The Chopsticks Sisters

Once upon a time, there were two twin chopsticks sisters. They lived in a chest with other twin chopsticks. They weren’t the most beautiful chopsticks but they weren’t the ugliest chopsticks. They were purple, with a golden crown. There were pink azaleas drawn under their crown. Their house was a Chinese restaurant. The chest was in a corner it was in paint wood. Some butterflies were drawn on the chest. The restaurant was vast, with some columns in the middle. In this red and black atmosphere, there were twenty round tables, with red tablecloths. There were place mats with drawings and, on it, there were black plates to put chopsticks in.

The twin chopsticks sisters were always together. They were sleeping together, waiting for lunchtime. Lunchtime arrived and everything became very busy. The chest was open and close as one goes along people arrived to have lunch in the Chinese restaurant. In the rush, the two purple chopsticks were separated. One stayed in the chest. She began to look for her sister in the chest, shoving the other couple chopsticks.

“Ling! Where are you? Answer me!” cried Mao. There was so much noise that neither Ling nor Mao can hear each other. Mao looked for her sister all afternoon. She escaped from the chest and wandered in the restaurant to find her sister. She continued to call her sister in the restaurant. It was so hard to walk without being crashed by waitress and customers. Mao jumped to the window. Outside, it was Manhattan, a really busy place in New York City. Mao hid behind the curtains. She looked outside, thinking about her sister. Someone may have taken her, and now, Ling may be outside, alone. Mao started to cry. She felt alone without her sister, they were born together and they promised each other to stay together forever, until they die.

Lunchtime was ending and the purple chopstick was waiting for a safe place before leaving the restaurant. She wanted to go outside, to find her sister. She was sure Ling was outside, maybe lost in the big city. Of course, Mao was afraid to leave the restaurant for the first time. She grew up here with her sister. When the restaurant was silent, she left the window, wore a raincoat and took one for her sister. She breathed strongly before get out.

“Mao! What are you doing?” Mao turned back and saw her sister, Ling. She ran to her and they hugged each other.

“Ling! I was so worried! What happened to you? I was ready to get out, under the rain, to find you! I can’t live without you Ling!”

“I can’t live without you too, Mao!”

The twin sisters chopstick came back to their chest, with the other chopstick couples. They invented a lot of different way to stay together anyhow. They lived a lot of other adventures but it’s another story.

Written on December 2010, the 13th

Picture Credits : Internet

The Lion and the Ant

A Lion was making fun of an Ant. He asked her to lift a piece of gravel. The Ant succeeded. Then the Lion asked her to lift a stone as big as a walnut. She failed. The Lion laughed at her and tried to crush her. She ran to her house, promising herself she will revenge.

The following day, the Ant came with a friend. The Lion asked them to lift a stone as big as a walnut. The two aunts succeeded. Then the Lion asked them to lift a stone as big as an apple. They failed. The Lion laughed at them and tried to crush them. They ran to their house, promising their selves they will revenge.

The third day, the two ants came with a friend. The Lion asked them to lift a stone as big as an apple. The three aunts succeeded. Then the Lion asked them to lift a stone as big as a bowling ball. They failed. The Lion laughed at them and tried to crush them. They ran to their house, promising their selves they will revenge.

The next night, all the Ant’s family joined the Ant to have revenge. The Lion was sleeping and all the ants, together, lifted the Lion, without wake him up and threw him in the water. The Lion woke up and looked at all the ants. He regretted to have fun about the Ant and knew that all the ants were stronger than him.

In unity, there is strength.

Written on December 2010, the 12th

Picture Credits : Internet

The Two Apples

Two brothers were very poor. They walked from village to village, looking for something to eat, begging people for food. Once, they were walking between two towns when a fairy appeared. She told the two children.

“I know you’re hungry. I have two apples, each of you can have one.”

One apple was shiny and looked really appetizing. The other one was covered with mud and looked rotten. The older brother said to his little brother:

“I am the oldest, the beautiful apple is mine!” The little one tried to defend himself to have the beautiful apple too, but the oldest brother took it.

