1
Contents Page No.) Title – Author (Word Count) 2-4) In the Stars – by Jina Lee (1,092) 5-6) Caught in Crime- Disha Jayswal (637) 7-8) Sad Moments – Sahdia Hussain (558) 9-11) Revenge – Sarah Qin (1,861) 12-14) Silence – Sahiti Turpuseema (345) 15-16) Walks on the Beach – Sinthujaa Selvananth (1,305) 17-18) The Unknown World – Tahreem Zaidi (625) 18-19) Wishing Immortality – Masooma Hakimi (554)
2
T
*In the Stars* here once lived a girl who was in love with the night sky. She had visited planetariums and read children's books on astronomy. She had learned to identify sixteen different constellations and would always look for them on dark, clear nights. She had told her
father to attach glow in the dark stars to her bedroom ceiling. She had eaten freeze-dried ice cream and thought it tasted better than anything else in the world. As time passed the girl began to learn about the universe, about things like asteroids and black holes. Little by little she came to know the invisible forces that governed outer space, and the night sky became more than just a sky to her. It was a giant treasure box, filled with the secrets of the places beyond earth. The girl's love slowly turned to longing. She wanted to know the stars through more than just pictures and models, because deep down she believed that there was something in the universe she couldn't find on her own planet. The thought settled deep in her, and tugged at her until it ached. One night she lay awake in the dark, looking straight up at the ceiling. She was thinking of the black sky blanketed with stars. Closing her eyes, she held out a hand and reached up into the sky. Her bed fell away, the walls fell away, gently and silently, and then she was flying, past the solar system and out of the galaxy. On she flew, further and further into space. She was so focused on making the journey that it came as a great shock when something touched her fingers and suddenly spoke to her. “Who are you?” it asked curiously. It was a strange and wonderful creature, hard to figure out by looking. “Where are you from? How did you find me?” the girl cried. “'I come from a distant dimension, a very wide and fluid space,” the alien said modestly. “From my home, I can observe almost anything I wish. I could tell that you wanted to find me, or someone like me, and I wanted to learn more.” The alien paused, and the girl knew that it was studying her. Finally it said, “You are unique. I have never encountered anything quite like you before, and it is very rare for another being to come seek me out.” The girl couldn't wait any longer to say the words. “Take me with you.” Now it was the alien's turn to be surprised. “Where?” “Anywhere. Take me to all the places you've been. Anywhere, just so long as it's far away.” “I can't do that.” Tears of frustration and disappointment stung the girl's eyes. “Why not?” The alien sounded regretful. “We are too different. This hasn't stopped us from communicating, but I do not know how you
3
would survive the trip as you are now. To take you with me safely, I would need to make you almost like a part of me.” “It wouldn't hurt, would it?” “Not at all. But it could change you in a way neither of us would like.” The girl considered this. “I still want to go.” She began to cry. “I've been waiting forever to meet you. And now I've met you, and you've traveled so far and...” Her voice sounded tiny in the vacuum between the stars. “I'd feel awful if you just left me.” “Is it so terrible where you are?” the alien asked. “If I could be with you, I would be happier.” “In that case, I think I can still do something for you.” “Really?” In response the girl felt something explode into her mind. It felt like a giant flower unfolding inside her, a flower made of millions of petals, each petal a new and unfamiliar thought. Suddenly she knew what it was like to watch icy storms at sea on a strange planet; to move through a dimension where indistinct shapes twisted and coiled in the atmosphere like snakes. She went through all of the experiences in a second. In the middle of the stream of visions the girl saw herself, like looking in a mirror. It startled her, because she was seeing things she had never seen before - cells, atoms, memories, thoughts, wishes and dreams, all fitted together in a hypnotic pattern that seemed to flicker and burn almost, she thought, like a star. The visions faded away, leaving behind faint shadows and something else, something alive. It stayed with the girl as she began to fall back through space in the direction of home, and the weird and wonderful being she had wanted to meet for so long dissolved into the darkness. The girl was jolted awake, lying in her own bed again. It was still the middle of the night. Was the alien just a dream? No, it wasn't. The girl felt strange, as if there was a second heart beating inside of her own. And a will that wasn't quite hers was making her slip out from under the covers, walk across the carpet and stand in front of her closet mirror. It lifted her hand to her face and touched her cheek, smiling at her reflection in wonder. “Everything is so new here. You can show me the rest, can't you?” said the new presence in the girl's voice. “Yes. I'd love that.” The girl smiled. The girl and her new companion remained side-by-side in the same body, sharing each other's company and sometimes their thoughts. The little alien was thrilled by the smallest things in their daily life - telephone poles, for instance, and twigs at the bottom of a stream. Everything seemed fresh and exciting the way the alien saw it, and its enthusiasm was infectious.
