The Story About the Boom Lift
BY SIHAM MUHUMED
I smelled gas and could hear a murmur somewhere near me. It took a whole minute for me to open my eyes, as I took my surroundings. I was seated near a window where I could see sunlight, other than that, everything was dim in a small cabin.
All of a sudden, a short man with a long beard was in my face, and I managed to stammer, “ Who, who are you and where am I?”
The man had a deranged look as he yelled, “Oh my god! It worked, it worked!”
I was startled because I had no idea about what was happening and why this man was suddenly so joyful. I managed to look down at myself and noticed I was a blue machine with a tall arm. The strange man said, “My name is Walter E. Thornton, but you can just call me Ted. I invented you because I want to make things easier for people like me since we aren’t tall enough to reach up for high things. I also put a personality chip in you, which is why you can talk to me.” Then he added, “ I put so much work and time into you my dear, and now I hope you help me achieve what I made you for.”
I suddenly whimpered out of instinct before I realized it was too late and the man heard the tiiiiiiiiiktiiiiiiiiiik sound I made. I understood I was scared and realized when the man said he installed a personality chip in me, he meant I had feelings as well. I found the courage to look at the smiling man in the eye and say, “I need time to think and process myself, Ted.”
The man nodded as he gave me a concerned look, but gladly opened the small door in the cabin and left. I looked at the door and went out as well, noticing how there was more sun outside that there was in the dim cabin. I moved over to walk into the forest nearby, and I saw many trees as long as my arm. Less than a minute later I set foot in that forest, and heard a meow sound. I looked to a tree near my right and noticed a small orange creature, a cat. It spoke to me saying, “Help me, I’m stuck, and I don’t want to die.”
It was so sad looking, the poor creature, but thankfully I had a solution; My long arm! I thank the personality chip plugged inside me because I knew how to feel, which gave me the sense as to why I should save the cat. I lifted the only long arm located on top of my head, raised it as high as the tree, and put the cat inside. I brought it down gently without scaring my poor new friend. Then another strange sound happened, this one more of a clapping noise. I looked back and saw hundreds of people, and suddenly became aware of the fact that they might have been watching me the whole time. Then I saw Ted in the crowd, he said, “Everyone, this is the machine I finished inventing, my friend ‘The Giraffe.’ He called me The Giraffe because I was able to reach above a tree, like a giraffe. All these lovely humans loved me merely because of what I could do. If I can make people this happy, then I would be willing to repeat my actions a million times over for them. Ever since that day, I took an oath for Walter E. Thornton to help the people on earth by picking things up for them or helping them reach for something they can’t reach on their own.
About the Author
Siham Muhumed is a senior at Ubah Medical Academy Charter School. She is a Somali-American and she lives in Minneapolis MN with her family. She loves writing and reading.
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