In support of PBC Food Aid

A Collection of
Short Stories
& Poems
by CG4 and friends

"Couldn't stop myself from reading,

haven't slept in days..."
- Very Qualified Book Reviewer
Famous Book Reviews

“11/10! This book is like eating MSG. Once you start,

you can’t stop!” ~ Emily Cheh, a serious book reader.

“I’m not a serious book reader, but I seriously read this

book.” ~ Ju-Hann Lee, not a serious book reader.

"The detective story actually has real and possible

tricks in it but it is my first detective story so if there are
mistakes, please forgive me. Also, if it seems rushed, it's
cos I wrote it all in one night for a school assignment
lol." ~ Toh Weng Jheng, author of the ‘best-selling’
detective story ever.

“Wow! The stories are interesting and I always wanted

to read on! Rich in wonderful vocabulary, which I'll
⭐ ⭐
show to my kids! 5 / 5 " ~ Aaron Soong, PBC Youth
Committee

“This is the BEST book ever!! Even though I haven’t

read it yet,” ~ Serene’s brother.

“My sister read it, she said it’s the best book ever, and
she never lies,” ~ Jonathan.

1
Contents

Short Stories

The Case of the Cyanide Poisoned Boy Page 5

Written by Toh Weng Jheng
Illustrated by Isaac Lee

Revenge and Forgiveness Page 7

Written by Toh Weng Jheng & Serene Thong

Brothers Page 24
Written by Wong King Wai
Illustrated by Isaac Lee

Me and Boo: Always Together Page 26

Story by Abigail Lai
Written by Abigail Lai & Natasha Tan
Illustrated by Natasha Tan

Mum Page 37
Written & Illustrated by Emily Cheh

When a Star Dies Page 42

Written & Illustrated by Aaron Soong

A Rainy Day Page 48

Written & Illustrated by Aaron Soong & Jonathan Chin

2
Contents

Poems

Three Poems Page 60

Written by Ooi Kay Lee

How Can It Be? Page 61

Written by Pastor Mark Tan

Today Page 62
Written & Illustrated by Carolyn Sie

SHORT
STORIES

 The Case of the Cyanide Poisoned Boy

by Toh Weng Jheng

___

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! “Hey, you okay?!

Come on out! It’s been half an hour already!” No
one replied. SLAM! I broke down the door in
panic, “The room is empty!” My worst nightmare
had come true…

My name’s Sam. I’m sure you have heard

of the legendary detective, Shiro. That’s not me,
That’s my grandfather. My family has a curse,
wherever we go, something will go wrong but my
family has been blessed with my grandfather’s
ingenuity. This is my first time experiencing this
and I hope it’ll be the last.

My friends and I went on a sponsored school trip to Hawaii. Everyone was

excited while I was praying hard nothing bad would happen. We got to the resort half
an hour after the plane landed. I thought to myself, “It will be fine… right?”

“Dinner is at 7.00p.m., guys. You all should get some rest,” said my friend,
John. Everyone was extremely exhausted and we went to our rooms. I decided to
take a nap since I couldn’t sleep a wink on the plane. At seven, we all gathered at the
lobby except for one of our friends, Mike. So, we all decided to wait for him. Half an
hour had passed and he didn’t turn up, “What’s gotten into him? He is usually
punctual,” said Emelia.

“Oh no, please, please be alright,” I thought to myself. John suggested that we
go check on him. Everyone rushed to his room. After I broke the door down,
everyone was frightened. The room was in a mess and nobody was in. I reluctantly
said “The room should have some clues. Let’s investigate,” Suddenly, we heard a loud
scream. Everyone rushed to the scene in a blink of an eye.

We all gasped in horror. It was Mike. His mouth was bubbling as if he was
poisoned. I knelt down next to him and sensed a whiff of almond. “The signs
indicate he has been poisoned by cyanide,” I said. I tested for his pulse on his wrist
and sure enough there was no pulse.

5
 Just then, I remembered seeing something in his room before we heard the
scream, “I’m going back to his room, guys, make sure nothing happens to Mike.
Watch him closely until I return,” I said.

I ran back to his room and looked around, and figured it out immediately. I
returned as soon as possible and exclaimed “I know exactly what has happened. All
this is a trick and a very clever one at that,”. Everyone was shocked. “Are you sure
you know what happened?” John asked. “Yes, I do, I’ll explain it now: I remember
when we stormed into the room, I noticed that Mike’s luggage was missing but due to
the commotion, it slipped my mind to investigate further. Only when we were
investigating his corpse did I remember that detail . I rushed back to confirm if his
luggage was there, but I was also looking for something else...” I explained. They all
asked what else was I looking for. I was actually searching for a sweet wrapper,
specifically a fizzy almond candy. All of my friends were confused. I explained, “If
Mike was really murdered, why would his luggage disappear?” To which, Emelia
replied, “Come to think of it, the mess wasn’t made with his stuff but with everything
in the room!”

“Exactly. Then, where did his stuff go?” I said. Then, everyone began to
understand. “Get up, Mike! We all know you are faking it,” I shouted. Then, slowly,
Mike got up, crying. Turns out, it was all an act after all. The bubbly, almond scented
foam was just a fizzy almond candy and the lack of pulse was just a squash ball under
his armpit stopping the blood flow to his arm, making it look as if his pulse had
stopped.

“My parents have been fighting everyday. It’s all because of me,” he said while
in tears. “My father had lost his job and barely has the money to feed us. So, I
thought if I disappeared, my parents would have less of a burden to carry,” said Mike
with a choking sob. All of us felt sorry for him. “That definitely wouldn’t solve the
problem. You would just cause more trouble for them,” I said. “Yeah, cheer up mate!”
said John, “We will help out as much as we can.” said Emelia. “Thank you, everyone,”
said Mike as he slowly smiled.

With that, the case was finally closed. The police were amazed when they
arrived, knowing that I solved the case. I was just glad nothing truly bad happened
and no lives were lost. Although all this was a true pain, I thought to myself,
“Actually, this was fun,” with a slight grin on my face.

___

The End

6
 Revenge and Forgiveness
by Toh Weng Jheng & Serene Thong

___

BAM!!! I turned around to see who had hit me and of course it had to be,
Barry, the gang leader of the orphans. “What have you been doing, loser? You were
supposed to wash the dishes hours ago.” “I did do it. They were all washed when I
last checked them.” “Well maybe you need to get your eyes checked, freak.” “Take a
look at this mess!” said Barry pointing towards a stack of dirty dishes near the sink.
“Heheh,” said Barry to himself. “The boys did a good job messing up the kitchen.
Now the freak will have to do them all over again.’ Before I could reply, the lady of
the orphanage, Ms Meyers, strode into the room. ‘ What is this dreadful mess?” “The
freak did it!” shouted one of the boys. “Jack! How could you? I gave you warm food, a
comfortable bed and a roof over your head and this is how you repay me?” shouted
Ms Meyers angrily. “I’m sorry, Ms Meyers.” “Sorry isn’t going to save you again boy.
Go to your room. You're grounded for a month. No food for you tonight either young
man and don’t even think about secretly leaving your room.” “But Ms Meyers….” “No
buts. Get to your room NOW!!” Angry and frustrated, I made my way to my room.
The attic.

As I opened the door, seated myself on the bed, watched the snow fall, I
thought to myself - it wasn’t fair at all. Ms Meyers was playing favourites. Why
wouldn’t she let me tell her my side of the story? She says she’s looked after me
carefully but the truth is she just wants to save her face. ‘Ms Meyers' home for
orphans’ has been known city-wide. To the entire city Ms Meyers is a kind, gentle
woman who looks after orphans with nowhere to go. She says she supplied me with
warm food? Only for the other orphans. I get moldy, cold, wet bread. She says she
provides me a comfortable bed? My bed is just an old, worned out bench covered in
splinters. A roof over my head? I would rather be homeless and live on the streets.

It all started when I was 5. On a cold winter’s morning, much like this one, my
parents were on their way to the airport for vacation, while I was staying with my
best friend. An unexpected call came in from the hospital, my parents had died. They
were involved in a car accident while on their way to the airport. The news struck a
chord within me. I had no living relatives, it was always me and my parents and now
they were gone. I felt abandoned. “Why did you leave me?” was the most frequent
question I asked myself. I was an orphan. After the funeral I was sent to ‘Ms Meyers’
home for orphans’. It was terrible. The other orphans bullied me. Their antics were
always led by Barry. Barry was the worst one of them all. He would dunk my head
into the toilet bowls and force me to do all the housework meant to be split amongst
all the other orphans. And Ms Meyers? Well she didn’t even care about me. As long
as I was alive, she could continue showing her mask as a wonderful woman. Before

7
long I was nicknamed freak. Oh and it only went downhill from there. After a week at
the orphanage all my friends left me. My only hope for escape was to be adopted, but
no one wanted a dirty child. After a while I got used to it. It was hopeless.

“Jack! Come down here!” shouted Ms Meyers from the bottom of the stairs.
Willingly I descended the stairs. “Jack, go and buy the groceries I’ve written down on
this list,’ thrusting a shopping list and 25 pounds into my hands. “Don’t you dare lose
that money, Jack.” And out the door I went, on my way to the grocery store. “Here
you go, Jack.” “ Thank you, Mrs Jones.” By the time I had finished shopping it was
already evening. “Sigh!” I said to myself “Time to head back to that cruel orphanage.”
The road was empty. Shops were starting to close. “I should hurry. Ms Meyers will
punish me if I’m late.”

Suddenly, I was grabbed by the hand and slammed onto the ground. I tried
struggling but it was no use. The stranger, a hooded figure, had blocked me from
moving my hands or legs. What was going on? Then, I felt a sharp pain in my back.
Blood spread all over the pavement floor. I was going to die. “Ah, my nightmare is
over. When I wake up I can be reunited with father and mother. Farewell Barry, I had
always hated you and wished I could dunk your head at least once into the toilet
before I died. Farewell Ms Meyers, you have never been kind to me and I hope the
world will know who you truly are, a fake." My eyes had closed as I lost
consciousness.

“Wake up! Wake up, Jack!” Huh? Slowly opening my eyes I was met face to
face with the hooded figure. “Huh? Is this Heaven?” “No, it’s not,” said the hooded
figure. I got up and looked around. Everything looked weird and wacky. Pigs were
flying in the sky and birds were swimming in the sea. It was like the world had been
turned upside down. “If this isn’t Heaven, where am I? Is this Hell?” I said panicking.
I didn’t think I did anything terrible enough to send me to Hell. “Calm down, Jack.
You're in Wonderland.” I turned around and suddenly remembered, this was the
stranger that attacked and killed me. “Who are you? What have you done to me?” “ I
guess I do owe you an explanation.” Removing their hood, the stranger revealed 2
fluffy bunny ears. “I am Blanche. Daughter of the White Rabbit. Let me be the first
person to congratulate you on your arrival to Wonderland.”

“Wonderland? What are you talking about? Wonderland isn’t real, it's just a
fairy tale.” “Wonderland is real. Otherwise how would you explain the ears? The
flying pigs? The swimming birds?” “It’s a nasty trick?” I said unconvincingly. “ It’s
not a trick.” As she grabbed the closest flying pig to us and handed it to me. Putting
my hand above and beneath the pig I caught no wire. It was real. This pig could really
fly. “Wait, wait, wait, wait. If what you're saying is true, then… we’re really in
Wonderland.” “Yes, and now that you're here you can save Wonderland from the
tyranny of the Queen of Hearts.” “Wait. What? I don’t get what you're saying.” “Only
a descendant of Alice can stop the Queen of Hearts and save Wonderland.”

8
 “A descendant of Alice?” “Yes, you Jack. You're the last remaining descendant
of Alice.” “What??” “Could you give me a minute, I need to process this.” After a long
silence. “Ok... so Wonderland is real? The fairy tale, Wonderland is real?” “Yes.” “And
I’m a descendant of Alice?” “Yes” “And you brought me here to save Wonderland
from the tyranny of the Queen of Hearts?” “Yes.” “Ok… How did I get here? Do you
have to die to get here?” “Oh no. You just take that portal over there,” said Blanche
pointing to a huge portal near us. “ There’s a similar portal like that one on Earth.”
“If that’s the case why did you have to kill me?” I said angrily. “Just in case you
wouldn’t believe me. Plus I didn’t kill you. I merely put you to sleep.” replied
Blanche. “If you're ready to walk we should head out soon. We have a long road
ahead of us, especially if we want to make it there before it gets dark.” Sigh! Within
24 hours my life had been turned upside down.

“Wow!” We had entered a huge colourful forest in Wonderland. “Amazing!”

The forest was filled with trees that were of every color of the rainbow and were
covered with signs that read ‘Up’, ‘Down’, ‘Yonder’, ‘Back’, ‘This way’ and ‘That way’.
It was exactly how I imagined Wonderland to be. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. We could
hear the sound of marching coming from behind us. “Quick, hide!” As Blanche
grabbed me and hid behind a bush. “What’s going on?” As a troop of guards that look
like cards marched in. “Halt! Alright men, we'll take a break here.” said their leader.
The other guards heaved a sigh of relief and started resting. “If we don’t hurry and
find the resistance's base, it will be off with our heads.” said the leader to his
subordinates. Producing a map he said “But we’ve looked everywhere. Where could
they be?” “Let’s try here.” pointing to an open field on the map. “The White Rabbit’s
burrow?” “Yeah, the White Rabbit might be housing the resistance.” “But the White
Rabbit has already given his loyalty to her Majesty.” “Not his daughter.” “Pack up
men. We’re moving out.”