4
One night the alien led the girl up a grassy hill with a telescope. Together they peered through it, and instead of the sky the girl found that they were looking at city lights twinkling in the distance. “They're beautiful, aren't they?” asked the alien. “Like the sky fell to the ground.” “I never really looked at them before,” the girl said, “but you're right.” When they folded the telescope and walked down the hill, the girl looked up at the stars. Even though she still loved them, she didn't feel that desperate pull anymore; for the first time, she was fine being where she was. She had a friend - and together they had fallen in love with the world.
By Jina Lee
5
Caught In Crime
B
itter cold wind whipped through Lisa’s hair as she slumped down the wall, sobbing. The night was pitch- black, dotted with glistening stars. Her body ached like a beaten bag. Unusual thoughts circled around her head.
Lisa hated what she did to herself. It’s not like she needed more trouble. Just like the timeworn saying “old habits die hard”. That applied to Lisa too as she couldn’t resist being a rebel. In comparison to now, it all seemed so imprudent to her. Oblivious to the fact that if she had controlled herself that time, if she just hadn’t entered that forest, maybe she wouldn’t have to see this day today. She still remembers that day as clear as crystal etched on her mind forever. She was sitting in her English class, chit-chatting with her friends about her party organisation. “Miss Dragomir, how many times do I have to repeat myself about the rules of my class room? How many times do I have to stop you from talking!” exploded Mrs.Baltzell. Lisa’s face tightened with pure hatred and anger. As a matter of fact Mrs.Baltzell a.k.a the obnoxious year 10 teacher has never been her favourite person at all.
GOD someone kill her for me “Stand-up”, she snapped. And so she follows. “Tell me Ms’ Dragomir, what should I do with you?” Mrs Baltzell asked. “Shouldn’t you be the one deciding? “ Lisa asked deliberately. The whole class giggled except for Mrs Baltzell who showed no interest and was even more enraged. “Enough!” she shouted, “You, get out of my room now “ Lisa quickly sprinted out of the class not interested in hearing her gobbledygook. She kept walking until she realized she was surrounded by tall, towering trees with their branches stretching out like cobwebs above her. As a matter of fact this place was situated out of the school boundaries.
“Who knew there would be a forest hidden here?” Lisa thought. “It wouldn’t matter if I wag school for a day, would it?” But Lisa ignored her taunting inner-voice and followed the narrow pathway leading through pine forest.
6
Lisa never liked visiting a forest, not even with her friends, but right now she was definitely checking it out. She looked up as the sun rays playfully danced across her skin. She inhaled the pine smell and continued. All of a sudden, she heard cries like sharp daggers assaulting her ears. She knew it wasn’t an animal but before she could give it a thought, she found herself already running towards the sound. Frankly, Lisa never cared of what was going around, just kept her head in work. But right now it was as if some sort of an instinct was screaming at her to go and find out. After a while, she stopped as she saw two dark figures wrestling each other. Lisa quickly hid behind the lofty tree nearby. “Phew!” she sighed in relief as she wiped off her sweat. Slowly, she poked her head out, just enough to see what was going on without getting caught and that’s when she saw the actual situation. A man with a monstrous clown mask was hovering over the limp young man, ready to strike at him with his pocket knife, but before that could happen the young man moved to the other side and escaped.
