Raleigh Fine Arts Society

2017 Literary Contest Awards

Raleigh Fine Arts Society

Table of Contents

“The Mesa” by Binita Thapa ………………………………………………………………...1

“Under the Flags” by Ellie Baker …………………………………………………………..16

“Forecasting Ohio” by Lily Eliana Levin…..……………………………………………….32

“Rainy Days” by Nada Saleh ………………………………………………………………47

“The City Through the Window” by Hannah DeMaioNewton …………………………….63

“The Desk that Saved a Life” by Maggie Hall ……………………………………………..69

“Cassie Just in Case” by V Tacker …………………………………………………………84

“Walk a Mile in My Shoes” by Rebecca West …….………………………………………92

“Train Ride” by Meredith Brown …………………………………………………………107

“Chameleon Crisis” by Anamitraa Dutta.……………………………………………….....114

“Camp Ecstasy” by Regan Curtis ………………………………………………………....120

“The Black Hole” by Grady Davis ………………………………………………………..133

“The Garrison Falls” by Juliette Ellis ………………………………………………....…..140

“Hey, Finn, It’s Frankie, But You Know That.” by Elle Hodges …………………………148

“Cold Feet” by Pooja Murarisetty ………………………………………………………...153

“Three Weeks” by Isabelle Nechvatal ………………………………………………….…165

“The Ghost River” by Clay Oxford ………………………………………………….……172

“Dregs” by Alyssa Rorie ……………………………………………………………;……179

“NOPLACIA to GOPLACIA” by Savarni Sanka …………………………………….…..188

1

The Mesa

by Binita Thapa

The side of Winnie’s face was burning, hot and brown under the sun, as she peered up at the house. The shutters looked rusted and old; the house was entirely shabby, with paint peeling from the sides and a scorched lawn that looked like it hadn’t been watered in days. The picket fence that lined the exterior of the house had been broken and patched together with nails that might unscrew at any moment.

Nice, she thought.

The house resembled exactly how she was feeling inside: worn and forgotten. But when she looked up at her dad, his smile wide and expectant for her reaction, she couldn’t help but want to cry right then and there.

“It looks great, Daddy,” she offered, trying her sweetest voice possible.

His face broke out in relief as he slung one arm around her, leading her in.

“I knew you’d like it. Let me show you your room.”

They entered the small house together, her dad excitedly chattering while she took in her surroundings. The interior of the house was much better. The kitchen was small yet neat, adjoined with the living room, a medium sized area with a brick stoned fireplace at the edge. A leather, burgundy colored couch rested in front of the TV, a coffee table placed between them. Down the hallway, there was a bathroom to the left and one bedroom further down to the right; they stopped at a door at the end of the hallway.

“Here we are,” her dad announced.

He gently pushed the door open and she stepped inside. It was a small room, with faded ivory colored carpet and light furnishings; in the corner, a mahogany study desk stood with a reading lamp placed upon it. On the other side, there was a twin sized bed draped in dark blue sheets. Winnie walked slowly around the room and set her duffel bag on the floor. Above the bed, a huge bay window offered a view of the backyard. Right beyond the fenced enclosure was the chain of mountains that made up the Archuleta Mesa. Green tangled brush decorated the smoothed rocky landscape, steeply rising into the clouds.

“What do you think?” she heard her dad ask from behind.

“It’s beautiful,” she murmured. Truly, she’d never seen anything like it.

Later in the evening, they sat around the dinner table. Winnie chewed her chicken slowly, not really tasting it, as her dad struggled to make conversation.

“How’s school been going?” he asked.

“Uh, all right.”

“School going okay?”

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

“Friends? What’s Auden been up to?”

At this, she swallowed hard before answering. “She’s good. Busy.”

“Oh. Well, that’s nice.”

She nodded and continued eating. To her father, the short, uninterested answers were the mark of adolescence; the telltale signs of a moody teenager. Only she knew what they really stood for. They were like short cries for help from what was eating her up every day. And then there came the question, the question she’d been hearing for a month now, over and over again.

“Are you okay, honey?” her dad asked.

She glanced across at the table at him, at his face full of concern. He guessed something was wrong and she wanted to spill the words out and tell him everything.

No, I’m not, I’m not, I’m not okay.

“Win, I’m here for you. To talk, to listen. I know your mom said you were going through a bit of a rough patch, but maybe you’d open up to me. Like you used to.” He said this last sentence with a tinge of hopefulness.

I’m not okay, I’m not okay.

But of course, she didn’t say it. She released them into the black abyss of unspoken words, instead giving him the same answer she always did.

“I’m okay, Dad. Really.”

And with that, the conversation ended and the night went on, her words still hanging in a dark cloud around her.

------

For the next few weeks, she began to explore the little town of Farmington. Her father would head to work at around seven each morning, so she was left to do as she pleased. She would spend her warm mornings eating breakfast in the backyard, balancing her plate on her legs with a book in hand while she glanced up at the mountains every so often. Sometimes, a cool breeze would float through and offer a break from the heat, which she took great pleasure in. The best part of her mornings was the quietness. Back in Albuquerque, the city reverberated with the noises of life and it got to the point where she couldn’t even hear her own thoughts. In Farmington, there was a sort of stillness and slowness where people took their time and she came to feel like she was a part of it.

Her dad’s house rested atop a hill and from there, she could see the wide expanse of the town. It was like the inside of a bowl, completely encircled by the mesa. The center of the town was where the shops and tourist locations were, but that gave way to green pastures and farms on the outer area. Their neighborhood was relatively small, much like the rest of the town. A couple of kids would be out on the street playing alone, but so far she hadn’t seen anyone her age. Most of the older kids, her father had told her, would be working on the farms while school was out.

