Tirzah W.
Age 15 ½

Deep in an enchanted forest, where near the end of the seventh month, a camp took place, thither gathered a great assortment of Jewish youth with amazing gifts given to them by Adonai. When they all came together they were in such unison that none could defeat them! Yet there times they annoyed one another; a great adventure was a battle of chance, and with the rules established the opposing sides: The Men vs. The Ladies. I, being a fairy princess and weaver of Laurel crowns, who laughs almost to a fault, was very eager for the sound of the peacocks tail feathers being pulled, and so the battle began. With my trusted friends, Hadassah and Brooke, we marched along the  fortress to defend our colors from the Men, whilst our stealthy spy plotted the retrieval of the Men’s colors. As we defended our lines, a strange, beardless dwarf rushed from the surrounding tree line. He carried a torch in his left hand and he ran for the fortress gate. He very likely would have made it, had not the quick Vulcan, Ethel-Moriah
overtaken him and tagged him. He was escorted to the damp dungeons. Over and over people on both sides were taken captive, and as Hadassah’s torch began to expire we heard a crash in the brush. They leaped for the intruders to find Poppy, two hobbits, and an elf prince coming to steal the blue flag. Poppy was nabbed by Hadassah; and the elf prince by me, who brought them to the dungeons. I tried to be a kind escort, and tried hard to cause the  prisoners to laugh. Poppy let no one know that she was deathly ill, and as the guards watched the concern, Poppy coughed harshly. Returning to my post, I sang a song from “Singing in the Rain.” Many from both teams were injured from stumbling over rocks in the dark, a few had walked into trees of brambles, but all of the injuries were healed by the fairy camp mother, Poppins. 

In the Ladies prison, Poppy swooned to death, and many mourned her. Only a few moments later, the peacock sounded; the games end a truce. Poppins appeared with a flash of glitter, looked at the lifeless body of Poppy, and announced “Tuberculosis” as the cause of death. The little boys and known girl, Madge-Tamar, wailed. Being moved by their sorrow, the fairy camp mother used her healing powers and a prayer to Adonai, and that spark of life restored Poppy in time for the Mt. Doom hike. There, with talkative Ethel-Moriah and Edith-Hannah (a tree nymph with fae-blood), I befriended the half elf/half hobbit, grandson of Peregrin Took named Faomire-Daniel. As the entire camp crossed a rope bridge that overshadowed a ravine of gushing lava they prepared for combat, and Ethel and I strongly sang Psalm 23. It encouraged their spirits. 

The next day, the camp was invited to a ball, they all danced deep into the dark hours of the night. A few of the men discovered that they were without a disguise and so they used Matt’s helmet as one. I told my friend, Hadassah and Brooke, what fun it looked like and we joined in on the rousing game. When the campers retired to their cabins, they slept as if they were under enchantment. There were many moments of excitement, but overall camp has been a huge part of my life, and although Capture the Degel and a hike, or even a dance party, are not seen as enchanted to some, to me they most certainly are.