boy with brown bear jodeci barrera

8/17/2019 Boy With Brown Bear Jodeci Barrera

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A novel by: Jodeci M. Barrera

The boy with the brown bear

#1 Shallowater’s Times bestseller of 2016

“ It’s heart warming, touching, it’s life changing to see it in a different lifetime of

despair and mass destruction.” - The Penelope Times Newsletter-


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Table of contents:

Part One: Yesr / Part Two: Azita

Part One: Yesr

Mama and Papa named me Yesr “ meaning star” it was something ironic to

me. Because when the day came that I turned 17, it would be the day the skies

turned to chaos and stars where only then considered street lights to those feedin

for safety.

April,19 1986,

Mama and Papa said it would be good for

me, but I didn't want to listen. We were leaving our city that I grew up all those

years, Years of playing , laughing, running. I didn't want to think about those mes

anymore so I pushed back the memories ,long and forgoen they became. And to

top it all o my birthday was exactly ve days away. So as I waved goodbye to myonce used to known brick streets, there it was Pripyat slowly fading away.

Two hours on the road we were passing the borders of Russia, then Belarus.

Finally as we made it into the city I began to wonder in awe of how big this place

was, it was like a palace ,beauful and historic. Its name was Chernobyl , how

dierent I thought some type of name you might hear in a book . Well as the car-

roamed


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o into the distance, Yesr felt a loud grumble in her belly. She was sick to

her stomach, What would the house look like? , Who would she befriend ? And

where would mama and papa stay whenever she graduated? All she could think

was what did this place have to oer her? And there it was Chernobyl the once

called city of hope, but would later be called the city of lost soul’s.

As we reached our street number mama pointed out to a two story brick

house. It was some eyesore to look at. Shingles from the roof all falling down the

sides. Paint chips and leaves scaered the dirty lawn. And there was dirt and

rubber parts from basketballs all covering the driveway, red brick ,with dirty

moldy windows. And that door it was the color of green moss. It sort of had

aached to me , this house was a reminder to me that the past wasn't always

prey but at one point it was. The car spuered and spit trying to get up that hill

of a driveway. Then Papa parked our dusty lile old car, and with a hu and a pu

he got out dangling the new shiny keys that mean “home “for us all. He walked

up to that green mossy door and opened it and waved for us both to come. Ma-

ma got up slowly rubbing her swollen belly humming a sweet lullaby. Me and Pa-

pa grabbed and took out all the larger stu to the house. As mama carefully

grabbed the bright blue blanket, and brown teddy bear. It was almost 4 weeks

ago when the doctor told mama she was having a baby boy. They mutually

agreed on the name macario, which meant bravery. I was going to be a big sis-

ter . I was happy of course . I was most likely going to have to share a birthday

but for me it was cool, it was nice for a chance not to have all the eyes on me.

So as I walked into that old dirty three bedroom house it dawned on me “

this is really happening “ I said. A bedroom for mama and papa. One for me, and

for the new baby. It was disgusng y’s, moths , bugs everywhere. You name it

and I probably saw it . The kitchen that was one short hallway down from the

front door, it was the size of a board game , endless and surprising.


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Next to the kitchen was the living room, which seemed as though someone

only lived in this room their whole life, because it was disgusng. Brown pistachio

paint covered the walls and orange carpet lined the oor. And lets not forget the

once white but now gray couch stained with cigaree burns on the arm rest. In-

ving isn't it. Papa and me moved all the junk out to the trashcans and lonely

curb that marked living beings were living in this place. Then it started to make

me think it wasn't so bad here aer all. Mama said “ Who knows you just might

like it here.” Mama said I wouldn't be going to school unl, you guessed it the day

of my birthday. Yay for me, I wonder who rolled the dice on that. Anyways as I un-packed I heard a scream come from down stairs. So I rushed out the door of my

room and ran down those prickly stairs to the living room by the front door. I ar-

rived to a scene of uer panic. My papa helping my mama out the door to a car

with ashing lights and screeching sirens. Twenty minutes passed then as we

were in a white room we heard that scream, the scream we waited for nine

months to hear. As mama carefully handed me macario he smiled at me and

then….

Part Two : Azita

“Azita lu ray, were are you now.” said Mom “ we need to go now we are go-

ing to be late for your dance rehearsal.” “Okay I'm coming.” AS she ran down that

long gloomy hallway with her hair half curled. It was lined with brown and blond

stripes like a ag.