The two brothers had an apple now; the oldest had the beautiful apple whereas the little one had the muddy apple. The oldest brother bit into the apple but this one was rotten, eaten by worms. The little one removed the mud of the apple and discovered a golden apple. He went to the next city eagerly and sold his apple. He earned so much money that he wasn’t hungry one day of his life.

Appearances can be deceiving.

Writen on December 2010, the 8th

Picture Credits: Internet

My name is Lou, and I am a mouse, a little mouse, really cute. My fur is fair and goes perfectly with the pink of my ears. My hands are pink too, like my nose and my thin tail. My whiskers are always aware about what is happening around me and never stop moving. I have also two big dark eyes full of tenderness. If you see me, I’m sure you would fall in love with me. However, I am already in love with Ana. In spite of my small size, I have a lot to tell. Don’t think it’s because I’m small that I don’t live adventurously! Moreover, I have one to tell you. The heroine of this story is my lover Ana.

Ana and Rachel were roommates at college for three years. They were very close. Ana was studying languages and Rachel was fond of science. In spite of these differences, they shared a lot of things in common. They had decided to spend their summer together in Ana’s parents’ beach house, and I went with them. I was so happy to go there! It would be different than our college room!

It was a little house, and the back door opened onto the beach. The two girls used to spend their mornings on the sundeck, and walked down to the beach in the afternoons. The sundeck was made of wood, worn by the sea’s wind. The wood, which was brown, became grey. This grey went well with the blue of the house’s walls. Rachel and Ana shared Ana’s bedroom, which was in the back of the house. From the bedroom windows, I could see the ocean. From the windows, I often looked at Ana, lying on the beach and playing in the sea. Each night, I joined the girls to enjoy the sunset.

One day, Tom, Ana’s older brother, joined us in the little house. However, Ana was panic-stricken when she came back home and saw her brother. Indeed, he had a bruise on his left eye. She rushed to her brother.

“ Tom! What happened? Who did it?” Ana put her hands on her brother’s head to see his face more clearly. She didn’t stop asking questions.

“ Is it Julie? I told you! Julie isn’t a good girlfriend for you! She lied to you too many times! Did you go to the hospital?” Ana held Tom’s hand, and they left the kitchen. Ana grabbed her car keys.

“What are you doing, Ana? I’m fine!” Ana stopped and she looked at her brother.

“You’re not fine! Your eye is between blue and purple!” He put his hands on his little sister’s shoulders and said firmly:

“Ana, I’m fine. They will do nothing to me at the emergency room!” Ana became upset about her brother’s behavior and she went to her room.

At dinnertime, the three young people met in the kitchen. The dinner was quite tense. Ana was vexed because Tom didn’t want to follow Ana’s orders. Ana is stubborn, and she didn’t want to listen to her brother. The following day, the two girls did exactly the same thing as the previous days. They got a tan on the sundeck in the morning and went to play in the sea in the afternoon. This day, Rachel left Ana earlier than the previous day. Ana stayed on the beach, reading.

When Ana came back home, she saw her brother in the kitchen, his hand under the water. She rushed to him.

“What happened?” Tom had cut his finger. Ana took her brother’s finger in her hand. “How did you do that? Let me see!” Tom sighed and looked at Ana.

“I’m ok Ana, I will wear a Band-Aid and everything will be perfect.”

“No! Look, it’s deep! You need switches!”

“Ana, leave me alone! I know how to take care of myself! I told you that I’m ok!”

“What did you do to hurt yourself? Where were you today? I didn’t see you all day long!”

“I was out. Ana, I am older than you; I do what I want. I don’t have to tell you what I do!” Then, Tom left the kitchen, quite upset with his sister.

The following day, Rachel and Ana’s day was the same as the previous day; Rachel left Ana early in the afternoon and Ana spent the rest of her afternoon on the beach, alternating between reading and swimming. Like each day, Ana came back home when she was bored of being at the beach. This time, her brother was sitting on a chair in the kitchen and Rachel was pressing an ice bag on Tom’s head. Ana became furious, she yelled at her brother:

“What’s going on in your life? Why are you injured each time I come back home? Where do you spend your days? In Julie’s place, isn’t it? Did she throw something at you? Was it a plate? A vase? Speak to me! Tell me what happen!”

