Henry

"Sometime in the not too distant future, the Earth starts on a quest to save the galaxy. They send their five bravest heroes… The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers! Bailey, the mighty black ranger," I announce as Bailey runs out and strikes a tough pose after I call his name. Everyone follows suit until I get to Everett… I have to lead him out when I call his name, "The mighty blue ranger Everett and last but not least, I, the mighty red ranger."

I start to laugh when Zola yells, "Go! Go! Power Rangers!"

I pick up Everett and we all start running towards the babies playing in the living room. They don't know it but they're the bad guys in our story. We were just about to save the universe when our parents walk into the room.

"Arrgh mateys, ready to go?" Mama asks before showing off her eyepatch and her hook. She dressed up as a pirate. Zola told the grown ups that Halloween would be more fun if they dressed up too. Because the twins are princesses, Mommy decided to dress up as a queen and Auntie Callie is dressed up as a witch. Auntie Callie picks up Everett and gets him into his stroller while Mama does the same with Ellis, who's dressed as a ladybug, and we all head to the door. We're just about to walk out when the doorbell rings. Auntie Callie opens it and it's Aunt Arizona dressed as a fairy. She and Auntie Callie kiss and I nudge Sofia.

She giggles knowingly and whispers to me, "We're going to be a family again."

"That's awesome, Sofia," I grin, "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Henry," she nudges me back and her cheeks turn a little red when she smiles. It makes my tummy tingle a little but in a good way.

We make our way out of Mama's house and onto the street. There's so many people out here already. I know this night is going to be fun. Mama stops us all at the mailbox and gathers us up in a circle, "Okay, ZoZo, what are the rules?"

"Stay on the route! We do this every year so I can lead. I know where we're going," she says crossing her arms.

Mama nods, "And?"

"And, don't get more than three feet ahead of the grown-ups…" she frowns, "and no eating candy unless it's checked by the grown ups. And most importantly, always always say trick-or-treat at the door!"

"And I brought glow sticks!" Aunt Arizona squeals before passing them out to us… Now that I that I think about it, Auntie Callie and Aunt Arizona were getting kind of close at my mommy's birthday party a couple of weeks ago.

It was my first time really seeing them together since we came to Seattle. Sofia said that they were mad at each other because Sofia lived with Aunt Arizona instead of Auntie Callie now but by the looks of it, they might actually be a family again. I haven't seen Auntie Callie smile this much in a long time.

We take off down the street and the first house we go to is Mama's neighbors. They have a huge gigantic spider on their roof and webbings hanging on the front of the house. I know it isn't real, so I'm not scared but I don't want the twins to be so I hold their hands on the walk up to the door. Zola rings the doorbell and when they open it we all yell, "Trick or Treat!"

"Happy Halloween, kids!" Mr. Morgan says as he takes a handful of candy and dumps it into each of our bags, "Your costumes are great! I love the power rangers and you two little ones are the most adorable princesses!"

Parker and Peggy give him a toothy grin as we make our way back to the sidewalk where our parents stand waiting with the babies. We continued through the neighborhood walking in front of our parents. They stood at the end of the driveways and in front of the yards while we went from door to door. They seemed as though they were having fun, although they didn't get any candy… I'll share mine with them so they won't feel left out.

By the time we head back home, the babies had already fallen asleep and Peggy had climbed up into Aunt Arizona's arms. She was asleep by the time we made it back to the house. Mama and Aunt Arizona went upstairs to put the little ones and Peggy to bed. Not ready to go to bed, Zola asks Mommy if we can stay up and watch scary movies. Lucky us, she didn't say no but she did say we can only watch one since we all have to go to school tomorrow. So, we all flop down on the couch in front of the TV and Auntie Callie puts in Goosebumps while Mommy goes to make popcorn.

Before you know it, we're all in front of the TV eating popcorn and candy. I had a lot of fun tonight and I wasn't sad at all until I realized that this Halloween and every one after, my daddy wouldn't be there. Every year we'd dress up together… last year, he was Batman and I was Robin. The year before that, he was Darth Vader and I was Luke… The year before that, we went as Mario and Luigi… the year before that, I was Mike and he was Sully… I've even seen pictures of our first Halloween together… we both went as lions. It's hard knowing that I'll never have that again… my daddy is gone.

"Henry, what's wrong?" Sofia whispers over to me as she wipes a tear off my face, "You're crying."

"Oh," I replied with a shrug. I didn't even notice I had started crying. I wipe my face off quickly before my mommy could notice… I don't want to make her sad too. "It's just that… Halloween was my dad's favorite holiday… We would always dress up together… like last year, we were Batman and Robin…"

"And now it's never going to be the same again?" Sofia asks. I just shake my head 'no' as another tear falls from my eyes. Sofia reaches for my hand and holds on to it when she speaks, "I'm sorry, Henry… and I know it's not much but I'll always be here for you."