Aer the rehearsals she then would be at her rst job as an inspector and

regulator for one of the 4 new reactors in Chernobyl. She arrived at reactor #3

and was on her way to geng done when someone called out and said. “ Hey

Azita is reactor #3 looking good?.” said Mr. Green, Azita’s boss. “Looking just


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Great boss, do you want me to do a test run on reactor #4.” “No, not ll to-

morrow.” “okay well have goodnight.” “same to you.”

Part One: Yesr

April 26th 1986,

“That screaming could it get any worse.” So I covered my ears with my pil-

lows. As mama would scream “ We need another bole.” As papa would hurry

out with another one. She would then soothe macario back to sleep and they

would both then fall on the couch exhausted and full of laughter. Remembering

of all the mes when I was born. Papa dropped me o at school knowing that

day was my birthday , but oh well he always said “educaon comes rst.” Mama

picked me up and as we walked into the front door they had asked me to stay

with macario while he was asleep ,so they can run to the store to pick up my

birthday cake and food. So as usual I gave in and said “Yes.” Plus what's the mostthat could happen?

Part Two: Azita

“ Boss we have breach, I repeat we have a radiaon leak.” “okay stay calm

listen to me it Mr. Green put on your hazmat suit and make a run for the outside

areas for safety.” “Okay I'm on my way.” I ran down the hallway , lights ickered

as the sirens went o. I ran so fast everything turned to a glimpse. I ran and ran

unl I saw a ash of light and stopped immediately to see a telephone, so I di-

aled my mamas number. “ hello” “hello mom its me I love you.” “hello ,…..hello”

As the phone was dropped on the counter with a loud crash that shook the

whole city. Azitas mom turned on the T.V to see the reactors up in ames.


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Part One: Yesr

Mama never came home that day, Papa did. He said “ one of the reactors

caused an explosion that caught mama up in ames , ….. The only thing she said

was take care of our kids.” As he ran out the store to the house , then eventually

banging on the front door. …….

3 Days Later.

“Those stupid reactors have been burning for nine days now when will this

end, when can we just go outside and live again, I miss mama .” said Yesr“ The

point is that we are okay and alive ,now get some sleep.” said Papa.

We both later then found out that Pripyat had been evacuated for obvious

reasons, the same that we were sll here made no sense to me, we were sll her

and non evacuated. The once populaon of 45,000 had been evacuated to over

63,000 miles away. But they sll weren't safe they were sll eang and growing

contaminated food. But no one knew that at the me. Then all the animals had to

have been killed for being infected and mutaons started. More than 600,000 re-

ghters tried to put out the re but missed aimlessly by not geng the root of the

re by using sand , dirt , water, spread by helicopters.

Then it hit like the plague. People dying le and right , papa was the last of

them to go , covered in a body bag lled with rose petals. Most like papa died from

airborne and eaten toxins, and others from burns. Even those who had bone mar-

row transplants had a y to y chance of living. It killed more than three quar-

ters of our people. Then a girl named Alla Sharpio was told about the tragedy

from her dad and came over to us to help evacuate us out and take blood samples

She strictly informed us that when this was to happen again we would need to

evacuate, and take potassium iodine. The only thing I heard was “again” it


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Sent a giant lump in my throat and painful tears down my cheeks. I already lost

so much ,what else could “again” take away from me. Then project Euaranos set

in from Europe. The plan was to put a tarp around the highly infected areas. They

must've really cared about us because they gave us 14.7 million and the commis-

sioner full of 17 naons and 32 research organizaons spent over 7 million on us

to help out.

10 years passed and the government esmated our losses to over hundreds

of billions lost. And not including 235 billion from Belarus. Now there is over hun-

dreds of support organizaons and research facilies helping to do studies over

radiaon and how it aects the environment and wildlife.

Part One: Yesr. “ goodbyes are not forever, they

just mean cant wait ll I see you later.”

Me 27 years and Macario now 10 years go visit the two stones that became

our parents, we talk for hours knowing there will be no answers in return but

that’s enough for us to be okay.

One day as we were leaving our parents graves, Marcario ran back. “ Macar-io we have to leave .” He looked back at me and smiled as he laid down the

brown bear and bright blue blanket. As he ran back and I grabbed his small

squeamish hand and we le knowing there would sll be hope for a brighter to-

morrow.


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Sources of information.

http://www.chernobylchildren.ie/about-

chernobyl.html

Hhtp://www.friendofchernobylcenters.org/

facts.html

http://world-nuclear.org/information-

library/safety-and-security/safety-of-

plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx.com

“Thank you for reading this hope you liked

it.”

boy with brown bear jodeci barrera

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