NIKOLAI
EUGENE, OREGON
In the cold winter of December, a little Russian boy came to visit family in Oregon. His name is Nikolai, he has dark brown hair that falls over his face. Eyes a stormy grey-blue, almost the color of ice. But a dopey smile was fixed on such a handsome face.
His mother told him to play with the other kids on the block of his grandma's house. So he went out, he wanted to make friends. But all the other children disliked him. Disliked his eyes which reminded them of ice. Frowning on his dark brown hair. And especially disliked his smile. They picked at him, calling him names. Making fun of the thick Russian accent he had. Making a game out of him chasing them.
The more they ran away, the closer they got to the lake.
"Hey Russian invader, give me your glasses!" A girl asks as they stop on the shores of the lake. The girl is blonde and skin pale, with pink hues coloring her face. Freckles dotted her rotten face. And a mischievous grin worked up that rotten face. Nikolai furrowed his eyebrows. "I can not, I am sorry, I need glasses to see" He spoke in a wobbly tone. Other kids giggled at the way he spoke, his English choppy and not perfect.
"I don't care! Give them to me," she snatched off the frames from his face. Surprising him and causing him to fall onto the snow. He tried getting up but easily got pushed down by three older and bigger kids.
"какогоw черта!" What the hell!
"Speak English! You're in America!"
"Yeah, say that in English dog-face."
"I do not know how-" he tried to say before being cut off. "You guys, if he's a dog... let's see if he'll fetch!" She throws his glasses onto the frozen lake. Making it land right in the middle.
"Oh no!" Nikolai wails, stumbling up and running towards his glasses. A rumble of laughter echoes behind him. He could feel the tears swell up in his eyes. He trips and slips on the ice before making it to his glasses.
"Now come back doggy!" The girl yells while patting her thighs. The kids around her giggled and made sounds as if he were a dog.
Nikolai took one step and the loud sound of cracking could be heard. His face went pale as he looked down to see the ice break from underneath him. Just minutes after cracks spread to the shore of the lake.
"HELP! YOU PEOPLE PLEASE!" Nikolai shouts in horror, trying to stay as still as possible. His eyes dart from the cracks to the other kids. Some had already started crying, so the older children rushed away with them. As more and more children left, Nikolai got terrified. Soon almost all the children left. Leaving the rotten little girl.
"PLEASE HELP ME! please..." He cries as tears rush down his face. She stepped on the ice once and it had cracked under her feet. That alone is enough to scare her away. Leaving only Nikolai all alone on the cracked lake. "Спаси меня, пожалуйста..." Save me, please...
He took an effort to move, which triggered the ice to break underneath him. Swallowed him whole and sank him under the freezing water. He splashed around, trying to grab the ice to pull himself up. But it was no use, winter coat and layers only pulled him down. The more he struggled, the more listless he felt. At some point, he just stopped and let his body sink. His version went black. His body was cold, his heartbeat slowed down, and his lungs felt like they were burning.
He thought about his mom, thought about his grandma, he also thought about how much he hated it here. He should've just stayed with his dad.
Soon silence paused him.
Suddenly he couldn't think anymore, couldn't feel, just anything.
NANA OSEI
Nana Osei is a brown-skinned little girl. Her black curly hair is done in twists with beads. And tied up in three ponytails. She held her mother's hand as they walked. Nana kicked the snow as they spoke.
"Mama, will my brother like me?" She asked out of the blue. "Of course he will, he'll love and take care of you. Just as you do with him, princess," she smiles warmly at Nana. A big smile spreads across her face. "When-when my brother is born, he can be the knight and then I'll be the princess!" Her mother giggled watching her daughter let go of her hand and play around with the snow.
When Nana turned her head towards her favorite lake. She saw a glimpse of a boy before he suddenly went under the ice. Her eyes grow wide and her lips part as she runs downhill towards the hill. "Nana?!" Her mama called out, waddling towards her. "MAMA! SOMEONE—SOMEONE FELL THROUGH!" Nana yells as she carefully steps on the ice. "Oh my gosh- don't move Nana, I'll call the ambulance." But Nana didn't listen, she went onto her chest and crawled towards him. Her mother sees her in the middle of her call with the operator. "NANA!" Her mom screams.
As the sun started to set, Nikolai's mother's voice calling out for him grew louder. Once she saw Nana's mother she ran towards her. Pleading her in a jumble of English and Russian where her son is. The color in her face drained as she slowly turned her head towards the hole in the lake. Nikolai's mother looked that way and immediately broke down. Trying to run towards the lake but being stopped by Nana's mother. "Ma'am please calm down! The-the ambulance is on its way!" She couldn't help but cry for the woman seeing how distressed she was.
When Nana saw his body floating, she held onto his coat. Pulling him up slowly, accidentally hitting his head on a piece of hard ice. "whoops..." She gently rested his head on the stronger ice. She turns her head to her mom. "I PULLED HIM UP, MOMMY!"
Nikolai's mother screamed his name seeing him cold and blue. "GOOD-GOOD JOB BABY.." She yelled to her daughter. The deafening sounds of the ambulance rang in Nana's ear. Pulling him up took a lot of her strength, she rested, trying to get her breath. And the sound of cracking haunted Nana. She looked at the ice she was on top of. She got up and looked at her mom. "MAM—," she falls under the water. "NANA MY BABY!" Her mom runs towards the lake. Nikolai's mom grabs her telling her not to. "Wait-wait please!" Nana's mother's legs gave up as her breathing grew out of control. As she heard her baby cry for help.
The ambulance and firefighters pull over, immediately leaving their vehicles. They go to work to get the children safe. The police who tagged along went to question Nana and Nikolai's mothers.
"Do you know when he fell?" The cop asked the two of them. More and more questions were answered before they noticed a red stain.
"Are any of you ladies hurt?" The cop questions then, looks at Nana's mother seeing blood soak her pants.
"My baby!" Her hand falls over her baby bump as the pain soon attacks her. She falls to the ground and the cop calls for help. At that same moment, Nana saw her mother fall. "MOMMY! MY MOMMY, SHE'S HURT!" She screams in the hands of the nurse.
"She's-she's hurt..!" She starts to sob, scream, and kick out of the hands of the nurse. The nurse holds her closer. "She'll be fine, I promise let's focus on you right now okay?" She says in a hushed voice. She took her to the ambulance. "Ms., I feel cold.." Nana whispers as her vision blurs. And she's gone.
I hope you guys like this!!
Please share around 😊
And give feedback please!!!!
[estimate of 1300 words]