Once they were gone I turned to look at Blanche. “What was that all about?”
“Nothing, you don’t have to worry about it. Let’s go.” “After that the entire journey
passed in silence. “Okay, we’re here.” I looked up and saw 2 plump men standing on
each side of a huge tree with a huge tree hollow. “Hello, Tweedledee and
Tweedledum.” “Hello, Blanche.” “Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.” “Huh?” Both Tweedledee
and Tweedledum turned to look at each other. “What does she mean, Tweedledee?”
“I don’t know, Tweedledum.” “Sigh! It’s the password.” “Password?” They both said
quizzically. “Oh! The password! Right. Right.” “Wow the real Tweedledee and
Tweedledum.” I said in awe. “Those two are so in sync, they practically never had a
fight with each other before.” said Blanche. “No. No. We almost did.” And the two
started reciting a rhyme.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee

Agreed to have a battle;
For Tweedledum said Tweedledee
Had spoiled his nice new rattle.

9
 Just then flew down a monstrous crow,
As black as a tar-barrel;
Which frightened both the heroes so,
They quite forgot their quarrel.

“Well, then. Come on in Jack.” said Tweedledee and Tweedledum inviting me

to pass through the tree hollow. “Wait. But there’s nothing there.” “You’ll see.” said
Tweedledee and Tweedledum smiling gleefully. I put my hand in and it disappeared.
It was as though there was a portal there. “You don’t have to worry. It’s just an
illusion we use to keep the Card Guards from finding us.” “Come on.” said Blanche as
she pushed me in.

When I opened my eyes we were in another part of the forest.” Is this the
resistance's base?” “No. We still need to walk. The base is a short walking distance
from here.” “How far is your base?” Continuing down the path, we met the Cheshire
Cat. “Hello,” she said with a smile. “Hello, Cheshire.” said Blanche. “So you found the
boy huh? Alice’s descendant.” “Yes.” “You sure he’s the right person? He doesn’t look
like Alice. Little boy, are you really the only descendant of Alice?” “Yes, he is.” replied
Blanche. “I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to him. Do you believe that you're
really the only descendant of Alice?” “Huh? What do you mean?" I said, puzzled.
“Leave us alone, Cheshire. Aren’t you supposed to be on reconnaissance?” “Sigh!
Looks like you don't have a clue either.” said Cheshire to herself. And with that she
disappeared. “Let’s go, Jack.” I was confused. “What did Cheshire mean when she
asked if I really was the only descendant of Alice?” “Don’t listen to her. She likes to
scare people.” said Blanche. Turning around to face me she said “Jack, you are the
only descendant of Alice.”

By sundown we arrived at the resistance’s base. “Hey Blanche, welcome back.”

“You got the kid.” “You must be tired, take a rest.” “Thanks, but I need to see Mr
Hatter.” said Blanche. “He’s in the usual place.” “Come on, Jack. We’re going to see
the Mad Hatter.”

We arrived at the biggest Willow Tree I have ever seen. Pushing past the
leaves of the Willow Tree, I found a mad tea party. Glowing orbs were floating
around providing light to the room. There were balloons, and pillows everywhere.
Many teapots with various types of tea were floating around. And in the middle of the
room was a long white table filled with many doughy treats and teacups. And sitting
at the head of the table was none other than the Mad Hatter. “Hello, Mr Hatter.”
“Hello, Blanche. You did a good job bringing Jack here. Now will you leave us to talk
privately?” “Of course.” And Blanche left.

“Hello, Jack. As you might already know I’m the Mad Hatter… it’s a pleasure
to meet you.” he said as he tipped his top hat. “Woah... The Mad Hatter.” “Take a

10
seat. Let’s talk over some tea shall we?” Pouring the tea, the Mad Hatter said “Now I
imagine you have many things to ask me and I’ll tell you under one condition.”
Putting down the teapot. “What is it?” “You solve my riddle.” said the Mad Hatter,
smiling at me. “Alright.” “Here’s the riddle.”

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

Hmm… Why is a raven like a writing desk? Why is a raven like a writing desk?
Wait, the Mad Hatter asked the same riddle to Alice in Alice in Wonderland. Turning
to look at the Mad Hatter. “The answer is… Nothing. There is no right answer to this
riddle.” “Congratulations, you have solved the riddle! Or not?” laughed the Mad
Hatter. “Now what would you like to know?” “Everything you know about Alice.”
“Everything I know about Alice?” said the Mad Hatter, giving me a quizzical look.
“Hahaha! I offer to tell you anything you want to know and that’s the first thing you
ask me? Hahahaha!” After calming down the Mad Hatter began telling me everything
he knew about Alice.

“Like the story goes Alice fell down the rabbit hole and got to Wonderland.
The Queen of Hearts was a tyrant who did whatever she wanted and if we disobeyed
her it would be off with our heads. In retaliation, the citizens of Wonderland formed
a resistance against the Queen of Hearts, led by me to stop the Queen from her tyrant
ways. When Alice came, she was caught in the crossfire and had to choose a side. In
the end, Alice sided with us. We defeated the Queen with the help of Alice who sealed
the Queen away. After that, Wonderland lived in peace and harmony or weird and
wacky chaos. But recently the Queen of Hearts has started regaining her power. She
sent her minions, the Card Guards whom I presume you’ve already met, to stop us
before we seal her again. We were actually waiting for a couple who were going to
help us seal the Queen of Hearts, but they were tragically killed in a car accident in
your world.”

“My parents!” “Yes, your parents. We believe that the Queen of Hearts might
have had a hand in it.” Anger and shock filled me. My parents didn’t die because of
an accident. They were murdered. “Here you go, Jack.” said the Mad Hatter, handing
me a silver key. “What is this?” “The key Alice used to seal the Queen of Hearts. She
left it with me for safe-keeping. Alice didn't have enough power to kill the Queen,
that's why she could only seal her. But you have power even stronger than her. You
can kill the Queen of Hearts once and for all in Alice's place.” As soon as my hand
touched the key, it transformed into a sharp-edged sword. “It's never done that
before. Oh well, how would I know." said the Mad Hatter, pouring more tea.

It’s been about a week since I arrived at the resistance's base. I've trained and
gotten used to using the sword. “Wow, it's only been a week but your skill with the
sword has become better than anyone else here.” “Maybe it's because he's the
descendant of Alice. She was a master swordswoman after all.” After hearing that, I

11
became more driven to improve my skill with the sword. As for everyone here, well…
they are weird and wacky but even so, they are very kind people. Before long I was
one of them. Even though I had only been here a short time with them, I earned their
trust and they earned mine. “Jack, head to the Willow Tree. We’re going to plan our
attack on the Queen of Hearts.” “Coming!”

“We’ll send our main force to occupy as many guards as possible, then we'll
get Cheshire to sneak in and open the south gate for us. Once inside we’ll disguise
ourselves as servants and split up into 2 groups. The first group will be led by me.
We’ll take out the remaining guards inside the palace. While the second group will be
led by Jack. That team will be the one cornering the Queen. Once in position, Jack
will seal the Queen of Hearts. And we’ll win. Simple as that.” said the Mad Hatter,
sipping tea.

Soon the day of the showdown was upon us. “Here you go, Jack.” said the Mad
Hatter tossing 2 weird looking mushrooms at me. “One of them will make you bigger
and the other will shrink you down to the size of a mouse. Hopefully they’ll be useful
in the upcoming battle. Use them wisely.” “Wait, how do I know which ones which?”
The Mad Hatter just shrugged. “You’ll figure it out.” “They're here!” shouted one of
the resistance members. “Who's here?” asked the Mad Hatter. “The Queen of Hearts
and her forces?” “No. The other resistance.” “The other resistance? What bad timing.
They must be here to stop us from killing the Queen.” “Ermm... What do you mean
by the other resistance?.” I asked. “I'll explain later. Right now, you need to hide. If
they find out that we have the descendant of Alice with us, they'll take you away.”
“Too late, Mad Hatter.” A group of 15 people on horseback led by a person dressed in
metal armour rode in. “So the rumours are true. You really do have the descendant of
Alice.” said their leader looking at me. “What are you here for? If you’re looking to
take him, don't bother. We're not handing him over to you.” “And here I thought we
could come to some agreement. Oh well, we'll just take him by FORCE then!”
“Everyone protect Jack! Don't let them take Jack!” shouted the Mad Hatter.

The other resistance won by a landslide. If we were prepared perhaps we could

have won that fight. “Well then, I believe that's checkmate, Mad Hatter.” pointing his
sword at the Mad Hatter's throat. “So can we take him?” asked their leader. “Only if
he is willing.” replied the Mad Hatter. Turning to me, he said “Well? Are you willing
to come with me?” “You'll leave the rest of them alone if I come with you?” “Of
course!” “Okay. I'll go with you,” I said reluctantly. “Excellent choice,” he said as he
withdrew his sword. “Alright, we're done here. Let's head back,” he said.

The mysterious figure and his comrades took me to the other side of the
forest. Although he was a stranger, I had a feeling that I knew who he was, I just
couldn't put a finger on it. Shoving that thought aside, I had to ask what was going on
and where they were taking me. “Excuse me, sir. Who may you all be? What is your
purpose? Why is there ‘another group of rebels’?”. “Hahahahahaha!!! You sure are

12
one to not hesitate to ask strangers questions, are you kid? Don’t worry, we aren't
your enemies. We are rather just another side that has a different goal from Hatter’s
side,” the armoured figure said. “What kind of goal? Is it that different that all of you
can’t work together?” I asked in suspicion. “Our main goal is technically the same,
just that our methods and purpose differ. You don’t need to be that wary of us. Like I
said, we aren’t your enemies. Oh look, we have arrived. We can speak more when we
enter the base,” he said. Their base was just as magnificent as Hatter’s base. I was in
awe. “Welcome back, Johnny. I see you succeeded in bringing him to our base,” said
an elderly white rabbit. “Yes, indeed, White Rabbit. The boy was brave because he
came willingly in order to protect his comrades,” the armoured figure said. “Wait,
White Rabbit?” I thought to myself. “But hadn’t he sworn loyalty to the Queen?”
“Hohohoho, he really is a lot like you, ain’t he?” said the White Rabbit.
“Hahahahahaha, I wouldn’t be surprised,” said the armoured figure as he removed
his mask. At that moment, I was in shock. So shocked I was speechless.

“Hello, Jack. You may not know me but from your facial expression, I can see
that you can see the resemblance,” said the young man. “It can’t be… You look just
like mom and dad. You can’t actually be…” “Yes, I am, Jack. I am your brother that
disappeared at birth, Johnny,” he said. “But, mom and dad lost you when you were
born,” I said. “Hahahahaha, that they did but it wasn’t their fault. You see, from
birth, I was brought here to be trained by Blanche,” he said. “Huh? Blanche? But if
she did, then why are you on a different side? And didn’t the White Rabbit swear his
loyalty to the Queen?” I asked in so much confusion. “I didn’t. I did it to show the
Queen that the resistance had split up and make it look like our side had given up,”
the White Rabbit said. “But we did split up actually. Just that, we still fight to stop
the Queen. Our values are different. They on one hand, actually want to kill the
Queen… but we want to forgive her,” Johnny said. “Forgive her? Are you out of your
mind? She is responsible for the death of our parents! How could you say that??!!” I
shouted in anger. “You are one to talk! Talk about madness! But it’s to be expected
when your leader is a literal Mad Hatter. If you guys want to storm the Queen’s
forces at least have a proper plan. Do you not know of Randolph?” Johnny said.
“Randolph?” I asked. “Randolph is the Queen’s most capable and most loyal fighter.
He is the only one that is not a card, apart from the Queen’s other guards,” said
Johnny while he facepalmed himself. “What?! How powerful is he?” I asked in worry.
“I’m sure you saw how the battle between Johnny’s forces and Hatter’s forces went.
Randolph is slightly stronger than Johnny and in a one-on-one, Johnny would need
to retreat in order to survive,” the White Rabbit remarked. “Why is such a powerful
force like Randolph on the Queen’s side? She is such a horrible tyrant!” I asked with
anger and frustration. “Jack , follow me. I need to show you something,” my brother
said.

“Where are we going?” I asked. “To a place where it suffered the result of
bitter revenge,” Johnny said with an extremely serious expression. “While we are
walking there, I need to tell you a story,” my brother said. “What story?” I asked in

13
curiosity. “The story of why the Queen of Hearts is what she is today,” he answered. I
was surprised. What reason could a monster like her have to be what she is?

