ariel Adventure Park, playing Batman high in the trees. We had just finished a yellow course(the "easy" level) and were now moving on to the blue. This was a moderate course, although in my standards, it could have been a triple black!

I gazed upon the obstacle before me, like a plague sentencing my doom. There was a ladder, which doesn't sound so bad, but trust me, I was terrified! It was a six inch wide board, with a small step every foot that barely had enough room for my toes. I clutched the side of the ladder, breathing heavily. Why were there no handholds on this thing? I slowly took a step upward. Unexpectedly, my toe slipped off the step, (of course) as I fearfully latched myself onto the sides and pulled myself back up. Did the park people have a wish to kill me!? (I can't imagine why, I'm nothing but an angel!) :)

I breathed a gasp of relief. I'd made it without dying! Yet. I took a few more trembling steps, and I was at the top. I rolled onto the platform, still overcoming the fear that pounded through my head. I reluctantly got up and turned. On to the next adventure(oh, joy)!