The Miracle Mirror
Meg Chen
Words Checked: 3393 Words in Oxford 3000: 95%
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Contents page About the author--------------------------------- 4 Synopsis------------------------------------------ 5 Main characters---------------------------------- 6 Ch. 1
The freshmen at Wenzao---------------8
Ch. 2
Facing a Dilemma---------------------13
Ch.3
Making a Decision---------------------15
Ch. 4
A Dancing Competition--------------16
Ch. 5
Practice Make Perfect----------------21
Ch. 6
Struggle---------------------------------24
Ch. 7
Magic Power---------------------------26
Ch. 8
A Skeleton------------------------------30
Ch. 9
Reconciliation-------------------------34
Ch. 10 The Miracle Mirror--------------------35 Ch. 11 In the Hospital--------------------------40 3
About the Author The writer of this story, Meg Chen, was born in Taichung, Taiwan in 1991. She wrote this book as part of her 4th year writing class when she was a five-year junior college student at Wenzao. Basing on her experience, in this book she provides readers an image of student and teenage life. She has a great sense of fun, but she also knows about human beings. In her stories, readers can learn lessons in morality and think about profound thoughts.
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Synopsis They saw “hands” stretched from the mirror. More precisely, there were thousands of hands waving up and down trying to strangle Ofelia. Ofelia was strangled by those ugly hands. … They couldn’t move their bodies and felt like there was somebody controlling them….Everything was out of control!
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Main Characters Ofelia: a freshman in Wenzao. She is a friendly, beautiful, active girl who is really into dancing. Tin: Ofelia’s best friend who dances the best among them. Yung-Tao: a hard-working student comes from China. Hako: a Japanese student who always asks a lot of questions but has great creativity. Malulu: a French student who always comes up with brilliant ideas. Mr. Graham: a kind, smart and caring teacher who is always willing to help.
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Hako
Tin
Ofelia Malulu
Yung-Tao
Mr. Graham
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Chapter 1
The Freshmen at Wenzao
It was an unbearable hot summer that year, 1995, when Ofelia was a freshman at Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages. Wenzao was located in Kaohsiung, a fairly big city, and the school has a reputation as the leading college of foreign languages in Taiwan. It was seven o’clock in the morning. Ofelia was woken up by her roommate, Tin. Today was the second week of the semester, and they were both still very excited about going to school. Ofelia was a pleasant girl. She had wavy black hair. On the
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other hand, her roommate Tin was considered a tomboy. She had a good-looking face and good bone structure. They were both in English 1A. They took an elevator down to B1 and had breakfast together. There, she met some of her classmates and had a short conversation. She thought she had plenty of energy to begin her day. The first two hours were English literature. Ofelia was really fond of Shakespeare, Mc White, Tennyson that sort of thing. English poetry class was also interesting to her. The instructor, Miss She taught them how to recite a poem in a proper way
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and asked each of the classmates come to the front of the classroom and recite a poem. One of her classmates tended to exaggerate the intonation and rushed through the entire poem, which made the whole class laugh. “What do you want to eat for lunch?” asked Tin. “Umm…I want to go to Family Mart and get myself a hotdog,” replied Ofelia. On their way to Family Mart, they encountered a foreign student asking them for directions. She asked, “Could you tell me where the administration building is?” They accompanied the French girl to the administration
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building because it was just near by the Family Mart. “I was so glad that I could help her. I really want to improve my language skills and study abroad one day,” said Ofelia. “You know what? Thank God she speaks Chinese!” said Tin. That was typical Tin, always providing a bit of humor.
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Wenzao was located in Kaohsiung, a fairly big city, and the school has a reputation as the leading college of foreign languages in Taiwan.
