Sam's Time Travel Essay
Sam witnesses the parting of the Red Sea and other miracles
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Sam is a fifth-grade student at Rockport Elementary School in Massachusetts. He wrote this essay about time travel.
I was lying one night snug in my bed, thinking about the Passover Seder that night. Wouldn't it be cool to travel back in time and see this? As soon as I said that, a swirling vortex that was black and so powerful time itself was dissolved as I was pulled into the black hole. It suddenly got hotter as it darkened before my eyes. My pale white hands were black as Cain. My clothes were replaced with a dirty worn down tunic. My body weight receded and my curly hair fell off of my head. It was black.
Then I landed on something. It wassand. Sand in my mouth. Blaa! It tasted likewell, sand. I was lying on a dune. Where was I? Just then, a sheep tumbled past me. There in front of me, just 300 yards or so away, was a flock of sheep and a man. The man had a white beard and a shepherd's stick. So, that's what he is, a shepherd. Well, it makes sense. I'm on the other side of the world. Just after that, the shepherd flew past me. He ran into a cave. Then a bush caught flame.
I swear I almost fainted. This was the burning bush! That wasn't an ordinary shepherd, he was Moses! This is Africa. But, then I realized the bad thing, this was 5,000 years before I was born! English hadn't been created, so I would have to steal food and water. How was I going to do this?
The lord spoke. He was telling Moses to go back to Egypt to free his people! If only I had a camera. Then I realized I was laying on something. I rolled over, and there was the answer to my prayers, a camera!
I quickly put it into focus and snapped! I took a quick look at the picture from the camera. Nothing was there! Then I realized since it was God, then it wouldn't show up on a regular film. It meant it must be God. I also had a notebook and a pencil. I could interview people like Moses and Miriam! Then all of a sudden, the bush I was laying behind disappeared.
Moses himself saw me. He said something like, "What the heck are you doing here?" I realized that I could understand him. What a relief! That's how I hitched a ride with Moses to save the Jewish people!
I stayed with Moses through the ten plagues. Every time we were about to leave, the pharaoh changed his mind. Finally, he let us go after the tenth time, after his son was killed by god. We left so soon we didn't even have time for the bread to rise. It tasted like dirt (or sand).
God be with us, the pharaoh changed his mind again. We started running for our lives. An elderly man was killed. Two larger men picked him up and kept running. The sight ahead of me made my heart sink, the Red Sea. I thought then that there was no Moses. The Jewish people didn't come to Israel from Egypt. And, above all, there is no God. What I saw next changed those thoughts forever.
The sea split a part. I couldn't believe my eyes. I felt myself to confirm this was real. I ran quickly across the muddy depths of the Red Sea. I took a quick picture of the pharaoh's chariots. Again, it just showed a calm sea. It was as if the chariots had been swallowed up.
The women were celebrating. I looked out and all I could see was desert. For a long time we were in that desert, I lost count after a while. There was also another miracle; manna would fall from the sky. It was whatever you wanted it to be. It would fall everyday, except Saturday, which is the day of rest for the Jewish people. On Friday it would fall twice. I interviewed many people, everyone liked the food. It was really interesting. One day, Moses strayed from the camp. I went to check it out. Oh my, another adventure.
He was going to travel for many days. I ran back to get my stuff so I could travel with him. We finally reached a humungous mountain. I figured it was Mt. Sinai. This was going to be good!
I followed him up the mountain. It was a laborious task. Moses stopped and the lord spoke to him. Out of what seemed to be nothing a light came. In there was a stone with ten lines in Hebrew on it. I almost had a heart attack, the Ten Commandments!
When Moses came back to camp, the other men were praying to idols. Moses smashed the Ten Commandments on a gold sheep. The sheep cracked in half. Moses then got the Torah.
I wanted to go home now. One night while I was thinking about home, the black vortex reappeared and sucked me back home.
I awoke lying on my bed and turned on my computer to check the time. It was the same time as I left. It was good to be home. I hoped I stayed in my own time. I wasn't so lucky
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