Livina
By
Winnie Tong 1
Words checked = [2276] Words in Oxford 3000™ = [88%]
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About the Story Sometimes it is difficult to make a decision, and it’s even harder when facing the dilemma choosing between the one that you care and yourself. Nevertheless, once you have determined, you have to take the consequences of the decision that you made. In the story, Livina was suffering from making a choice between whether to help her only friend, Katrina to make a risky wish which was the thing that her grandfather not allow her to do.
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Livina
By Winnie Tong Written by Winnie Tong of E4B Instructor: Kenneth M. Smith Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages Kaohsiung, Taiwan June 2012 4
About the Author Winnie Tong is the author of the story, Livina. This is her first time writing a long story and she was inspired one day when she heard a heart-break story from the news. There’s a bird which was blocked in the branches of some dead woods, she would have died for hunger. However, there was another bird which seems to be her partner who had been hunting for her every day. Winter came, and it became harder to find foods, but the bird still kept hunting for his mate with empty stomach. Eventually, both of them were starved to death. The story made her startled and she came out with the story, Livina.
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Table of Content About the story ……………………………… 3 About the Author …………………………… 5 Character Introduction……………………8 Chapter 1 …………………………………………… 9 Chapter 2 ……………………………………………13 Chapter 3 ………………………………………… 17 Chapter 4 …………………………………………25 Chapter 5 ………………………………………… 30
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Character Introduction Livana Salvatore Bruce- Livina’s grandfather who cares about her very much Katrina-the core of the mystery why all the children in the town were gone Aunt Bella- Livina has been living with Aunt Bella since her parents died, however Aunt Bella did not treat her nicely Audrey- the guardian of the bird
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Chapter 1
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It was a burning summer night, the weather made people dizzy and inactively lazy, even Macho, Bruce’s Chihuahua, didn’t bother to stand up but simply perfunctorily wagged tail to show his insufficient passion when Bruce dismounted from the ox cart. Livana grabbed a pillow from bed, jumped up the windowsill and tried to sit comfortably with the pillow against her back, only the intermittent breeze through the opened window made the night less intolerable. Gazing outside the window, she couldn’t help herself thinking about the bird. It had been almost three months since Livina 10
moved to the small village, Joshia, and lived with her grandfather, Bruce. She had been living with Aunt Bella since her parents died in the horrible fire. ***************************************** Livina could never forget the fire and the night. Livina was nine. It was a Saturday night after Livina went on a field trip to beach with her classmates. Earlier in the morning, Dad said he would bring some tarts from town for her. Margaret’s fruit tart was the best sweet that Livina ever tasted. In the evening, she happily waved her friends goodbye and capered down the slope, 11
humming the ballad teacher taught them today. Before she can see the house, the dense smoke ruined her good mood. She paused her steps and abruptly forgot how to breathe, like all of a sudden, the whole world halted‌
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Chapter 2
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After Livina’s parents died, she was sent to the relative that lived nearest, Aunt Bella. Although Aunt Bella was nice to her, she never felt herself integrated into Aunt Bella’s family. Aunt Bella’s son and two daughters had never treated her like one of their family members. They always asked her to do all the house chores their mother requested that they did not want to do. If Livina turn them down, they would threatened to kick her out of their house and told Aunt Bella that she took all their help for granted and did not has any gratitude for it. After two years of restraining temper and swallowing all the insults and bullies, 14
she finally decided to runaway. She packed some clothes, stole some money from the bureau and left a letter on the table telling Aunt Bella she was going to leave and thanking all her support for these two years, and then bundled away. She remembered when she was little, her parents used to take her to granddad’s cottage on a hill near Joshia, it was a small village where people took care of each other and lived happily without any worries. “I am going there,� Livina decided. Detrained at the last stop, Livina walked along the only path she could find. All the cottages looked totally the same as ones in her memory, but 15
differently, many of the windows are dark. It seemed that most of the residents here had moved away. She kept walking and finally found granddad’s cottage on the hill.
