Terry Wu
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Dream and Reality I.
Table of Content
Table of Content
P.1
About the Author
P.2
Prologue / Synopsis
P.4
Chapter 1 Wonderland
P.6
Chapter 2 School Life
P.12
Chapter 3 Adulthood
P.24
Chapter 4 Re-union
P.33
Chapter 5 Marital Life
P.40
Chapter 6 Disasters
P.48
Chapter 7 Underground Life
P.55
Synopsis on Back Cover
P.61
II.
About the author
Terry Wu is the author of the story “Dream and Reality.�
It is his first novel
and he was inspired from the incidents that he had gone through and would like to share his thoughts to the readers. Furthermore, he spends lots of time on reading novels and watching movies.
What’s more, he also spends some time on sports, including soccer, jogging, and so on, since he believes that exercising is beneficial for us to develop our imagination to write a better novel. He hopes that the readers could realize that sometimes the things we see might not be the truth, just like we see some gossips or rumors as a truth and discuss them with every one.
III.
Prologue / Synopsis
When a man is bearing a great amount of pressure, he will be much happier and more relaxed in his dreams. When I am in a dream, I am always happy, whereas I am sentimental and depressed in the real world. Fifty years later, I will be enjoying the
advance of the high-tech products, but I will also be suffering from the pollution made by ourselves and the disasters which are the roars from Nature. In a dream, usually we do not know if it is true and there is no evidence to make us believe the truthfulness of the incidents taken place inside, but we still believe it
IV.
Story
Chapter 1 Wonderland
On this piece of prairie with no border, it is so quiet that you can hear the grass flapping when it breezes through.
I lie
on it and the grass is so soft as if I were lying on a bed with merely cotton. When the wind goes by, the grass sways their body and it seems that it is not only waving its hands to welcome me but also dancing with ecstasy to celebrate my coming. This time, I feel so relieved because this is my first time to lie on the grass
without any pressure at all.
When I was
a teenager, I had so much pressure on academics, including the worries about my own future and the expectations from my parents, most of my relatives, and my teachers.
Moreover, when I am an adult
now, I still have a great amount of stress from my occupation, inclusive of the achievement that was previously asked by the executives in our company, and the demand proposed by my boss.
And then I take a glance at the sky, and I see the clouds drift slowly in the sky. Seeing the scene, I start to imagine if I were a piece of cloud.
If I were a piece
of cloud, I could fly through no matter where in the world, and I could view most of the landscapes that people could rarely see on the Earth without sorrow and anxiety.
If so, I could roam wherever I
would like to go traveling.
I really love
the feeling like that.
All of a sudden, here comes a sharp, shocking, and loud sound, “Ding, Ding, Ding!!!�
The annoying sound just
interrupts my great and relaxing period on the prairie.
Not a few seconds, I become
conscious from semi-conscious and open
my eyes, and then I know that the joyful hours I just had were only a dream.
Chapter 2 School Life
When I wake up, shocked by the sound of the alarm clock, I still feel dizzy. In other words, I am not willingly to get up from my warm bed right now.
Since I
just made a dream about a wonderland that was so similar with what I had experienced in my childhood, it arouses
my memories that have taken place before. I can still think of the baseball training every week when I was in the school baseball team in my elementary school.
On the grass, there were some
children who only wanted to play baseball training their baseball skills without any pressure on the ground.
At that time, our
coach would set goals for us, but he would not punish us because we did not achieve them.
In other words, we could enjoy
the fun and the joy of playing baseball.
Most important of all, we made a lot of friends with a same interest, and we often got together for reunions after we graduated from our elementary school. The most memorable thing in my mind is the training place.
Our training
was usually taken place at the playground, where the grass was so soft that I could slide over it whenever I wanted.
It was
so different from the environment that we have now. During the time with these teammates’ accompanying, I suppose that the period I had in my elementary school may be the best one I have ever had in my life, since later the life I had since I was a junior high school student is totally the nightmare.
At the first step into my junior high school, I started to be suffering from the pressure on the academics.
Not only my
parents but also most of my relatives and my teachers had high expectations on me. They always said they thought I was quite intelligent and expected what my future
would be like, keeping encouraging me to endeavor on the school works.