“Way to go” Lisa thought. But that was not it. The clown growled and went for him again with that dagger and this time it went straight through the heart. The young man froze for a moment; his face turned from fear to shock and fell down with a soft thud. A rustle of leaves near her, made the clown meet her eyes and from that moment she knew that she had made a horrible mistake.
BY Disha Jayswal
7
SAD MOMENTS
W
alking into the gates of the cemetery, Emma walked past the many rows of graves until she finally reached her destination. She knelt down to the grave, putting a bouquet of flowers in front of it. Looking down at the gravestone, it read;
Thomas Andrew Watson 1984 – 2010 A loving husband, father, son and a loyal friend too many A tear dripped down Emma’s face; it had been an exact year since the death of her husband. It was all because of a stupid drunk truck driver. Emma remembered the day as if it was yesterday, the day she was told about Tom’s death.
Flashback: Emma was sitting on the ground, laughing and playing with her 2 year old son, Adam. Looking at the time, it was nearly six o’ clock, “Tom should be home by now” Emma thought. As soon as the thought went through her mind, the door bell rang. Getting up, Emma went towards the door, opening it and expecting to see her husband’s face. Instead she was faced with a police officer. “May I help you?” Emma questioned politely. “Mrs Watson?” the police officer asked. Feeling confused, all Emma could do was nod. He then continued; “Your husband was in a massive accident with a drunken truck driver.” The police officer paused for a moment, as if he were wondering what to say next. “Emma, I’m sorry Thomas did not make it through. Unfortunately the truck got rid of him”, the officer said with teary eyes. “W – What?” Emma stuttered with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry” The police officer repeated. Then and there, Emma broke down into sobs. Her son staring at his mother, wondering what was wrong. “Mama,” Adam uttered “Dada?” Emma looked at her son direction and sobbed harder.
End of Flashback Adam wasn’t with her at the moment; she left him at his aunt’s house. Emma wanted to spend the first year of her husband’s death with him alone. She’ll come back with Adam next week on her weekly visits. “Hi Tom” Emma spoke to his grave as if Thomas was actually there himself. 8
“It’s been a year” she continued, “a long painful year. We all miss you, even Adam does. His grown so much, he looks exactly like you; blond hair, blue eyes. “He wanted to come today, but I wanted it to be just you and me” Emma tried to suppress her tears, but failed; “God I miss you so much” she sobbed. “I wish you were here to see your son grow. “It was Adam’s birthday few weeks ago, he told me he wished for his daddy to come back” Emma sobbed. “I had to tell him you passed away, that you’re gone to heaven. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him that, it looked like he was about to burst into tears, which he did. He cried so hard, I felt hopeless.” Emma looked at the time and turned back to the grave, “I have to go and pick Adam up from his Aunt Julie’s house. I’ll see you next week.” She got up from beside the grave, before leaving she simply said, “I love you Thomas Andrew Watson” as her final tear dripped down her face before she exited the gates of the cemetery.
By Sahdia Hussain
9
Revenge
T
here were guns pointing from all directions, meters away from their target, me. Tension in the air slowly rising up to the point where it had become suffocating. It was fight or flight but I’m sick of running, all I do is run and this will never end unless I fight.
