The 2021 J.U.C. MEDIA, RESEARCH & WRITING AWARDS | Category:  WRITING | Theme: “What is your dream-job and/or how do you perceive purpose of life?” (1162 words) | Submission No #11 | Submitted by: Esma Nur Sarı – Student, High School (15 years old) – Guardian Consent received.  
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FINDING THE LOST

I woke up with tears dripping down my cheeks. “The image of the dream was blurry but the emotions in it were vivid. ” I thought as I was leaving for work. Unfortunately, I didn’t bother to check weather forecast. That day was expected to be rainy but I had forgotten to bring an umbrella with me.

I work as a lawyer and I really can’t have time for myself. It has been like this since I graduated from high school. I even don’t have any friends because of me being a workaholic. To be honest, I don’t really like to work. The reason why I’m here, in an office full of crime documents, is because of my parents. 

They wanted me to have a job which offers a lot of money so that I could support them. It’s selfish of them to make me do something I don’t want to but I can’t say that. They are my parents who took care of me after all. 

I’ve always been like this, accepting everything they tell me and want me to do. I can’t even remember the last time I objected them. They probably thought that I was going nuts. 

I sighed while thinking of them until my coworker came and brought some other documents that need to be done. Seeing all that piled sheets made my inner coffee lover wake up from a slumber. When I had left my room, I noticed that it has been raining. 

It reminded me of old days when I was just a little child, the rainy day when I took a kitten in our house without my parents’ approval. They used to work until late hours and when they had arrived at home, they saw me sleeping with a dirty street cat. After waking up due to my mother starting shouting in my ear, I had to leave the cat with a smile full of sadness. “I should have known that they would never allow me to look after something that they find dirty.” I thought while sipping coffee. 

After a while, a woman with dark hair and sky blue eyes came. I immediately could guess who was that. She was one of my clients. However, this time she came back with her daughter. Now that I remember, I didn’t tell you my specialty in this area. I mostly look after divorce and family lawsuits. The woman, who is holding the hand of a little five-year-old kid, is named Martha. She caught her husband cheating on her and decided to divorce him. 

I had guessed that the child was unaware of what was going on. She had a bright smile on her face and I could feel the innocence from her eyes. After getting all the documents ready for the court, the child started telling her dreams to be a pirate just like she once read from a book that was gifted by her father. When I learned that she was inspired indirectly by his father, my heart started aching. 

“You see, my dream is to become as powerful and as brave as that female pirate. She was awesome while beating up the bad guys.” she said and thought for a second. “I want to ask a question. What was your biggest dream when you were in my age?” she asked with a curious face.

I didn’t expect a question like that. What was the last time that I dreamed of anything other than being freed of my own parents’ ambitions? Was it before starting middle school or maybe even younger? I was freaking out because I wasn’t a person who had a today and a tomorrow created by myself. That was the moment that my eyes became heavy and my heart started pounding like crazy. 

My client seemed to be worried of my condition. Just a moment ago, I was fully healthy but now something was odd. I felt as though some unknown creature was controlling my body and making me unable to speak until I found myself lying on the floor. My eyes were hazy and my body was heavy. “I hope that the child who smiled at me, despite not knowing me doesn’t get scared.” I thought. I swear I could see a bright light and I sincerely thought that it was the end of me but I was wrong.

The light had faded away before I could see my surroundings. I was in a vast flower garden and there was a faint smell of blood which got me thinking that I wasn’t accepted neither to hell nor heaven. 

I was literally in the middle of nowhere. Instead of grasping the situation I was put in, I walked on the way to where the annoying smell was coming from. Just then, I noticed a table and there was a book which was covered in blood. I walked closer to the table. The book was actually a diary. 

There was a sense of nostalgia coming from it. When I was in elementary school, our homeroom teacher gave us a homework which was to write a diary about our dreams. I instantly, started writing what I wanted the most. It was obviously my parents’ acceptance of me being a different individual with different opinions. If they had found out about this, they would probably rip the pages of that diary. 

When I took a closer look at the diary, I noticed that it was the homework I was given. I couldn’t believe it. How could it be here? The fact that I was trembling wasn’t a lie. I couldn’t stop myself from reading it once again. 

“Animals are so adorable. I want to grow fast and have a big farm full of them. I may even be able to convince them to come and visit me. I am looking forward to the future where I can hear my own laughter.” as I read the things I had written, I started crying. It was one of my wishes that didn’t even have the slightest bit of chance to become real. 

I had finally found my lost part, my dreams. The answer to the question of Martha’s daughter was now found. However, there was still something unpleasant. “Does anybody else have a past like me?” was the question popped in my head. 

The beauty of children is their laughter and happiness. How could they ever be happy if they don’t do something they aren’t doing wholeheartedly and without their consent? Some adults don’t know this and they lead their flesh into the way of sadness. 

These thoughts made my mood bitter. I wanted to help those children who are in need of a hug but how can I when I can’t even solve my own problems? Suddenly, I was embraced by a body which seemed to belong to a child. “You can do everything, just trust yourself.” was what that young body said. 

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The 2021 J.U.C. MEDIA, RESEARCH & WRITING AWARDS
Category:  WRITING | Theme: “If I Became the President of the World” 
Submission No#11 | Submitted by: E.N.S. – Student, High School | Guardian Consent received.