Rachel and Tom looked down and didn’t say anything. Ana, really upset, left the kitchen, slammed her bedroom door and locked it.

Tom and Rachel stayed in the kitchen and cooked the dinner. Ana was still in her bedroom. Rachel knocked on the door to ask Ana to come out for dinner. Rachel convinced Ana to have dinner with her brother and her friend. Ana sat at the table but she was still vexed and didn’t want to talk. The dinner’s atmosphere was oppressive. Rachel broke the silence.

“Actually, it’s me”, said Rachel. Ana and Tom stared at her. Rachel looked down and spoke to Ana.

“Remember, the afternoon when Tom arrived, I came back home while you were lying on the beach?” Rachel looked down again and continued to tell her story.

“I took a shower and I went back to the bedroom to dry my hair. I was facing the ocean, like we used to, Ana. I plugged in the hairdryer and started to dry my hair, looking at the sea. Tom wanted to come to see you as a surprise. He went to the room and tickled me like he used to with you, thinking I was you. I was afraid and, to defend myself, I hit him with the hairdryer.” A smile appeared on Ana’s face. Rachel continued.

“Because of the shock, he moved back. Then he caught his feet in the hairdryer’s cord and fell. Because I was still holding the hairdryer, I fell on him and hit him again in his eye with the hairdryer.” Rachel looked up at Tom.

“I didn’t do it on purpose the second time, I swear!” Ana began to laugh because she pictured the scene. I was there, and, even though I am a mouse, it was one of the funniest situations I have ever seen.

When Ana stopped laughing, she asked her friend and her brother why they didn’t tell her what happened.

“It was a really embarrassing situation” answered Tom, who was really embarrassed at this moment; his cheeks became red. Rachel looked down again when Tom was talking. Tom and Rachel went back to their plates, shameful, while Ana continued to think and laugh about the comical situation of her friend and her brother.

Then Ana looked at her brother’s finger.

“Ok, I understand why you have a bruise on your eye, Tom. But what happened to your finger? And your head this afternoon?” Neither Tom nor Rachel answered. Ana became angry.

“Tell me what happens! Both of you!” Rachel gave a look to Tom; she didn’t want to say anything. On the other hand, she didn’t want to be upset with her best friend.

“Tom…” begged Rachel. Ana stare at her friend and her brother, waiting for an answer.

“Actually, Rachel cut my finger and hit my head.”

“Rachel!” screamed Ana to her friend. Then, she talked to her brother. “How did she do that?”

“Don’t answer!” exclaimed Rachel to Ana’s brother. “You will spoil her surprise!” Tom sighed.

“Rachel, you just spoiled the surprise!” yelled Tom. Ana exclaimed:

“Which surprise guys? How did you hurt yourself Tom? Stop hiding things from me! Both of you!” Ana became like a little girl before Christmas, impatient. Tom sighed again and gave a look to Rachel.

“Ok. Let’s go!” Tom announced. Tom took his sister’s hand while Rachel covered her friend’s eyes. They went to the garden, next to the big tree. Rachel took her hand off of Ana’s eyes.

“And?” asked Ana. Neither Tom nor Rachel said anything, they just smiled and they looked up. Ana followed their eyes. In the tree, there was a wood shack. Ana was amazed by this little house in the tree branches. It was so beautiful and romantic! Ana looked at her friend and her brother.

“It’s for your birthday, Ana,” said Tom.

“Thank you!” exclaimed Ana. Then, she hugged the two young people. Rachel dared to speak.

“I cut your brother’s finger when we were sawing a plank. Sorry for that Tom. Sorry Ana.” Ana was smiling. She knew she was too overprotective of her brother.

“What happened to your head, Tom?” asked Ana. Rachel looked down and Tom smiled.

“Unfortunately, it’s still Rachel’s fault. She was holding a plank and she dropped it…on my head.” Rachel blushed. Ana looked at the shack, she was marveled by her friend and brother’s creation.

Tom dared to speak to break the silence.

“By the way, Ana, what you said about Julie wasn’t really nice!” Ana turned red; it was her turn to be shameful.

