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Tuesday, 4 October 2022
The Son Has ADHD
Today my support worker took me to her house to see her dog George and her son, who has ADHD. We enjoyed a game of Jenga while waiting for my hot chocolate to cool.
Bedtime In Japan
Zura and I were on holiday in Japan. We had a great time there. We’ve visited an ancient temple, tried some new Japanese foods like curry and noodles and have even learnt how to paint ancient scrolls. Japan is also a cool place too, filled with lots of colourful sights, sounds, smells and cute creatures hopping about everywhere - some girls are even dressed like ones you see in Japanese anime, and it’s around a lot on television here these days. But sometimes, even exciting things that happen require a good lie down and a relaxing moment afterwards.
At our holiday home, Zura, Palm, my mum and I were eating dango in our little dining room. If you don’t know, dango is three delicious looking dumplings on a stick. They’re so squishy and sometimes they come in pink and green. I don’t know why one has turned pink, but maybe it’s because of radiation, and maybe one turned green because it got sick on a boat all the way to Japan when that signature dish came there. If you spot a green dango, please don’t eat it, in case you might get sick too. Zura and I only had white dango, so it doesn’t matter if we know what colour it is. A lovely, warm atmosphere filled the air, and it almost made us sleepy. Outside was a big onsen - that’s Japanese for spa - filled with steaming hot mineral water. It was getting dark outside, but Mum said, “Why don’t we go for a dip in the onsen outside before we go to bed?” “Oh yes!” I said, “Onsens feel great!” “They’re sure to put some pressure off yourself,” said Zura, “We need a good long onsen bath after that exciting day.”
Zura led me outside into the garden, where we saw the onsen heated up and ready to welcome us into its lovely waters. Zura went in first, and she felt that the water was a bit hot, but she soon got used to how warm it felt. “Come on, Sophie, it’s great!” she said. I dipped one toe into the onsen. It felt hot, but as soon as I dipped my whole body in, it felt hot at first, but then it felt really, really warm. “Aaaaaaaaaah,” I sighed, feeling the water around me. Above us, there was a tree with a few Autumn leaves about to fall gracefully down. I looked up, surprised at how such a tree could lose all its leaves prior to Winter. “Look, Zura, they don’t get trees like that in Japan!” I said. “Yeah, they’re blossom trees,” said Zura, “This is why the Japanese celebrate Hanami, which means, the Great Blooming Of The Flowers.”
Zura lay back and relaxed in the warm water, while I swam about, on my back doing a butterfly stroke, then doing a doggy paddle again across the water. The water was mildly warm, and rejuvenated me and Zura like we were tired after a long day of work or something, even though Zura doesn’t work and instead goes to school, and I go to school to learn from Shamalama and listen to her chilled out reggae songs. We were glad to have this well-earned holiday in Japan, where we could get away from all the work that was affecting us throughout last month. I peered out from behind two giant rocks and saw the biggest sight of my life: Mount Fuji, a crystal clear wonder, covered in snow which was as soft as icing sugar on top of a chocolate cake. “Mount Fuji…” I whispered, daring not to believe it. I’ve never seen Mount Fuji up close before, not in my life.
A leaf fell gently from the trees and landed carefully in the water, right beside Zura. It floated gracefully into her hands, and she picked it up, thinking of me as she stared at it in awe. The leaf was red, its tiny particles barely visible to the human eye. It made Zura want to be a kid wandering the jungle again, away from all the hassle and fuss of the modern world, but when she saw the leaf this time, she thought of me. “Sophie…” she smiled, tears filling her eyes as she placed it back into the water. She blew the leaf across the water, and it floated gently towards me while I was relaxing. When I saw the leaf, I whispered, “Zura…” as if the leaf was a magical telegram. I placed it back into the water, and closed my eyes. It was pure bliss.
I looked across to the other side of the onsen and peered over some rocks to see Palm relaxing in another onsen nearby. I smiled, because it wasn’t usually something that Palm ever did. It was pure paradise. I fell onto my back in the water and splashed about. As I did, I splashed Zura, who giggled and said, “Hey Sophie, you’re like a little otter.” “Are otters common in Japan?” I asked. “They’re common in Scotland,” said Zura, “But we can be otters together.” Zura swam forward to catch me, but I dived under the water and swam to the other side, causing her to miss. When she saw me, she swam towards me and grabbed me in the biggest hug possible. “Hey, stop!” I laughed as Zura cuddled me. “This is what otters do,” said Zura, “Protect their young!”
