SCWC*SD26 Topic Award

Each conference the SCWC*SD holds a writing contest in which all writers are invited to participate. The rules are simple: Write a piece in any form you wish of no more than 250 words based on the topic announced Friday night. The topic for the 26th annual San Diego conference was "Sanctuary."

The Sanctuary

by

Lacey Impellizeri

They can't yell at me in here? Why don't they? Did I do something good? Did I do something wrong? I didn't know what to feel. I had figured out, that in this little place, I was safe, nothing could hurt me here.

I had found in later weeks, after those painful days of harshly learning between what was right and what was wrong, to stop the screaming, to stop the anger, to go into my little place, my sanctuary. It made everything okay. Screams would run through the room when I did something wrong. I didn't know. I didn't know that was special. You could've told me before I decided to break it! They didn't listen to me when I whined for forgiveness, it broke my heart, but I knew going into the sanctuary meant love and forgiveness.

I could see my family from the sanctuary, I could protect them. I often slept here. Why didn't those three get into trouble? They're doing the same thing! But, in my sanctuary, it didn't matter. I knew they loved me when I went in there, they forgave me.

I never forgot that they loved me in there. I'm grown now; they won't get rid of me. After all, everybody needs a good dog, and every good dog needs their own box, their own sanctuary.

The end.