Short Story Competition

Suzanne Morris English Teacher, Dulwich College Shanghai Pudong

This year, Dulwich College Shanghai Pudong offered to host the annual FOBISIA Short Story competition for all affiliated schools. The DCSPD Senior School Literary Society had a session to decide on what the theme for this year’s competition should be. They looked at previous years’ themes and came up with the criteria - it had to be something inspiring but ambiguous to give opportunity for a range of different ways to interpret the theme. They collaborated and eventually chose "Spark". The Literary Society students then designed a poster using hand drawings and digital design software, adding the FOBISIA and DCSPD logos and we shared it with schools throughout Asia to launch the competition.

The deadline of March 1st came, and we received hundreds of entries across the categories. Students from year 3 to year 13 responded to our theme, taking time to write original and creative short stories. Teachers from FOBISIA affiliated schools provided us with feedback to say how much they had enjoyed the process and many of them incorporated the theme "Spark" into other areas of their curriculum, for example, one school were inspired to learn the history of Fireworks!

The English department at DCSPD thoroughly enjoyed reading all the stories and found it difficult to shortlist – we were so happy to see all the different ways the theme had been interpreted - from sci-fi to historical fiction; fantasy to horror and more! There were just so many wonderful stories. Dulwich College’s favourite poet and rapper Mark Grist chose the winning entries from the shortlist and recorded a video announce the winners. Watch the video here.

Sparkling Joy

Ying Han, Bangkok Patana School

Once, there was an underwater city called SeaVille, they had the cleanest sea water in the ocean. In SeaVille there lived two mermaids, who were best friends, called Yaya and Isa. Yaya loved helping out and was very convincing. Isa hated cleaning up, but she was a kind-hearted mermaid. The two best friends were in year four, and they went to Seashell Academy. Their birthdays were in the same month, so they decided to do a joint birthday celebration this year.

Two days before the party, Yaya and Isa were walking to school and they passed the playground that they always went to. Overnight, rubbish had been left everywhere! There were masks, hand sanitizer bottles, plastic bags, cans…… all drifting around. Some sea turtles were left tangled in piles of broken fishing nets, they were starving, and some couldn’t even breathe. Fish were trapped in plastic bags, some were stuck completely in one, whilst some had their head inside. They all looked so helpless and scared as they couldn’t see where they were going. Crabs hung onto some cans and mask strings, some of their pincers were tangled with the mask strings making them unable to move freely. All the sea creatures were struggling and desperately crying for help.

Yaya froze. “EWWW! This place is disgusting! It stinks too! Let’s get out of here fast!” Isa yelled. Yaya jolted back to reality and shook her head in disbelief, how could Isa leave like that? Yaya thought angrily. Suddenly Yaya had a brilliant idea, “I know! Let’s get our friends together to do the cleanup as the birthday gift for us, instead of giving us fancy gifts!” “What? Clean up?!?! Isa looked shocked. “Isa, don’t you love our playground and clean water? Don’t you feel pain when the sea creatures suffer?” Yaya asked. Isa reluctantly agreed with Yaya.

Immediately, Yaya and Isa went to school to gather all their friends. Everyone wanted to help to do the big cleanup. When they got to the playground, one group was in charge of collecting all the rubbish. Another group was helping the sea creatures to get out of the plastic bags, cans and bottles. As well as untangling and cutting off the broken fishing nets and mask strings. The last group were busy categorising all the rubbish and putting them into different bags with labels. Then they sent all the rubbish that they collected to the Recycle Factory. A few hours later, the playground looked like it was newly made, and the sea water was once again the cleanest in the ocean.

When they had finished, the sea turtles danced around the mermaids, the crabs used their pincers to clap along with the sea turtles dancing and the fish lined up to kiss each mermaid on the cheek to show how grateful they were. Everyone’s eyes were sparkling with joy.

The two best friends had an unforgettable birthday.

What's in a name?

Yves Brighton College Bangkok

I already know what’s inside the box. I pretend to my mum I don’t. I tear the corner on the right to reveal the letters “OG”. Ripping the corner on the left I see “ELEC”. Finally I pull away the paper in the middle and see “TRO D”. I release a yelp of excitement, my mum’s face lights up and she asks, “What is it?” As if she doesn't know!

I have been following Raul Tux on the internet for years. He founded the company Pet-tech. I even subscribed to him on YouTube. He was the one who invented the ELECTRO DOG, a biomechanical dog friend, fully upgradeable, voice-activated AI. It’s almost like a real dog. Maybe better because it doesn't leave. Not like my Hugo.

With tears forming in my eyes, I rush to hug my mum, “You're the best.” She hugs me and I can hear a croak in her voice, “I know it’s not the same as a real—“

“Mum, I love it,” I say, not wanting her to finish.

My Mum clears her throat, “So, Eliot, what‘s his name?”

“I don’t know,” I wonder. “But I’ll think of something.”

I rush upstairs to sit on my bed and plug my dog into my computer with a cable. With a few clicks of the mouse I upload data from my computer.

“Let’s see how smart you can get,” I say with a chuckle, watching the progress bar move to 99% But before it can finish, huge sparks fly from the dog. A sound like a crackling radio makes me jump back. In a metallic voice, the dog says something. I walk closer to hear better, but the crackling stops.

Through a mouthful of cereal the next morning, I ask my mum, “Can I take my dog to school?”