“Long time ago, a young baby was born. She was born with immense power.
So powerful that she had the power to massacre a whole army when she was 7,” he
said. Chills went down my spine as I heard it. “But she never had the intention to kill
nor did she want these powers. She just wanted a normal life. But the people of
Wonderland were scared of her. So, they began to ostracize her, then it grew worse.
They began to beat her up. Of course, not wanting to use her powers for evil, she
didn’t retaliate. Instead, she was confused and scared. Soon, everywhere she went,
people started to persecute and torture her. She was running from society her whole
life. Until one life-changing event made her lose it…”

“Someone claiming to be a ‘hero of justice’ ‘took a stand’ and appeared with a

silver sword. The very same one you wield right now. It was crafted by a master
craftsman to ‘slay the monster’. He was about to deal the final blow when the young
lady went into an outburst of rage, killing everyone at the scene. From then on, she
only had one goal in mind and that was to make everyone suffer the very same pain
she did. Ever since then, endless fighting and suffering was all over Wonderland. It
only became worse when our ancestor, Alice, came along and picked a side without
knowing the full story. She took up that sword, but she couldn’t bring out it’s full
potential, and because of that it only took the form of a small silver key. She went
into battle with this key, sealing the Queen. And because of that, her anger was
turned toward an innocent generation of people. All these events finally lead up to
this day,” my brother said. “Oh, and you asked why Randolph is so loyal? The people
of Wonderland did the exact same thing to him. He was regarded as a beast due to
his ability to rapidly recover from all sorts of injuries. So, you can imagine the pain
he went through when he was tortured. Mind you, he can heal but still feels pain. As
he wandered around searching for refuge, he met the Queen, who took him in. From
that day onwards, he swore loyalty to her. And his healing factor makes him the
fearsome warrior he is, together with his amazing fighting skills,” my brother said
with a very serious look. “Even though she was persecuted, it doesn’t give her the
right to do all this!” I exclaimed. “You are right but revenge isn’t the answer. Look,
here we are,” my brother said as we entered a village in shambles.

I got a horrible shock. The buildings were all destroyed, injured people were
crying for help all over the place and I saw orphans just like me, scavenging for food.
It was unbearable to watch. “This is one of the results of the endless fighting. Just
like our family, these people who had nothing to do with the conflict were dragged
into it because their village was suspected to be housing the resistance. It was razed
to the ground and it became worse when Hatter’s men came to ‘stop the rampage.’
The village became a battlefield and because of that, many either died or were
severely injured. Some just waited to die due to their dire circumstances. This was
the point when we decided to split. It was too much. There are still a lot of other

14
places that suffered this pain, some even worse. So, the only solution to this madness
is to reconcile. Do you understand, Jack?” my brother asked.

“That is besides the point. Right now, I want to know if these people are
getting help,” I said with anger welling up inside me. I didn’t get what he was telling
me. Instead of aligning with his goal, I went further away from it. This incident made
me a whole lot angrier. I wanted to kill the Queen more than ever. “Don’t worry. Our
forces always take turns, giving aid to these people but many of them are beyond
rescue. We have been trying to treat their wounds but many couldn’t make it. So, we
offered to take their children in but if you had realised they don’t like us,” my brother
said. I looked around and saw people giving us a stare. “We don’t blame them. After
all, it’s because of the fighting between the resistance and the Queen’s forces that
ruined their lives. So, all we can do now is to sneak food to the orphans and give
those that passed a proper resting place,” my brother said with a sad expression.
“Alright. All I needed to know was if they were getting help and support,” I said.
“Let’s go back. I have seen enough,” I said with a serious tone. “Ok, it is getting late.
The sun is setting,” my brother replied. As we walked back, the sun was setting
beautifully in the distance but I could not enjoy it in my frustration. I asked “Why are
you all so focused and confident that reconciliation would end all this?” “Well, we
won’t know until we try. Plus, if it does work, both sides can be free of their pain and
suffering. Isn’t that a wonderful thing?” he replied with an optimistic smile that was
as radiant as the setting sun.

We got back just before dinner. The food was good but as you all know, in
anger or frustration, everything is tasteless. That night, I spent time with my brother.
Despite our different values, we got along famously. I was glad I found my brother
but at the same time, my anger towards the Queen never quelled. As I was staying
with everyone else, something inside me just told me I couldn't work with them. I
hated the fact that they wanted to forgive the Queen. I stayed around for about a
week, spending time with the people there but also gathering information. I felt
guilty about it and I still do to this day. I spied on them and did something that I
regret to this very day.

On the first day of the second week I was there, I asked someone there about
which mushroom could enlarge me and which mushroom could shrink me. Then, I
did it. I shrunk myself and snuck to the communication system of the base. I got into
contact with Mad Hatter and told him to come pick me up. I decided that it was time
to strike! They came and picked me up. We rushed off to the front lines. Our plan was
the same. This was where things changed for the worse. When we arrived, the
Queen's forces were taken by surprise. Our forces were actually overwhelming them
but when we arrived at the location of the Queen, the tables were turned incredibly
fast. Blanche was part of my team and we rushed the remaining guards with little to
no effort but just as we were about to reach the Queen's chamber, we were
intercepted by Randolph. He was a tall and intimidating looking man with a mask.

15
“You shall not take another step further. I will be your opponent,” he said. “Not on
my watch! Hatter, we need reinforcements,” exclaimed Blanche. “Right away. We'll
take you on, Randolph. Go on ahead, Jack. We will handle him,” said the Mad
Hatter. “Thank you, guys,” and I rushed to the Queen. “You really think a kid like him
will be able to match Her Majesty's great strength?” Randolph asked. “We have faith
in him. He is stronger than his ancestor. We are sure he can defeat her,” Blanche said
confidently. “Fine, then I finish the two of you off and rush to Her Majesty's aid. That
is if he isn't crushed in an instant,” and a violent battle ensued.

“You evil Queen! I have come for revenge. This sword I wield will slay you
once and for all!” I shouted. A shadowy figure arose from a majestic throne. “You
think that you can defeat me? Think again, boy,” said the Queen in a booming voice.
Then, she saw the sword I was wielding. “It's that hateful sword! Your ancestor used
the very same thing on me and look at me now!” She came closer into the dim light of
the chamber we were in. She was tall and sinister, fitting for an evil queen. “My
power may be so much weaker than before! But don't you worry, boy. My minions
have been stealing energy from throughout Wonderland. I'll be as strong as ever
when I absorb that energy. So, as I get stronger, entertain me with a show, will you?
Guards, off with his head!” she screamed. She sat back on her throne and I saw it
glow with energy. I was in panic. Things would go very bad if she does become that
strong.

Guards swarmed into the chamber, so many that it was uncountable. “I

thought the main force was being occupied outside?!” I shouted. “Muahaha
hahahaha, my soldiers are unlimited. I have a machine that produces a whole army
everyday! You think that it'll be that easy to defeat me? Well, think again!” she
screamed. Things were turning bad fast. I was overwhelmed with the sheer number
of troops. Back outside the chamber, Randolph was giving both Blanche and the Mad
Hatter a very hard time. They were barely keeping up. “The difference between our
power is too great. Give up, you two,” Randolph said. “We will not give in!” shouted
Blanche as she rushed him. “Hatter, now!” Then, the Mad Hatter came from the back
and tried to perform a sneak attack but Randolph was quick on his reflexes and took
him down with ease. “Hatter!!!” shouted Blanche. The Mad Hatter was severely
injured and could no longer fight. Blanche was trying her best to keep up but was
caught off guard. Randolph struck swiftly and severed her arm off. "It's over,"
Randolph said and he dealt the finishing blow on Blanche.

“Jack, the guards just keep coming! We are suffering major losses! And what’s
more, we can’t get into contact with Hatter and Blanche! The tables are turning at a
rapid pace!” shouted the commander of our main force. Then, to make matters
worse, Randolph rushed into the chamber to stop me. The guards surrounded me
and Randolph went head to head against me. “What have you done to the Mad
Hatter and Blanche?!!” I asked him in anger. “Oh, you mean those two flies? The guy
is badly injured and death is at his doorstep... While the rabbit, I killed,” he replied

16
with a cold voice. The height of my anger was reaching its peak but so was my limit.
All hope seemed lost when suddenly, CRASH!!! SLAM!!! SWISH, SWISH, SWISH!!!
Extremely fast slashes appeared before my eyes. When the debris cleared, I was in
disbelief. “What is wrong with you?! I take it back. Besides the fact that we are willing
to die for our comrades, we are barely alike! Nothing I said or told you went into your
stubborn head, didn’t it?!” my brother screamed. “Brother! What are you doing
here?! How did you know what was going on?!” I asked in shock and confusion. “I’ll
explain later. Right now, focus on surviving!” he shouted. “Tsk, what are you doing
here, Johnny?” Randolph asked. “Miss me, bud? I have gotten stronger since the last
time we tangled. Get ready for some trouble!” my brother replied.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH! Another figure appeared from where my brother

came, which was through the roof. “Johnny, let’s take him on together!” said the
White Rabbit. “Ho, another pesky rabbit, I see. By the way, I just killed your
daughter. I wouldn’t mind taking her father down to the grave with her,” Randolph
said in a mocking tone. “What have you done, Randolph?! Give my daughter back!!!”
the White Rabbit screamed in anger and anguish. “Why is the other bratty
descendant here?! Guards, Randolph, off with their heads!!!” the Queen screamed in
rage and annoyance. “Keep your guard up, bro. We can’t have anymore people
dying!” my brother said. “Got it!” I replied.

Another fierce battle broke out. My brother and the White Rabbit were giving
Randolph a hard time. “Argh! My arm! Why, you scums!” Randolph screamed as my
brother chopped off his arm. I witnessed his regenerative abilities and they were very
frightening. “Keep pushing, White Rabbit! Randolph is currently healing!” my
brother shouted in desperation. “You don’t need to tell me twice! This is for my
daughter!” the White Rabbit shouted as he slashed at Randolph. I, on the other hand,
was struggling against the army of guards but was managing somehow. “Hrah! I will
assist you, bro. The White Rabbit can hold his own against Randolph. He may be old
but his skills are unmatched,” my brother said. He assisted me as I battled the Card
Guards. This was the first time in a long time where I didn’t feel I was alone. I had
someone who had my back. A brother who fought alongside me. Someone to carry
my burden with me like when my parents were still around.

“Urgh! All of you Card Guards are useless! Looks like I have to do everything
myself!” the Queen screamed in frustration. “Oh no! The Queen's power has reached
unimaginable heights! How is this happening?” said the White Rabbit.
“Hahahahaha! That is because the process is almost complete! All the energy that has
been absorbed from Wonderland all these years is finally about to be all mine!
Hahahahahaha!” she exclaimed with a loud and evil cackle. “Jack, Johnny you got to
stop her before it’s too late!” shouted the White Rabbit. “Concentrate on the battle
right in front of your eyes, rabbit!” Randolph said as he swiftly striked the White
Rabbit who barely avoided the attack. “It’s too late! Hahahahaha! I can feel all the
power surging through me!” the Queen said gleefully. The glowing light from her

17
throne disappeared. BOOOOMMM!!!!! A large flash of light engulfed the chamber.
As we opened our eyes, we saw the Queen standing in front of her throne, surging
with power. “Muahahahahaha! Now I can deal with all of you!” she said. We all stood
in horror and that was when I suffered a major loss.

“I’ll finish you first, boy. That sword you wield is an eyesore,” said the Queen.
Then, she disappeared from the front of the throne and appeared right behind me.
“With the energy I have absorbed, I am stronger and faster than ever! Now,
DIEEEE!!!” she screamed. “JACCKKKK!!!!!!!” STAB!!! I was too shocked to say
anything. “JOHNNY!!!” screamed the White Rabbit. “Hmph, why did you have to get
in the way? Well, no matter. At least now I have one less eyesore to look at. What you
did merely delayed the inevitable. I was going to slaughter all of you anyway. In fact,
thank you for doing that. Now I don’t need to go out of my way to kill you, Johnny.
Hahahahaha!!!” said the Queen. I watched in horror as my brother took the hit for
me. “Now, it’s your turn, you meddling fool!!!” said the Queen. “This is the end!!!”

Just then, FWOOSH!!! A black portal appeared and I saw the Cheshire Cat
shout, “Teleport!!!” and then, we were back at the Mad Hatter’s base. “Your Majesty!”
said Randolph. “Worry not, Randolph. Since my power has reached greater heights
than I could ever imagine, I have gained new abilities. Now, I can clearly see where
they are. They want a fight? Very well, then. We shall end it by taking the fight to
them,” said the Queen with an evil grin.

My brother was breathing heavily as his bloodied body leaned on me. “Jack, I
have to tell you something *cough, cough* before I pass on.” he softly whispered in
my ear. “The time we spent together as brothers, albeit being short, was so much fun.
I was always waiting for the day where we could spend time as a family, as brothers.
And that day finally came. I feel satisfied now but there is still something I need to
do. I know we just only reunited as a family and as the older brother, I can’t expect
you to do something for me but I have a favor to ask of you,” he whispered. “Please
fulfill my last wish, my brother. Only then, I can *cough, cough, cough, cough
,cough* pass on in peace,” he whispered. As he said those words, he slowly closed his
eyes with a smile. “Aah, aah, AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
BROTHEERRRRRRR!!!!!!!”