Because
of the entrance examination, I did not have much leisure time then because I have spent most of it on preparing for tests or going to cram schools for lectures.
Furthermore, after the entrance
examination, I entered the junior college in Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages.
Worst of all, the nightmare
did not end up.
I did not so much stress
because of the entrance examination and the education system in Taiwan. Nevertheless, I had a great quantity of group reports or individual presentations to deal with.
From the relaxing life at
that time and the better future, I chose the latter.
During this period, I still did not
have much leisure time to do some
extracurricular activities, and I started thinking of the great time I had had in my elementary school with those teammates.
However, after I met a gorgeous and graceful girl named Ruby who was three years younger than I was, my life has changed ever after.
If my memory serves
right, when I was in the fourth grade in
Wenzao, I was the teacher assistant in her mathematics course.
At the beginning,
she had few problems on mathematics and she would ask me through an application called LINE on the mobile.
Before long,
she started asking me about some questions related to English, physics, and chemistry, and she sometimes chatted with me.
Undoubtedly, she was extremely
industrious and hard-working.
Every
day after school, she would get the shuttle bus to return home immediately and then
started to study.
Originally, my
performances on the academics were merely on the average standard. However, with her coming, I knew two things.
First of all, I had a crush on her.
Secondly, I must motivate myself to catch up with her, or she might not be willing to have any connection with me. Since then, we chat through LINE every day, and with her accompanying, I rarely felt tired when studying.
Even
when I was preparing for my reports or
presentation, I would not feel bored. Furthermore, whenever I felt exhausted, I started to think of her, and then it was so miraculous that the boredom of the works and the fatigue I got disappeared all of a sudden.
With her, I could go through the
absolutely originally boring last two-year life in Wenzao. After I graduated, I joined the army and then started to work, still waiting for Ruby’s graduating since we had not clearly told each other what our own
affection was.
Chapter 3 Adulthood
After I graduated from Wenzao, I followed the obligation to join in the army. During the four-month period of enlisting, I had offended some of my senior and the
commanding officer. For example, one time when one of the commanding officers was showing our parents and some journalists a presentation about what the affairs in the army were like, and I, as one of the observers in the press conference, in public argued with him that what he had said was totally wrong, unmasking his dishonesty, and then claimed that he was apparently a liar, bullying us in the barrack.
Being humiliated on the press conference and supposing it a shame of himself, the commanding officer used his own rights to take revenge on me.
In
other words, after the incident occurred and all of us returned to the military camp, the commanding officer blamed me for offending the seniors, imprisoning me.
What’s more, after I got back to the army from the military jail, he trained me as intensive as he could.
As a result,
during those four months, I was suffering from the invisible punishment given by the commanding officer, and I was really exhausted to death. Another example was that one time one of my comrades broke the military regulations, and I betrayed him and then secretly told one of the commanding officers.
Before long, all of the fellow
fighters in our army knew the incident, seeing me as a betrayer, who was not worthy of trusting.
After that, they
coalesced together to beat me, mentally and physically bullying me.
In the end,
they taught me a lesson that we should not overly intervene into an affair to show as if we were heroes. Later on, about one month after I left the army, I stepped into a commercial company selling agricultural products with the merchants from Mainland China,
Japan, and so on, becoming a commercial representative.
Moving to another
circumstance, I knew that it was another start of a phase in my life, and I took a start very carefully.
Just as the proverb
goes, “courtesy costs nothing.�
At the
beginning, I showed my politeness, caring my courtesy the most to not only my boss but also all of the colleagues, hoping that they would have greatly positive impression on me since I knew that the first impression was the most critical
element of meeting people.
Later on, I did suppose that if we wanted to keep good relationship with our guests or clients and earned money from them, we had to provide them with some benefits, such as some discounts on tariffs. Therefore, I took good advantage of this
weakness of them, which meant that they only sought for any advantage, to get as many profits as I could. Since most of the companions in this industry complimented me and I have dealt with a great number of cases well, I gradually got popularly well-known in the commercial industry and got promotion three times within five years.
Eventually,
I became one of the executives in the company. Without a doubt, attending the army
and stepping into the commercial company as my career were the two my main transitions from childhood to adulthood, leading me to reach the maturity. Afterwards, something amazingly unpredictable just took place.