“I’m so sorry Tom, I didn’t think that, I…” Tom started to laugh.

“It’s OK Ana. I come here because I broke up with my girlfriend. Julie was unfaithful. And, you know what, Ana? You’re right, Julie wasn’t a good girlfriend for me, that’s why I left her.” Tom smiled at his sister and she smiled at him. They hugged each other.

The three vacationers spent a wonderful summer and laughed a lot about this hairdryer story, even me, Lou the mouse. Sometimes, I remember the scene of Tom, Rachel and the hairdryer and laugh until it hurts me. We spent a lot of time in the shack, it was a peaceful place and we looked at the stars during the night! We planed our life and made wishes when we saw shooting stars! This wonderful summer is one of the reasons I like to share Ana’s life. I lived adventures with this girl! And I’m sure I will live other amazing adventures with her soon!

Writen on December 2010, the 1st

Picture Credits : Internet

Unexpected

He was the best advice giver for this time of my life. He never hid to me his feelings about my situation but he put it away to give me the best advice. I was lost, my life was messy in love, friends, studies, work, family. This night I was so lost, I called him. He calmed me before invite me to his apartment to solve my issues. We talked, I shared my feelings and he helped me.

I was driving to his apartment in my little green car. I knew the way to go by heart: exit the beltway at the Parc des Expositions exit, pass the prison and straight almost until the rotary. I parked my car in the unsafe street, especially for a girl alone. I walked a little, not taking care of all the drunk men in bars in the street. I rang at the entry phone and went upstairs, to the second floor. I knocked at the door and entered in his small apartment.

It was a one-room apartment. In front of the door, there were two windows with guardrail. One window was half open, for the cats. The bed-couch-seat was in the middle of the room, next to the coffee table. In a corner, there was the TV table. Just the opposite of the windows, there was two closets. Actually, it was rooms, one was the kitchen and the other one the bathroom.

When I arrived, he turned the TV off, ask me if I wanted something to drink and we sat together on the bed-couch. His roommate was out, so we spoke freely. He listened to me, gave me his advice and guided me. I can’t remember how much time I spent with him. After this night, I took a decision, because, like he said, “It has to be your decision, I can’t decide for you, I just give you my opinion and advice.”

Writen on November 2010, the 19th

Routine

Every morning was the same. I get up at 6 A.M., and go to the kitchen. I help my father empty the dishwasher and set the table at the same time: two white bowls for my parents, a yellow and green for Mélanie, a yellow and blue for Noémie, and a yellow for me. I put six spoons on the table, one for each person and one for jam. I put milk, butter, a butter knife, two bottles of juice, and jam on the table. When I set the table, my dad prepares the coffee. I put one sugar lump in my mom’s mug and two in my dad’s mug. Then, I open all of the cabinets, looking for something to eat. My dad brings coffee and the radio to the table. We talk together. When the radio speaker announces the preview for the evening TV program, we are quiet even though we never watch TV. My mom joins us. Like every morning, she moves my sisters’ bowls, opens the fridge, takes out a yoghurt and sits at the table. I get up, put all my dishes in the dishwasher, and leave the kitchen.

I knock at the bathroom door in a certain way. My sister, who is taking her shower, knows it’s me and it’s time to get out of the bathroom. I go to my room, make my bed, and pick out my clothes. Noémie and I switch the bathroom.

After her breakfast, she knocks at the door in the same way I did. She makes her bed and joins me in the bathroom. We brush our hair and brush our teeth while talking. The first of us who finishes, wakes up our little sister. Finally, Noémie and I leave for school.

Writen on November 2010, the 3rd

Picture Credits: Getty Images

How to Go to the Emergency Room

Begin young. You have to have experience; at the end, you will know every name of every person working in the emergency room. It will be a little party with the nurses each time you are there. Also don’t always go to the same hospital. Some people like to visit castles; you might like visiting emergency rooms. The younger you begin, the more emergency rooms you can visit. For example, I began my emergency room tour at 2 years old.