“Are you ok, Jack?” asked the Cheshire Cat as I watched the sunset, with
sadness in my eyes. “How did my brother know that we went into battle?” I asked in
a monotone voice. “I guess there is no point in hiding it anymore. I was actually a spy
for his side. That was why they knew you guys were going into battle and intercepted
all of you on your first try. But for the second attempt, all of you rushed in
immediately, that by the time the information was passed to them, the battle had
already begun,” she replied. “What?! You were a spy?! If you didn’t tell them about
us, my brother wouldn’t have had to die!” I shouted in tears. “Why? Why did he have
to sacrifice himself?!” I said as I cried. “This is all my fault! If I hadn’t rushed in

18
without a proper plan, Hatter wouldn’t be in a critical condition, Blanche wouldn’t
have to die and my brother wouldn’t have to sacrifice himself,” I said in anguish and
agony. “The Queen will pay! She took my whole family from me! I will make her
regret all that she has done!” I said as I cried in sadness. The Cheshire Cat looked at
me with sadness. “Look, Jack. You can be sad now and you can cry all you want but
don’t let that cloud your judgement. What about your brother’s last wish?” she asked.
“How could I forgive her?! She took the one thing I wanted, a family! I’ll never
forgive her!!!” I shouted. Just then, my sword started to glow in red and vibrate
vigorously. “The sword responds to strong emotions, Jack. Especially, negative ones.
It will become stronger but harder to control, thus making it difficult to make
accurate swings. Not only that but once it reaches a certain point, you may exert your
body to a point of no recovery. You need to relax, Jack. Calm down,” the Cheshire Cat
said in consideration. “I don’t care! Leave me alone! I don’t want to hear you speak
about forgiveness anymore!!!” I shouted with anger. “Alright then. Do as you wish,”
said the Cheshire Cat as she teleported away.

“Ah!” “Oh, you’re awake, Hatter” said the White Rabbit. “What happened?”
the Mad Hatter asked. The White Rabbit turned away with a sad expression on his
face. “Both Johnny and my daughter are dead. You were saved at the last minute but
don’t worry, both my and your people are transferring their energy to you so your
wounds are healing at a rapid rate,” he replied. “So, it wasn’t a dream. That Randolph
and the Queen will pay! Join us again, White Rabbit. Together, I believe we can take
her down once and for all!” he said. “You are still going on with that?! Both my
daughter and Johnny paid the price for your madness and recklessness! How many
more lives do you want to lose with another battle?!” the White Rabbit replied
angrily. Just as the Mad Hatter was about to reply, the men watching out for enemies
started shouting, “It’s the Queen and her army! They are coming straight for us!”.
“What?! How did they find our base?!” the Mad Hatter said. I turned around the
moment I heard them shout. “So, she has come!” I thought to myself.
“Hahahahaha!!! Due to absorbing Wonderland’s energy, I have gained new abilities!
And one of them is to track and see my target’s location! Hahahahahaha!!!” the
Queen shouted with the most evil laugh I have ever heard. “I’ll show you all a little
mercy. I shut down the machine used to make my army and brought a smaller force
to finish you off! Be grateful that I will give all of you a quick death!!!” she added.
“She probably brought a smaller army because she doesn't see us as a threat
anymore. Not to mention the faster travelling speed with a smaller army,” the Mad
Hatter said. “Everyone! All of the people that can still fight! Hear me! Hear me!” I
said, “The Queen and Randolph are marching at full speed straight at us with an
army. We are small in numbers and have experienced major losses. There is no
escape nor there is anywhere else that is safe for us to hide anymore because of the
Queen’s newfound power. All we can do now is fight to the end. This will be our
finest hour! Whether we win it all or die on the battlefield, it’s all riding on this very
moment. I say we fight together one last time. I say we take a stand one last time. We
need all the strength and power we need to even pull this through. I know all of you

19
are tired and weak but if we don’t step up now, we’ll all be finished. So what do you
say? Do you all want to go into battle with me?” I said. “We will fight to the end! We
don’t have anything left! We have nothing to lose! We will join you in battle!” the
crowd shouted. “Good. I have a plan and I would like all of you to hear me out,” I told
them.

“My plan is I would go straight into the battlefield first. I can feel the power in
the sword flowing. I think in one swing, I’ll be able to take down a handful of Card
Guards. Then, all of you follow behind me. Cheshire, Mr. White Rabbit, I need your
help too. Would you and your people join our cause?” I asked, hoping for a yes. “We
will join you in your final battle. After all, it seems like all hope is lost already. If this
last stand succeeds, then peace might be restored,” the White Rabbit replied. “Are
you sure about this? Do you have any conditions that we need to fulfill?” I asked.
“Well, if we were to put it out, we will never be able to come to a compromise. Plus, it
would have been your brother’s wish that we make sure you are safe,” he said.
“Alright, Mr. White Rabbit, are you still in shape to battle?” I asked. “Yes, I am”.
“Then, are you ok if you were to keep Randolph busy?” I asked him. “I’ll do it,” he
replied in confidence. “Ok, then, Cheshire, I need your help to use your teleportation
to evacuate the injured and weak to my brother’s base. They will be safe there for the
time being,” I told Cheshire. “Alright, is there anything else you need my help with?”.
“Yes, I need your help to also keep a watch out for those that are injured and take
them to my brother’s base too, if that isn’t too difficult,” I said. “Ok, you can count on
me to do so. I’ll also try to assist the White Rabbit with his battle with Randolph as
much as possible but I can’t guarantee we can keep him busy for long,” she replied.
“That’s ok. I just need the two of you to keep him busy for just long enough. I feel
that my sword has enough strength to give the Queen a tough battle,” I said. “I’ll join
in too,” chimed Hatter. “Hatter, you are too weak to fight. You need to rest,” said the
Cheshire Cat. “Don’t worry about me. My wounds have healed up enough. I think if
the three of us go up against Randolph, we will stand a chance,” he replied in a weak
voice. “Alright, but don’t overdo it,” I told him. “You also shouldn’t overdo it, Jack.
Remember what I told you,” the Cheshire Cat said. “Ok, that settles it. Everyone, let’s
go into battle together!!!” I shouted. “Yeah!!!” they replied. “Wait, Jack. there is
something I must tell you before we go to battle,” said the Cheshire Cat. “Alright but
make it quick,” I replied in haste as Chesire pulled me aside.

“Hey, you! You horrible, Queen! We have decided to make a stand! We are not
going to just sit here and wait for our deaths! Be prepared for our final stand!!!” I
yelled at the top of my lungs as I came out of the base. “Hraaaaahhhhh!!!” SWING!!!
BOOM!!! I swung my blade with all of my strength and a large slash went flying
straight at the Card Guards, taking out a good handful of them. “Now, everyone!
Rush in at full speed!!!” I cried out. “RAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!” yelled the crowd.
“Hahahahahaha! What futile efforts! Well then, let’s see what you are capable of shall
we, brat!!!” the Queen laughed. “BRING IT ON!!!!! RAHHHHHH!!!!”. We clashed
right in the middle of the battlefield. She blocked my attack with just her bare hands.

20
“Hmph! Looks like you are all bark and no bite!” she said. CRACK! I heard a loud
crack from her arm. “Urgh, maybe I underestimated you, boy!” she said in disbelief.
“It worked! My strikes do damage her! I just need to connect more hits and there is a
possibility we can win!” I thought to myself.

“Your Majesty!!!” yelled Randolph as he tried to aid the Queen. SWISH!!! “Not
happening, Randolph. We will be your opponent. Don’t interfere with the battle!”
said both the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter as they stopped Randolph in his
tracks. “Grrr! How many times do I need to strike you down, Mad Hatter!” he replied
in annoyance. “Take this!” I shouted. “Hahahaha! Your attacks are indeed strong but
they aren’t fast enough. I can easily avoid them! But I commend you for being able to
break my bones and for that, I will take you seriously!” she shouted as she tried to hit
me on the side. I just barely blocked it with my sword. Her sheer strength was
overwhelming me. “Haahhh! Urgh!” I finally was able to push her fist back. “I’m not
done yet!” she yelled as she almost hit me with another punch. I dodged it by an inch.
I watched the punch fly past me, it hit a rock and it broke into a million pieces. “Now,
do you know how strong I am?” the Queen said with an evil grin. “I would be finished
if one of those were to hit me!” I thought to myself.

“Give up already! Just accept defeat! You all have lost,” Randolph said to both
the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit. “We won’t give up that easily. As long as we
still breathe, we will stop you from interfering with the battle!” the Mad Hatter
replied. The both of them were struggling against Randolph who was overpowering
the already weak Mad Hatter and White Rabbit. When the two of them were reaching
their limit, the Cheshire Cat came just in time to help. SWISH!!! “Are you two ok?”
she asked. “Yes, we are fine. We are just exhausted. We appreciate the help,
Cheshire,” the White Rabbit said. “Don’t mention it. Just keep fighting,” she replied.
“Not another one. Fine then, I’ll just incapacitate all three of you!!!” Randolph yelled
in anger.

BOOM!!! SMASH!!! CRASH!!! The Queen was repeatedly throwing attacks

right at me. I avoided all of them by a hair. “Stop moving around, you rat! Fine, if you
don’t want to stop, I’ll MAKE you stop!!!” she said. Then, all of a sudden, her body
started to grow into an incredible size. “Hahahahaha! Now, that I am a giant, let’s see
you avoid my attacks! Not to mention the sheer amount of lives it costs everytime I
attack. Hahahahaha!!!”. Her booming voice was ringing in my head. Then, I
remembered about the gigantification mushroom. I ate it and grew large myself. “I
remember that the mushroom’s effects stay only for 10 minutes, just like the
shrinking mushroom. I have to defend against her attacks and at least connect some
hits,” I thought. “Why don’t you take on someone your own size, Queen of Hearts!!!!”
I yelled back at her. “Oh, the gigantification mushroom. Alright, let’s see how good
you are!!!” she taunted. We clashed yet again. This time, I made sure to land a few
attacks. I hit her in the flank and struck her in the abdomen. “Hurgh!!! Argh!!!” The
both of us finally shrunk back to normal. Suddenly, I felt a horrible sensation in my

21
body. I had overexerted myself. It felt as if my body was screaming at me in pain and
agony. “Why can’t you just stand still or better yet, jump in front of my attack just
like what your brother did?!” she yelled. The moment I heard that, my anger
exploded. “Don’t you dare mock my brother’s sacrifice!!! I’ll make you regret killing
him!!!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. My sword started to vibrate and glow red more
than ever. I swung repeatedly and violently at the Queen but she didn’t let up. Then,
she took the opportunity when I was open to throw me right into a giant rock.
“Hmph! What insolence! Looks like you are finally down for the count. Time to end
this!” she said. ZOOM!!! I burst out of the dust, ignoring the pain my body was
feeling from the impact and from overexerting my body. “RAAAAHHHHH!!! DIE,
YOU EVIL QUEEN!!!!”. We clashed many times until finally I was able to hit her in
the flank again, this time breaking her ribs from the extreme impact. When she was
open, I launched a full-on assault on her. As I hit her, for some reason, I started
seeing flashbacks of the time I had with my brother. I saw the time he told me about
her story, I saw the time where we arrived at the destroyed village and the time we
fought together. “Argh, urgh, oof!!!” screamed the Queen in pain. Then, I saw my
brother’s dead body in front of me. This took my anger to its peak and I lost control.
“HRAAAAHHHH!!!!! DIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!” I screamed as I hit her with all my
might, sending her flying straight to a rock.

I sped straight to her, pinning her down and getting ready to land the finishing
blow. “Do it, Jack! Finish her off!!!” shouted the Mad Hatter from a distance as he
was fighting with Randolph. “No, Your Majesty!!!” Randolph yelled as he sped to our
direction. “Finish me but remember this won’t be the end of it. Randolph will come
after all of you and the pain will continue!!!” the Queen shouted. Then, as I lifted up
my sword, I saw a flashback of my brother wanting me to fulfil his last wish. Then, I
drove my sword down. SLAM!!! Everyone stood in shock as they saw what had
happened. Instead of stabbing her, I stabbed the ground next to her and slowly let go
of the hilt of my sword. I reached my hand out to her. I remembered what the
Cheshire Cat had told me just before we went to battle.

“What is it that you want to tell me? We are in a hurry,” I said. “I want to tell
you the reason why your brother and his men are so optimistic and believe
something will change when they forgive her. A long time ago, when your brother
first found out about the Queen’s story. He made a reckless plan to confront her and
to reconcile with her. And can you guess what kind of response he got? Upon their
encounter the Queen did not straight out have her guards surround him, she had a
long pause as if she was hesitant about something and when she declined his effort to
reconcile, she told him to leave at once. She didn’t attack him or anything. She let
him go. From then on, your brother and his men split from Hatter’s side because
they believed that her reaction indicated that there was still a chance to change her.
That is why your brother and his men are so adamant on their plan to forgive her,”
she said. It was because I remembered this conversation that I stopped myself at the
last minute.