Chapter 4 Re-union
After the three promotions, I was no longer only a commercial representative but one of the executives in my company. In our company, every executive has his own obligation to go onto the campuses and see if there are any students that were worthy of being employed, and this year I
was distributed to take a visit to NCCU, standing for National Cheng Chi University. After communicating with the president of NCCU through e-mails, he said that the leader of their Student Union would be in charge of talking the further details with me and that they would hold an open activity for me to present a speech about the industry to every student at the auditorium, letting them know that there was a precious job opportunity for them
after two weeks. During these two weeks, the so-called leader of the Student Union sent e-mail to me to talk about further details of my coming anonymously.
Therefore, in fact,
I still did not know who she was.
All in
my mind was that I anticipated I could find anyone that was really capable of dealing with the works in our company and was willing to join us.
Two weeks later, I took a visit to NCCU.
At the entrance of NCCU, I saw
a girl standing there and raising a strip of cloth, saying that, “Dear Mr. Terry, Welcome To NCCU.�
With this, I could
confirm that the girl over there was the
leader of the Student Union in NCCU, since she had previously told me in the e-mail that she would do so today.
And
then I shook my hands with her, telling her that I was the executive of the company that she was waiting for.
Not a
few seconds, after I walked closer to her, much to my astonishment, she was Ruby. Suddenly, I realized that Ruby was now a senior in NCCU, and after a short conversation with her during the period of walking to the auditorium, I knew that she
was also interested in working in our company. After the speech presented in NCCU, I received hundreds of applications sent by the students.
Among them, I found a
person whose not only academic performances but also experiences of extracurricular activities were outstandingly superb, and it was Ruby. Without a doubt, I chose her as a priority since she was the leader of the Student Union, and she might have dealt with
numerous cases related to finance with school clubs and have host several huge activities in NCCU. At that time, I was so excited that I could meet Ruby again and that our company might get one more competent assistant.
Most important of all, after
five or six years since my graduation from Wenzao, I would have the chance to fight for the lustrous and brilliant future with Ruby.
Chapter 5 Marital Life
After half a year or so, Ruby had gone through the vocational training, and she was later officially working in our company.
Since I had to avoid arousing
suspicion, at the beginning of her entering the company, I did not even say a word in front of her.
Even, when I met her in our
company, I just walked by as if I had not met her before.
Just as what I had
expected, she took good advantage of her skills that she had learned in her university life and ended up a lot of cases in a good result, keeping good relationships with most of the clients.
As
a result, in this season, because of her endeavor and devotion, our company became overwhelmingly profitable.
Still,
we only chatted on LINE on mobile after our working hours.
No more than a year later, she received a promotion and was elected as the most prominent worker of the year. Furthermore, three years later, she became the leader of the public relationship section.
It was the Christmas Eve of a year. As usual, our company host a Christmas dancing party to thank all of the employees for our hard works all the year, and we would arrange dancing partners for every single worker.
One more thing
surprising me was that my partner was Ruby.
During the five minutes of the
dance music, I had a short conversation, greeting with her.
It was the start of our
conversation after Wenzao in the real world.
On the Christmas Eve, we talked
a lot not only during the dancing party but also the period that I accompanied her to return to her place.
We chatted about
whatever we could think of, mentioning the period we had had together before, the current situation we had in the company, and our expectations on our own future. It seemed that the way to her place was just like the time tunnel, bringing both of us back to our student life.
Afterwards,
we gradually had some dates with each other, and then we found the feeling that
we had got when we were only college students. Approximately five more years later, although both of us had never clearly told each other what our feeling or affection on him or her was, we still got married. A few years later, Ruby and I had the first, second, and third children.
All of
my three children went to private schools to get the twelve-year obligatory education.
What’s more, we enjoyed the
high-tech products.
For instance, we did not need to deal with the household chores, since the robots in our home would do so and we just needed to concentrate on our works and take care of our children.
Another example was that when we drove to work, we would no longer need
to hold the handle on our own, since the systems in the car would operate it automatically.
With the system, there
were fewer accidents taken place because of drivers’ drunken driving.
How
convenient it was! Ruby and I thought that we would be happy ever after.
Nonetheless, the things
did not seem to follow what we anticipated.
