Chapter 1
June 22 2356
Dear Diary,
Hello my name is Rosa Lopez. My Pappa got me this book for my birthday and Elizabeth is acting all mad because she doesn’t want to share a diary with me. Eliza & I are twin sisters but she tries to convince herself that she was adopted for some reason.
My Poppa works in the Spanish army because he finds it exciting at least that is what I understand. Momma sews clothes for our neighbors but she refuses to sew for Mrs. Pentiloon. Mrs. Pentiloon is the only white woman in our area & she treats us Spanish as though we are her slaves. Momma once asked me to go help Mrs. Pentiloon (when she first moved in) to help organize her things. When I arrived, Mrs. Pentiloon forced me to do all her chores & when I refused at first she whipped me fifty times.
Poppa was very angry but we couldn’t do anything since she is the British King’s relative. We don’t want more war in this boring world. I must go I hear Momma calling me.
Good day,
Rosa
June 23 2356,
Dear Diary
Sadly my sister has written in you before I did so she probably filled you with lies. I despise my sister because she was born three hours after me but she uses that as a weapon to get everything she wants. Since I am older I must learn how to survive so I do not get a lot of things. This world is more different then it was before. After World War 3 and China was destroyed, countries hide themselves from other countries. Britain is getting out of control though; it has captured Japan and is trying to capture France now.
My sister and I look nothing like our father, he is short and we are tall. He has brown hair and eyes we have black hair and green eyes. I refuse to like him or my mother though. Our gardener’s name is Pierre, he is from France but he has become totally Spanish. He is my best friend and although his parents are searching for him, somehow he stays hidden.
I must go for now but when I come back you shall have a new name instead of Diary. That is a dumb name.
Elizabeth.
June 30 2356
Dear Diary,
I was spying on Eliza (she hates me calling her Eliza) & our gardener Pierre last night & this is the conversation they had: ‘Good day Monsieur Pierre how is the lovely Mademoiselle Daniela? Good day Mademoiselle Elizabeth I barely escaped with my life yesterday.’
Then they started giggling & then they started kissing. I hate Pierre; he is trying to steal my sister away. If I could I would kill him. Eliza should not be going out with a killer of hearts. Maybe.... I will tell you later Diary.
Adjois I will tell you the plan tomorrow & tell you your new name.
Rosa
July 4 2356,
Dear Torrential,
I hate her! I hate my sister! How dare she spy on me and then go and tell Pierre what she thinks of him. I hate her so much! Hold on something’s going on outside, I’ll be right back.
Later
How dare he!!! I loved that boy and now I find out that he was actually kissing my best friend Daniela. I cannot stay here so Rosa and I are leaving first thing in the morning tomorrow to go to America. Ow I just cut myself with the pen. OMG some blood is on the page, ahh what do I do?
Elizabeth
July 25, 2356,
Dear Elevate,
Finally we are on a ship. We left on July 5, but we had to walk over two hundred miles to the ship before today so it was very boring. We never had time to write but now we do. We are practicing English, I mean both of us can write English perfectly but not speak it. We can feel something evil in the ocean and its bubbling out foam and so on.
When we left the house, Eliza felt guilty so she went over to Mamma & Pappa & explained we were leaving to go live somewhere else. When Pappa tried to find out why, Eliza started getting angry & told him to mind his own business. When he wouldn’t let up the ground opened & swallowed him whole, Momma refused to tell us who we really were. What the genetic llamas with hats is going on here?
Rosa
July 30, 2356,
Dear Torrential,
I am so angry. Why must Mother disown us for something we did not do? Ay yi when I saw the sky I was frightened. The sky was purple not blue. Ouch the ship has hit something; I must go see what it is.
Later
Ay yi, Momma Poppa help us now. The ship has hit something that is a relative of an iceberg; they are calling it a warsonamatke. That means warm ice; we may not make it to America.
Elizabeth
August 1, 2356,
Dear Elevate,
We have hit a warsonamatke so Elizabeth & I are leaving the ship. Apparently warsonamatkes only appear when you are less then fifteen miles away from the coast of a place called Florida. Florida is located in America, no one has heard of it in Spain though. It was located next to a place called Louisiana, but Louisiana was blown up by a stray bomb that was meant for Costa Rica.