22
 So, as I reached my hand out to the Queen, I said “If I kill you, I'll just become
the very thing I sort out to kill and this vicious cycle will continue. So many more will
suffer because of revenge. I don't want to see anymore death and sadness. I want to
forgive you. And I hope you can forgive us too.” “Are you out of your mind, Jack?!
Finish her!!! Remember it was because of her that Blanche and your brother are
dead. Just end her when you have the chance!!!” the Mad Hatter shouted with anger
and annoyance. “It is exactly because of this that they died. Haven't we lost more
than we gained? Do you still want people to suffer? Hasn't there been enough pain?
This pain will never end unless someone decides to forgive the other,” I asked in
reply. Then, the Mad Hatter and his people realised that they had been clouded with
so much hate and anger that they have lost their rationality. The Queen burst into
tears, asking “Why? Why are the both of you brothers forgiving me? I killed your
loved ones and the people around you!”. “Because both sides can be free of their pain
and suffering. Isn't that a wonderful thing?” I said as I remembered the same words
my brother said that day. Finally, the Queen and her forces decided to surrender and
we reconciled with each other. I sighed a sigh of relief and fainted from the excessive
damage my body took.

Three weeks had passed. My body was recovering at an incredibly fast rate
because the Queen and the people of Wonderland agreed to use the power the Queen
had absorbed to heal me and also heal all the other people who were affected by the
war, either because they were caught in the crossfire like that village or because of
wounds from battle. I walked to the point where this journey of learning how to
forgive all began. “You know, you don’t actually need to leave. You can stay here if
you want, kid,” the White Rabbit said. I turned around to look at all of them. “Nah. I
still have things I need to do back at home,” I replied. “Oh and what is it? Maybe we
can help you with it,” the Mad Hatter said. “It’s ok. This is something I have to do on
my own,” and after a long pause I continued “And that is to reconcile with the people
back there,” I finished. “I still have a lot to learn and this is something that I have to
find out myself,” I said. “Well, if that is so, then we wish you all the best,” the
Cheshire Cat said. “Thank you very much. I appreciate all of your care and thank you
for watching over my brother when he was in Wonderland,” I replied. “Well, I guess
I’ll be on my way. Oh and by the way, this isn’t goodbye. Rather, it is more of a see
you soon,” I told them. “We know and we look forward to seeing you again,” the
Queen said. Then, as we bid our farewells, I took a step into the portal. My story had
just begun. What story you may ask? Well, it’s my story on how I learnt to forgive
others.

___
The End

23
 Brothers
by Wong King Wai

___

"You come close. I take off its head!"

My breath caught.

"I not bluffing!"

A sob escaped.

He started. Joe's head turning slowly.

Eyes widened. Lips quivering. I begged silently.

He kept on. Neck stretched.

I reached out. Hands shaking.

"Don't.....please....."

He didn't stop. He smiled. Kept twisting. Joe will lose his head.

I stumbled forward.

POP!

He laughed and threw Joe's head at me. I caught it. Joe looked up with unblinking
eyes as I cradled his head in my hands.

24
"MUMMMMMMY!!!!!"

The G.I Joe action figure was my favourite. My 12-year old brother knew that. I ran
to my room crying. Mum comforted me.

"I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him..."

My mum rocked 10-year old me on her lap. She gave the culprit a scathing glare. My
brother looked on sheepishly.

"Okay okay. Now now. Let's have dinner. I cooked your favourite. Fried fish. And you
get all the crispy skin."

"But that's my favourite! Not fair...I was just playing..."

My mum's look stopped him from saying anything further. I ate happily that night.
Brother sulked. Good.

Years passed. Brother married. Niece born. I uncle. Old. But not quite.

Baby in my arms. Chubby. Turkey thighs. Love at first sight.

"This is your uncle. You can bully him all the time."
My brother looks on proudly. He is looking at me. I smile.

"Yes she can."

I kiss her chubby cheek.

___
The End

25
 Me and Boo: Always Together
by Abigail Lai & Natasha Tan

___

Part 1 - That weird thing happened

“Jane, help me return these to the library, alright?” Aunt Eve said as she
handed me over three books. “Alright,” I gladly said as I took over the books and
clutched them close to my chest.

Skipping away happily in my blue dress, I sat down beside a stream and began
reading one of the books. I guess Aunt Eve doesn’t know that, but I’ll always read the
books before returning them to the library.

I was still reading when I heard a weird sound… and it sounded something
like ‘Boo’.

I looked towards the direction where the sound came from… and there was
something odd. A few metres down the stream was a grey thing… hanging onto a
wooden plank. It has a beak, and whatever thing with a beak is a bird. And birds
don’t live in water. I guess this means that that thing (whatever it is) is in trouble.

I dropped my book and quickly ran towards the helpless creature. “Who are
you?” I asked. It stared at me and I stared at it. “I guess you need help,” so I reached
out for the little creature, grabbing it and taking it back on land.

It was shivering and I tried my best to dry it with my dress to keep it warm.
My dress is already all wet but the little creature isn’t all dry yet. “I’m bringing you
home, we have towels there.” I said and carried it in my arms.

Then, I hurriedly ran to pick up my books and then to Aunt Eve. I knocked on
the door several times before Aunt Eve opened the door. “What is -” and before she
could finish, her crescent shaped mouth turned into a wide O.

26
 “Oh, it’s a boo-thing I found by the stream,” I explained.

“You are not allowed to keep a penguin,” she frowned. “Let’s return it to the -”
“Boo.” cut off the boo-thing. I guess it hadn’t learnt its manners. “Sorry,” I said. “So
it’s called a penguin? Hi Penguin, let’s go take a towel to dry you up.” Aunt Eve held
my arm and looked at me, and my wet dress. I clutched Boo to my chest.

Then she reluctantly let go. “Okay, this penguin may stay,” she said. “If it can
adjust to the weather.” I don’t quite understand the commotion, because adults
always make a fuss over little things. After all, nothing is wrong with this thing…
called a penguin. I dried it with a towel and hugged it. I think it quite liked me, in
fact.

“So, what’s your name? Penguin?” I asked.

“Boo,” it repeated. “So your name’s called Boo!” I exclaimed. “No wonder you
were always boo-ing all the time. Hi, Boo. I’m Jane. Jey-anne. Haa-i.”

Part 2 - Boo learns to fit in

“A,” I said, pointing to an alphabet “A” in the book. If Boo is living with me,
I’m going to teach it everything I know. Everything from A to Z. Maybe a few words.
Boo’s really good at learning words, but it just doesn’t use them.

“So, Boo,” I said, trying to sound professional. “How do you ask someone
about something? Or anything?”

Boo stared at me for a few moments. Then it slowly said: “Boo, boo, boo.” I
think I frowned a bit, but then I was okay after that. It’s just a… Boo. Or a penguin, as
Aunt Eve calls it.

Boo had been learning through the winter, and spring is coming. And it came
today. Today is the day. Spring. Though the weather is still slightly cold, I brought
Boo out.

Boo looked very interested in a flower bulb. “Boo,” it said, pointing towards
the flower bulb while looking towards me. I giggled. “That’s a flower, Boo.” I replied.
“Flower.” Boo twitches its head. “Faa-wer.” it said.

And then a breeze came. “And this is wind,” I said to Boo. “Winn-de,” said
Boo. “Faa-wer and winn-de. Boo like.”

27
 “So you like flowers and wind!” I exclaimed. “These winds are specifically
known as the spring breeze,” I continued to explain, “I like them too. They blow on
your face when you run across the grassland. You want to try running?” I paused,
looking at Boo.

Boo stared at me and twitched its

head again in a funny way. “Boo,” it said. I
thought for a moment. And I think it
sounded like a… yes?

I ran across the grassland and

enjoyed the breeze gently hitting my face. I
excitedly shouted to Boo a few metres away,
still standing: “Come on, Boo!” I waved my
hand. Boo moved its flippers a bit, and then
started running! “Weeeee -” cried Boo as it
opened its flippers into a straight line and
ran in circles.

I giggled and followed it. “Like an aeroplane,” I said, running. “I guess Boo
likes being an aeroplane.”

The next few days I helped Boo to dress up using my clothing. It was pretty
fun, first my favourite dress - a bit too big, and Boo looked silly in it.

Later I helped it wear a red shirt,

then a white blouse with ruffled ends and
lastly a blue bow from Aunt Eve that I never
wore. Boo looked like a wonderful
gentleman in that. “Boo,” said Boo when it
saw me twirling in that dress and it
stretched out its flippers.

“Oh yes, a dance!” I cried as I placed

my palm onto its flippers. We started some
random dance steps and me and Boo had
enormous fun!

There was twirling and giggling and running through the whole spring, and it
was the best spring I ever experienced.

28
Part 3 - Summer and stranger comes

Months passed and summer just came. I heard Aunt Eve muttering, “The
penguin can’t stand heat,” is she mentioning Boo? Boo can’t stand heat? But summer
is best. There will be sunshine and cool waters to swim in. And some flowers bloom
here too.

But I guess Aunt Eve is telling the truth, Boo started to refuse to go outdoors.
“Boo, let’s go out and play, it’s summer!” I said, patting its head. Boo only looked at
me with its eyes.

“Summ-ier,” it muttered, and hugged me tightly. “Oh, what’s the matter,

Boo?” I said, squatting down to hold its flippers. “You don’t like summer? You don’t
like the sun?” I asked in the most gentle manner I could.

Boo gently shook its head. Well, well. But it can’t stay indoors forever during
summer, right? “Boo, don’t worry,” I comforted it. “You could have a swim in the
stream, in the waters. It’ll be cool in there, I promise.”

Boo looked at me. “See-wim?” it asked, and twitched its head again. “Yes,
swim,” I replied, smiling. “I could teach you to swim. Then when the flood comes you
would be safe, even without a wooden plank, right?”

Boo stared at me, and flapped its flippers in an excited way.

My smile widened as I took Boo by my arm and brought it outdoors.

“Summer~!” I cried and Boo followed with: “Summ-ier~!”

We ran towards the stream where me and Boo first met. I jumped into the
shallow stream and the water reached my chest. “Woah,” I looked at the water. “I
think the water has become more shallow. It was on my neck last summer.” Then I
looked at Boo and waved. “Come on in,” I smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”

Boo nervously wadded to the riverbank. It paused for a moment. “Don’t

worry,” I encouraged Boo. “You can do it.”

Boo flapped its flippers - and dived straight in! I quickly caught it in my arms
and raised it above the water surface. “Tee hee,” I giggled. “There you go.”

Boo shook its head and showered me with water droplets - but I’m already
mostly wet. I taught Boo all about swimming - and soon it was waddling in delight!
Every summer day, Boo was always excited about swimming in the stream - playing
with the waters and frocklicking with the fishes.

29
 Boo also tasted all kinds of cold desserts -
ice cream, popsicles and all. Aunt Eve one day
brought fruit jellies back, and Boo didn’t quite
accept it at first glance.

When I handed a kiwi flavoured one to it,

it jumped straight back and began: “Boo, Boo,
Boo!” “Oh don’t be afraid Boo,” I said, coming
close to it slowly. “It’s a jelly.” “Jewwi?” “Yea,” I
replied in the most soothing voice I can manage,
“It’s nice, and it has kiwi in it. You’ve tasted
kiwi.” Then, to my delight, Boo cautiously came
to me and ate the kiwi jelly!

But it was weird the next day. “Boo, we’ll go swimming!” I cried.

Boo excitedly followed me to the stream. It was swimming happily before a

man wearing a handsome black suit came along. He was on the opposite side of the
stream, but before I could say “hi”, the stranger reached out and attempted to touch
Boo.

Boo in response cried out: “Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo!”

“Sir!” I shouted in my loudest voice.

“That’s my Boo!” The stranger looked at me and
I stared at him as determined as I could. Oddly,
he walked out without muttering anything.

I quickly carried Boo, who was still

shivering and muttering, “Boo.” As I comforted
Boo by hugging it in my arms, I couldn’t help
but to stare at the man walking away - who is
he?

Part 4 - People knocking on the door

As the summer passed, Boo and I spent a lot of time together, learning and
having fun. However, I have to say, I had realized some strangers in black clothing
repeatedly passing our house every now and then.

It’s a little odd if I do say so myself, especially since I live in a rural area, where
we don’t get many visitors.

30
 “Boo,” said Boo to me. I patted its head and pointed out of the window. “See
there, that’s autumn." Boo popped his head out of the window as he watched the
golden and red leaves falling and rustling.

“Boo,” it repeated, eyes full of wonder. “We can’t go out now, well,” I said.
“Aunt Eve says strange things are happening around here, and well we can’t go out.”
I paused, and looked at Boo. “Maybe strange things like the man in black suit.”

One day, while Boo and I were playing in my room, I heard a knock on our
front door. Aunt Eve went and answered it, but within seconds, she closed the door
and ran to her room.

I was slightly confused, so I went to Aunt Eve’s room to find out who was at
the door. When I reached her room, the door was ajar, so I peeked in and saw her
packing her things quickly.

“Why are you packing your things, Aunt Eve?” I asked her.

“We have to leave,” she replied, “Boo is illegal and if we stay here any longer,
we may end up in jail.” “Oh,” I said hesitantly, “Where are we going?” “Anywhere but
here. Pack up your things, and let’s go, Jane,” she said.

“But why?” I asked. “It's nice here. Boo is not illegal. Boo is mine.”

“Jane Mary Taylors!” shouted Aunt Eve anxiously, clutching my shoulders.

“Listen to me. We have to go.”

