Mona Lisa

Alexis Brooks
2315 McGraw Street
Penticton, B.C
V2A 7P3

March 14th 2014

Inspector Clouseau
Chief of Police
123 Rue Justice
Paris, France
1A2 R3T

Dear Inspector Clouseau;
     I have written to inform you why I decided to save Ada Artlover. As the room began to fill with smoke I thought to myself, do I save the Mona Lisa, or do I save this sweet old lady I had just gotten to know. I feel I have done what any humane person would have. It is true that the Mona Lisa is a priceless piece of historic art, but how do you put a price on some ones life. You can't. That is why I carried Ada out of the fire while letting the painting burn. When I was deciding what to do I just thought about what if that was my mother or my grandmother... I couldn't bear the thought of that poor family finding out some terrible person saved a silly painting rather than a life.
    
     I know that I destroyed a piece of history and I cannot apologize enough for that, but I am not sorry for my decision because at the end of the day I'm the one who has to sit down and think about what I did. There is not a single feeling of regret that I have for that day. At the time I had thought of how much easier it would be to save the painting and become the hero, but the thought of a family thinking of me as a murderer made no amount of praise and glory worth it. Inspector, try to understand what I went through and where I'm coming from. I only did what anybody in that situation would have. Besides the story of a young girl saving an old lady instead of the Mona Lisa may go down in history just as well as the painting itself did.

     The fact that the Mona Lisa is gone is devastating and she will forever be missed, but its not like she will never be seen again. The amount of imitation paintings there are, nobody will go without seeing what the painting was like, even if it is just through a photograph with hundreds of other cameras in the bottom of the shot. That mysterious smile of hers will never be forgotten. When the Louvre burned, tragedy struck, but imagine if lives were lost along with the art. That is why I decided to save Ada Artlover instead.

Sincerely,

 Alexis Brooks

Alexis Brooks

Waiting Room

The tension in the room builds as we hear the footsteps coming closer and closer down the hall. With each click his steps make, I become more aware that I'll have to face reality. A tall slim figure in a long, white coat appears, although I seem to be the only one aware. His rough cough shatters the deafening silence and suddenly everybody's eyes are pinned to him. My dad approaches the doctor with a fear I have never seen in him before. The glisten in his eyes is heartbreaking. He’s trying so hard to keep a brave face, because if he loses his cool, the rest of us will. As I'm looking around the room I can't help but feel trapped. It's as if I'm being surrounded by a mass of options and results. Suffocated by my thoughts I snap back into reality. My chest feels hollow and finding my breath again is proven difficult. Feelings of nausea and dizziness cast over me. I need to sit back down; although as soon as I do my dad summons me towards the doctor and himself. Light headed and pale faced, they ask if I’m alright. Not wanting to cause a scene, I lie. I know today, right now, is all about my mom. I clench my lips between my teeth and listen quietly for the results. I can’t focus on what he’s saying, but watching my father’s eyes dwell with tears and a smile cover his face, I can tell the news is good. “She’s going to be okay.” Suddenly everything I was feeling diminishes and all I feel is relief.