Short Story Contest: Finalist #9

Read about the contest.

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The Time Capsule by Jessica Migler
Richard Montgomery High School - Montgomery County, Maryland

“Don’t open the box,” my father always told me as we were arranging Christmas presents under the tree. I heard that warning on a yearly basis, like clockwork: December 24th at approximately 11:30 PM, after the little ones and my mother were asleep. There was always at least one “little one.” My mom’s seemingly perpetual pregnant belly was walking proof that my parents couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Menopause was a period of mourning, the end of an era. And I was blessed with seven beautiful siblings. My childhood was a marathon of tears, laughter, screams, anger, snot, and broken toys. Growing up in that household did wonders for my noise tolerance, my ability to multi-task, even my pain tolerance. Being the oldest, I was forced to grow up faster than the rest of my siblings. And in true father -daughter tradition, every year I helped my dad arrange the presents under the tree while my siblings dreamed of the magic of Santa Claus.

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