She thinks a moment and replies with an eye-roll, “Just this once.”

In tutor group, I get out my new pet. When it begins walking and jumping, the whole class crowds me like I’m famous and shout things like, “What is it?” and, “I want one!” Just then, the dog’s eyes begin to spark again and the same crackly voice says, “Hi Eliot, it’s me! Where am I? Can we go to the park?”

“It must be broken.” I say nervously and quickly stuff the dog into my bag.

At break, I make the dog do some cool tricks like fetching my rucksack and soon an even bigger crowd swarms me like bees. The dog scampers up and says, “I’m sorry I ran away all those years ago.”

“What did you just say?” I ask breathlessly.

“I didn’t mean to get lost. But I’m back now, Elliot.” All the kids around me gasp in amazement.

After school, I burst through the door shouting “MUM! MUM! You have to see this!” And get out my dog to show her what it said to me. “Come on, do what you did before.” But the dog says nothing.

“Maybe it's broken, we should take it back.” My mum says softly. “I’m sorry Eliot.”

However, with a pounce, the dog jumps into life and looks at my mum. “Oh hi, Eliot’s mum. I’m hungry. Can I have one of those nice biscuits you used to give me?”

I fall to my knees and hug him tightly. “I knew it was you!” I say.

My Mum is speechless. But after ten minutes she slowly asks, “So have you got a name yet?”

“Yes, I say with a nod, “Hugo 2.0”.

Fallen Star

Pimrapat British International School Ho Chi Minh City

Day descends into a moonless night, darkness bleeding into the sky like indigo ink. A sprinkle of stars glisten, giving the illusion of a thousand blinking eyes. Red and orange and yellow leaves lick over the ground like a forest fire. In the dark, a girl sits beneath a naked tree, painting. By her legs are two glass jars filled - nearly to the brim - with water. As the girl studies her painting, a streak of light plummets from the sky. The ground shakes, the water in the jars sloshing onto the girl’s legs. She looks up, just in time to see the falling star before it lands nearby. Immediately, the girl stands up, her watercolour pad falling to the ground, her brush rolling away. Picking up the lantern, she runs for her bike, hooking the lantern onto one of the handlebars, and takes off in the direction of the star.

A cold wind blows at the girl’s cheeks and the lantern goes out, but she does not stop, continuing to ride on the starlit path. Finally, she arrives at a lake. The water is so clear she can see the bright ball of blue seemingly floating in the depths. Without hesitating, the girl pulls off her shoes and dives in. She cuts through the water like a blade until she reaches the star. As she extends her hand to touch it, time slows, a snapshot of the moment. The halo of bubbles around the girl’s head stills, suspended in the glassy water. So does her white dress and her hair, which billow around her like a cloud. Soft light from the star illuminates the girl’s features; the curling, dark lashes that cast shadows onto her cheeks, startlingly white hair, the tip of her round button nose. And then time slowly speeds up until it is back to normal, snapping the girl out of her trance. As she rises out of the lake with the star - her star - there is a change. The wind blows a little harder, the stars shine a little brighter, the chirps of crickets ring a little louder, the world spinning a little faster. But the girl does not notice.

The star is taken home in the lantern, guiding the girl on her journey back with its beacon of light. One would expect a star to shine more brightly, but it gives out only a soft glow. like bioluminescence. The girl stops at the tree to collect her paints and brushes and jars, then she continues her route home along the dirt road. As the girl pedals, she hums softly, but there is no one in many, many miles to hear it.

For many weeks, the star accompanies the girl on her painting trips; to the beach, to the mountains, to fields of green. It always sits in its little lantern carrier, unmoving, and hangs next to her while she sleeps. Even if the star does not respond when she speaks to it, the girl feels a lot less lonely for it. Day by day, the star shines brighter and time moves faster, but the girl keeps the star because she is no longer alone.

Time passes until day and night begin to last only a few hours. Everywhere the girl goes, life is dying out, the little star absorbing the life in nature. Plants are wilting and animals are dying. Nearly too late, the girl realises that her selfishness has cost the world: the star is absorbing more and more time every day. So the girl starts sewing. She sews, not stopping until finally, a magnificent hot air balloon with stripes the colour of night and day extends up towards the sky.

Girl and star take to the skies. As they float higher and higher, the girl holds the ball of sparks in her hands. Birds fly by, beholding this scene in wonder as the girl and star keep rising towards the darkness of space. The girl looks up. Above her is a scene she could never have imagined. The solid dome of space around the earth stares back at her. Hanging down from strings are stars. Thousands of stars. They all shine in different colours; red and blue and yellow and green and orange and pink. And then the hot air balloon comes to a stop as it bumps into the top of the dome. The girl looks around. She does not dare touch any of the stars in case the threads holding them up break off. With a strand of her hair, she ties one end around the star and the other to the sky-ceiling. Not far off, another star has a paper tag attached to it. The girl reaches out to see what’s on the tag. It’s a picture of a child holding a star. The girl smiles.

The weather is not so helpful on the way down. Upon leaving, the girl finds out that it has started raining. She tries in vain to protect the flames of her balloon, but it goes out, and the hot air balloon starts descending rapidly. The situation could not be worse as a bolt of lightning strikes the cloth of the balloon, setting it on fire. The burning balloon tumbles from the sky like a falling star. In her last moments, the girl closes her eyes, at peace. Her spirit leaves her body, rising up to join with the other stars. At last, they are reunited.