An important step is to be a little clumsy. It helps a lot. Add a little distraction when you are using powerful machines. In that way, when you open a machine which creates objects in metal and, in the same moment, if someone calls you, you can burn and cut your hand on the newly created piece.

You can also have clumsy friends and family members. Thanks to them, you will add an other emergency room to your list. You can go to the hospital as a driver or as a supporter of the hurt person.

After that, you can focus on being absent-minded. In that way, you can fall a lot; maybe you will end up at the emergency room. But the “almost-success” is so easy to find; when you miss a big step in concrete at school, your leg is cut open several inches. You go to the sick room; the nurse call your mother so that she can drive you to your doctor. Finally, your doctor says: “You should go to the hospital to have some stitches but, because you’re a dancer, it will be ugly if you have some stitches, so don’t go.”

Following that, you can also do nothing but you have to be very unlucky. Lie on the grass, enjoy the sun, look at the people living around you. If you are (un)lucky, someone will walk too close to your face and something will get into your eye. A thing which will still be in your eye 3 hours later. After a lot of adventures, you finally are in the emergency room, one more to add to your list.

At the very end, you will have a wonderful list of different emergency rooms. But you have to keep in mind not to hurt yourself too much, because if you have to stay at the hospital for several days, it’s less funny. You don’t have to be afraid not to be able to do some things after your little stay in the emergency room.

To conclude, follow all of this advice, hurt yourself (but not too much) and try not to kill yourself!

Written on October 2010, the 6th

Picture Credits : Internet

"He" and I / "Lui" et moi

I remember a party where a friend of ours asked how He and I could be friends.” He is the corruption that I’m not,” I answered and he finished: “She is the good behavior that I’m not.” Nobody can guess we are friends even if he is a really good friend of mine. We look so different. Our attitude and our way of speaking are very dissimilar.

First, he is gay I’m not. Nevertheless, we love to spend time together, sit on a bench, commenting on boys who are walking in the street.

When something is wrong, he become angry very fast, in contrast, I stay calm. When he is angry, I’m always here, calm, to calm him.

He is also really expressive while I keep my feelings inside me. I’m a dreamer; sometimes someone has to call me because I’m lost in my dreams. On the other hand, he is down-to-earth, really attached to material things.

We are different in our way of speaking too. When we have something to say in public, we do it in a different way. I’m quite shy unlike he is outgoing. So it’s easier for him to speak in public than me.

Sometimes, when he is speaking, he is very crude, in contrast, I sugar cat. He told me once, I sugar coat so well, I can tell someone he has cancer, at the end, I did my job so well, he will be happy to have cancer.

Even if he is 3 years older than me, even if his favorite color is yellow and mine is pink, we are very good friends. We are still there for each other in spite of the water between us at the moment.

Written on October 2010, the 4th

Je me souviens une soirée où un de nos amis nous a demandé comment lui et moi pouvions être amis. « Il est la débauche que je ne suis pas. » j’ai répondu et il finit : « Elle est la sagesse que je ne suis pas. » Personne ne peut deviner que nous sommes amis même si il est un de mes très bons amis. Nous semblons si différents. Notre attitude et notre façon de parler sont très différentes.

Premièrement, il est gay, je ne le suis pas. Cependant, nous adorons passer du temps ensemble, assis sur un banc, commentant les garçons qui marchent dans la rue.

Lorsque quelque chose ne va pas, il devient en colère très vite, au contraire, je reste calme. Lorsqu’il est en colère, je suis toujours là, calme, pour le calmer.

Il est aussi expressif alors que je garde mes sentiments pour moi. Je suis une rêveuse, parfois, quelqu’un a à m’appeler parce que je suis perdue dans mes rêves. D’un autre côté, il est terre-à-terre, attaché aux choses matérielles.

Nous sommes différents par notre façon de parler aussi. Lorsque nous avons quelque chose à dire en public, nous le faisons de manière différente. Je suis assez timide tandis qu’il est extraverti. Donc il est plus facile pour lui de parler en public contrairement à moi.

Parfois, lorsqu’il parle, il est très cru dans ses propos, au contraire, j’enrobe mes paroles. Il m’a dit une fois que j’enrobais si biens mes propos que je pourrais dire à quelqu’un qu’il a un cancer, à la fin, j’aurais si bien fait mon travail, qu’il serait heureux d’avoir un cancer.