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Chapter 2
Facing a Dilemma
One night in the dorm before sleeping, Ofelia was chatting with Tin. “Do you know that on Wednesday we have to sign up for a club?” asked Ofelia. “Sure. But I can’t make up my mind. I like dancing and I have been doing that for the past ten years. On the other hand, I really want to try something new and different that I have never done yet,” replied Tin. “Wow! You have ten years of experience with dancing? Can you teach me? I have always wanted to learn and I even dreamed of being a super dancer! ”said Ofelia eagerly. “I know how
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to dance jazz, crump, breaking and many other kinds, but my favorite is hip-hop. I can teach you in my leisure time! ” “Thank you so much! Hey, I am thinking that we could both join the Hip-Hop Club. What do you think?” Ofelia was even more excitedly. “Um…I need to think about it. I’ll give you an answer tomorrow, okay?” Tin was facing a dilemma. On one hand she would like to try new things; on the other hand she was devoted to dancing and when she saw how passionate Ofelia was, she could hardly refuse her request. Each student could sign up for a maximum of two clubs
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as long as the club meetings weren’t on the same day. However, the meetings for Hip-Hop were on Monday and also on Thursday which meant that she did not have extra time to join another club. It was midnight, and she did not want to think anymore, she just wanted to fall asleep. Chapter 3
Making a Decision
The next day after dinner, Tin told Ofelia, “I want to organize a team for Hip-Hop.” “You mean you want to join the Hip-Hop Club with me? Oh my God! I am so happy.” Ofelia thought Tin was such a nice person. She really liked her not only because of
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her kindness but also her maturity. She felt so lucky to have a friend like Tin. On Wednesday, there was a sign-up activity for students to choose a club. They both passed the dancing quiz and were selected in the Hip-Hop Club. After school, they decided to celebrate their selection. They went to a restaurant and had a big meal. They had some champagne and talked about their day. Ofelia then proposed a toast, “To our impregnable friendship!� Chapter 4
A Dancing Competition
Ofelia saw a Dancing Competition post while she
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was walking on campus. “…31st
December…first
prize: NT$100,000 and an opportunity to perform on the New Year count-down concert.” What a great chance for us. Ofelia couldn’t wait to tell Tin the exciting news, “There is a professional dancing competition on the 31st December, we could try it!” Tin rushed to the bulletin board wanting to know more details. Tin said, “But we don’t have any group members.” “Don’t worry. I’m sure that others would like to take part in it. We can ask somebody to join us this afternoon when we have our Hop-Hop course,” said Ofelia.
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That afternoon was their first club meeting. They met students from different grades and departments. Participating in a club could really extend one’s horizon and one can have more chances to make good friends with others who have the same interests. Ofelia was always an outgoing and active girl. She quickly got familiar with Hako, a student from Japan and Yung-Tao, a student from China. Tin was introverted and didn’t talk much when the others were chatting. They had a great time together. Finally, Tin said her first words, “Would you guys like to join our dancing group?” Tin and Ofelia
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explained their plan to them. Without any hesitation they both accepted. “Great! But we still need one more person. Who else are we going to find?” murmured Ofelia. “One of my friends is addicted to dancing. She dances perfectly and I think she would like to join us. She has a bad temper, but basically she is an easy-going person, ”said Yung-Tao. “I see her. She is over there talking to our teacher.” Yung-Tao waved at the girl and called her over. “She was the girl who asked us for directions a couple of days ago!” shouted Ofelia. Malulu then recognized them and said, “What a small world!” “I
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didn’t know you guys already knew each other,� said Yung-Tao. It was a happy beginning and all of them were looking forward to the competition.
The poster of the dancing competition really caught their attention.
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Chapter 5
Practice Makes Perfect?
The following weeks they spent almost everyday practicing dancing. One day when they were having a short break after a two-hour practice, the name of their dancing group suddenly came out to them— Buzz Light Year. Their practices started at five p.m. and finished at around nine o’clock. They also practiced on weekends. At first, they all enjoyed it and had fun. As time went by, they started to get tired of dancing. There were arguments, lots of complaints and conflicts between them. People started to complaint
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about the length of the practices. Hako thought she was doing great but complained about Ofelia’s dance movements. Yung-Tao was a double-major, so he had to study more and also work harder than others in order to pass the numerous courses he was taking. He knew they needed to put an effort in it if they really wanted to rock in the competition; however, at the same time he had to do well with his school work to meet his parents’ expectations. He definitely didn’t want to fail any of the courses and certainly didn’t want to disappoint his parents. Malulu didn’t want to obey the leader’s instructions.