I could see Aunt Eve’s eyes. Full of worries and anxiousness. I never
remembered seeing Aunt Eve like that. Other than… that only time.

That night mom and dad said they were going to the grocer. “It’ll be fast,
sweetie,” they said, patting my head. “Be good.”

31
 That was the last thing I ever heard from them.

They were involved in a car accident. Then they never came back. That night
while I was playing with my pillows and the door opened, I saw Aunt Eve. Not mom
and dad.

Aunt Eve told me worriedly, “You are coming with me.” She tried to pull me,
but I wasn’t going to go with her. “No!” I shouted loudly. “I’m waiting for mom and
dad!”

“They’re not coming back!” shouted Aunt Eve, grabbing my shoulders tightly.
“They died!”

And then I knew. Mom and dad went up the staircase of heaven, and they are
not coming back. They can’t come and see me and I can’t meet them. I moved from
the city to a rural area with Aunt Eve at the age of two.

If Boo is going to be in danger, I’ll not be letting it. So I quickly ran to my

room to tell Boo that we are leaving. Boo looked confused, I knew he was, I was too,
but I packed up all my belongings, and prepared to leave.

Part 5 - Boo is taken away to the circus

By this time, Aunt Eve, Boo and I had been walking and camping for several
days now. It was nice hanging out with both Boo and Aunt Eve.

On our journey we stumbled across many different types of flowers, which

Boo really liked. “Those are dandelions,” I explained. “And those are daisies.”

We then came across the man in black suit that night, after setting up the
camp. “Boo!” Boo cried, as it ran behind me. The man said to Aunt Eve: “That
penguin, hand it over to me.”

Aunt Eve looked at me nervously, and I shook my head with tears in my eyes.
“No,” was Aunt Eve’s firm reply to the stranger. He then began to raise his voice:
“Give it to me. Don’t make me repeat.”

And Aunt Eve still said: “No.” “No, you can’t!” I shouted, holding Boo behind
me. “Well, that leaves me no choice then,” he said. At the speed of light, he snatched
Boo away from me, hopped into his vehicle and drove off!

“Aunt Eve, where is he going? And why did he take Boo?” I asked her
anxiously. “We need to save Boo -”

32
 Aunt Eve cut me off. “Jane, Boo is property of a circus called the Circus of
Revolution. The circus, they want Boo back. That is why we left home, so that this
wouldn’t happen.” I quickly looked up where the circus was located on the map.

“Aunt Eve, bring me there, please.” I begged.

“No, Jane.” Aunt Eve said firmly. Then she softened her voice and sighed.
“Let’s go back home.” “But Boo -”

“Enough is enough, Jane!” Aunt Eve cried. “It’s dangerous, and it is true that
we don’t own Boo.”

I frowned as Aunt Eve walked into

the camp. No, Boo is one of the most
important people to me, I can’t let it go, I
can’t let it die like how dad and mom did! I
carried my backpack and began setting off
myself. “I’m going to save Boo,” I muttered
determinedly.

After a long time of running and walking, I reached the city, more so the
circus. ‘Circus of Revolution, I’m coming Boo.’

I found a sneaky way to enter the circus tent, through the back curtains. I
carefully peeked through the curtains, and there was Boo. What I saw was slightly
scary. Boo was connected to lots of wires, which was connected to several large
machines.

“What in the wor-” I stammered when a man wearing a large hat and boxy
pants stomped in.

He looked at me, and before I could escape to hide, he shouted “Hey! Little
girl!”

I froze while he was walking towards me. To my surprise, he was quite friendly
and explained everything to me: “I’m Master Alex, head of the Circus of Revolution.
I’ve heard of you, Jane. This penguin you found was an experimental robot penguin
named Penguin 001, but before we put it to the test, it ran away from the circus. It is
ours, Miss Taylors.”

Boo is theirs? But that is impossible. I thought in my heart. I clenched my fists

and turned to look at Boo, now known as Penguin 001. “Boo…” I whispered.

33
Part 6 - Always together

“Master Alex,” I gulped. “So you meant Boo is not real?” Master Alex looked at
me.

“Well, not exactly a living thing, but our programme makes it as real as
possible. However, I think its voice has malfunctioned,” he said as he walked towards
Boo, examining it. “It's supposed to be a squeak sound, like a penguin,” he paused.
“Not a ‘Boo’.”

I looked at Boo, whose eyes were closed. Who would have ever thought that
Boo is a robot made to serve the circus? Tears gradually filled my eyes, and my vision
started to get blurrish.

Master Alex looked at me in pity. “Well you could come to the circus anytime
you want to,” said Master Alex. “If Penguin 001 becomes famous, it’ll be on every
show. You can have a free ticket, special, just for you.”

Tears rolled down my cheek. “Thank you Master… Alex,” I sobbed. “But I
don’t want to see Boo performing. I want Boo, and Boo only,” I said. “I want Boo to
walk with me, run with me, dance with me, learn with me. I like Boo. I don’t know if
it likes me, but I do like it. Master Alex, Boo is more than metal to me. It’s not a pet
to me either. Boo is my friend, a close one, like family. Please Master Alex, I know I
sound unreasonable, but I would like to have Boo.”

Master Alex looked at me, and sighed. “Jane,” he said slowly. “I’m sorry for
taking Penguin 001 away from you, but the circus needs him as well. We might even
create more clones of it, and make some money out of it.”

My toes in my shoes began to twitch uneasily. Of course I knew Master Alex

won’t let me have Boo, and I’m so wrong to take Boo myself. But I really do like Boo.
Boo is always in my heart. I can’t bear to separate from it.

“Boo,” I called gently, looking at Boo. “Boo, please wake up. Remember the
dandelions and daisies,” my voice started to become softer. “And the jellies and
popsicles and the handsome blue bow,” more tears flowed out from my eyes as I said
so. “And the spring breeze and flowers and everything nice? And the stream and the
wooden plank?”

I knew Boo’s power was cut off and there was no way for it to respond or hear
me. But something magical happened, or as Aunt Eve calls it a “miracle.”

Boo slowly opened its eyes, turned to look at me and said: “Boo!”

34
 It was such an amazing surprise, not just to me, but also to Master Alex. “But
the programme,” Master Alex stuttered, and to his amazement Boo’s hidden power
button was on - but without anyone controlling it!

“Boo!’ I cried happily. “But this can’t

be,” muttered Master Alex. “Don’t tell me it
felt emotions together with -” “Jey-anne,”
finished Boo for Master Alex. I ran over to
hug Boo. “Oh, Boo!” I cried, and although
its flippers and bodies were attached to
wire and couldn't move, it leaned towards
my shoulder. “Boo,” it said.

Master Alex paused, and sighed. “You have bonded with each other,” he said,
reluctantly. “I don’t think Penguin 001 - No, Boo, can focus here in the circus
anymore. You may have Boo.”

At the words of Master Alex, I looked at him with gratefulness and my eyes
were filled with tears of joy. “Boo!” I cried to Boo. “We can go home! You and I,
together!” “Boo!” cried Boo with joy.

It was an amazing night of reunion, when I held Boo in my arms as we walked

back to the tent. There was some scolding from Aunt Eve for sneaking away without
her permission, and she was so worried.

Soon me and Boo and Aunt Eve were home together. The next morning we sat
beside the stream, watching the sunrise.

“Boo,” I said. “To be honest, I was so worried about you. I’m still wondering,
what if you get lost again, or get kidnapped, or something like that? What if we can’t
get together? What should we do?”

Boo looked at me and twitched its head. I sighed. “Do you understand, I mean
what if we -”

Boo cut me off by gently placing its flippers on my lap. “Boo,” it said.
“Jey-anne. Fai-nd ways. Tu-geh-dier.” And it lifted its head to look at me, eyes
twinkling.

35
 I smiled as I placed my hands on top of his flippers. ‘Always together,’ I
replied.

___
The End

36
 Mum
by Emily Cheh

___

Mum was always somebody who felt like a distant scolding/nagging machine.
“Stop watching so much tv and start doing your homework!”
“Why are you not washing your dirty laundry now?”
“I will be there in approximately 3.5 minutes. You better be there waiting for me!”
“You are really making me very frustrated! You’re so lazy!”

My name is Dawn and this is the story of how I became who I am today.

When I was 4, Delaney was born.

When I was 6, Dwight was born.

Life was pretty good for me. I had good grades and was always rewarded for it in the
form of video games and trendy toys. I was a pretty good piano student – well, better
than Delaney was anyway. (Our teacher quit on her, hah!) I was a popular enough
student, average in swimming but nobody really cared about that anyway at that time
and I had great weekends with my siblings doing silly things like making “pesticides”
with whatever food we could get hold of in the fridge and then adding whatever
medication or poison we could find in the house.

It wasn’t until I was 11 that the realities of life caught up to me.

Our Aunty Chris had just passed away from breast cancer and my mum and siblings
had themselves checked after being advised by Aunty Chris’ oncologist to do so. Mum
came home with the beginning of the worst news of my life – she had a lump in her
right breast.

I remembered sitting in my class’ library corner the very next day, staring out into
the windows while my best friend, Katie sat quietly next to me. It felt like I sat there
for a very long time but I really needed some time to space out from reality.

“What if mum ended up like Aunty Chris?”

“No, no, no, this can’t be it” I had thought to myself.

37
Mum had her lump removed as recommended by her oncologist. She went for
radiotherapy and multiple tests after to check if the cancer was finally dead or not.
And it was!

Or so we thought until her cancer came back again and again as I grew older.
I remembered many times when dad would give me a text or call while I was in class
in college or in university and I would not be able to hold back my tears. I excused
myself from class and some more distant friends would watch me as I burst out into
tears as quietly as I could.

Empty toilets were my safest space at that time.

“Dawn, I’m sorry to have to tell you this through a call

(or text). But mum’s cancer is back and it has spread
to her liver this time,”

I was 21 when dad told me this. All this time, the cancer had been contained and was
“under control”. But this time, it was out there in the rest of her body.

I remembered not wanting to face this reality. The reality of going home to see mum
lying on the couch all tired and skinny, seeing her damp, red eyes trying to mask the
fact that she had been crying, seeing her legs swell up and just knowing she was sick.

I’d stay in university the entire day to “study” or be around other people. I would
attempt to be a good student trying to join group studies that went on till late night
and only return home at around 11pm. And then the very next day, I’d head out for
class at 8am.

This schedule went on for about a couple of months until one night, I came home and
saw mum in her room and she was still awake. I walked in and sat down at her bed
and watched her wash up.

38
 “You’re finally willing to sit down to talk to me?”

I looked down at my toes, feeling ashamed.

“I don’t have a lot of time left, you know, Dawn?”

I came home more from that day on.

Mum became weaker and weaker as time passed. I remembered how she was
so sad about losing so much hair just by running her fingers lightly through her hair
that she had asked me to bring her to a small salon above a very old building to get it
shaved off.

“Hey mum. Why are you coming to this small, secluded hair salon instead of your
usual one with all the other aunties in it?”

“Well, you said it yourself, right? All the other

aunties are there. I’m a bit embarrassed to have
them see me shave off my hair,” mum said
sheepishly.

I nodded and drove her there quietly. I

remembered taking a photo secretly behind her
while the hairdresser shaved her hair off. I held
back tears and thought for the first time how brave
my mother really is.

“There! I save on shampoo and it’s so cooling now!” she exclaimed.

Mum grew even weaker eventually. To the point where she could not even shower
herself. We each took turns to shower her while she sat on a plastic chair and I
remembered the first time I touched her mastectomy scar, I thought of how much
pain she must have gone through.

I remembered how her liver started to fail and her stools became clay coloured. In
her final days in the hospital, she would wait until I finished class and went to visit

39
her before she would start to pass motion because she was embarrassed from having
strangers clean her up.

When mum’s local doctors told us that they could do nothing more, we attempted to
seek help from a hospital in Singapore. Something inside of me was so convinced
they could help her. I hyped her up and told her not to worry; they will make sure she
is healed completely this time!

Dad rented an ambulance and a nurse inside of it to

bring mum to Singapore and the whole experience
seemed like such a huge commotion at that time. I
remembered kissing mum that morning before I
went for classes and told her, “This time, mum. This
time they will be able to help you. Don’t you worry,”

Well, turns out that wasn’t what God had planned

for her. I was in class again when dad sent a text
saying the doctors in Singapore could not help her.
She was to be transported back to our home the very
next day.

I read the text message with blurry eyes.

Slowly, mum’s bodily functions started to fail one by one. One day, while mum was
heavily sedated with morphine, I stared at her while she was sleeping. She was all
skin and bones and her cheeks which were normally pink and were the highlight of
her facial features when she smiled seemed to have sunken in. Her hands and cheeks
were cold and she slept soundly with her mouth slightly ajar.

That day, dad had told us to go home to sleep instead of camping in the visitors’
lounge as we had done for the past week or so. But something told my siblings and I
to come back after freshening up. I don’t know how dad knew but as we started to fall
asleep that night, he came rushing into the lounge.

“Guys, come quickly!”

We all stood beside mum’s hospital bed with a couple of nurses and doctors. Her
heart beats were slowing down and she was still asleep.

“I’ll increase the adrenaline so you guys can have some final moments with her,” the
doctor said quietly before leaving us alone.