Millions of people were killed in World War 3 but luckily that is like five percent of the world. I mean it’s sad for people that were related to them but its better then everyone dying. Whoa did you feel that Elevate, ok I might be going crazy if I’m talking to a book like a person but I left my best friend in Spain so you’re going to be my new best friend. Only there are a couple good things about starting over. We can erase our past.
Rosa
August 3, 2356,
Dear Torrential,
As I am writing we are in a lifeboat heading toward land. A huge light is searching the area; it is very confusing here heading to America. Land ho a man just shouted, we have reached land. I know I always leave and then come back but I can not help it. Sorry.
Later
O’ my goodness America is such a beautiful place. How you are probably asking, but there are trees everywhere and I only know what a tree looks like from our books at school. Rosa and I started spinning around and suddenly we were all wet. There was this thing called a sprinkler that got us wet. I have absolutely no clue what that is.
A couple of the men who came with us had been to America before and told us that America was a safe haven for refugees. I was so sad when he said that not everywhere had trees. So Rosa and I will go somewhere with thousands of trees. But first we shall tour the country.
Goodbye
Elizabeth
August 7 2356,
Dear Elevate,
Good morning, Eliza & I have just learned something interesting. In Spain we only had one time zone but here in America (United States of America, USA) you have four time zones, so it is hard to tell what time it is. We are touring the country so we need a car, yes they have those here & to rent one it is $5 to buy one it is $10. They are very expensive, before the war you could rent or buy a million cars, because everyone had money. But Germany wanted to be ruler again so they had nuclear weapons & attacked everyone. America was the first to feel the wrath of Germanasity, then came Russia, Italy & one by one Germany attacked the countries. Germany after it was destroyed; people ran to their countries & hid, never planning to travel again. People refuse to trust foreigners except in America. Schools only mentioned other countries when they were forced to, like the country could hear them.
Any who so we’re are planning to rent a car maybe buy one if we have enough michalos. First we will tour Florida then go up the map. I must go to visit with the other foreigners.
Rosa
August 17 2356,
Dear Torrential,
Hello Torrential, I have learned the scariest thing. We met up with some people and after we all got introduced they told us about us. Apparently in Greece, in the early years, they had Greek gods who came down to Earth. They had relations with humans and the product is us. When they asked us questions they explained that we were children of Hades.
Two of the people we met are twins and they are daughters of Zeus. He is the storm god. Their names are Alyce Marie Smith and Madeline Smith or Madie for short. Another was Cori and she is a daughter of Hermes. He is the stealing god. Then there was Ferret daughter of Poseidon and finally a boy who’s name is Luke. Luke is a son of Hephaestus.
I must go to clean out our new house. Rosa should tell you about it.
Elizabeth
August 19 2356,
Dear Elevate,
I am sorry it has been so long but Eliza has kept me very busy & I have been visiting with our new friends. Our house is a small little thang (that is slang for thing) & it has a secret hallway hidden somewhere. I won’t tell you incase this diary falls into the wrong hands. Eliza has already told you about our friends, but oh my goodness, Luke is very cute. Eliza says he is ugly but I think she is jealous of me.
His brown hair has grown long past his ears & he is taller then me. When he laughs the entire room lights up. His smile could light up the entire world with one true smile. Also his eyes seem to dance when he is happy which is pretty much all the time. Hold on I hear some fighting outside.
Afternoon
We can not stay in Florida for much longer. As I write this, Eliza is driving all of us but Madeline to a place called New York, New York. Who would name a city after a state in that same state? Here’s what happened: I looked outside & saw Madeline & Alyce in a fight but then a man with golden armor came over to them. I fled outside, my heart pounded in my ears but I drew out a sword that Luke gave me. The man told me to back down so he could take Alyce away with her sister. My anger flared up & my mind turned into a roar. The ground shook but somehow I was able to stand up unlike the man. I took my sword & stabbed him many times until he disappeared into smoke. After that Madeline grabbed her sword & stabbed my thigh & grabbed Alyce & tried to take her away. I screamed & the ground opened up swallowing Madeline & just barely saving Alyce.
So right now she’s in the corner keening & crying. All of us are down hearted because Madeline was our #1 fighter. The road is so bumpy my handwriting is all shaky I must stop writing for now.
