Tessa Takzikab

“Charlotte's Journal: A Mysterious Mystery” by Tessa Takzikab

(October 16)It was a mistake. I knew it was a mistake the moment I agreed.I'm sorry, that's a very bad way to start a journal. Jane told me that if I want to be the Watson personality I should learn to write down my thoughts, but I've started it all wrong. Let me try again.Hi. I'm Charlotte Holmes and I just moved here recently.No. That's not good either. Let's just skip the introductions for now and get straight to the story.It started as an average school day. Same boring classes to barely pay attention to. Same lunch with Jane at the far ...

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“Saving the World (A Sequel to 'Returning')” by Tessa Takzikab

This story is dedicated to Sarah Freeman. Thanks for the idea and the name :)The shuttle was very crowded, as usual. I had parked my car and hopped aboard the shuttle that would take me from the designated parking lot to work a few minutes ago, and mentally transitioned to work-mode. The shuttle pulled up to the curb, and a stream of people flowed from the doors into the building complex.I walked purposefully through the hallways, focusing on the sound my white lab-coat made in an effort to avoid being sucked back in time to when I walked th...

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“Dreams and Tambourines” by Tessa Takzikab

Submitted to Contest #88

Disclaimer: I don’t believe in coincidence, so I won’t claim that the fact that this story lines up very nicely with one of the stories in Tanach is merely coincidental. I did, however, make up several parts of the story, and have to choose some interpretations over others. Also, for those of you who don’t know, the Hebrews later became known as Jews. If there’s anything else you need translated or explained, feel free to let me know.***It was hard for most Hebrews. I was from the tribe of Levi, the one tribe that wasn’t forced to work all d...

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“Constant Changes (A Prequel to The Adventures of Charlotte Holmes)” by Tessa Takzikab

The somber crowd watched the girl in the formal black dress as she moved her hands carefully across her guitar. They would have understood if a tear or two leaked down her face as she played, understood that this was her final goodbye to her dear father. As the coffin was lowered into the ground, the sad wailing notes of the guitar did all the wailing that was expected of the child, as her face remained emotionless. Inside her head, however, away from all the people, the music, and the graveyard, Charlotte was far from emotionless. She fou...

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“Buddy on a Leash” by Tessa Takzikab

Submitted to Contest #83

Sometimes I wonder. How human am I? Do I actually make choices, or is there some algorithm that already determined what I will do? If the algorithm planned it out, is it really my choice? Take a small child, for instance. If you offered the child the choice between an ice cream and a stalk of celery, which one would the child take? We may be able to predict the answer, but the child had the choice. Right? Or was it ever really a choice? Some stage magicians predict what the people they pull from the audience will choose that they can revea...

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“The Adventures of Charlotte Holmes” by Tessa Takzikab

Submitted to Contest #72

It was a seemingly completely ordinary day when the new kid, Charlotte Holmes, turned around in her chair and looked me in the eye. “Jane, right?” She asked it as a question, but the teacher had just finished going over the attendance and we both knew it wasn’t really a question. “I need your help.” It was a bit surprising to me, because I consider myself a pretty boring person. The most exciting things that ever happen to me are to the alter-egos I write about in my journal, so I was pretty sure she would go ask someone else for help as...

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“The Biggest Cookie” by Tessa Takzikab

Submitted to Contest #71

“This was it. I could practically taste the sweet victory. My sister and I were just about to set a new record for the largest cookie ever. How, you ask?” “I didn’t say anything.” “I’d love to explain.” The strange boy continued as if I hadn’t said a thing. Or rather, as if I had said a different thing. “Of course, baking a huge cookie was tricky because the oven wasn’t big enough, and it took so long to mix up all the dough that it was hard to make sure the first batch was still good by the time the fiftieth one was ready to join the gr...

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“A Distant Thanks” by Tessa Takzikab

Submitted to Contest #69

“Mom, we can’t eat an entire turkey!”“Honey, it’s Thanksgiving. We always make the turkey.”It was a bit late to say that when my mother was prepping the marinade, but between the two of us, there was absolutely no way we could finish it.“Okay, what about the other dishes? Are we making cranberry sauce? Or pumpkin pie?”“Of course not, Taylor, your aunts and uncles are still doing their dishes. Thanksgiving has always been potluck in our family.”“Mom.” I had to tread carefully, not wanting to get in trouble but also wanting to make sure I woul...

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“The Flash” by Tessa Takzikab

Submitted to Contest #66

“You have two choices. You can die, or you can become a part-time slave.”“What does that mean?”“Well, when a person comes to a situation like this, usually he – or she -dies. That’s the easy option. The other option is that you get your life back. You wake up with new powers, but with privilege comes responsibility. You will have to use your powers to defeat evil.”“Okay, so I choose superpowers.”Andy smiled and shook his head. “It’s not that simple. You don’t get to-” He stopped and turned to look at the door. I turned to see Violet standing...

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“By Any Other Name” by Tessa Takzikab

Submitted to Contest #61

It was adorable, the way she sat there working her way through her letters with chalk on the antique ‘silent book slate’ I made for her from a mini chalkboard. She didn’t need to practice the alphabet; she had learned to read and write over two years ago, but her penmanship was improving, so I didn’t say anything. She was dressed in the white ‘nightdress’ I had made for her in the fashion of the seventeen hundreds.My little Betty is lucky I like crafting. Oh, right. She asked to be called Elizabeth since that’s the name of the main character...

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“Past and Presents” by Tessa Takzikab

Submitted to Contest #61

Author’s note: This story is written from the perspective of an orthodox Jew, so very few concepts are explained within the story. To better understand the story, please refer to the glossary I have included below."Happy Chanukah," Bubbie told me as she handed me the small gift box.It looked like it could hold jewelry, like a ring or necklace."Thank you!" The box opened on a hinge. Nestled inside the velvet was a small dreidel. Its four faces were each no bigger than a squared off nickel, and the tapered part beneath seemed worn down. The st...

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“Governess and the Three Bears” by Tessa Takzikab

Submitted to Contest #59

Lottie pulled a brush through her red-gold curls in an effort to tame them enough to be tied back. After several attempts to braid her hair, she gave up, shoving on a headband and turning to inspect her reflection in the mirror. Do I look mature enough for this? Lottie was starting a new job that very morning. She had responded to an advertisement in the local paper, and in just a few hours, she would be a governess to a delightful child named Belinda. She hadn't actually met the family yet, but she had corresponded by mail with Belinda'...

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“Returning” by Tessa Takzikab

Submitted to Contest #58

As I wave to the surging crowd, I grin hugely. They love me. Or at least they think they do. I shove away the thoughts that threaten to overwhelm me, straighten, and grin wider. My security team blocks the crowd from coming closer. I quickly head to the long black limousine that awaits me at the end of the side-walk. As I turn to wave to the crowd one last time, someone manages to push to the front. He looks to be around my age, but I can’t tell if he’s college-age or still in high school. He’s wearing a suit and down on one knee, his head b...

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“Schooled” by Tessa Takzikab

Submitted to Contest #54

It was a dark and stormy night. Clichéd, I know, but clichés are clichéd for a reason. Storms hold so much potential because they are so dangerous. Car crashes, lightning strikes, ghost sightings, and the like happen most often during a storm. Still, there’s something magical about storms. The way the wind, rain, and energy circle around a single point of calmness. Like the eye of the storm is blind to itself, oblivious to the world around it and the destruction that follows like a loyal puppy. Kids can be like that. Going through life wit...

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