by Maureen Forsythe, BCA Youth Director
In August 2023, the BCA invited local youth aged nine to 17 to write an original short story on one of two topics: a brother and sister discover an old journal in the attic or a family’s cat and dog discover they have magical powers.
We received an impressive total of twenty-five submissions. You may recognize some of the names below from earlier contests! Congratulations to all participants!
We are pleased to announce that the first place winner of the short story competition is Nura Rowhani for her delightful short story “Discover the Past” which is written from the perspective of a journal that survives from Napoleonic times. Nura is fourteen years old and attends Colonel By Secondary School. She will receive the top cash prize of $100.
We are also pleased to announce the following winning stories: “Mortician’s Agenda” by Ali MacWha, who is 17 years old and attends Colonel By Secondary School, and “Attic Teacher” by Navid Rowhani, who is 12 years old and attends Emily Carr Middle School. Ali and Navid will collect cash prizes of $50 each.
Given the number of quality submissions, we wish to provide honourable mentions for the following participants: Theia Taylor for “Notes Written in Red Pen”; Henry MacWha for “The Journal”; Elynn Zeng for “The Old Diary”; Titan Martin for “Bella and the Tentacle Monster”, Charles White for “The Magical Duo” and Emily Liu for “Journal Found in Attic”. Additional cash prizes of $25 will be awarded to each of these promising young story tellers.
Special thanks to Barbara Whittaker, a BCA board member who lives in Blackburn Hamlet, and Paul Whittaker, for reviewing the submissions.
“Discover the Past”
by Nura Rowhani
It has been years since I’ve seen the sunlight. Discarded. Alone. My crisp white pages are frail, yellowed with age.
Centuries ago, I sat young, bright eyed, with a fresh new cover, for hope that a human would take me home. In the year 1798 during the Napoleonic Wars a man bustled into my bookstore, his leather boots thudding loudly against the ground. He observed his surroundings as if in a trance. Then suddenly, his eyes were drawn to mine. Without breaking contact he reached towards me, his outstretched hands hesitant as he caressed my cover with calloused fingers. His name was Olivier, and as time went on I became a friend to confide in, in times of peril.
But now, I am passed on from generation to generation, a useless trinket, hidden away amongst clutter in the attic.
Until one day I hear voices, children’s voices, hushed and full of excitement! “Quiet Daniel!” a girl’s voice cries, “Grandma will catch us!” “Sorry Rachel!” the other cries. I sit up and wish for one to spot me. “Daniel, look! There’s an old journal, we must read it!”
And so they do.
I watch as their faces animate with expression while they read silently for hours. Shock, sadness, delight, despair. Olivier’s story I’ve so diligently carried through my pages has finally been delivered, and I can tell from their faces that it will not be forgotten. My journey is complete. I close my eyes and fall into an eternal sleep.
“Mortician’s Agenda”
by Ali MacWha
“Are you sure it’s safe up here?” The attic was a strange place, Ava wouldn’t say scary, Tristan would never let her hear the end of it if she did.
“What? You afraid of monsters or something?” Her brother laughed.
“No, but I can be scared of rotting wood,” she huffed as she followed Tristan up the stairs. Why Tristan had taken a sudden interest in the attic was a mystery to her, it seemed like a perfectly good place to ignore, but no, he couldn’t be content with that.
“There really is a lot of stuff up here…” Ava mumbled as she looked around at the piles of junk swarming her. In the midst of it all, a small shine caught her eye and she went to investigate. Picking up an adorned book, she flipped it open.
“What’s that?” Tristan called over.
“It’s a collection of the dead members of our family,” Ava called over her shoulder, her eyes scanning the pages.
“It was probably granddads,” Tristan suggested. “He was a mortician, he would have kept track of that sort of thing. Ava? You okay?” Tristan looked back, realizing his sister had gone quiet.
“Ava? Are you alright?” He repeated.
“Yes sorry, it’s just…” Ava mumbled softly as Tristan walked over to her.
“What’s up, you sound like you’ve seen a ghost” he laughed, as Ava’s eyes slowly rose to meet his.
“You’re in it.”
“Attic Teacher”
by Navid Rowhani
After school…
“I beat him up so bad! It was so funny!” Theo snickered.
“Why’d you even hurt him? What’d he do to you?” Laura, Theo’s little sister asked, concerned.
“I wanted to make him feel weak.” Theo laughed wickedly.
Once they reached home, Theo’s mom was waiting by the porch. She got a call from the principal earlier that day, and Theo was in his room for the rest of the night. He paced miserably, then sat down, just staring in one spot. He saw something out of the ordinary in his closet. It was a small trap door! He excitedly did the secret knock on his wall, hoping his sister would come. Laura came into his room quietly, and Theo showed her the trap door. They both climbed up Theo’s chair, feeling bold. While they were exploring the attic, conscious of rats and spiders, Laura found something interesting.
“Theo! Come here! This book or journal or, whatever it is, has Mom’s name on it!”
The book was really dusty, but they were able to make out the words. Theo read the first chapter’s name.
“Day One Of Being Bullied” Theo read.
After Theo flipped through a few pages he instantly was filled with regret. He felt like a disgrace to his mom. It was a life-changing moment for Theo. Laura could see the dejection, sorrow and shame on his face.