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She didn’t think Tin was professional enough to be their leader. Her pride was fully expressed on her face. Thus, the others were sort of angry at her. Ofelia was concerned about her dancing skills. She was the only beginner among them. She felt that she was falling behind from the others. She noticed that she was the one who danced the worst and she strongly urged herself to work harder. When they practiced together, she was always the one who first arrived and the one who left last. She tried so hard to catch up with the others but now she was really stressed out and frustrated. Tin was fed up with their
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sluggish and inactive attitude. Where was their passion and where was their dream? Tin certainly knew that they couldn’t win first prize practicing like this. She was upset and disappointed. It seemed that nobody cared about the team anymore and everyone was thinking of giving up. Chapter 6
Struggle
That night, Ofelia couldn’t sleep, and neither could Tin. Ofelia felt sorry for Tin because she thought she was the one who slowed their progress and she was angry at herself because of her poor dancing skills. Why couldn’t she dance beautifully
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and powerfully like the others? Ofelia knew Tin wouldn’t blame her, she just felt depressed. She wished she had marvelous dancing skills and she would give away everything she owned in exchange for that. Tin was thinking some memories. She remembered once they danced in Wenyuan There was a dog lying on the floor. When they played the music and moved their hands and feet, swayed their bodies, the little black dog started to “dance� too. It circled around and around and barked like it was singing a song. That was so interesting. And once they were invited to perform at a charity sponsored
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by Coca Cola. There were media around them and video-cameras focused on them. Everyone was so excited and cheerful. Now, everything had changed. Chapter 7
Magic Power
The team hadn’t gathered and practiced for two weeks. The last time when they danced together, they had a quarrel about wearing their costumes theme which would be wearing for the competition. They couldn’t come to agreement as everyone offered different opinions. Some did not want to spend too much money on the costumes but some insisted on high quality and fashionable ones.
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Malulu shouted at Ofelia, “You know nothing about fashion. Look at you, your clothes is so out of style!” “Hey, be careful with what you are saying. Don’t make it personal!” Tin shouted back. “Calm down! Calm down!” Yung-Tao interjected to release the tension. “I’m sick of that! I’m gonna quit!” said Hako. “Me too. I can’t stand you guys anymore, Malulu rushed out without saying any other words. Ofelia did not stop practicing dancing. She thought if she could improve her dance movements and sense of rhythm, they would come back and they could continue their dream. The following days
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she spent more hours dancing. One day as usual, she went to the Circle where they used to dance together. After a tiring day, she was extremely exhausted, but she urged herself to concentrate on hip-hop dancing. She stood in front of the big square mirror and was recalling the dance movements. She sighed. When she was about to dance, she glanced over and saw a mirror covered by a dusty black fabric in the corner. She wondered why there was a mirror and it seemed that it hadn’t been used for a long time. Her curiosity spurred her to walk closer to the mirror. She uncovered the
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fabric. Suddenly, she had a strange feeling, but everything was quite the same as usual. Suddenly, she heard a soft voice say, “Touch it.” She thought she was too tired because she was the only one around. She remembered there was nobody when she arrived there. “Touch it.” It was the same voice again. This time she was sure that there was really “somebody” telling her to touch the mirror. Surprisingly, she had no fear. She didn’t think too much and slowly reached out her left hand. She felt as if a warm stream went into her body and her mind was blank for a while. That evening, she
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danced better than ever and those complex movements she used to think of were terribly simple to her now. What was that went into her body? She had totally no idea. In fact, she was too excited to think of anything. Chapter 8
A Skeleton
“Why didn’t Ofelia come to class today?” thought Tin. She didn’t see Ofelia for several days. They were supposed to see each other everyday at night in the dorm, but Tin didn’t see Ofelia come back before she slept for many days. What was she busy doing? She decided to call Ofelia to see if she
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can have lunch with her. “Hi…” Ofelia picked up the cell phone answering in a sleepy tone. “Are you still in bed? Why didn’t you come to class this morning?” “I was too tired to go to school.” Ofelia was a little embarrassed. “Well…Let’s have lunch together, shall we? And I have so many things to share with you,” said Tin. “Fine. Meet me at the cafeteria in thirty minutes. ” Ofelia did not show much interest. When Ofelia walked toward her, Tin could hardly recognize her. “Gee. What’s wrong with you? You look pale,” Tin said. She was very worried about
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Ofelia. “Oh. I guess I just need more sleep,” said Ofelia. Tin did not believe her eyes. Ofelia had lost at least ten kilograms. Her face was hollowed and her eyes were bulged. She did not want to think that way, but Ofelia looked like a skeleton! “Honey, what have you been up to? You just don’t look Ok,” Tin asked in concern. “I’m great! My dancing has improved a lot.” Ofelia told Tin that she had been practicing day and night and finally saw the progress being made. She shared her excitement with Tin. Tin was glad to hear that but she still didn’t understand why her friend looked deadly pale.