Rosa
June 22 2356
Dear Diary,
Hello my name is Rosa Lopez. My Pappa got me this book for my birthday and Elizabeth is acting all mad because she doesn’t want to share a diary with me. Eliza & I are twin sisters but she tries to convince herself that she was adopted for some reason.
My Poppa works in the Spanish army because he finds it exciting at least that is what I understand. Momma sews clothes for our neighbors but she refuses to sew for Mrs. Pentiloon. Mrs. Pentiloon is the only white woman in our area & she treats us Spanish as though we are her slaves. Momma once asked me to go help Mrs. Pentiloon (when she first moved in) to help organize her things. When I arrived, Mrs. Pentiloon forced me to do all her chores & when I refused at first she whipped me fifty times.
Poppa was very angry but we couldn’t do anything since she is the British King’s relative. We don’t want more war in this boring world. I must go I hear Momma calling me.
Good day,
Rosa
June 23 2356,
Dear Diary
Sadly my sister has written in you before I did so she probably filled you with lies. I despise my sister because she was born three hours after me but she uses that as a weapon to get everything she wants. Since I am older I must learn how to survive so I do not get a lot of things. This world is more different then it was before. After World War 3 and China was destroyed, countries hide themselves from other countries. Britain is getting out of control though; it has captured Japan and is trying to capture France now.
My sister and I look nothing like our father, he is short and we are tall. He has brown hair and eyes we have black hair and green eyes. I refuse to like him or my mother though. Our gardener’s name is Pierre, he is from France but he has become totally Spanish. He is my best friend and although his parents are searching for him, somehow he stays hidden.
I must go for now but when I come back you shall have a new name instead of Diary. That is a dumb name.
Elizabeth.
June 30 2356
Dear Diary,
I was spying on Eliza (she hates me calling her Eliza) & our gardener Pierre last night & this is the conversation they had: ‘Good day Monsieur Pierre how is the lovely Mademoiselle Daniela? Good day Mademoiselle Elizabeth I barely escaped with my life yesterday.’
Then they started giggling & then they started kissing. I hate Pierre; he is trying to steal my sister away. If I could I would kill him. Eliza should not be going out with a killer of hearts. Maybe.... I will tell you later Diary.
Adjois I will tell you the plan tomorrow & tell you your new name.
Rosa
July 4 2356,
Dear Torrential,
I hate her! I hate my sister! How dare she spy on me and then go and tell Pierre what she thinks of him. I hate her so much! Hold on something’s going on outside, I’ll be right back.
Later
How dare he!!! I loved that boy and now I find out that he was actually kissing my best friend Daniela. I cannot stay here so Rosa and I are leaving first thing in the morning tomorrow to go to America. Ow I just cut myself with the pen. OMG some blood is on the page, ahh what do I do?
Elizabeth
July 25, 2356,
Dear Elevate,
Finally we are on a ship. We left on July 5, but we had to walk over two hundred miles to the ship before today so it was very boring. We never had time to write but now we do. We are practicing English, I mean both of us can write English perfectly but not speak it. We can feel something evil in the ocean and its bubbling out foam and so on.
When we left the house, Eliza felt guilty so she went over to Mamma & Pappa & explained we were leaving to go live somewhere else. When Pappa tried to find out why, Eliza started getting angry & told him to mind his own business. When he wouldn’t let up the ground opened & swallowed him whole, Momma refused to tell us who we really were. What the genetic llamas with hats is going on here?
Rosa
July 30, 2356,
Dear Torrential,
I am so angry. Why must Mother disown us for something we did not do? Ay yi when I saw the sky I was frightened. The sky was purple not blue. Ouch the ship has hit something; I must go see what it is.
Later
Ay yi, Momma Poppa help us now. The ship has hit something that is a relative of an iceberg; they are calling it a warsonamatke. That means warm ice; we may not make it to America.
Elizabeth
August 1, 2356,
Dear Elevate,
We have hit a warsonamatke so Elizabeth & I are leaving the ship. Apparently warsonamatkes only appear when you are less then fifteen miles away from the coast of a place called Florida. Florida is located in America, no one has heard of it in Spain though. It was located next to a place called Louisiana, but Louisiana was blown up by a stray bomb that was meant for Costa Rica.