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Chapter 3
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Livina jumped
down from the windowsill,
ethereally turned around and strode out of the room toward kitchen. She took two mugs of warm milk and sat down next to Bruce, “Story time, Big B!” Bruce gave a hearty laugh and put down his book, “Alright, where were we last night?” Bruce asked. “The bird! All the children in village were disappeared because of the bird. How was it happened?” “Right, the bird, there is a bird in the woods
always
perches
nearby
the
Pearl
Lake—Promise me, do NOT go find the bird—and there is a guardian, Audrey, guards the bird all the time, anyone who wants to make a wish on the 18
bird needs to follow the rules that Audrey states. Making wishes on the bird is dangerous. Wishes often go wrong. That’s why there are no other children around anymore in the village.” “Anyone made a wrong wish?” asked Livina, strained her big eyes. “Yes,” Bruce paused for a second, “At least we believe so. After the night Katrina went to the bird, all the kids are mysteriously disappeared from their bed. Although they are found few days after, their parents are so frightened and decided to move away from the village.” “What wish did Katrina make?” “No idea, but after she made the wish, she became the only child in the village, and 19
also, she became disabled.” Livina put down her milk and sank into silence. After a while, she asked in a soft voice, “Would it be possible to make a wish and let all the children come back here to Joshia?” “Livana Salvatore!” Bruce roared, “Don’t you ever think about it!” “I have already promised to you, papa, Remember? I just wish that I could have a friend here. I know you are my friend, but I need a girl-friend who is at the same age as I am and can share anything with. And plus, I need someone to play at the drama with me, I can’t be the only role.” Bruce smiled, “If it really happens, you had better study harder and keep being the 20
lead student at school.” Livina laughed, “Sure, papa. I wish I had someone to compete with.” After sleeping for half a day, Livina decided to go into the woods. “I just want to see if there is really a guardian for the bird,” Livina made an excuse for herself. It was not difficult to find the Pearl Lake. It was a big, clear lake surrounded by old, tall trees. You can see directly the fishes and cobblestones through the pure water. There was a woman who was reading the thickest book that Livina ever seen, sitting nearby the lake on a giant rock. “You must be Audrey,” said Livina, “Can you tell me about the wish that Katrina 21
made?” “No, sorry,” Audrey lifted her head from the book, “unless this is your wish.” “What are the rules of making a wish? Papa said there are three.” “One can only make one wish for a lifetime,” said Audrey, in an insipid voice, “Seven days to recent and call it back, this is the second rule.” “Only a retarded would ever make a wish that needs to be called back,” Livina murmured. “What’s the last one?” She pressingly asked. “If the wish is completed, there is no way that you can take it back, even within seven days,” Audrey said, “only if anyone else makes another wish for you. Also, it is possible that your wish will not be completely 22
fulfilled.” Livina silently took down those rules in mind, ran away toward home without saying anything. Not until reaching the yard, Livina yelled excitedly, “Papa, Bruce! I know how to recall those children back!” Bruce stop cooking and walked out from the kitchen, scowled his anger, “Did you just go into the woods? What did I tell you?” “Relax, Big B, I was just asked Audrey about the rules, and I swear that I did not make any wish.” Bruce’s face softened, he said, “Don’t worry about the kids. I’ve decided to make a wish on the bird asking him to bring those children back. Both your uncle John and I think this is the only 23
and the best way.�
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Chapter 4
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The next day, after class dismissed, Livina hurried home directly even without halting at Mr. Nicholson’s ice cream stall. “Anyone?” Livina almost collided with the wooden door, strenuously managed to puff out a complete sentence, “Is there—a—any—anyone back to the vi—llage?” Bruce walked out from the kitchen with a girl sitting on a wheelchair. “Meet Katrina,” he introduced them to each other, “And this is my granddaughter, Livina.” Katrina was a pretty girl who had red curly hair and freckles on face. She grinned at Livina, Livina excitedly smiled back and ask, “Do you want to go to my room?” “Sure,” 26
