"The Surprise"

9 year old Emily is surprised to find a baby in her Mothers hands, after about 9 months of her mother feeling like crap. It turns out, the frail little baby in her Mothers arms has a special talent!

 

As I opened the door, with tears still in my eyes, I heard a baby crying. I saw my mother lying in bed, with a baby in her arms. I gasped “Mother, you had a baby?!” I exclaimed. “I... I thought you were... I thought you were going to die!” I blurted out.

“She wasn’t dying.” Father said, laughing.

“Is it a boy or a girl?” David asked.

“Girl,” said mother sleepily. She was rocking the baby back and forth in her hands, humming to her.

I started smiling. I was going to have a little baby sister to play with!

“Mother, what are we going to name her?” I asked.

“Well,” said mother, “I love the name Gabriella, but only if you all like it too.”

“I love the name Gabriella too!” I said.

“Me too,” said father.

“Me three!” said David.

“Is it decided then?”

“Yes, I think so. But we still need to find a middle name...” said father.

“Ellen?” I suggested.

“Too boring,” said David. “How about... ‘Gabriella the Great and Awesome’?“

“David!” I said, “This is your baby sister we’re talking about. It’s got to be something cute.”

“How about Michelle?” Father said. “That was my mother’s name.”

“That’s a good name!” I said. “Gabriella Michelle Lyon.”

 

2 Years Later

 

Gabriella Michelle Lyon seemed just like any other 2-year-old girl. She would take naps in the afternoon, play with David and me; she loved to eat Cheerio’s and she would sometimes spill things on the floor.

 

Except that she had a talent. Gabriella was an artist. An amazing artist.

It all started one day when we got a new kitten, Mr. Fluffles. Mom had given Gabriella a set of crayons and a piece of paper to scribble on as usual. Gabriella began drawing the outline of a cat with a black crayon. Then she started to color it in, the exact brownish-grey color of Mr. Fluffles! She started to draw in more detail; She drew in the claws of the cat, the ears, the eyes, the nose, and even the collar! It was amazing. It looked almost just like Mr. Fluffles.

By the time Gabriella was 5, she was already selling her paintings. She would use the money to buy higher quality paintbrushes, better paint, and lots of paper. Gabriella loved to paint nature. She would go outside, and paint bunnies, deer, trees, flowers... anything that was a part of nature fascinated her. Sometimes she would paint for hours on end. She would get so sad when mom told her she had to stop painting, and do school.

 

I am 18 now, and Gabriella is 9.  You would think that the older sister would teach the younger sister how to paint and draw, but in this house, it’s the other way around. Gabriella gives me “private” art lessons every day after school.

 

One day, she even made the front page of the newspaper. “9 Year Old With Amazing Talent, Gabriella Lyon!”

 

Gabriella is still painting as much as ever these days.

Author's Note

I made this book when I was about 9 or 10. Don't judge ;)

Reviews

[Belle]

This is really sweet! Your characters are very likeable, and I loved the relationship between Gabriella and Emily. This is definitely something you could come back to and maybe rewrite, as you are a bit older now. I particularly liked your final line - it concluded the story beautifully.

[HeatherWoodard]

Thank you so much!

[Belle]

You're very welcome! :-)