NEW YORK NIGHTMARE

About four years ago, my family and another family visited New York together for spring break. My brother had a habit of walking in front of everyone which was an unfortunate thing to do in the crowds of New York. One day, he hadn’t noticed that we stopped and he continued walking forwards. No one noticed he was gone until it was too late and we had no idea which direction he went in. Panic started setting in as the sun was setting and we had no way of contacting him because he didn’t have his own phone. My mom frantically retraced our steps to find my brother and my friend’s parents went ahead of us to find him. When they returned without him, we found some policemen and asked for their help. Luckily, as a stranger walked by my mom showing the policemen a photo of my brother earlier in the day, he said “Oh? I saw him walking over there, near Time Square”. It turns out he was trying to find his way back to our hotel, which was near Times Square. Without the kind stranger, I don’t think we would’ve been able to find my brother as fast. 

THE LITTLE GIRL’S CURE

In 2019, my family and about five other families went on a cruise. There was this little girl who was, let’s say a little scared of being on a cruise. We were walking to the restaurant for dinner when she arrived at the table and started breaking down. The boat was rocking a little more than usual and her crying got harder. Everyone tried cheering her up and reassuring her that nothing was wrong but it didn’t really work. Until the food came out. As soon as she saw the waitress carrying the plates, coming our way. It was like she got possessed and just completely stopped crying. The little girl who was scared ended up smiling ear to ear the rest of the night. Regardless of the surprising reaction, everyone was beyond relieved.

MAKESHIFT JUMP ROPES

Growing up, my siblings, my nanny, and I would get a bunch of rubber bands and connect them to make a long rope. By linking them together, it wouldn’t break, But I had no idea how to tie the ends so my nanny always had to do it for me. When it did break after using it for so long, we had to redo the whole thing, but it was fine because I enjoyed the long process. Instead of buying jump ropes, which were probably too short anyway, this created a durable jump rope along with a special memory.

THE SPECIAL SALON

I remember going to this one exact hair salon very often and would always have my hair washed by one of the nice ladies. As my mom got her hair trimmed, I would fall asleep while getting my hair washed because the feeling was so soothing. As the cold water flowed through my hair and the stylists would massage my head, it felt like taking a cold sip of water after coming out of the ocean. If I fell asleep, the ladies would let me sleep in the recliner until I awoke from my nap. When I started my day at this salon, it would feel like the best day ever.

IMPULSIVE PAINT

The twenty-episode-long show I’ve been watching ended. The credits slowly start rolling in and the outro music starts playing. Sigh. I just binged that show in one day. Why is this day so long? Looking around my room, the walls are a boring, beige color. If I could paint my room, what would I paint it? Blue? Eh, basic. Light green? I’d get sick of that too fast. Black? Ha, yeah right. Light purple? Not bad. Would my mom even let me? Whatever. I slowly go downstairs to find a snack and conveniently, my mom was there too. 

“Hey mom, would you let me paint my room purple? My room is so boring right now. And I could get Jackie to help me”, I asked. 

Jackie is my sister by the way. 

“Purple? Why?”, she questioned.

“Because it’s the only normal color I like. And I have nothing else to do”.

“I guess…”

After swiping the paint roller over the last beige spot on my wall, I step back. Oh my, what did I just do?