I was wondering the streets of Sydney, trying to forget everything that had happened in the past few years. I just wanted to relax and have some quality time to myself. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to relax without worrying about my life, it was peaceful for once. Well that’s what I thought until I heard my name being screamed out. Guess my peace just ended. “Chelsea, Chelsea wait for me!” shouted Linda “You do know that you don’t have to shout I’m only a couple of metres away from you,” “So Chelsea what are you going to do today?” she questioned “I don’t know, why?” I was starting to get suspicious of her. “Well that’s good because now you can come with me to the amusement park!” Linda exclaimed Before I could protest she had already started to drag me there. This is going to be a long day. An hour later we had arrived, and Linda started dragging me to every ride in the place. This really was going to be a long tiring day. After we rode all the rides three times Linda got bored, so we decided to go home but first I had to go buy dinner for us. “Hey Linda you don’t mind waiting here while I go get dinner do you?” “No it’s fine and I need a rest.” “Alright, stay here and don’t move from this spot.” I started walking off to buy the food when I heard an ear piercing scream that only Linda could make. I started to panic while sprinting back to where I left her but I arrived seconds too late as I saw her get dragged into a white van with her screaming inside. I stood there not knowing what to do. I had to save her. There was a problem, looking for her, she could be anywhere. I had no idea where to start. I started to walk home to gather my thoughts and figure out a plan to find her. It took 2 hours to get home, in two hours a lot could happen but what could I do. I arrived home only to find a note stuck to the door of my house. It read: It’s been a while Chelsea, we’ve been watching you and it seems your life is getting a little boring so we decided to make it more interesting for you. Your friend Linda is with us right now, you’re probably wondering who we are, am I right? Well you’ll find out soon enough, also since we’re done playing with her, you can find her in an abandoned warehouse on Elm Street.’ Without a second thought I ran towards that destination, it was close to where I live. When I reached the warehouse I slammed the door open only to find her sitting in the corner sobbing. I walked over to her, trying to put my arms around her, but she flinched at my touch. “Linda it’s me, Chelsea.” she looked up while I stared at her, no words needed to be spoken but I understood what had happened just by looking in her eyes. Her clothes were tattered, her hair sticking up in all directions. She was sobbing uncontrollably and instantly I put my arms around her, comforting her saying it was ok. She had been broken; they had taken her purity, her innocence. They had raped her. Weeks had passed since that had happened and they were going to pay for what they had done. Linda was still in a state of distress over what had happened, at times I thought she was at the point of suiciding but I was always there comforting her, making sure she was alright. She would get 10
nightmares and flinch whenever someone tried to touch her. The sparkle in her eyes were gone, it was replaced with a sense of despair and sadness. Her moves were slow, not like the normal energetic Linda I knew. I was on my way to shops after making sure Linda was better compared to the first few days, so I thought she would be fine. I bought things that she might need for the next couple of days. After I bought all the stuff I rushed back to her place making sure she was alright. I unlocked the door and walked in. “Linda, I’m back.” I called out but there was no reply. There was always a reply, something must be wrong. I slowly walked upstairs making sure to make no noise. I opened each door cautiously and carefully. Each room was safe but there was one room left, her bedroom. I crept towards the door and slowly opened it. I gasped blood was smeared and splattered all along the walls but that was not the worse part of it. Linda was tied to the bed; her clothes tattered with cut marks all over her body. Blood was oozing out; I walked slowly towards her body and held her hand. I knew she had died. Her body wasn’t cold yet, but it wasn’t as warm as it was supposed to be. How could this have happened to her? I felt warm tears rolling down my checks, I was crying. Sobs slowly escaped my mouth and eventually I started crying hysterically. My head started to hurt, it was like a headache but I saw images I couldn’t recognise. Slowly more flashes of images started playing in my mind like an inbuilt movie theatre. The images kept replaying; I could see a girl tied to the bed like Linda was. The images kept playing, it was like déjà vu. This had all happened to Linda, a few more images played and then a name came up, I remember her, she was my first friend Ina. Her death was worse than Linda’s. Her body had been burnt. She was tortured whilst she was alive and also had the name “Eddy” smeared all over her body and the walls. Those words triggered some sort of domino effect in my mind; I started remembering more and more. Eventually I remembered everything that had happened. Eddy and Andii they were responsible for everything, the murders, my memory loss and my happiness. They were rapists, murderers, con artists, they were the most wanted people by the police but no one knew their appearance until I accidentally overheard and well let’s just say they’re going to get rid of me to make sure I keep my mouth shut. I still remember what they look like, their faces when they found out I knew, it sent shivers down my spine just thinking about it. I remembered all the memories I wanted to forget. All the times when I feared for my life, my family and friends lives. How could I have forgotten all of this? How could I have forgotten all they had done to everybody close to me? They could have just killed me but why didn’t they? My head was filled with new questions that could only be answered when I find them. Crash I instantly turned my head towards the direction of the sound and there I found a rock with a note attached to it. It read: “I know you remember everything. I know you have questions that you want answered. You know who I am and if you want those questions answered meet me under the bridge near your house.”