While getting dry, Zura and I lay under the tree and watched the leaves gently sway, sway, sway on the trees. Zura held me and lifted me up over her - her bandages were wet, but she nuzzled me and assured me “I think you know how mummies dry after a time in the bath.” I was laughing at first, but then I yawned and snuggled right up beside her, and we both fell asleep. Mum saw me and took me back indoors, where she dried me and thrust a beautiful red nightgown over my head.
When Zura and Palm were finally dry, we snuggled into a comfortable futon, much like an air bed but on the floor. “Zura,” I whispered, “What’s a futon?” “A bed many Japanese people use,” said Zura, “It’s not too hard, not too soft…just right for us.” “Especially for us,” I said, “We deserve it after a long day out at temples and hedgehog cafes and wearing kimonos and god knows what else we’ve been up to.” “Well, I wish I could stay in Japan forever,” said Zura. “Me too,” I said, “Goodnight.” “Goodnight,” yawned Zura, “Yoi yume o.”
And, in case you were wondering what that meant, Yoi Yume O meant ‘Sweet Dreams’ in Japanese. Zura and I snuggled together on our futon and dreamed about what’s to come next on our favourite, best Japanese holiday ever…
Monday, 3 October 2022
Scream Street Joke - Stars
What's the best way to know if you'll be scared in the future?
Read a horror-scope.
Beach Picnic
Luke, Resus, Cleo and I were very excited. We were going to the beach to have a barbecue! We’ve never had a barbecue on the beach before, only in the garden at home, but this is something to think about all Summer long. When we drove to the beach, we sang along to the radio, which was playing season-appropriate pop songs, and our parents smiled and laughed to see us having a good time. When we approached the beach, we could hardly contain our excitement, and charged out of the car and ran straight ahead onto the beach.
Shouts and squeals filled the air as we tumbled down the sand dunes, Luke grabbing me in a playful bear hug. Like always, when we ran onto the beach, we landed in a heap at the bottom of the hill, laughing loudly. We sat on the sand and watched as Resus’ father Alston set up the barbecue. “While we’re setting up the food, why don’t you kids go and play for a while?” he asked. “You betcha!” I said. The first thing we wanted to do was swim in the water. My mum applied suncream to all of us - the suncream felt chilly against our warm skin, but it cooled us down nonetheless.
To our relief, there was no jellyfish washed up on the beach today. We ran into the sea and splashed like mad. We swam into the shallows and splashed each other, laughing loudly and shouting. We dived under the water and swam together, holding hands, waving to each other when we let go. When I went underwater, I thought hardly and clearly about the stress of everyday life, and how it all pushed away because of the relaxing atmosphere of the seaside. School, playing with my friends and tidying our room are all a part of our bewildering everyday lives, but at the seaside, we never gave up on enjoying the water and the sunshine. We pretended to drink tea under the water, just like our neighbours the Heelers when they went swimming in Uncle Stripe’s pool. When Resus swam underwater, he found a beautiful shell, coloured pure white with a jewel on it. He couldn’t wait to show it to us, and when he did, we thought it extremely amazing.
Later, inspired by Resus’ find, we went hunting for shells which were buried on the sand. While getting dry, we thought about why beaches are full of shells, why they are washed up on the beach, and why people collect them. Luke, Resus, Cleo and I looked in all different directions, but for Resus, he had to show his mother Bella anyway because he was the one who found the shell first. Cleo was scouring the beach for a fossil of a snake, but she was more than delighted when she found a small thin pink shell, something she’s never seen before, much better than a snake’s tooth. Cleo liked sand a lot, and she loved scouring for treasures in the sand, because she used to do that a lot in Egypt. Luke crawled on all fours, looking for the best shell he could find. He partially transformed his mouth into a werewolf snout and sniffed all around. He could smell the fresh sea air, and a hint of the barbecue in the distance. He was so enticed by the smell that he didn’t notice a crab scuttling up to him. “Hello,” he said, and the crab waved its pincers. “That’s one way to find treasure.”
As for me, I was searching around the rock pools for a shell. My bare feet touched the smooth, giant rocks as I climbed over a giant one and looked out over the sea. “Such a treasure.” I smiled. At that point, Luke, Resus and Cleo ran to join me. As they sat beside me on the rock, a huge tidal wave splashed the rocks and soaked us. “What was THAT?” asked Luke. “Water!” I squealed, “That’s the law of the seaside!” We held our arms out and waited for the next tidal wave, and when it did arrive, we screamed in joy. A shower on the beach is much better than an electric shower. If we lived on the beach, having a shower on the rocks would be much better than an electric shower anyway.
Sunday, 2 October 2022
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