In other words, something
tragic intervened into our perfectly satisfactory matrimonial life.
Chapter 6 Disasters
About ten years later, a series of terrible accidents happened. First of all, this year, some of the regulations in Service Trade Agreement were broken, so the government of Mainland China got mad, claiming a war with us.
As a result, a fight between the
Strait suddenly started, lasting three years or so.
After the war, all of my family did
not get hurt because we had previously dug a air-raid shelter and hidden ourselves inside.
However, my homeland was
wholly devastated by the soldiers.
You
could not see any buildings but only debris and tumbledown walls.
All of the
infrastructures were bombarded onto the ground and no longer could you see any skyscrapers for business tower aloft there. What’s more, the supply of some energy,
such as gas, water, and so on, was also influenced by the war.
Most of the line
pipes were disconnected.
In addition, in the recent month after Mainland China and us signed the armistice, the residents in Taiwan went through a really terrible time.
In a month,
four typhoons swept over Taiwan and three severe earthquakes taken place in Taiwan.
Most miserable of all, one of
the typhoons was reported by CNN, BBC, Reuters, and other well-known mass media to be a unprecedentedly super typhoon.
When it swept over Taiwan, it
was just like a tornado whose path was suddenly turned from beautiful scenery into war zones.
The disaster was so
severe that the estimate of the damage was immeasurable.
Furthermore, since more and more pollution was on the Earth, the ground could not be used anymore.
For instance,
because several corporations or factories secretly emitted the waste water into the rivers, the water and the ground near the
river was totally contaminated.
Another
pollution that endangered our living was the climate.
Due to the greenhouse
effect, acid rain, and other phenomenon caused by some chemicals that had been emitted from factories, the circumstances are not suitable for us to live.
For
example, we might have difficulties in breathing because of the serious air pollution. To sum up, the three disasters were really a devastating catastrophe for us.
Indeed, all of them had already lowered our living standard drastically.
Finally,
since the expenses of rebuilding were so high that our government could not afford it, all of our family decided to dig a cave to start our underground life.
Chapter 7 Underground Life
Now, I am 65 this year, living with my wife, my son, and two daughters, and where we live is extremely narrow and limited.
It is merely a
twenty-square-meter cave underground. Since the outer environment is severely polluted and might endanger our health, I prohibit my family from leaving the cave.
However, the water supply is really adequate, since there are a great number of advanced water resource systems set for us.
When it comes to our daily life,
we usually surf the Internet and listen to music to kill time when we feel bored. Moreover, our children take e-learning forum to study, receiving complete education with high quality standard.
What’s more, Ruby and I use
the laptop to deal with the works or the cases and even have conferences at home.
We do not have to go to our company. When it comes to my work, I suddenly find that it is time for works. And then, I walk to the living, intending to have my breakfast and ask Ruby if she would like to retire from the commercial company.
Much to my surprise, I find
that not only Ruby but also all of my children were gone. disappeared.
They were
I felt extremely frightened,
scared, and even annoyed, since I had told them once they leave the house, they will
be perhaps not able to come back again. Indeed, I was wondering why they cannot be reconciled with the tranquil life. Before long, I set and prepare the equipment, the oxygen mask, and the medical instruments and when I was to leave where I have lived for a long time to save my family, I suddenly find the only access to the world outside is completely locked, and I am truly wondering how they left from it.
Therefore, I try hard to
kick and hit the door by the chair.
Eventually, I break it and fall onto the ground.
The sunshine outside is
extremely dazzling. Although I have been without access to the sunshine for a long time, the feeling is not what I have experienced before if my memory serves me right. Nevertheless, I suddenly perceived a crowd of people around me.
What’s
more, I also heard someone beside me saying, “Emergency! Emergency! 416 was trying to leave the ward.
Repeat! 416
was trying to leave the ward. the staff gets ready!�
Please all
V.
Synopsis on Back Cover
The author cannot tell the dreams or the reality from each other.
Just as the
proverb goes, “Seeing is believing,� do not judge anything by the first sight or what you have heard. In the story, the author also insinuates the current affairs about the army in
Taiwan. As what the author had learned in the story, do not be proud, or you may offend others and hurt yourself as well. The author also calls on the readers for taking more and more consideration into our environment, caring more about Nature.