11
I felt anger slowly boiling inside of me. How dare they do this, even after what they have already done to me? They drugged me, knocked me out, then made sure I had lost my memory before they started to torture me whilst remaining unknown. I hate this feeling of being vulnerable, it made me feel useless. I knew I needed help for this so I called a couple of my friends that I hadn’t contacted since I lost my memory, to help me as back up. I was on my way to the bridge and there they were waiting for me. They had smirks on their faces the second I walked into view. I wasn’t too shocked to see that they had their men behind them. We were both standing there cautious of each other’s movements. I wanted answers but it seemed pointless now, all I wanted was revenge. I heard a gunshot, I had no idea where it came from but one of Eddy’s men had gone down and in a split second all guns were aimed at me. Seconds later more gun fire was heard and slowly more and more of Eddy’s men had died. It had started. Bullets were flying everywhere. The bloodbath had begun. Blood covered the surrounding area and the people in it. Dismembered dead bodies lay on the ground. I tried to stop this massacre but they deserved to die. I grabbed a gun abandoned on the ground and aimed for Eddy, I resented him the most. He was the mastermind behind all of this. I pulled the trigger and then everything seemed as if it was in slow motion. I could hear the car noises that were above the bridge, the water rushing to get to the ocean, the rapid gun shots that had been going on for a while now. I looked towards Eddy just as the bullet entered his body and into the heart. He gasped then looked towards me with his hands over the wound. He was slowly falling towards the ground. I saw his eyes lose focus and eventually he stopped breathing. I finally ended his life. I had killed someone for the first time. I had become like them. I murdered someone’s child, sibling and friend. What had I done? No, he deserved this; he killed everyone close to me so he did deserve to lose his life for his sins but is that really for me to decide? I looked towards Andii and saw his enraged face glowing with anger and the desire for revenge. I aimed my gun towards Andii and pulled the trigger for the second time. The second I pulled the trigger I felt immense pain rush through my body. I looked down to find the source of the pain only to find that I had been shot. I looked up to find Andii collapsed on the ground with a firm grip on his gun. We had both shot each other and now on the verge of dying. I had to stay alive until I was sure he had died. Andii’s eyes were slowly closing; his breath became shallow and slowly stopped breathing altogether. I could feel myself slowly fading away. Everything was slowly becoming darker and colder. My vision was starting to become blurry and unfocused. My eyelids started to close and eventually everything turned black.
By Sarah Qin
12
Silence
T
here is silence in the darkness No dog is howling And no one is shouting
We lie close to keep out the cold, Besides me my father is asleep But my mother lies with eyes wide open Too tired to even weep There is silence in the darkness No dog is howling And no one is shouting Suddenly I sit up straight With my eyes open wide Out through the window, I see something bright I walk up to it and hear a faint “Hide� The light seems to come closer And the whispers become louder I hear it loud and clear
13
It says; “Over here, dear” There is no silence in the brightness No dog is howling But someone is shouting I take a step back And the hair on the back of my neck begins to prickle
“Jack” I hear. It calls out my name,
“Over hear dear!” There is no silence in the brightness No dog is howling But something is shouting I shut my eyes. The light! It is too bright. In the distance I hear faint cries I open my eyes… My blood is curling And my spine is tingling. This is horrifying!