I think Sofia actually helped last night because I woke up this morning feeling a lot better than I did when I went to bed. It's Tuesday and at my new school, we have to wear uniforms everyday except Friday. Fridays are our dress down days… I didn't think I would like my new school at first. I thought I'd be scared because I didn't know anybody but when I walked into my classroom the first day, I saw Zola and Sofia. My mommy hadn't told me that we'd all be in the same class. She wanted it to be a surprise and although, Sofia and Zola are a year older than me, we're all in the same grade because I skipped preschool and kindergarten and went straight to first grade last year.

I took my bath and was dressed before Mommy, like usual. I make my way downstairs to make myself some cereal. Mommy always leaves the box on the counter so I can reach it while she gets the twins and Everett ready for daycare. By the time they come downstairs, I'm already done with my cereal and ready to head out. We all climb into Mommy's new truck and take off towards my school.

Everyday, Sofia, Zola and I get to school at the same time. Today, we're only seconds behind them because when we pull up, Mama had already started walking the girls in. I kiss Mommy goodbye then run out the car after them.

"Zola! Sofia!" I yell out waving. They turn around waving back as I join them.

Mama smiles at me, "Good morning, Henry."

"Morning, Mama," I smile back giving her a hug.

She leaves us at the door and we all head inside towards Mrs. Ruth's class. When we get in the classroom, we hang up our coats in the cubbies then head over to our table that we share with our friend, Max. It doesn't look like Max is here yet but we go ahead and start on our morning work anyway. We usually do it all together but by the time the announcements came on and he still wasn't here, we figured he must not be coming in today.

After the announcements, we start with Language Arts. I'm pretty good at this subject but Sofia is better. She's the best writer and speller in our grade and she reads on a fourth-grade level! Sofia is the smartest person I know! Mommy says Sofia learns more easily than most because she's bi-lingual… It means she speaks two languages. I don't know how that makes it easier to learn but I try to pay extra attention in French so I can learn easier too.

After French, it's lunch time. Most of my friends say it's their favorite time of the day because during lunch we get to hang out with all of the other second graders in the school and right after is recess. I usually play basketball with Max but since he isn't here today, I find myself in the sandbox with the girls.

"Hey, you three," a voice calls from outside the sandbox.

We all turn towards the voice and Zola immediately crosses her arms, "We have names, Joey."

"Fine… Zola… Sofia… and um, you're new right?" he looks to me.

I nod, "Yeah, I'm Henry."

"I'm Joey. I'm in Mr. Tavier's class. Sofia and Zola were in my class last year," he explained and I nod, "Anyway, we need three more people for our kickball game. If you come and play, I promise I'll pick you guys for my team."

"Guys?" Zola looks to the both of us and we look at each other then shrug. She turns back to Joey, "Fine, we'll play with you."

"Run, Henry, run!" someone shouts from the sidelines. I kicked the ball so hard that everyone on the other team had to run after it. All the bases were full before I kicked and now it's clear, we've scored three more points and I'm coming into home with the fourth. I see the kickball flying through the air towards home base and I have to run at my fullest speed to get to base on time. I slide into home before the ball reaches and my team has won the game. We all start shouting and jumping up and down.

The bell rings and everyone heads back inside. It's reading time. Some days, Mrs. Ruth reads to us but today we're having silent reading time. We get thirty minutes to read our favorite book in class. I'm on the last book of the first group of the Magic Treehouse series, number twenty-eight, High Tide in Hawaii. Jack and Annie travel back in time to Hawaii and almost get caught in a tsunami. I wonder what it would be like if I had a magic treehouse.

"What kind of special magic will we look for this time?" said Sofia as we glanced around the treehouse. We saw the scrolls we'd brought back from Shakespeare's theater, the twig from the mountain gorillas and the pouch of corn seeds from the first Thanksgiving. Sofia pointed to a book in there corner, "There!"

A piece of paper was sticking out of it. I picked up the book then pulled out the paper and read:

Dear Henry and Sofia,
Good luck on your fourth journey to find a special magic. This secret rhyme will guide you:
To find a special magic,
build a special kind of ship,
that rides the waves,
both high and low,
on every kind of trip.

Thank you,
Zola.

I looked at Sofia and questioned, "A ship?"

"Yep. I guess we have to build a ship. Where do we go to build it?" she asked.

We both looked at the book's cover. It showed palm trees, a beach, and a beautiful ocean. The title was: A VISIT TO OLD HAWAII.

"Oh, wow!" said Sofia, "I love Hawaii!"

"How do you know you love it?" I asked, "We've never been to Hawaii."

"Well, we're going now!" said Sofia then she pointed at the cover, "We wish we could go there!"

The wind started to blow.

The treehouse started to spin.

It spun faster and faster.

Then everything was still.

Absolutely still.

"Alright class," Mrs. Ruth says catching my attention away from the book, "silent reading time is over. Time for math."

After math class, my favorite block of the day starts. It's our special class time but everyday it's different. On Mondays, we have class in the library with Mr. Wright. Tuesdays we have technology in the lab with Ms. Spencer. We have art class with Mrs. Temperance on Wednesdays. Thursdays we have Music with Ms. Davenport. Fridays we have P.E. with Mr. Smith.