answered Katrina with a delightful voice. Livina pushed Katrina’s wheelchair into her room and helped her sit on the bed. “You cannot imagine how happy I am right now! I always wish I could have a friend who can share anything with. Since my parents died, I have no friends. No one really cares about me until I moved here. Bruce is really nice to me, but I need one who has same age as me and understand what I am thinking, can go to school with me, and also, can play in the drama!” “I understand how you feel,” Katrina said, “After I made that stupid wish…I have no friends anymore.” “What wish did you make?” “It is 27
embarrassing to tell,” Katrina said slowly, “My mother was the most beautiful woman in the village, anyone knew my mom would be surprised to see me, they don’t even believe I am her daughter,” Katrina said in a quiet voice with teardrops in her eyes, “I want to be prettier, and I heard about the bird. Brad told me that if I make a wish on the bird, it would come true,” She sniffled audibly, “So I made a wish. I told the bird and his guardian that—I swear I didn’t know things would turn out to be like this—I made a wish that…that I could be the most beautiful woman in the village, just like mom.” Livina gasped, “So that’s why all 28
the children are gone? And you became the most beautiful one after they are not in the village.” “Yes, but my legs are crippled at the same time, because my mother got sick and became disabled. I wish I could be able to walk again…” Livina felt sorry for Katrina, “I wish I could help you, but papa won’t ever allow me to make a wish, he said it is very risky,” she paused a second, “And I believe in him now.” Katrina remained in silence.
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Chapter 5
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It is very hard for Livina to ignore Katrina telling how desperate she wanted to walk again, and her only one friend do not even want to help.
In the classroom, Ms. Lin was explaining how the drama would work and how they should prepare for it, “It is a very important play, each of you—I mean both of you—should consider it as your top priority before graduating.” After they left school, Katrina asked Livina to take her into the woods. “Make a wish for me,” Katrina pleaded, “If you consider me as your friend. Friends should help each other, shouldn’t 31
they?” “It is risky, what if the wish goes wrong, like yours?” “It wouldn’t be wrong as long as you make a clear statement,” Katrina became irate, “If you don’t want to help, it is selfish of you and your grandfather making that wish to recall me back to the village! Also, I feel sorry for you because you can’t even make up your own mind. You are so manipulated by your granddad.” Livina was tempted, it is right that Katrina called her selfish, she asked Bruce to recall her back, wished that she could play in the drama with her, but she did not even ponder over the problem that she cannot walk. How would she able to play if 32
she has to sit on the wheelchair? “You are right, I was so selfish, I should be more thoughtful. I have made up my mind. Let’s go find the bird.” Livina pushed Katrina’s wheelchair toward the woods. It did not take long to find Audrey again nearby the lake. “I want to make a wish,” firmly said Livina. Audrey lifted her head, again, from the thick book in her hands, raised her right eyebrow, “What wish do you want to make?” “I am making a wish for my friend, Katrina. She is crippled, and I want to help her to walk again.” “Do you know the rules yet? Doesn’t matter if you don’t, because anyways, I have to repeat it 33
over and over again when there are people who want to make wishes,” said Audrey, “First of all, you can only make one wish in a lifetime. Second, you will have seven days to recent and call it back. Finally, if the wish is completed, there is no way to take it back, even within seven days.” Audrey stopped and looked at Livina, looked into her eyes, “Are you sure you are gonna take all the risks?” “Positive.” A colorful bird flew down from the tree, chirped melodious. It was the first time Livina seeing the bird. Different from other birds, this bird seemed to have some special characteristics. He had an air of haughty 34
aloofness, which is hard to ignore. “Are you ready?” asked Audrey, “speak out your wish when you feel like to talk.” Livina peeked at Katrina, “Yes, we shall begin. I wish my only friend, Katrina, can have a sound body, just like mine. I hope that she can walk again.” The bird made Livina a wink. Livina felt a sensation of extreme giddiness and suddenly fell down to the floor. Audrey, for the first time, closed her book.
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