14
All I see is a ghost-like figure. She has no legs and floats in mid-air. She swims through the air, making her way closer to me; every movement more horrifying than the one before. Her features are so perfect and beautiful, yet so evil and deceiving. Her green eyes radiate like emeralds ablaze. They were once filled with fear but now filled with strange desire. The cold, harsh winds are no obstacles for her, she moves with much grace and poise; I am momentarily mesmerized by her unusual precision. Anger boils within me as my revulsion for her grows. I hate her! I wish I could kill her‌. again I cannot fulfil my wish as to slaughter her once more; for she is dead and I am her murderer. Now she haunts me every night, And now I fill with horror and fright.
By Sahiti Turpuseema
15
Walks on the Beach
"G
randfather, are you feeling better now?" I asked with concern. "I'm perfectly fine, dear. In fact, I feel better than ever! No need to worry let’s just go down to the beach for a walk and have some fun." Grandfather Newton said with a cheery smile. "Are you sure? We can surely go for another day, nothing is more important than your health." I said still worried. "Come on, let’s go! Fun shall never wait. I am fine, a walk to the beach and I'll look better in a blink of an eye." Grandfather said with a wink. "Ok. I give up you are just too stubborn, grandfather. Let’s go!" I said happily, glad that he is perfectly fine. We walked down the beach shoreline, just enjoying the scenery. Kids were building sandcastles, adults and teenagers relaxing in the soft golden sand, swimming in the cold blue crashing waves. A sight to die for. I am eating a Tim Tam Cornetto and grandfather is eating his favourite blueberry pie. We were talking about many things just like we usually do when we go for a walk and that’s why we both enjoy it a lot. We were walking towards the cliff, our own secret place where no one comes. When all of a sudden we heard a gunshot! My grandfather suddenly put his hand on the left side of his chest and grabbed on to me. He was in pain and couldn't stand steadily any longer. He was very unstable and began relying on me but I couldn't handle the extra weight on myself. I was losing my balance; we were on the rocky part of the cliff. I was slipping and I didn’t know what to do! "HELP! Grandfather, are you okay? Someone help! Please, HELP!" I cried out aloud hoping someone would come. I slowly pulled him against the rocky cliff behind me, so I could lay him down there while I go run for help. Amazingly I managed to pull it off and lay him down. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to go down and get help, ok? Just hang in there, I'll be back." I reassured him, hoping he could still hear me over the pain he's going through. I left him there, and ran down the cliff yelling out for help as I was running when I slipped and fell face down on the rocky ground. I could feel blood rush to my face and feel the graze burn my soft skin. My body was aching all over, and I could feel liquid oozing out of my skin from my arms and my legs. I was in pain, I couldn't move a bit! All I could think of now is how I’m supposed to help my grandfather if I just stay here and lay down? I tried to get up and it seemed like life’s greatest missions. I couldn’t do this, the pain was killing me, and my head was throbbing with pain and blood rushing out from all over me. I couldn't even open my eyes, and knew that I'm slowly losing consciousness. " "Hey, are you okay? Hello?" I feel as if I could hear someone calling out to me and see a slight blurred outline of a guy but I knew I must be hallucinating. "Grandfather, are you okay? I'm sorry I can't help you, I am in pain and I can't move. I fell when I ran down the cliff. I can't do anything...i shouldn't have left you..." I mumbled to myself as I was lying there, groaning with pain, hoping to be rescued and rescue my grandfather.
