It was December 31, 2003. I was nine years old and living in a place that some called Paradise. Hawaii back then was like no other place I had ever seen. Mountains stretched from end to end, leaving a distance silhouette to capture the eyes. The surrounding terrain had luscious green grass and a variety of flowers that would be hard for me even to pronounce.

The sea surrounding the island was vast and open. It sparkled during sunny days and roared during the wet days. Hawaii was like no other place, and the locals made it ever so tantalizing with the freedom of walking with no care as if they were living in the moment every day. I always appreciated this freedom because I often walked outside wearing shorts and slippers.

Plus, it felt like I was at one with nature. I was always surrounded by the blooming flowers, the culture of the locals, and the constant spotting of humongous sea turtles resting on the beach. I really did love it here.

Although Hawaii may have seemed like a small island based on the map, the state had many cities and small towns. I lived in a small town called Wahiawa with my parents and siblings. Wahiawa was close to North Shore Beach, so my family would always visit this beach on weekends.

Wahiawa was also filled with many soldiers from the mainland, which is why my dad chose this area. My dad served in the army, so he usually tried to stay connected to that part of his life. However, Wahiawa was an exciting place for me because I felt like I was living off the grid, and I had my siblings, which made it even better.

I had a total of five siblings. Traina Haddock was the coolest 19-year-old on the island. Many people liked her personality, for she spoke her mind and was unafraid to do what she wanted. I looked up to her because we were the same age but with a 10-year difference.

Next was Brisa, who was a very clever 11-year-old. People often mistook her for being my twin or younger than me because I was 5'0 tall. She was actually two years older than me, but our birthdays were 5-months apart, so it would always appear we were closer in age. Next was me, Jaelyn, the middle child who enjoyed adventures. Lastly, my two younger siblings, Katlin and Jayden, were seven and five years old but known as the "Conspicuous Two."

One day, my dad decided to take us four to the Ala Moana Center to buy some movies. The Ala Moana Center was a big mall in Honolulu. It had stores spread out from the outside to the inside. This was a popular place for young people and families to go during the weekends.

"Hmm, should I buy this one?" Brisa said. She was holding a Disney Mania CD with Jesse McCartney on the cover.

"Yeah..." I said. I was too busy looking for the Cheetah Girls albums, so I did not care what she was buying.

"I thought we came to the mall to buy movies," Dad said. I looked behind me and saw him holding our two younger siblings' hands. They both were eating bubblegum ice cream.

Man, I want ice cream, too. I thought. No, forget it. The Cheetah Girls are far too important.

After Brisa and I brought our CDs, we all went up the escalator to go to a Blockbuster store.

"This one, no, this one."

"How about you each select one," Dad said. I was interested in comic books then, so I grabbed X-Men. Brisa chose Freaky Friday, and the two younger ones selected an animation. My dad picked Underworld and Freddy vs. Jason.

"Would that be all?" The cashier said.

"Yes, that'll be all," Dad said. "Unless you want to give us a Free DVD.

"You know what? I'll give you two for free!"

"Thanks, and Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year to you all as well!"

I was not surprised that we got the DVDs for free because we frequently visited that particular Blockbuster, and everyone there knew us. They would often talk about how cute we four were and that they wanted to adopt us. So, it was often common for us to get free movies, which I always enjoyed.

We bought the DVDs and headed to the park. The park was about 40 minutes away from the mall, so Brisa, Katlin, and Jayden fell asleep. I, on the other hand, was alert. One thing I always liked seeing during those drives was the greenery engulfing the landscape and the mountains that unfolded at every turn. We finally arrived at the park, and I was ready to take on any kid over tag or hanging on to the monkey bars.

"Attack!" Jayden and Katlin said. They both dashed from the car, running while tumbling over the clumps underneath the sand and grass.

"DON'T FALL!" Dad said. They did not care about getting hurt. Neither did I. Our main goal was to have fun.

"Let's find some kids to play tag with," Brisa said. She ran up to a group of kids huddling around the slides. "You want to play tag with us?"

"We're playing Shark Tag," said the girl. "You want to join? We nodded our heads.

"YOUR IT!" I said.

"No, You're it!" The other kid said. We ran circles around the slides and swings. I was the fastest runner among my siblings, so no kid could ever catch me. But every now and then, I would pretend to run out of breath so that I could become the tagger.

6 o'clock came, and we could see the silhouette of the sun as it was setting. The air went from warm and humid to cool and breezy.

"We have to go. See you later." We ran to our dad, who was waving his hands for us to come. The day was perfect, but it would not last for long.