September 9th
Dear People of the Past,
Today in class, we learned about life that has been extinct for many years. We learned about so many creatures. My favorite was the turtles. I could not believe my teacher when she said they lived in the ocean! Wow, I can’t imagine how anything could have survived in the sea. It’s just so dirty. I have never been near the ocean in the 11 (almost 12) years of my life. Once my mom showed me a documentary about it on our Virtual Reality TV. It was so gross and full of trash. In the documentary, they had to wear gas masks to block out the smell.
These reptiles would live up to 150 years old! (I had a betta fish that lived for 4 years, thanks to Baba helping me take care of it.) They lay eggs on land, go toward the water when they hatch, and weigh between 155 and 375 pounds. Sea turtles could be meat-eaters, plant-eaters, or both depending on the species. Turtles existed for around 200 million years.
I wish I had been able to have seen turtles in their natural habitat. My teacher said they went extinct about a hundred years ago, in 2050. People wanted their eggs, meat, skin, and shells and they were constantly hunted. Climate change also made it hard for them to travel. Plastic was another killer – you guys used that for everything from water bottles and straws to even clothes and toys. It was a danger to the environment and your own health! Sadly, it only stopped being made after the turtle’s extinction, when it was too late. And there is still so much left to be cleaned!
My big question to the leaders of the past is: if you could help, why didn’t you? If all the science said this was going to happen, why did you say it was not true? Are you a scientist with research that proved your point? Or maybe you were more interested in the money. Thanks to you, the turtles are gone. GONE!
We also saw old photos and videos of the ocean and all the sea creatures swimming, and it was…magical. I really liked it when the turtles would waddle off the beach to the water and dive back in. These creatures lost their homes because people used it for their trash. This world used to be so beautiful and full of life. Now it’s just this burning wasteland.
Hatefully,
A Girl Who Cares
I closed my diary and ran downstairs. Mama and Baba were at the table for dinner.
“Tomorrow we are going on a field trip to the Natural History Museum!”
“That’s great, Hanan! Maybe you can take pictures on your watch,” Mama suggested as she put me a plate.
“Actually, I was thinking of taking my diary and sketching with a pencil,” I said proudly as I turned on our kitchen cleaner.
“I remember wanting to be a marine biologist after that field trip,” Baba stated as he stared into a distant memory.
“Why didn’t you, Baba?”
“There just isn’t much life left to be studied,” Baba said as he looked at his dark gray work suit.
I got my favorite blue dress to wear to the museum and hung it on my door like I do for Eid. I wish the ocean was blue again.
September 10th
Dear People of the Past,
Today at the museum, I saw more than just turtles. When my class walked into the museum, we saw a huge wax elephant (his name was Henry)! Everywhere I turned, there was a different exhibit. As we followed our teacher into the Ocean Hall, it was like entering a whole new world, or, in this case, an old one. One of the first signs said, “Earth is an ocean planet.” While that’s true, I don’t think there’s much in it today.
There were such huge creatures! The biggest ones were a jellyfish and a whale hanging from the ceiling. I’m glad I wore my blue dress. My teacher said it was just as blue as the exhibit! I think it’s my new favorite color.
The hawksbill sea turtle was beautiful! It was called that because of its hooked, hawk-like beak. Its shell had beautiful browns, oranges, and yellows. The design of the shell was cool, too, almost like they were painted on by the waves.
When my teacher saw how sad I was getting, she told me that we were going to another area soon. I was supposed to follow my teacher when she got off the escalator, but something caught my eye. When my teacher wasn’t looking, I ran inside the closed Climate Change exhibit. It was so dark. I turned my flashlight on my watch, and that’s when I saw a huge wax turtle. They were all over the exhibit. I took pictures of everything!
Then I saw a TV. It was an old one that needed to be plugged into the wall.
“What happened to the turtles? Press the play button to find out!”
I was so scared someone would hear that I unplugged it and turned my flashlight off.
After I saw the coast was clear, I told myself it would be okay. I turned it back on and pressed the play button.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. So many creatures were endangered, and the proof was in front of me. People who tried to help were shut down…for trying to help! I could feel my body getting hot the more I watched.
Then I saw an organization called Sea Turtle Inc. that would help heal turtles before taking them back to the ocean. But…they…you hunted them. The organizations…you tried to stop them because they were trying to stop you! Now people are still hiding the truth, but not for long.