Millions of people were killed in World War 3 but luckily that is like five percent of the world. I mean it’s sad for people that were related to them but its better then everyone dying. Whoa did you feel that Elevate, ok I might be going crazy if I’m talking to a book like a person but I left my best friend in Spain so you’re going to be my new best friend. Only there are a couple good things about starting over. We can erase our past.
Rosa
August 3, 2356,
Dear Torrential,
As I am writing we are in a lifeboat heading toward land. A huge light is searching the area; it is very confusing here heading to America. Land ho a man just shouted, we have reached land. I know I always leave and then come back but I can not help it. Sorry.
Later
O’ my goodness America is such a beautiful place. How you are probably asking, but there are trees everywhere and I only know what a tree looks like from our books at school. Rosa and I started spinning around and suddenly we were all wet. There was this thing called a sprinkler that got us wet. I have absolutely no clue what that is.
A couple of the men who came with us had been to America before and told us that America was a safe haven for refugees. I was so sad when he said that not everywhere had trees. So Rosa and I will go somewhere with thousands of trees. But first we shall tour the country.
Goodbye
Elizabeth
August 7 2356,
Dear Elevate,
Good morning, Eliza & I have just learned something interesting. In Spain we only had one time zone but here in America (United States of America, USA) you have four time zones, so it is hard to tell what time it is. We are touring the country so we need a car, yes they have those here & to rent one it is $5 to buy one it is $10. They are very expensive, before the war you could rent or buy a million cars, because everyone had money. But Germany wanted to be ruler again so they had nuclear weapons & attacked everyone. America was the first to feel the wrath of Germanasity, then came Russia, Italy & one by one Germany attacked the countries. Germany after it was destroyed; people ran to their countries & hid, never planning to travel again. People refuse to trust foreigners except in America. Schools only mentioned other countries when they were forced to, like the country could hear them.
Any who so we’re are planning to rent a car maybe buy one if we have enough michalos. First we will tour Florida then go up the map. I must go to visit with the other foreigners.
Rosa
August 17 2356,
Dear Torrential,
Hello Torrential, I have learned the scariest thing. We met up with some people and after we all got introduced they told us about us. Apparently in Greece, in the early years, they had Greek gods who came down to Earth. They had relations with humans and the product is us. When they asked us questions they explained that we were children of Hades.
Two of the people we met are twins and they are daughters of Zeus. He is the storm god. Their names are Alyce Marie Smith and Madeline Smith or Madie for short. Another was Cori and she is a daughter of Hermes. He is the stealing god. Then there was Ferret daughter of Poseidon and finally a boy who’s name is Luke. Luke is a son of Hephaestus.
I must go to clean out our new house. Rosa should tell you about it.
Elizabeth
August 19 2356,
Dear Elevate,
I am sorry it has been so long but Eliza has kept me very busy & I have been visiting with our new friends. Our house is a small little thang (that is slang for thing) & it has a secret hallway hidden somewhere. I won’t tell you incase this diary falls into the wrong hands. Eliza has already told you about our friends, but oh my goodness, Luke is very cute. Eliza says he is ugly but I think she is jealous of me.
His brown hair has grown long past his ears & he is taller then me. When he laughs the entire room lights up. His smile could light up the entire world with one true smile. Also his eyes seem to dance when he is happy which is pretty much all the time. Hold on I hear some fighting outside.
Afternoon
We can not stay in Florida for much longer. As I write this, Eliza is driving all of us but Madeline to a place called New York, New York. Who would name a city after a state in that same state? Here’s what happened: I looked outside & saw Madeline & Alyce in a fight but then a man with golden armor came over to them. I fled outside, my heart pounded in my ears but I drew out a sword that Luke gave me. The man told me to back down so he could take Alyce away with her sister. My anger flared up & my mind turned into a roar. The ground shook but somehow I was able to stand up unlike the man. I took my sword & stabbed him many times until he disappeared into smoke. After that Madeline grabbed her sword & stabbed my thigh & grabbed Alyce & tried to take her away. I screamed & the ground opened up swallowing Madeline & just barely saving Alyce.
So right now she’s in the corner keening & crying. All of us are down hearted because Madeline was our #1 fighter. The road is so bumpy my handwriting is all shaky I must stop writing for now.
Rosa