Wow.
For about half an hour, that was the only word that went through my brain. The writing was exceptional; the story was moving. The metaphor of the toy soldiers was extremely emotional.

“And my life began when the apples in the basket had already gone rotten,” wrote Jacky Asura in “Playing With Toy Soldiers.” That last sentence drove me to tears. The numbness the author felt watching her father get onto the plane was so beautifully expressed through her words.

I got chills when I read this piece. Goosebumps ran up and down my arms. I looked like I'd been dropped in a freezer. That's what it felt like. It felt cold and beautiful, like the first snow of winter.

Hats off to you, Jacky. Your poem made me feel what no other piece of writing in Teen Ink has. Beautiful, amazing, incredible writing.