Young Storykeeper Volume III

176 | STORYKEEPERS VOLUME III AGE TEN | 177
STORMY SEAS AND TUG-OF-WARS
Ciara woke up suddenly on a sunny morning. Her mam was shouting,
“Ciara, Ciara, you won the story writing competition!!”
Ciara couldn’t believe what she heard. She had cherished every
minute of writing her lighthouse story, she had always loved visiting
Hook Lighthouse and she had set her story there. Now, as her prize,
she was going to get the chance to sleep there for a night!
Straight away, she packed her bag with all the essential items she
would need, so she filled it with books! Mam reminded her she might
need some clothes as well, so she reluctantly took out a few books and
threw in some clothes. Finally, it was time to go.
When they got there, Mam went to book a tour. She told the lady
at the desk that Ciara was the prize winner. The lady told her that Tom,
the lighthouse keeper, would be staying with them.
They dropped their belongings to their room in the lighthouse and
they had time for a picnic before their tour was due to leave. Ciara’s
favourite part was looking out from the top. The view was spectacular!
After the tour, they had an ice cream. By then the tours had
finished for the day, but there was still time for a game of tug of war.
Ciara and Mam against Dad, and the girls won!
They made their way to their room in the lighthouse, Tom was
there to welcome them.
Later that night, after a delicious meal, Ciara tried her best to go to
sleep. The wind howled around the lighthouse and while everyone was
asleep, Ciara went to the window and looked out.
To her surprise, she saw two people on a small boat. They were
being pulled closer to the rocks by the minute. At first Ciara thought she
was imagining it, but then she heard their screams.
Ciara ran and woke Tom and her parents up. They all dashed down
the windy stairs and out onto the rocks. They saw the boat and the
people in it, but they couldn’t see a way to reach them.
Suddenly, Ciara remembered seeing a barrel of life buoys beside
the lighthouse. She ran to get them. She carried as many as she could
hold and Tom and her parents threw them to the sailors. It took all their
strength, but eventually they pulled the couple ashore.
Ciara, her parents, Tom and the terrified couple all made their way
back to the lighthouse.
Ciara’s mam heated up some soup. The couple explained that
they set out that morning from Duncannon, but the seas got rough and
they were pulled off course. The two sailors stayed the night and left
early the next morning. They were very thankful to Ciara and her family.
Ciara certainly had an exciting adventure in Hook, but she wasn’t
ready to leave yet. There was time for another game of tug-of-war and
maybe another ice cream too.
Eilís Moran
CoWexford
CALL TO THE FUTURE
Meet Mya. She’s 10 and is a fantastic singer. She has the most gorgeous ginger hair
and pretty blue eyes. Her parents are some of the nicest people in the world. They’re
generous, helpful, kind and caring, just like she is.
Mya’s grandmother passed away recently and she feels quite miserable.
Tommy, an old man who tells thrilling tales and super stories, is where all the
children at Mya’s school head to after a long day at school. Mya always stays back
and tells him about her day.
One night, May went for a walk on the beach. She decided to have a break after
a long walk and sat down on some rocks nearby. She began to sing the song her
grandmother used to sing to her when she was very little. Her grandmother had been
a very good singer too.
Suddenly, WHAM! A magnificent ray of light shone from the lighthouse nearby.
Mya jumped in fright. She then slowly headed over there, climbed the staircase,
and turned her head round the door. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She stood still,
gazing at what seemed to be a portal to another dimension. She didn’t know what to
do.
Mya then popped her head into the portal and found herself staring at a world
where she was trying to close the portal and hide it from Tommy. She couldn’t bear
seeing such a thing, so she decided to head back to her house.
The next day Mya found a letter in her coat pocket that her grandmother had
given her before she died. It stated:
Dear Mya,
I don’t have much time. Go to the lighthouse and sing the song. Don’t be afraid of
what you see, though it foretells the future.
Love Nora.
Mya headed back to the lighthouse after school that day and sang the song. The portal
reappeared. She saw a lot of what her future would look like. On the letter there was
writing on the back that read:
P.S. Sing the song backwards to close the portal in any case of emergency. You
can do it.
“How could I possibly sing that song backwards?” she said to herself.
Mya told Tommy all about how she somehow managed to open a foretelling
portal. Tommy stayed silent, got up and walked all the way to the lighthouse. Tommy
hadn’t walked on his own in years so Mya was shocked the whole way there.
“You found it, but how?” Tommy demanded.
“What do you mean?” Mya asked.
“You opened the portal, which contains all the knowledge in the world. I have to
have it!”
“No!” screamed Mya. She immediately rushed over to the portal and sang the
song backwards, just like Grandma had said. She successfully closed the portal.
The local police arrived at the scene of commotion. Tommy was sent to jail. Her
parents already knew about it but could never say. They decided to close the portal
forever.
“Your secret is safe, Nana,” Mya whispered.
Shauna Esmonde
Co Meath