Stink Alley by Pickle13 (3B)*

Lizzie was a brave little girl who came with the Separatists from England to Holland. She explained to the little boy the adventures they went through to get to Holland with much enthusiasm which makes it easy for anyone to imagine the smell, taste, sound, touch and sight.

When she tells of the day that she and her parents boarded the ship bound for Holland, you can just taste the salty air of the Atlantic Ocean. The wind blew in with Lizzie’s breath and her mouth went dry. Her eyes started watering and she choked back the ocean-salty gunk that she was longing to cough out.

Lizzie tells the little boy how she and her father looked out across the ocean at the little boat full of women and children. She saw the waves starting to get bigger as the boat backed out. She watched as the soldiers and government ride up on their horses and watch their boat sail away. Lizzie squinted, trying to keep her mother in sight but the fog covered up her mother's shining eyes.

Men shouted over the whistling wind at the captain who wouldn’t go back for the women and children for fear that he would be arrested. The women screamed across the waters for their husbands to come back and the children cried and screeched earsplitting shrieks. Lizzie sobbed quietly to herself and tried to block out all the noise as she prayed silently.

Underneath the deck Lizzie breathed a long breath of recovery. She tried not to think of her mother. The hull smelled of seaweed and stinky feet. She lied down on her bunk and smelled the sheets. They smelled like sour milk. She tried to cover her face so she couldn’t breath the stink, but her hands smelled like her mother since she had been holding her hand right before they were separated. She didn’t want to smell her mother either so she rolled over, held her breath for as long as she could, and then cried.

Lizzie’s father hugged her tight as they waited on deck for the sighting of Holland. His arms were warm and soft. The wind blew across her face like feathers tickling her cheeks. She pulled her legs up under herself and tugged the blanket over her thighs. It was rough, but warm. She thought about the adventures she had been going through and prayed a quick silent prayer and instantly felt much better and knew that she would be seeing her mother again and they’d all live happily again in a free country.