16
I slowly opened my eyes, but quickly shut them because i couldn't adjust to the bright light. I used my hand as a shield and this time I managed to open my eyes. There when I became aware of my surroundings, something captured the corner of my eye, it was this really young guy sitting down near the side of my bed. I was startled and jumped a little, and he laughed. I was slightly embarrassed and could see my skin turning bright red. "Who are you? How did I get here?" I managed to ask through my embarrassment. "My name is Kris. Kris Walin. I found you back at the beach. You were injured and covered in blood. I called the ambulance straight away and brought you here," he said very calmly. That's when it struck me, my grandfather! How is he? Where is he? Could he still be up near the cliff? A billion questions were rising up inside of me, I was started to panic and my heart was racing ahead of time. I couldn't control myself but I couldn't bring myself up to ask where he was either. I could never forgive myself, if I find out he is still up near the cliff all alone, unconscious. "Hey, hey. Calm down, take it easy. The doctor said you have to be calm. If you are worrying about your grandfather, don't worry he’s in the ward next door and he is perfectly fine and in a stable condition. He just had a mild heart attack." As soon as Kris said this, I felt my heart starting to beat again to its normal pace, and the whole world return back to reality. As I was coming back to my senses, grandfather walked into my ward. I jumped out of my bed despite the throbbing in my head and my aching arms and legs, and ran to hug my grandfather. It was like I have never felt any happier before. "Ok, dear. Now go take a rest, before you feel any worse." Grandfather said very cheerily, and hearing it just made me feel happier than before. I went back and got into my bed as I was told and grandfather came around to the other side where Kris was sitting. Kris quickly got up and offered the seat to Grandfather but he just waved him down and told him to sit while he sat on the edge of my bed. "So, how are you feeling now my dear? If it weren't for this young man we could never have made it to where we are now. Am I right, my dear boy?" Grandfather asked. "No sir. I wouldn't have come around up there if I didn't hear your granddaughter's cry for help. As soon as I heard her voice, I knew there was something wrong but by the time I got there, she was losing her consciousness. I tried to keep her awake, but she was in so much pain and injured I could tell she isn't going to wake up. But she was mumbling something and I tried really hard to listen over the harsh crashing waves and chirping seagulls. That's when I was able to pick out some words that were, about her grandfather being up near the cliff and he needs help. Then I knew that she wasn't the only one who was in danger and would need medical attention for someone else as well. I called an ambulance immediately and then I went up the cliff and I found you, sir. No need to thank me sir. If it weren't for your granddaughter, who tried to go get a help and call out, I would never have ever found you.� Kris recapped the story and then turned to look at me. We shared a smile and then I suddenly glimpsed a blue spark in his eyes. I shuddered at the sight and blinked. When I looked again his eyes were perfectly normal, no spark, just normal. I couldn't help thinking if I was just imagining the spark or there's something beyond what I saw.
By Sinthujaa Selvananth 17
The Unknown World
T
ension crossed my face, as I stood and waited for Grandpa to come. He didn’t. It was my sister’s wedding day and everyone stood quietly not knowing where he was or why he wasn’t here. Maybe something had gone wrong or maybe I was too aware. But even if I tried to deny it, I knew this wasn’t grandpa. He was never late and always made sure that everyone arrived. But this time he was the one who didn’t come on time. As the minutes past and the gossip started, I didn’t know what to say to Emily, the person who was getting ready to become a bride and walk down the aisle beside her grandpa, who stood by her through the bad and good times. My father and mother had died in a car accident, they couldn’t be here. What if he didn’t come? Who would walk with Emily down the aisle and represent the family? It was now 1 pm and still there was no sign of grandpa. Emily still wasn’t informed about everything going wrong on her wedding day and the fact that she is going to walk alone through the aisle. This day just couldn’t get any worse or could it? I knew that as soon as grandpa entered the hall, everyone would forget that it was Emily’s wedding and change the topic to him and how he came so late on his granddaughters wedding. Maybe I should say daughter since he held her in his arms from the day she was born and up till now but couldn’t