Today is Tuesday, so we're headed to the lab. This week we're working on coding. Ms. Spencer says that every week we're going to learn something that is going to help us make our robots at the end of the year. I'm so excited for making robots so I think Tuesdays are my favorite now. My favorite day used to be Saturday because that's when all my favorite shows would come on TV but building robots is so much better.

After our special block, it's time for Science and Social Studies. Auntie Melia says I need to pay a lot of attention in Science if I'm going to become a surgeon and help save other people's dads. Luckily, I'm really good in science class. Mommy says it's because when I was a baby, Auntie Melia used to teach me all about her surgeries and the human anatomy.

It's the end of the day now and Zola, Sofia and I make our way to the front of the school to wait on our parents. Joey from recess runs up to us and hands us some invitations, "Here.. I had fun at recess and wanted to invite you to my birthday party."

"Thanks, Joey," Zola smiles and he runs off.

Mama pulls up in her truck a few minutes later. She rolls down the window, "Hey, guys. Your moms got pulled into surgery so I'm picking you all up today."

"Cool," I smile climbing into the truck behind the girls. Mama already picked up Bailey from pre-school so I wave to him, "Hey, Bailey. You have a good day at school?"

"Yeah! I know how to read!" he shouts then pulls out his book reading the cover, "The. Cat. In. The. Hat."

"That's awesome, man," I smile and Sofia claps.

Zola joins in, "Great job, Bailey."

"Oh, no," Sofia says looking at Joey's invitation. Zola and I turn around to her and she shows us the invitation, "Isn't the 12th your sisters' birthday?"

"Yeah, they were born on 11/12/13," I say finally looking at the date on the invitation, "Oh."

"We can't go," Sofia says.

I shake my head, "You guys can go. I just can't."

"It's Parker's and Peggy's birthday, Henry," Zola said, "We can't miss it."

"Maybe there would be a way to go to both?" I suggest.

Sofia nods, "Joey's birthday party doesn't start until seven anyway."

"Yeah, I'm sure we could go to both," Zola agrees.

Suddenly I heard a rumbling from under the sand. The ground started to shake. It shook so hard, the book flew out of my hands! It bounced up and down on the beach. Shells were jumping up and down, too. Rocks tumbled down from the cliff. It's an earthquake, I thought immediately. The rumbling stopped.

The shaking stopped. I looked around and everything was normal again, except some rocks rolled around at the bottom of the cliff. I look out to sea. Sofia and our new friends, Kama and Boka, were past the breakers. They were sitting on their surfboards, laughing and talking. Everything seemed okay but I felt sure that something was wrong. I grabbed the Hawaii book from the sand. I looked up "earthquake" and read:

Earthquakes in Hawaii have been known to cause tsunamis (soo-NAH-meez), which used to be called "tidal waves." An earthquake can cause water out at sea to be set in motion. The water grows higher and higher as it moves toward land. Just before the tsunami strikes, water may pull away from the shore. Then it returns in a gigantic wave that crashes over the land and washes everything away.

Oh, man! I thought. A tsunami might be coming! I had to find out more about tsunamis quickly. I read as fast as I could:

A tsunami can strike a few hours―or a few minutes!―after an earthquake. It depends on the strength of the earthquake and where it took place. After earthquakes, it is safest for islanders to seek higher ground.

We have to get to higher ground now! I thought, dropping the book. I ran down to the edge of the ocean. Boka, Kama and Sofia were still paddling out beyond the waves.

"Hey, you guys!" I yelled but they didn't hear me.

I went into the shallow water. "Hey, you guys!" I yelled, "Come back!"

They still didn't hear me. I ran to my surfboard, grabbed it, and ran into the ocean. I fought the breaking waves. Once I was past them, I threw myself on my board and paddled wildly. The wave swells grew as I paddled. I could hardly see Sofia, Boka, or Kama over them. I paddled faster and faster, trying to reach them.

"Hey!" I yelled, "Hey!"

Boka looked back at me. He gave me a friendly wave, then turned away again. I have to get them to come to me! I thought frantically.

"HELP! HELP!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. The three kids jerked around. They paddled quickly toward me with worried faces.

"What's wrong?" Sofia cried when they got closer, "Are you in trouble?"

"We all are!" I said, "A tsunami might be coming! There was an earthquake when I was on the beach!"

"We'd better ride in fast!" said Boka.

"Stay on your bellies!" said Kama, "It's safer!"

"Here comes a wave!" cried Boka.

We all started paddling. The swell of the wave picked us up. We were all swept forward! I gripped the sides of my board as I zoomed along with the others. Suddenly I dropped down as the wave curled under. It felt like a roller coaster! But I stayed on my board as the wave carried me to shore. I rolled off into the shallow water. I snatched up my board and ran onto the sand where Boka and Kama were waiting.

"Good riding, Henry!" said Boka.

"Where's Sofia?" I asked then Boka pointed. Sofia was in the shallow water, pulling her board in. As we watched, something very weird began to happen to the ocean.

The water around Sofia started to pull away…

"Run, Sofia!" I screamed.

"Henry! Henry!"

"Henry! Wake up!" I open my eyes to Peggy smiling at me, "I'm three now!"