Words Have Power | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Words Have Power | Previous Challenge Entry
By Rhonda Ritenour
01/18/18
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Shoulders hunched over, Margaret drug her feet as she followed her mother into the old, dusty bookstore. Why she felt the need to bring them here every Saturday was beyond her. She would much rather be spending the day with her friends on her 7th grade volleyball team. They knew how to have real fun! Laughing while they shared the latest Snapchat filters would definitely be a lot more entertaining than pretending to read for the next hour.

Books weren’t exciting or entertaining. They were all dull and boring. Why adults didn’t realize actual books were a thing of the past was beyond her comprehension. It was definitely uncool in her circle of friends to be seen as someone who loved spending time reading a book. Compared to being on their phones and downloading the latest app, books were definitely old news and annoying. Reading on her phone was sufficient for her and should be counted even though it was mostly texting.

Knowing there was nothing she could do about her current frustration, Maggie followed her Mom to the usual corner of the cafe within the bookstore. Of course, her Mom didn’t allow her to bring her phone in the bookstore, so she leaned her head against the wall, closed her eyes and let out a loud sigh. This was going to be the longest hour of her life.

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Bringing their drinks to the corner table, Carolyn shook her head at her daughters obvious display of boredom. “Maggie, I wish you would try to show some effort or interest in reading at least one book while we are here.” Carolyn took a deep breath before walking away from her daughter in the hope that some time and space would do the trick.

Carolyn thought she had done her best to instill a love for reading in all her children from a very young age, but her efforts came back fruitless where Margaret was concerned. At least Patrick, age seven, and Julie, age six, still clung to their imagination. They devoured every book that would allow them to pretend to be their favorite animal or travel across the universe. She could count on them to share her joy in the weekly trip to the bookstore. Maybe the storyteller today would be able to grab Margaret’s attention this time.

Gathering in the story time corner, Carolyn looked at her three children. Margaret kept herself as far away as possible while the two youngest pushed themselves to the very front, eager to hang onto every word from the surprise speaker today.

“Dear friends,” the special guest began in a Pakistani accent, “I come to you today to share a special story. A true story. One I and my friends experienced first hand. You see, in my home country, girls are not valued and it is believed that education is wasted on us. However, my friends and I dared to dream. To hope for a better world. One where we would not be looked down upon simply for being girls. You see, you do not realize how lucky you are to have what you have in this country. As I look around this room full of books, it looks like heaven to me.”

As she finished her heart-wrenching story, Carolyn turned to look at her daughter. Gone was the scowl and complete look of boredom. Instead, she saw tears coming down her daughter’s face as she stared at the very special guest in awe. When the young girl encouraged everyone in attendance to check out the book by her friend, Malala, to understand more about what really happened to them, Margaret was the first in line.

Carolyn couldn’t be happier. Someone finally broke through to her daughter and she was eternally thankful. Carolyn prayed it would make a long lasting impression on her daughter. Even when surrounded by her friends, she hoped her daughter would stay strong.

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In the car, Maggie grabbed her phone. Snapping a selfie with her new book, she added a fun filter and sent it to all her friends without thinking twice. She also included the photo she took with the speaker. After it was sent, her heart pounded as she realized the huge risk she just took. To her surprise, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Maybe there was more to books than she originally thought. Opening to the first chapter, Maggie didn’t look at her phone until they arrived home a half hour later.

*Fiction Entry*

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