During the daytime, the heat became sweltering and with sweat dripping down the sides of her face, she would trudge on for miles below the mountains. The mesa was made of vermilion colored rock that looked like it had been set aflame, all throughout its flat top and craggy, cliff-like sides. The view gave her fleeting moments of peace that she had not felt in a long time, peace from the constant jumble of thoughts that usually filled her brain. These daily walks made her feel unattached from her normal life; with each step she took, she was farther away from it all. Sometimes she would stop for a moment, music blasting through her headphones and the wind running its cool fingers through her raven hair, and she almost felt like she’d been set free from everything that held her back.

When she’d return home in the evenings, dinner with her father was the same. They would mostly eat in silence with a few bits of conversation here and there. After the dishes were cleared and washed, she’d retreat to her room while he’d recline in his armchair and fall asleep to Action 7 News.

One night, she had just finished drying the plates and was prepared to head to her room when her father called out to her.

“Winnie? How about watching something?”

Her eyes lingered on her faded copy of Wuthering Heights, waiting to be finished, and then glanced toward the living room where her dad sat, reclining on the couch. She hesitated but then walked over and eased into the cushions. Spending a little time with her dad wouldn’t kill her.

“That sounds like fun. What’s on right now?”

“Well, they’re playing re-runs of Full House. Remember, we’d wake up early on the weekends just to watch it?”

Winnie had been eight years old at the time of her parent’s divorce, but she did remember the few good memories they had before it. At this, she smiled. “And we’d gorge ourselves on Mom’s French toast. I remember.”

Her dad smiled back. “Good times, kid.”

Halfway through the show, the channel switched to commercials. A woman appeared, brandishing a dark burgundy lipstick and slowly applying it. When she was done, she dramatically turned to face the camera and her mouth parted to form an alluring smile. Her red curls fell in ringlets, popping brightly from the black evening gown she wore.

Winnie didn’t listen to the rest, though. Her mind had drifted to curly red hair. And of course, curly red hair made her think of Auden.

------

“Winnie! Hey!”

She looked up. Auden waved a magazine in front of her. Her long, curly red hair was draped around her heart shaped face and round blue eyes, wide with impatience. They were sitting at the Overlook, a small café near the library. Winnie had been drinking bitter black coffee and writing in a small, spiraled notebook while barely listening to Auden’s rambling.

“What?” Winnie asked.

“Have you been listening to a word I said?”

Nope.

“Yeah. I’m right here.”

Auden rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine, just tell me what you think I should do.”

Crap.

“Um. I don’t know. I think—uh, you should do what you feel is right. I mean, what do you want to do?” Winnie tentatively replied.

Auden shot her a classic “are you kidding me” look, lips pursed and eyebrows arched.

“Well, I don’t think it’s a matter of ‘right’ when I’m deciding what to wear. But if you’re not going to help me, I’ll just get Mia.” She tossed her hair back and returned to reading the magazine.

“Why don’t you round up Congress while you’re at it.” Winnie mumbled, going back to writing. It had slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Auden’s eyes slowly rose from the issue of Vogue she’d been poring over.

“Excuse me?” she coolly asked.

Looking straight at her, Winnie replied, “I’m just saying that it’s not really a big deal. Just pick an outfit.”

Her brows furrowed. “I don’t get what your problem is, Winnie. I really don’t.”
“I don’t have a problem.”

“Yes, you do. You’re just different now.”

Winnie didn’t answer, trying to ignore her until she’d eventually shut up, but Auden kept going.

“There’s just been something wrong, something off and I don’t know how to explain it. The fact that you can’t even tell me proves it.”

“I. Don’t. Have. A. Problem.” Winnie repeated.

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.”

All the growing irritation Winnie had built up started bubbling into anger and at this last remark, it erupted out of her like steaming lava.

“You know, you’re really pissing me off. I have a problem because I don’t want to hear about your life problems every second of the day? ‘What do I wear, who do I go out with, what do I put on my eyebrows?’ If anything’s really changed, it’s just the fact that I’m sick of it all. I’m telling you to get over it,” she snapped.

Auden laughed a little. It wasn’t a laugh that you made when you thought something funny; it was more of a laugh you made when you couldn’t believe how ridiculous something was. And Winnie knew that whenever it came out of her mouth, a fight was brewing. This time, she didn’t care. She was ready for it.

“Get over it? Over it? You’re giving ME advice on how to get over it?” her voice rose embarrassingly loud. The people sitting near them exchanged a few glances but she barely took notice and continued.

“Lemme get this straight: you’re telling me to ‘get over it’ when you’ve been moping around for who knows how long? I mean, you broke up with Steven a month ago and just look at yourself. Stringy hair, no makeup. You never go out with anyone anymore. Face it; I had to drag you out like a cat just to get you to come today.”

At the mention of Steven’s name, Winnie’s heart started to pound nervously and her head started to feel a little faint. Auden, oblivious to anything but her own ranting, continued.

“Just listen to what people say about you. Everyone thinks you’re turning into some emo freak. And maybe they’re right. But, hey, you wanna sit there and mope alone? Go ahead. Keep skipping class? Go ahead. Stay home and shove your face into books? Be my guest.”

Winnie looked down, her face starting to bloom scarlet with embarrassment.

“ I’m just---I’m just so done dealing with you, Win.”

At this last sentence, Auden’s voice broke. Without another word, she got up from her chair and walked away, head shaking in disbelief.

Everyone at the café was staring now but it didn’t matter. Winnie watched Auden go, her curls bouncing up and down, but she found that she had no tears; instead, she felt a swelling balloon in her stomach that kept expanding and it made her want to vomit, right then and there.