Banyan

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Banyan

A Novella by: Sameena Bachmeier

Genre: Young Adult Historical Fantasy

Release: August 26, 2011

Editor: Nancy Bell

Line editor: Lea Schizas

Cover artist: Delilah K. Stephans

Words: 28692

Pages: 83

ISBN: 978-1-927085-49-3

Price: $3.50

Blurb:

Kannie Irnest had the picture perfect life as a child until her father left her and her mother alone. It wasn't long before the world as she knew it began unraveling and creating a web of misery around her. Her mother was no longer the loving mother she knew. Bitter and lonely, Kannie sank into a depression. The only joy Kannie seemed to find was with her friend Kristopher. They were like two peas in a pod since a young age and when they were together it was as if the world around them didn't matter. Mysteriously, one day on Kannie's way to school, she is given a Banyan tree stick. She learns that it is a wishing stick. Although skeptical, Kannie is desperate to experience a happy life and she wishes on the Banyan stick to be anywhere but in that moment in her life. She awakens everyday thereafter to a different historical event that exposes her to experiences, places and people she had only read about in books.  From the Salem Witch trials, to being aboard the infamous Britannic, to taking flight upon the Apollo 11, each journey she embarks on teaches her to believe in herself, forgive others and appreciate the path that lies in front of her. She also now, must embark on her greatest venture yet, finding her way back home.

Excerpt:

“Oh my, look.” She leaned as far as she could over the railing and pointed the obvious problem out to the Stu. They both watched in horror as cold water sloshed around the sinking ship.

Suddenly, everyone was jolted as they felt the ship turn toward the island of Kea, which stood not far from their current location. “Captain must be trying to get us to the island.” Stu smiled as if that effort possibly might work. They could feel the ships engines roar and grind with full force as the drowning ship rushed toward the safety of the island.

But to everyone’s dismay, the faster the ship plowed, the faster it began to sink. The engines slowly began to fade.

“Why did we stop?” Kannie panicked.

“I think it’s making the flooding worse.” Stu shrugged, scratching his head. “Come on, that life boat is going down! There are two ready to go now.” He grabbed her hand and they joined about seventy others divided amongst the two lifeboats. Immediately after they took a seat in lifeboat number seventeen, it began to lower to the waters below. Kannie looked down as they steadily approached landing. She was scared. The lifeboat jolted around like a circus ride and she clung to the edge for dear life.

It landed with a splash and they disconnected from the lowering ropes as did the other lifeboat next to them. Suddenly, the boat was tugged swiftly in one direction. Kannie turned around and screamed as she realized the propellers to the ship hadn’t completely slowed down yet! Everyone on the lifeboat began yelling and grabbing the oars, paddling frantically as they drew closer to being sucked into the deadly propellers. Kannie stuck her hand into the freezing waters and tried to paddle, feeling desperately out of control.

“It’s no use, we have to abandon the life boat,” shouted Stu at her.

“Are you crazy?” she yelped.

“Kannie, we must jump together...now!” They held hands and abandoned the life boat jumping into the blue waters. The cold hit her like a ton of bricks. It was so frigid it hurt to breathe. Kannie gasped for air as she treaded water with Stu trying with all their might to swim away from the lethal propellers. “Keep swimming, Kannie, don’t stop,” ordered Stu.

Kannie grew tired as the waves kept bobbing over her face and pushing her around. The freezing water sapped her energy and stole the warmth from her body. She felt like she was going nowhere. She turned around to catch a glimpse of the lifeboats sucked into the propellers. Most everyone had abandoned them, but some were not so fortunate as to escape the current, which drew them into the propeller scews. Kannie pushed forward and away, crying for those who didn’t make it.

Just when she felt like she could swim no more, the water encompassed her entire head, and like in a dream, a pair of strong hands lifted her into yet another life boat. It was Stu.

“No one gave the order to lower the lifeboats yet!” an officer barked, still standing aboard the stricken ship.

Kannie buried her face into Stu’s chest, shivering. “I want to go home,” she wept in his arms. She lifted her head and watched as they drifted further away from the Britannic, but still in plain view.

More lifeboats were lowered and the Britannic was sinking fast. Kannie’s gaze admired the ship’s perfect green painted stripe, with a few red crosses within the line, marking her as a hospital ship. The Britannic looked amazing even at her final hour.

By now the bow of the ship was completely underwater. It all seemed surreal, like she was watching a movie. The Major on the ship took one last look around the deck and joined the final lifeboat to leave the ship. “That is Major Priestly,” Stu told her quietly.

Captain Bartlett’s voice echoed as he called on the megaphone one final order to “Abandon Ship.” Kannie shivered uncontrollably, blowing on her chilled fingertips as she watched him from afar. He let one last, loud echoing whistle from the ship, and then proceeded to step off the starboard bridge wing and dive into the water. As he swam away to the safety of a nearby lifeboat, he paused as the Britannic sank swiftly beneath the waters. Water swirled in a whirlpool of currents then the surface became calm, as if the ship was never even there.

“The Britannic was hit and sank in less than an hour and half,” Stu stuttered, looking at his wrist watch, shocked.

Kannie looked across the open waters at over a thousand people in thirty five lifeboats, safely drifting on the seemingly endless sea.

About the Author:

Sameena Michelle Bachmeier was born January 10, 1980 in New Delhi, India. She was adopted at eight months old and has resided in the United States since. Since her younger days she has had a driven fascination for writing and was excited to attend the Young Authors Conference at a young age. She has been inspired over the years by many authors but her main source of inspiration is derived from Roald Dahl. In Sameena's elementary school days as a class assignment she had to write to someone famous, she wrote to Roald Dahl. He actually wrote her back an amazing rhyming letter.

As the years went by, Sameena began to write children's books and young adult novellas. Her recent achievement has been her Young Adult book titled "Banyan". It is a historical fiction full of suspense, historic exploration, adventure, and love. She also hs a recently relased children's picture book titled "Old Mother Hubbard's Mixed Up Cupboard". Both books are available currently.

Sameena has two elementary age daughters, and one middle school son- who inspire her everyday. She is happily married her longtime soulmate, Matthew Bachmeier. Sameena seeks to continue to create unique and inviting stories for all ages to love.

AUTHOR'S OTHER WORKS:

Harmony

Plain Jayne

The Bitter and The Sweet of Eros

Old Mother Hubbard's Mixed Up Cupboard

Customer Reviews:

Captivating read. Kept me hooked the whole waay through. Recommend it!

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