Words Unspoken

A quiet kid discovers a mysterious journal that writes back, helping them find the courage to express their feelings about their parents' divorce, a fight with their best friend, and the pressure they feel at school.

Jamie sat on the back steps of the house, watching the moving truck pull away. Half the furniture was gone now. Dad had taken his stuff to a new apartment across town, and the house felt too big and too quiet.

'It's just stuff,' Jamie whispered, hugging both knees. 'Stuff doesn't matter.' But the empty spot where Dad's reading chair used to sit said otherwise.

Jamie's mom called from inside, 'Dinner's almost ready!' but Jamie didn't feel like eating.

'Not hungry,' Jamie muttered to no one. Instead, Jamie wandered into the garage where a few of Dad's forgotten boxes still sat in the corner.