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There must be something wrong.
Ofelia looks like a skeleton! 33
Chapter 9
Reconciliation
Tin called Hako, Yung-Tao, and Malulu and told them it was an emergency. It had been a long time since they had last talk to each other. It was Malulu who broke the silence. “Guys, I want to say sorry to all of you. I shouldn’t have said the terrible things.” “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have quit and laughed at Ofelia,” added Hoko. Then there was a silence again. Tin threw her arms around everyone and cried, “We are a team, and we belong together.” “Yes! Yes! Forget about all that disaster. Let’s win the competition!” shouted Yung-Tao. They looked
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at one another without saying anything. Their eye contact was the best communication. “Listen. We will start our practices as soon as possible, but the priority is to figure out what has happened to Ofelia,” said Tin. Chapter 10
The Miracle Mirror
“What do you mean?” asked the others. Tin explained to them how strange Ofelia’s reaction was. She lost a lot of weight in a brief time and didn’t like to talk to others. She used to be a hardworking student but now she seldom went to classes. They wanted to find out what was going on!
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When they went to the Circle, Ofelia was dancing in front of an old mirror. “Oh my God! Did you see that! How well she dances.” “I can’t believe that she actually improved that much in such a short time.” “Gosh! She dances better than every one of us. ” Then something unexplainable happened. They saw Ofelia walk closer to the mirror. Suddenly, the wind blew heavily and the lights went out. They saw “hands” stretching from the mirror. More precisely, there were thousands of hands waving up and down trying to strangle Ofelia. Ofelia was being strangled by those ugly hands. They couldn’t believe what
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they saw. They were very scared, but still tried to rescue Ofelia. However, they couldn’t move their bodies. They felt like there was somebody controlling their movements. Their throats were stuck and couldn’t say a word or make a sound. They saw Ofelia was struggling and crying. Tin used all of her strength and finally managed to call, “Ofelia!” Finally, they could move their body again. They quickly ran to Ofelia and pulled her backward. The unknown power was so strong that they couldn’t fight it out. At one moment they thought they were going to lose. “Help! Help!” Tin cried
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desperately. Mr. Graham, Tin and Ofelia’s teacher, saw the emergency and without thinking what was going on, he grabbed a chair and hit the mirror with it. The mirror spread into millions of pieces and everything was the same again. The wind stopped blowing, and the light was on again.
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They saw “hands� stretching from the mirror.
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Chapter 11
Hospital
“Where am I?” lying on the sickbed, Ofelia said in a weak voice. “Thank God you survived!” She opened her eyes and saw people standing around her bed breaking into smile. There were tears and happiness showing on their faces. She looked puzzled. “You are in hospital,” said Mr. Graham in a soft voice. “Don’t worry. We will always be with you,” said Hako. “Ofelia needs more rest,” Mr. Graham said. Outside the sickroom Mr. Graham said “Now, dear all tell me what happened? They told him their
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unusual experience. They knew what they had said may seem nonsense to others, but that was what the reality was. “We can’t believe what we have done but it was true. “Yeah. Please trust us Mr. Graham,” said Yung-Tao. Mr. Graham was in deep thought. Mr. Graham was about to say something, but he didn’t at the end. He gave them a warm smile and said, “I do believe you guys.” “Everything will be Okay at the end. If it’s not Okay, then that’s not the end.” “Remember what you have learned and keep them in your mind.” It was three days before the competition. They
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were all doing great and ready for the competition. Ofelia regained her nerve and everyone put one hundred percent attention on rehearsal. Ofelia still had no idea what had happened those days and couldn’t recall anything. She didn’t want to know the answer because that wasn’t a big deal to her now. She had friends who care about her, value her. She would play her part and share with them. They would stand together side by side all the time. Definitely, they will get there!
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Acknowledgement http://www.granton.k12.wi.us/highschool/science/anatomyandphysiolog y http://www.flickr.com/photos/sneff/351201273/ http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p154/Az_1_Promo
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They saw “hands” stretched from the mirror. More precisely, there were thousands of hands waving up and down trying to strangle Ofelia. Ofelia was strangled by those ugly hands. … They couldn’t move their bodies and felt like there was somebody controlling them….Everything was out of control!
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