40
Four of us just stood there quietly. None of us had any words to say at that moment.
We took mum’s cold hands and then dad started to talk to her. He asked if she could
hear us or not. We saw her heart beats on the monitor picking up and we instantly
knew she was there with us.

I don’t remember how much time we had with mum that night but we spoke about
our previous travels, her home cooked food, sang her favourite songs to her and
spoke as much as we could. I felt like if we stopped speaking at any point, mum
would leave us permanently.

At one point, when we have said everything we wanted to say, there was a moment of
silence. The doctor, who had been standing at the corner walked to us and told us
that it is time for her to go.

Everything was a blur at that moment as I watched him taper down the adrenaline
dosage. Mum’s heart beats on the monitor slowed down and then it eventually
became one long beep. It felt like the longest beep I have ever heard.

It has been 6 years since mum

passed on. I still think about her
every day but I find that some days,
I forget how she sounded like. I
don’t have many videos of her and I
really regretted not pulling my
phone out more often to film her
randomly. I do miss her naggings
sometimes though but it felt a little
sad in the beginning to be around
the silence that replaced her noise.

One thing is for sure: I am still

learning how to trust that God has a
better plan for myself (and mum)
than the plans we have for
ourselves. I am certain I will meet
her again one day in a body free of
cancer and give her the biggest hug
I can ever give anybody.

I love you, mum.

___
The End

41
 When a Star Dies
by Aaron Soong

___

Anger and sadness are two of a kind. Alike, they come and go together. Both
are present in our lives; we feel it almost everyday. Ever since ‘that’ day, the
excruciating pain in my heart continued to flow agonizingly through my veins and it
deadened my mind. Since last week, the words, “Something is wrong with me. I’ll tell
you if I can,” coursed endlessly through my mind in an infinite loop. Each time, even
just by thinking about it, my heart ached a little, as a plethora of questions
bombarded my already muddled mind. “What’s wrong with her?” “Why can’t she tell
me?” Sadness engulfed my whole being, paralyzing my uplifted emotions from
making a move in my gloomy life. The monotone colours of the already abysmal
world soon dissipated away. I was left with nothing. Darkness. Alone. Empty.

Then, a tiny voice echoed distantly in the void. “So, this is how she feels?”
Suddenly, a small flame alighted. Anger. It stirred within me. I was not angry at her…
I was angry at myself; at my life; at my helplessness. Every night I cried myself to
sleep, bashing and beating myself up. Why can’t I help her? This feeling of
helplessness greyed my spirit. She was alone; scared; and devastated. Tears trickled

42
down my crimson cheeks. I was helpless… useless. My best friend needed someone to
talk to; to lean on to… she needed me to be there for her. Even then, I couldn’t do
anything.

A glimmer of hope was all I needed. A push. There was nothing here.

A single flame barely illuminating the pitch-black void, fueled single-handedly

by my hatred. Though, again, a faraway voice crawled into my ear. Not my voice,
however… it was hers. “It’s okay,” her fragile voice felt like it could shatter into a
thousand smithereens, but that was all I needed. I got up, my heart throbbing; my
fists, though drenched with tears, clenched with determination.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but I needed to do something; to take the
first step.

43
 With a deep breath, I regained my composure, and scrambled around the
abyss, wailing my lungs out, “I’m coming. Alice, wait for me!” Suddenly, several
flames alighted before me. Tens. Then, hundreds. My void was no longer dark; it was
brimming with colours and life. I recognised where I was - the warmth and love
exuding from this place was etched into my heart for years now. A cliff, where we met
years ago. Now, she stood there. Her back facing me, though I could see her precious
face behind her silky shiny beige hair. “Alice, I’m missed yo--”

“It’s okay,” her voice interrupted me. She neared the edge. I tried to stop here,
“Aly, what are you doing?” It was too late. Her silhouette disappeared below the cliff,
she was gone. My world was gone. “Gosh, please let this be a dream. Please, end
this,” I cried out. The warmth and love I felt just mere seconds ago was gone. I was
alone.

“James, I’m here.” a voice faded away with the wind.

I closed my eyes. The harsh silence reverberated in me. I couldn’t feel my

body, my thoughts were empty. Then, a sound broke the silence. Beep. Beep. “A
monitoring machine?” I asked myself. Something touched my hand, and I grasped it
tightly. A hand, so feeble and spindly. My eyes fluttered open slowly, my vision still
blurred by tears. She laid there, helpless on a hospital bed. She was lifeless, but still, I
felt her cheery presence assuring me that everything would be fine. Though, the

44
beeping of the monitor drone was my only comfort. I brought her hand to my heart,
and fervently prayed for her recovery. A miracle. “Please, don't leave me. Please, I
beg you.” My heart palpitated rapidly, my body trembled with fear. My shining star
was losing its glow. She was at the brink of death, her life, depleting as I sat
helplessly beside her solemn body. I was ready to give up… but she wasn’t.

Suddenly, her hand clasped mine tighter. My gaze transfixed onto her face,
our eyes met in a deadlock. Her hand, even tighter, as if she was saying, “I don’t want
to go.” Tears streamed uncontrollably down my eyes, I didn’t want her to go too. Her
eyes, the light in them were slowly fading away. It was time. Her pulse weakened by
the second. Sixty. Fifty. Forty. I couldn’t hold in my agony anymore. I wailed. I
screamed.

“It’s okay. I’ll always love...”

Her last words escaped her dying body. She breathed her last. The monitor
droned a continuous tone as the doctors rushed in to save her... but it was too late.

“...You.”

Her palmy hand fell out of mine. Her eyes shut for the final time. I glanced at
her face one last time, I thought I saw her perpetual grin once more, before flattening
out like the rest of her.

45
 It was all so sudden. Everything happened in an instant… Everyone
surrounded us; or perhaps.. surrounded just me. “I’m sorry,” I said to her parents.
“I’m sorry,” to her brother. “I’m sorry,” to her cousins, teachers, friends; everyone. It
was all my fault, anyway. If only I had realised sooner, maybe… just maybe, she
would not have left so soon. This pain; it was too much for me; it was unbearably
painful. The pressure, the anguish, I wanted to end it. I didn’t want to suffer
anymore. All I wanted was to be with her, once more. One more time.

I trudged my heavy legs to that familiar place. The cliff. It brought so many
great memories and bad ones, but I was going to end it all here. I neared the edge,
my limits pushed beyond my boundaries. I was ready to leave it all behind me. I
hovered my feet over the edge as I closed my eyes, sipping in my last gasp of air.

However…

Suddenly, the memories of her flashed in my mind. Her laugh; her cries; her
face, I relived it all. Her smile… I didn’t want to lose it. I didn’t want to forget it; to
lose it. The snuggly wind caressed my swollen cheeks, as I placed my foot back on the
soft grass. I stared into the end of the distant sea; the Sun descended slowly below
the horizon, it’s radiant pink and orange skies made me tear up. It was elegant.
Finally, it was gone - signifying the end of a Star.

A sudden gust of wind overwhelmed my body; it kissed my cheeks; I could feel

her. A tiny voice skipped into my ear, “Don’t worry, I’m always here, in your heart.”
Just like the Sun, a star, it goes away, but it is always constant in our lives. In our
hearts.

As the reflective moon rose to take its place in the sky to illuminate the world,
tears once again trickled down my eyes. The moon, so beautiful, like her face. The
glowing stars, forming a beautiful painting on the vast canvas sky, like her character.
The soothing nature orchestra of leaves, wind, waves crashing on rock, it was
overwhelming. I slowly raised my hand out into the air, the winds blew back gently
into my hand, it felt familiar. Her love. It will always be with me. We were connected,
once again. Forever.

I knew she didn’t want me to walk off that cliff, she would have wished for me
to carry on with my life, to do the things I enjoy and want to do, to even meet
someone new. Her departure had left a huge hole in my heart, I figured it may never
be filled again, but time would only tell. Somehow, she reminded me that my life was
precious; I miss her, but things will get better...

46
I shut my eyes, and whispered into the sparkling night,

“I will never forget you…Never.”

___
The End

47
 A Rainy Day
by Aaron Soong & Jonathan Chin

___

It was the springtime of youth, the climax of age before the drudgery of work
life commenced. In Clementine College, sophomores were chaotic. Everybody ran
around, seeking their old pals and meeting new ones, having spontaneous trips and
parties, sleepovers; they were living their best years... except Rachel. No, Rachel was
different from everyone else. She was a shy, awkward, quiet girl; an introvert who
kept to herself most of the time. And she enjoyed it that way. She always fancied
eyeing people from a distance, sneakily listening to everyone’s secrets as she walked
unnoticed around school like a speck of dust in a breeze, or a leaf in a forest. Though,
she had a kind heart - one who secretly did things behind the scenes for those she
truly cared about (like for Mr Franklin, she placed an apple on his desk because he
helped her with Chemistry a week ago) but they wouldn’t know it was her. The Secret
Angel, the rumours whispered.

Soon, a few months had passed, and Rachel had done nothing but sit in the
empty library, everyday, reading about DNA and the human brain. She was bored,
occasionally lonely and wishful she had someone to spend her days with, though she
was perfectly content being by herself. She wanted a change. With club selections
starting soon, it sparked a thought in her mind: maybe things can change.

48
 Every year, students pick a club (or two [or three]) that they’re interested in.
There’s the sports clubs, like rugby and volleyball, the academic clubs, literature and
poetry, and there are the social clubs. Rachel wasn’t sporty, nor was she interested in
studying some more or reading more books apart from her syllabus. So, she chose to
join a social club. More precisely, the Photography Club.

All of her other quieter friends joined the Reading club - “Ugh, boring”, she
thought - she felt that the Photography Club was her Hobson’s choice. Exhilarated,
she stomped anticipatingly to the club room.

Joe, the club president, handed her a camera and some beginner tasks; her
first task was to capture some pictures of the upcoming football tournament. She
fumbled her way, through an enormous crowd of scrambled students, to the football
field. Filled with excitement, she took aim, prepped for her shot at the hotshot player
- Bruce.

Bruce was famous… REALLY famous. Smart, athletic, handsome, funny,

outgoing; he made every girl in school drool over him, unknowingly of course. He
wasn’t actually aware that he was so renowned throughout college. Anyways, there he
lined up for a free kick. Rachel carefully got herself into a comfortable position to
capture the perfect picture. Breathe...any second now… He ran up and kicked the
ball - there! She got it. Rachel, whose eyes fixated on her photo, was oblivious that
the ball deflected off the defender wall and was rocketing straight in her direction.
She looked up, beaming brightly and unexpecting anything

The ball hit her. In the stomach.

49
 It was as if time stopped for a second, everyone paused what they were doing
as they beheld the victim collapse to the floor in agony. She let out a wail as the
players hurried to her. Bruce knelt, comforted her. Their eyes met in a deadlock,
sparkling and glittering. She suddenly felt better, and rather a bit tinglish. She was
nervous!

With butterflies in her stomach, her pupils dilated as she gazed at him, who
was trying to help her back up as quickly as possible. That was how they met.

They went their separate ways after that incident, but he started talking to her,
checking in on how she was feeling now and then.

It became more and more obvious that Rachel was falling for Bruce and as
time went on her feelings got deeper. Naturally, Rachel has been asking Bruce out,
using studying as an excuse to hang out together. They would go to places like the
parks and cafes to study. Although Rachel dropped countless hints on Bruce like
playing with her hair, dressing up nicer and applying some perfume, he simply
thought of the dates as actual study outings. Bruce was already popular among the

50
students and as a result of hanging out with Bruce so much, Rachel started getting
more attention from other students as well. Some were jealous but most was
surprised that an awkward girl like her could be close to a popular guy like him. Not
long after, rumours about them dating were starting to spread to the whole college.
Many approached Bruce about the rumours, especially his friends, but he just
shrugged it off saying that they are just friends and they only go out to study.

Rachel on the other hand, got more popular and

occasionally was on the receiving end of some teasing
from the mean girls. Besides the rumours, life was
pretty normal for Rachel and Bruce. Fast forward a
month later, there was the much awaited annual
football competition hosted by Clementine College.
Banners of the two teams participating got posted at
the main walkways of the college, there were also flyers
calling out to anyone willing to volunteer for hot dog
and drink vendors, as well as a photographer. As soon
as Rachel saw that flyer, she immediately volunteered
for that role without thinking twice.

It was an ominous day for the football match, the clouds emanated an aura - a
formidable army of rain. The game was intense, with many nail-biting instances,
pushing the spectators to the edge of their seats. However, the back and forth goals of
the both teams did not matter to Rachel, as a responsible person that she is, she
managed to capture the best moments of the game, as well as the best angles of
Bruce. Thousands of snapshots later, the game finally ended. Just like any other
game, some spectators went home and some went to take pictures with the athletes.
Naturally, when the crowd cleared up Rachel went to Bruce, and they started talking
about the game, how it was so intense, the energy of the crowd was really good and
how the athletes were really tired but still had to continue, then Rachel brought up
the topic of the photos she took during the game and showed it to Bruce. Looking
through the photos, Bruce was surprised by the photos that Rachel took of him.
Somehow, the pictures that Rachel took captivated him in a way that he never felt
before. Then, all of a sudden it hit him, it seemed like the fog over his heart had
cleared up and it was almost like love at first sight.

