The InstigatorThe People Who Shaped Me Writing Contest was a part of the 2023 Salem Reads: One Book, One Community program, which delved into the themes and messages of Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. The contest invited writers to submit essays, creative nonfiction and fictionalized stories that honored real people who had a profound impact on their lives.
2nd place
Rosa by Emily Mackley
I have lived a short life. Sixteen years is not a long time. Yet, for me, it has been the longest so far and the longest I have known. For one so young, it’s obvious that I don’t know many things. My hands struggle to peel pomegranates, and I always hit the seed when slicing mangos.
Busy is my normal. Rushing to make it to extracurriculars, and rushing to pick up my brothers. Rushing to help Dad make dinner and rushing to greet Mom at the laundry room door. Throughout it all Abuela has been there.
Abuela would help patch up skinned knees from running and would bring a calm steadiness to our hectic lives. Picking us up from school during the busiest time of the year–tax season–she would greet us in her little blue sedan. My older brother and I would be the best behaved when she was around. Our quarrels would be quelled and our stomachs would be filled with Abuela’s afternoon snacks. Her steadiness was not just something that applied to our schedules, but something that applied to her hands.
Abuela is adept at slicing mangoes perfectly. She would always slice through swiftly and efficiently. Never once has she hit the bone. And when it came to pomegranates she would slice them up within minutes, never once getting the staining juice on her clothes.
My Abuelita has always been there. She made mazamorra morrada when I got four adult teeth removed at the age of eleven. She helped me change my gauze and held my hand as I spat blood into the sink.
My Abuelita is kind. She is soft. She sees the best in the world when there are so many horrible things to hate. I have seen her give bread we just bought to a homeless man on the street. Despite the fact she doesn’t speak English, I have seen her stop and get out of the car to check on someone sprawled on the hot summer sidewalk. I have seen all the ways she displays her choice of kindness, of seeing the best in people, and I can’t help but want to embody that.
This story is connected to Press Play Salem issue 16 (Spring/Summer 2023)
