The Russian and the Georgian

Last week I gave a noun and verb writing assignment. Write with vivid nouns and verbs- no adjectives or adverbs, to the extent possible. The point is that good writing stems from nouns and verbs over anything else. With a nod to recent events, I told them to write a story about a specific Georgian and a Russian. That was the only assignment and information given, though the students asked for a sampling of typical Georgian and Russian names.

The following was submitted by Michelle, who gave permission for her story to be published. Michelle is in 7th grade.

The Russian and the Georgian

Born in Moscow, Russia, Lena had always been lonely. No one would play or talk with her. Every day she would sit on a rock and stare at the lake near her house.

One afternoon, as she was walking past the lake, Lena saw someone floating in the water. She dashed to the water and found out it was a girl about the same age as her. Lena dragged the girl to the house and gave her bread to eat. After a hour, the girl woke up.

"Where am I!" she screamed. "Please help me!"

"Calm down," said Lena. "You are at my house."

"Oh, sorry," said the girl. "Thanks for saving me. What's your name?"

"Oh, um, I'm Lena," stammered Lena.

"Well, I've never heard of that name before, but I am Baia," said the girl. "Nice to meet you."

"So, um, just wondering, why were you floating in the water?" asked Lena.

"Well, here is my story," began Baia. "It was nighttime and I was walking around in the garden that belonged to the orphanage. Suddenly, I heard gunshots and a boom. Everyone was screaming! Soldiers came in and told everyone they were going to use the orphanage as a hideout and we all had to evacuate. So we all piled in a boat and rowed off. After a day, it started pouring and then thunder hit. Everyone started to go crazy and running around. Then the boat tipped over. The people who couldn't swim drowned and others floated away. So here I am now!"

"Oh, that is so sad," said Lena. "Did you lose everything you had?"

"No, not really," replied Baia, "because I didn't have anything before I went to the orphanage."

"Here, you can live here," said Lena. "It's OK."

"Really?" asked Baia. "I can?"

"Yes, of course!" replied Lena.

"Thank you," said Baia. "What can I give you?"

"Ha-ha. Don't worry. You already gave me some thing," said Lena.

"Really?" asked Baia. "What?"

"A friend," replied Lena.