be bothered to come on time on her wedding. This would not only affect Emily but also her expectations on everything being “perfect” but in fact it was the opposite. As I tried to blink my eyes couldn’t look away, this had not only been witnessed by myself but by a majority of people whose heart beats crossed the room as they saw grandpa walking side to side around the hall without taking a breath saying “stop the wedding! Right now! Stop this wedding”. This had not only left me breathless but worried since everyone described him as a fearless and courageous person but today was something different. He had been terrified by something you could never think of. As everyone tried to calm him down and figure out what had made him run in the hall screaming to stop the wedding because this was probably the shock of my life. I knew something had gone wrong and whatever had made him do this drama in front of everyone had a reason behind it. This was not a usual thing that happened in a wedding but a tragedy. Emily then took grandpa inside and locked the door, William was inside also which was not a good idea. I didn’t realise that I was breathing so hard until everyone stopped doing whatever they were doing and looked at me as if it was normal to be worried as I was, after all that was 18
my sister who was just about to experience the worst day of her life. Wait I think the death of our parents would be at the top of the list. Suddenly grandpa walked out of the room very disappointed and frustrated and the next thing I know grandpa and everyone around him couldn’t stop laughing with this horrid look, I tried to figure out what was happening but only to find out I was in a dream because Emily got married 3 years ago. I then started pinching myself repeatedly but I wasn’t waking up. What if I stayed in this dream forever? I then realised that it was my wedding day tomorrow.
By Tahreem Zaidi
19
Wishing Immortality
H
ave you ever wanted to become Immortal? Yes, then we are alike. No, then we are not alike. That’s what I used to think, not anymore. Ever since I was fourteen, I wanted to become Immortal. I know, you might think I’m
crazy. Right? Well, I guess I was and sometimes am. I guess I wanted to become immortal because I got brainwashed by reading too many supernatural books. I have also learnt that vampires, werewolves and other supernatural characters don’t exist. Except for ghosts. Sometimes I don’t believe in ghosts, but I know there is a part of me that always will and I just won’t admit it to myself or others. The characters in the book sound amazing and cool and always get a happy ending. Right? Well I have learnt that happy endings don’t always happen in real life and when you fall in love your heart gets crushed most of the time. This has happened to me too many times. Sometimes I cry, watch sad movies, and listen to sad or cranky songs and my mood goes all funny. I act as though I’m fine when really all I want to do is cry and be left alone. But do I get left alone? Hell no. There’s always a person around trying to comfort me when I don’t want them. As I grew up, my mind changed about immortality due to a friend. She was the best friend I could ever have. She made me realise so many things. Through her eyes everything on Earth was something, whilst in my opinion everything on Earth was rubbish. She told me to love nature and my surroundings. She taught me to stop complaining about my family because I was lucky I had one. There are many people out there that don’t have any family whatsoever. ‘Derella, do you ever want to become immortal?’ I asked, feeling tired. ‘Why Eshella?’ Derella asked, sounding curious.
20
‘Just asking. Do you?’ I asked again, sucking my breath and hoping for an answer. ‘What do you mean by Immortal?’ She asked, sounding curious but her face was not giving anything away. I guess she was pulling a Poker Face. ‘Immortal as in books. For example, a vampire,’ I said, sounding excited. ‘Vampire? My body being frozen. No way, and I know what you mean. Physical immortality. Right?’ She asked. ‘I mean immortality,’ I said. ‘There are two types of immortality. One Physical and the other Soul. No I wouldn’t want to have physical immortality because your body will get frozen in time and you’ll end up roaming the Earth. You’ll always be moving places, since you can’t change or grow old. Humans have souls and their soul is immortal. Humans don’t get frozen in time and plus vampires and other supernatural characters don’t exist.’ She said in a nice soothing voice. I agreed and my thoughts changed. She had a huge influence on me and I looked up to her until one day she died in a car accident. I saw her dead body and if you carefully looked at her face, then you could see the smile. As if being dead was just the beginning for her. Maybe someday it will be for me as well and that got me thinking. By Masooma Hakimi
21