Shatter Me & Legend Contest Winners

More catch-up today on the blog, including two additional contest winners.

First up, the winner of Legend by Marie Lu and a Legend button, courtesy of Penguin Teen, is Minas T.

Congrats!

Next up, we have the winner of our Shatter Me “Stream of Consciousness” writing contest. This winner will receive a copy of Shatter Me courtesy of Harper Teen!

The winner is Hannah H.:

A cry. A wordless thing escaped from her mouth and filled the air like the sound of a quivering string. It shattered my ears and burned me deep in my chest. “Oh, oh,” I say, “please, please don’t, don’t”

She does.

“There are monsters.” her words are forced through her fear, “there are monsters out there, I know it.”

Please don’t, please, please. Not today, not today, not again.

“They’re gone.” I say, “they’re gone and they won’t come back. Don’t worry. I scared them off. I made them leave.”

“They never leave.” she says through tears, “they never never go.”

I can’t take this anymore.

I stare at the torn carpet in her tiny room, and I count. There are 20 pieces of broken glass and….

“They’re always there!” she continues to cry and scream. She continues to lash out. I will not look.

There are 20 pieces of broken glass and one hundred ten strands of carpet and three strands of string and one torn up doll without a head.

“Don’t listen to others. If you don’t think the monsters are there, they won’t be.”

“That’s a lie.”

She’s right.

I’m a liar.

There are twenty pieces of glass and one hundred ten strands and three bits of string and one torn doll.

She covers her head. She falls to the ground like a puppet with cut strings, she falls limp, and I can’t help her. I can’t help her, I never could. I am her big sister, but I’m just as helpless as everyone. I’m afraid to look at her. I’m afraid to hold her close. I’m afraid of someone I love.

“If I break the mirror, will the monsters go away?”

My eyes drift to her feet where the shards of mirror glass have eaten at her toes and her heel and all I see is red dripping like a faucet. Drip. Drip.

Drip

There are 20 pieces of glass and 110 strands and 3 bits of string and 1 torn doll.
Her torn feet are moving and drifting and I can’t look, can’t look.

Not anymore.

“There are no more monsters. Drop it, Ana. Leave it alone.”

“Look at me.”

I can’t. She knows, she knows the truth. I can’t look. I

“Look at me, please.”

Please god, no. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I never wanted this for her. I want to make it all go away for her. I just want to help her, I, I

20-110-3-1. 20-110-3-1. 2011031.

“Please.” she croaks and her voice shatters like the glass that’s all over the floor.

I look. I look like a morbid child stares at a car wreck. I stare at her tiny little broken-ness and I stare and I stare. I am so sorry.

I hold her close, but my eyes are shut.

I can’t save her.

“You’ll protect me, right?”

“Yes.”

I lie

I lie because I can never save her from her monsters.

I am so sorry.