Même s’il a 3 ans de plus que moi, même si sa couleur préférée est le jaune et que la mienne est le rose, nous sommes de très bons amis. Nous sommes toujours là l’un pour l’autre malgré l’eau entre nous en ce moment.

Ecrit le 4 octobre 2010

Dialog

He was wondering why he came to this party. He didn’t appreciate a lot of people he was with. Then, he remembered; he loved this place. Fresh air stirred his short hair; the warm sand and the big fire in the center of the group warmed him. He couldn’t hear the sound of the sea because of the other people around him who spoke and laughed loudly. His eyes left the group, and he looked at the sea and the waves, repetitive but never the same. It was at this moment he saw her. She was almost invisible compared to his group: a dark figure on a lighter background. He gets up, left the group and came to her. She was seated in front of the sea, looking at the horizon. She seemed lost in her thoughts.

“Can I sit here?” he asked. She didn’t react, so he decided to sit next to her. They stood still there, looking at the horizon.

“Stars are like people, they seem alone but when you look closer, there are a lot of other stars around.” She said.

“I never saw the stars like that.” She smiled. She knew.

“How do you know stars’ feelings?” he asked later.

“I’m a dreamer.” He gave her a questioning look.

“Close your eyes,” she whispered. He did. “Think like everything has a soul, listen to the music.” He could hear the music from the waves, mixed with the whistling wind.

“Now, open your eyes slowly as if it were the first time seeing the things around you.”

He was afraid by what he would discover. His eyes discovered things like it never happened before. He stayed a moment, looking at the sea. When he stopped, he saw she wasn’t there anymore but she changed his life forever.

Written in September 2010, the 15th

Picture Credits : Me

A smell which means everything

When I smell the odor of pine and fire especially after rain, I remember a lot of things but only one place: Aix island. I used to spend my Christmas vacation on this island with my parenrs, my sisters, my grand uncle and grandaunt and some friends. We lived in the summer camp of our friend, closed and empty for Christmas.

The smell of pine and fire is memories of the New Year. When adults opened oysters and children play and run in the dining hall with bikes or something we can drive.

I also remember walk in the park of the summer camp, with my sister, my dad, my grand uncle and my friend, walking to the laundry room, telling to my mom and the other women “We are going to do laundry!” and we didn’t. We were in the laundry rom to play French billiards during hours.

Written in September 2010, the 10th

Picture Credits : Me

First time on my toes

I loved this studio. It was so quiet. It looked like a silent place, a heaven where everything was possible. And everything was possible. I saw birds, mice, princes, princesses, dolls, drunk people, Russian, Italian, French and a lot of incredible things! This studio was big and there was a wall made only with windows. Sunshine came sometimes, and we were lovelier than ever. Sunshine lit up the studio, illuminating the wooden floor, the mirror-wall and our reflections. There was this very particular smell I miss. It smelled like the wood of our pointe shoes, the warm smell of our pointes after work. I could smell rosin too, this stone we crushed in a white powder and put under and on the tip of our pointes to turn better and not slip. I put on my pointes; they fit me perfectly. I crossed my ribbons on my feet. They became beautiful! I got up, put my hands on the barre, and placed my body in first position, waiting for the music.

The music began and I rose on the tip of my toes. Such a nice sensation, I felt light and tall. My heels came back to the floor but I wanted to rise again. I felt my feet became strong and beautiful. I didn’t care about my pain; I just wanted to rise again and again.

We changed the music and the exercise. Every girl danced piqués en tournant, it’s a turn on one leg. My turn came, my right toes touched the floor, and I turned. The sensation was so wonderful! I feel that each time I do piqués. Even if my body was tight, I felt free, light, fast, like a bird. When I had to stop turning, I wanted to continue even if I walked like a drunk man because I didn’t turn my head quickly enough. Nowadays, I turn faster, sometimes I turn twice before turning one more time. But I always feel free, feeling the passion of dance inside me.

Written on September 2010, the 8th

Picture Credits: Internet