Chaper Hill’s Secret

By: Ella Turner, 6th grade orca

I sank my feet deep into the puffy white sand and sighed. A break- finally. You see, for as long as I can remember, all I have been doing is fighting evil, and keeping my identity a secret. Yes, yes, I know. I’m a superhero! Wow, so cool! Don’t give me that much awe guys. Being a superhero is not all fun and games. It comes with a lot of responsibility. Okay, let me backtrack here. I’m Ava, just a normal girl living on Cherryback Avenue, in Ohio. I live in more of a deserted part of Ohio. My family is my water critter, and… me! My birth family is somewhere in London. They had to leave me when I was young, just in case anyone found out who I was. They would be in too much danger living with me. Every five years, I visit them secretly in the forest of Chaper Hill, Ohio. From there, we fly up to the cloud shaped like a star where the superheroes from all over the world can come to strategize and relax. I get to spend a week with them, and then leave them all over again for another five years. And guess what? Today was the day I was going to see them! With one last hopeful look at the beach, I trekked back to my house, ready for the day’s events to begin.

After two hours of endless hiking, I finally got to the boulder, where we planned to meet this time. While waiting, I checked my suitcase, making sure I wasn’t missing anything. All of the sudden, I felt something scurry up my hair. 

“Ollie, get down from there!” I whisper- giggled. Ollie, my superhero critter flopped down into my hands, soaking them up, because he was made of water. Yes, I have water powers. I can control any body of water, whether clear, polluted (egh), or from the sky! It is very useful when it rains!

“Ava?” I heard a sweet, sugar filled voice gasp.

“Mom! Dad!” I ran over to them and embraced them into my arms.

“I missed you so much!”

“Us too!” they ruffled my hair, and together, we walked to the top of the hill. But when we got there, my dad and mom started pacing around me.

“Ava, we have to talk to you about something very important,” my mom’s voice turned… slithery?

“Yes, very very important,” my dad smiled, wickedly? All of the sudden I felt my throat tighten up. It does that whenever I know I’m in trouble. I stood in a protective stance, looking rapidly at both of them.

“Who are you, and what have you done to my parents,” I whispered.

“Your parents have been in London for the last thirteen years, unknowing of your existence,” my so-called mom sneered.

“Wh-what?” I stuttered, thinking my ears were deceiving me.

“That’s not true! I see them every five years!”

“No,” they said in unison, “you see us every five years!” I slowly watched them transform, every inch of their body turning cracked and crinkled.

“No, NO!” I gasped, and felt every inch of my body weaken. It couldn’t be them.

All of the sudden, a void opened up behind me. I grasped onto the edge of the void, trying with all of my strength to not let go.

“This isn’t the end,” I gasped, gritting my teeth together. But I felt my fingers loosen. One, two, three, four…