WritingFix is currently seeking additional student samples from this writing assignment that can be featured in this space. Submitted student work must show evidence of revision, editing, and the final draft must be typed and sent through e-mail. Teachers: if you can help us obtain one, two or three student samples, along with a digital photo of the student(s) and a signed permission slips, we will send you either a complimentary copy of one of the Northern Nevada Writing Project's print publications.

Write to us at publish@writingfix.com and write "Sarah, Plain and Tall" in your e-mail's subject line, if you have a student sample to share with us.

The Forgotten Creek
by Samantha, seventh grade writer

Through a maze of snapped twigs and kicked rocks, past an abundance of decaying bushes that hug one another like a family of grizzlies, lies a lone thirsty creek that holds memories. Grains of sand lie in weary puddles that once were mighty lakes--the dead remains of rock-skipping summer days.

The only sound that can be heard is the pleading cry of bugs as they inch across the dry plain, wanting water, wanting life. Clumps of trees frame the open sky, letting the tired light draw pictures in the dirt with its gentle, aged fingers. Children once played here.

When their days of hide-and-seek and rope swings were tucked away into the back of their young souls as they spread their wings to take flight into life, the lively river faded. For when childhood is lost, the magic of their secret creek dies with it.