Hatefully,
A Girl Who Cares
“That’s when I found her,” my teacher told my parents. “She looked like she had been crying, so I assumed she was just scared because she couldn’t find me. However, it looked like she had been exploring the exhibit.”
“The Climate Change exhibit?” Baba asked as he looked at me. He asked me to put my diary away and apologize for worrying my teacher. I didn’t mean to worry her. I just wanted answers.
I wasn’t allowed to watch TV or play with friends for a month. Not that I wanted to anyway. I was sad and mad. Mama and Baba thought it was because I was grounded, but it wasn’t. I tried to tell them about what I saw, but they said it was so long ago that we couldn’t do anything about it now.
After school I would go straight to my room and finish my homework. Sometimes Mama would ask if I wanted to do my homework with my friends or go see another museum, like the new one about libraries. I have been waiting for this one, about how libraries have changed overtime. They weren’t easy to go to for a while. Maybe because everything’s digital now, but I think there’s more to it than that. But I always politely declined Mama’s offers. I saw my friends at school, and the people of the past have disappointed me enough.
Their disappointment followed me everywhere. When our monthly supply of water arrived, I watched from my window as the glass bottles shined in the sunlight. They reminded me of the images of the huge piles of plastic I saw. How hard was it to switch back to glass?
“Hanan, come downstairs!” Mama called urgently.
“Coming, Mama!”
Mama and Baba’s eyes were glued to the TV with their mouths wide open.
“Turtles might not be extinct after all! A rescue center in South Padre, Texas, has been keeping a family of turtles in secret; however, they are preparing to release about 50 baby turtles into the water. This organization has worked hard to make the bay inhabitable again. This release is open to the public….”
I still had a week left of being grounded, but when I looked at my parents, they were already packing. Mama told me to go grab my diary and blue dress. My body felt like it was floating. Was this really happening?
October 5th
Dear People of the Past,
I am on my way to see a family of turtles! I know! I’m still shaking. I am sitting in between Mama and Baba right now on the train. I’m still mad at you guys for not doing enough, but I guess someone had to save enough turtles for me to see some now.
Normally hatchling releases are held from June to August, but because of climate change, it is happening in October. Okay, I’m getting dizzy. I’ll write later.
When I woke up, we had already arrived. Baba tried to carry me, but I kept slipping. Once we got off the train, I realized where we were.
“Are we going to see them now? How far is it? What time is it? Can we get food on the way?”
“Hanan, slow down,” Mama laughed and handed me a snack.
“Yes, I need to rent a car, and then we can grab some food on the way,” Baba said, “Oh, and it is 8:26 a.m. in Texas.”
The ride to the release was about an hour from the station. It felt longer because we were hungry and excited. We finally got to a diner, and they made us turtle-shaped pancakes! A lot of people there were going to see the hatchling release.
When we finally got to the beach, my family and I were shocked to see the water wasn’t like the documentary. It still smelled but not like the toxic gas I had imagined. It smelled like…fish. The sand was wet and gray, like Baba’s work suit. But the ocean was a dark blue and sometimes a little green.
While we waited, we got to play with the sand. Apparently, it’s something people used to do all the time. I was a little concerned at first, but then Baba started making a castle!
Suddenly, everyone was cheering. Baba carried me on his shoulders to see the Sea Turtles Inc. truck arrive. A woman with khaki shorts and a bright blue shirt came out with a microphone and thanked us all for coming. She explained that Sea Turtles Inc. had been taking care of turtles for the last 100 years with this day in mind. They still have some adult turtles in their rehabilitation place. The lady also said they would release two of their patients next week! I’ll watch it on their live stream since I’ll have to go back to school.
“Who’s ready for the hatchlings?”
The cheering was even louder than before. I felt like I was floating again when I saw the baskets of little baby turtles. My eyes got all watery, probably from the salty air. They were so small. One of them could probably fit in my hands. We had to wait until the turtles were closer to the water before moving closer.
It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I imagined them being able to grow up to be big, like the video I saw in class. I gave my parents the biggest hug and thanked them so much for bringing me. Baba bought us matching hoodies that said “Sea Turtles Inc.” on them. Mama and I got pink and Baba got green. I can’t wait to wear it to school!
I have faith that the people of the future are going to take better care of the ocean and the creatures living in it.
Hopefully,
A Girl Who Cares