The feelings became stronger and all the chemicals started rushing through
his veins. And he thought to himself, “people around me kept saying that we’re
dating, what if she has feelings for me too?”, seeing that nobody was around he
seized the chance to confess. He said with a soft voice “Hey…” then he gazed into her
eyes, put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer. At the same time, Rachel’s
heart was racing, pupils dilated, cheeks blushing. The thoughts that flooded her mind
made it unclear on what she should do. She thought to herself, “does he feel the same
for me, is this a dream come true?” Then Bruce uttered the magic words “I have
feelings for you.” In that moment it was like they were the center of the universe, a

51
pure magical moment. Both of them, holding each other close, and smiling and
falling deeper in love like something straight out of a story book.

Suddenly, the clouds above started to grow dark. The once white fluffy clouds
now turned overcast as rain was released from the sky’s gates. Thunder roared
menacingly and lightning zig zagged across the skies. People scrambled off the field,
like headless chickens scurrying back to their dens. In a matter of minutes, only
Bruce and Rachel remained as they packed their stuff as quickly as they could.

Bruce grabbed Rachel’s hand swiftly and hurried themselves to his car where
they took shelter. They rushed into his car, and slammed the door shut. Bruce
quickly tidied the car as they took in a huge long breath to regain their composure -
especially Rachel; she’d not been exercising for quite some time.

Once they had calmed down, they drove home. Bruce said, “I’ll bring you over
for some dinner! Parents shouldn’t be home, and I think you can borrow some of my
mother’s clothes.” He was planning to impress her with his cooking. They talked and
talked all the way back home, giggling and sharing about each other’s lives. However,
when they reached home all exuberant, they met an unexpected problem….

They parked outside. Rachel was flabbergasted at how enormous Bruce’s

mansion was. Fountains, garden, swimming pool, the house itself was about four
times larger than hers. Her face glowed up like a little child, eager to explore the
inside of this castle. Though, Bruce’s face depicted the opposite emotion. It was pale,
nervous and almost afraid. He noticed a car parked nearby - one he does not see
often. His heart started palpitating rapidly, with each heavy step nearing the
entrance. At last, they reached the front door.

He braced himself, taking a deep breath in, and welcomed Rachel to his home.
Rachel’s eyes were immediately engrossed in the brilliant sparkling chandeliers

52
hanging above the living room. Though, she noticed two silhouettes at the bottom of
her eye. She saw his parents. Awkwardness permeated throughout the room as the
two unexpected parties were caught off guard with each other. Moments passed.
They stare at each other, examining the hostility in the air. Until… “Dear mother,
meet Rachel.” Bruce broke the silence. His voice cracked, making Rachel giggle a
little.

“Oh hi Rachel. I’m Melinda, nice to meet you”, uttered his mother with a wide
smile plastered on her face. But Rachel sensed a tinge of disgust or disappointment
behind that facade of hers. She ignored it. His father, Mike, ushered them to the
dinner table, insisting they eat since they might be hungry. And so, they sat together.

The atmosphere was still unsettling. Rachel was confused with some of the
cutlery they used, “Who needs so many knives for bread?” she pondered. Melinda
scoffed. The dinner went on, having small talk and the parents getting to know her
better. But as time went on, as Rachel brought her cup to her mouth, she discretely
observed Melinda’s smile get more and more… fake.

She had spent her whole life so far alone, observing people, she knew when
someone was not being themselves. It sent chills down her spine seeing her, and
utterly, causing her demise. She spilled the fruit punch all over her shirt.
Embarrassed, she hid her face from everyone as she quickly sorted herself. Melinda
stood up, and led her to the toilet upstairs. Though, mother was rarely as helpful as
she was now. Bruce and Mike glanced at each other, nervous to what mother goose
was up to.

As Rachel was changing into the clothes Melinda had lent her, Melinda finally
revealed her true colours. Melinda glared at her with bloodshot eyes, “How could my
baby boy Bruce fall for someone like you?” Rachel was unprepared to receive such

53
harsh words… “Clumsy, uneducated about simple tableware, presumably not rich
and stupid, I suppose. You’re timid, ugly. You’re not deserving of Bruce. Let me spare
you the truth, you. Won’t. Ever. Come back here.”

Rachel stood there, trying to comprehend what she’d done to get told off like
that. Nothing, she did nothing wrong. And yet, here, her heart shattered into a
million pieces. She felt her limbs get weaker and weaker, til she was barely longer
able to stand. Her eyes welled up and her vision blurred. A tear broke out. And
another. Another... Soon, a stream of tears flowed out of her eyes, washing over her
now crimson cheeks. She fell down, huddling to the edge of the bed. Sadness
paralyzed her, she could not move. Crestfallen.

The nasty comments replayed in her muddled mind in an endless loop, they
were like a knife in her heart, scraping and digging deeper with each loop. She tried
to control her emotions, but they spiralled out of control. Sadness, anger, fear, she
was tempted to hit Melinda - very tempted - but before she could do anything she
would regret, she dashed out of the room, nudging Melinda onto the floor. She ran.
Out of the dining room where the men saw her, whimpering in tears. Out of the
house. That time, the storm had raged on, even fiercer now. She didn’t care that the
rain poured buckets on her, or about the bright flashes of lightning in the sky, or
where she was even going. She just wanted to get as far as possible from that house;
escape from reality. From her.

Confused as to why Rachel just ran out of the house like she saw a ghost,
Bruce asked his parents, “Mom, Dad… What happened to Rachel?”
Melinda simply replied with “You're better off this way Bruce, you don’t need her and
she doesn’t deserve you.” Infuriated with the way his parents responded, he let loose
of his emotions and blurted out some things that a polite boy like him would never
do under any circumstance. Exclaiming in a blaring exasperated voice that Melinda is
too controlling, forcing Bruce to live her version of happiness, while using the excuse
that the things she asks Bruce to do are for his own good. Startled by the way Bruce

54
responded, Melinda was frozen. Wasting not a single second more explaining his
feelings to his overly controlling Mother, Bruce stormed through the nicely decorated
hallways of the mansion all the way until he reached the main door, it was raining
cats and dogs outside but Bruce could not just let her go. He ran outside in pursuit of
the girl he was falling for, Rachel. As an elite athlete with phenomenal speed and
endurance, Bruce has no problem catching up to Rachel. When he finally caught up
to her, she was out of breath, resting on a street lamp.

He called out her name, “Rachel…” She was sobbing immensely, disguised by
the pelting rain streaming down her face. He didn’t say anything else, and held her in
his arms, hugging her amidst the malicious storm; her hands wrapped around him
feebly, defeated. She trembled ceaselessly, collapsing in his strong arms which
propped her safe. He sympathised. He hated how his mother was - full of herself,
controlling, perfectionist - but all he cared about now was her.

They remained there in each other’s embrace, under the rain for as long as
they could remember. Soon, Bruce apologised for his mother’s insolence and
reassured her that he would never feel that way towards her.

“Rachel, I love you”

“I love you too, Bruce.”

After a moment of warm embrace amidst the downpour, they decided to go to

Rachel’s house. No way they were going back to Bruce’s home. For now at least.
They walked in the pouring rain, hands inevitably glued together. On the way home,
Rachel warned him about the small, messy house that she lives in. She was a mess,
she said she wasn’t as funny, pretty, smart, athletic… rambling on and on about how

55
she wasn’t as perfect as she thought he wished for. He glanced at her, a tear had
stroked down her cheek. She was insecure.

But Bruce stopped them in their tracks. He placed his hands on her shoulder,
and their eyes locked. He neared her face, and kissed her forehead.

“I love you, because I love you. You are perfect the way you are.”

And their lips met. Cold, but soft. Gentle and sweet.

It was her first, and she was enthralled by it. She hid her head, her face
blushed up as red as a tomato, but it was barely visible ‘cause of the rain. After a
moment of each other’s embrace, they continued their journey home.

Bruce made sure to take a different route away from the mansion, so his
parents would not intervene by taking him away from Rachel. Bruce’s parents fell for
the tactic and took the usual route to find Bruce amidst the heavy downpour, giving
Bruce and Rachel some sweet quality time together.

20 minutes had passed. When they finally reached Rachel’s house, they’re
clothes were soaked with rain and tears. Of course, her house was nowhere as
luxurious and impressive as Bruce’s mansion, but he didn't care. Rachel’s family was
surprised to see her in the pouring rain, more importantly with a boy. Immediately,
her father opened the gate and ushered them in. Rachel’s parents welcomed them
with a heart-warming smile and some towels to dry their drenched clothes and
themselves. Taking the first step in Rachel’s house, on the left, Bruce saw a small
table for keys, then a few steps in front of him was a 3 seater couch and in it was a
small television mounted on the wall, and behind the wall was the master-bedroom.
There was a small staircase but that only led to a small balcony for Rachel’s father.
Taking a small turn to the left, Bruce saw the dining table. Directly behind the dining
table is the fridge and opposite the fridge are two rooms, one for Rachel and one for
storage. The rest of the area at the back was the kitchen and for the washing
machine. Rachel’s parents handed Buce some fresh clothes as he was still drenched.
Luckily, Rachel’s mother cooked extra food that evening, anticipating Rachel would
return for dinner. So after changing, Bruce had dinner with Rachel’s family,
cheerfully eating with them and enjoying their presence.

They chatted and talked about literally anything, Rachel’s family and Buce
getting to know each other better. It resembled the previous meeting with Bruce’s
family, but this, Rachel felt, was more comfortable. It was true with no facades,
genuinely wanting to learn more about the other person. Bruce explained to them the
situation with his parents, and what had happened; but the parents reassured them
that they fully support them together.

56
 After a very long and wholesome dinner, they finally went up to the balcony to
rest. There, they crouched near a telescope in the middle of the platform. Rachel’s
dad was an Astronomer and loved watching the stars. so it was decorated almost like
a small research lab. They sat down, leaning against each other and observed the
stars as the storm started to calm. Rachel had calmed down too. And, Bruce went on
and talked about the stars; he studied them a bit last year. Rachel listened along,
though she knew some of the things he said.

The raging storm vanished and the clouds scattered thin, leaving a plethora of
glistening stars as the grace of the white-gold moon started to take over. The
moonlight painted the canvas of blue beneath it a shimmering silver, bringing
comfort to the graphite night. Nevertheless, the dark heaven’s breath-taking beauty
was ignored by the two brooding figures below, who’s gaze was allured by a rather
surprising event.

“Look at that! The stars are shining in a heart shape!” Bruce pointed out in
awe and excitement.

57
 A plethora of bright stars had lined up perfectly in a heart shape; it was a
spectacle.

They gently lowered their wearied backs onto the soft receiving carpet, and
held hands as they closed their eyes. And they both let out a sigh - not a disappointed
one, but one that is relieved and cherishes the moment right now. They didn’t think
of what had happened - with the family, with the rain, with everything. Their minds
raptured on the future they wished to have together. Growing old, but with each
other. Constant, like the stars.

Who knows, maybe Bruce’s parents will concede their prideful ego.

But right now, they want to be with each other.

Now and forever.

___

The End

58


POEMS

 Three Poems
by Ooi Kay Lee

___

There was once a king of a small country,

Many disliked him because he was dirty.
He had a daughter whose name was Mary,
Mary had a little lamb who wore her embroidery.
The lamb bought many things with her money,
But the lamb still did not feel a tiny bit sorry.

---

Saya suka makan nasi lemak,

Makanan yang dimasak oleh kakak.
Tiba-tiba saya terasa sakit tekak,
Sebab termakan sambal di dalam gelap.

Hari-hari makan nasi lemak,

Sampai saya berasa jelak.
Tiba-tiba jemu pulak,
Saya tak mahu makan lagi pulak.

---

There once was a cat,

Its name was Ted.
It liked to wear hats,
And sit on mats.
It began to eat a rat,
But then became fat.
It felt very sad,
It had to go to a vet.

___
The End

60
 How Can It Be?
by Pastor Mark Tan

A reflection on the Passion of Christ.

___

How can it be?

How can it be that the Eternal, Love Everlasting,
have a beginning and an end?
How can it be that the Rabbi, Good Teacher,
be called a blasphemer, condemned?

How can it be?

How can it be that the source of all healing,
be wounded by those healed with his own hands?
How can it be that the Great Judge, be in the courts of men, not at where
judges sit, but where criminals stand?

How can it be?

That the Bread of Life go hungry?
That the living water be thirsty?
That the King of Kings should wear a crown of thorns?
That by soldiers and servants be scorned?

How can it be?

That the Holy One be hung among criminals, to be convicted on a lie?
That the Creator of all things, and by His breath give life,
Be Himself, and in anguish, painfully, die?

How can it be?

61
 Today
by Carolyn Sie

A tribute to the loss of a loved one.

___

Open your ears and hear the sobs of grief

Dark flowers mark the souls who trod through pain

The streets are strewn with death, a lethal thief

Do they take heed? Is all of this in vain?

Adept, acclaimed, a righteous man so blessed

We mourn, we weep, we reminisce the past

He left too soon, too quickly—no one guessed

That he, a faithful friend, would pass so fast

Open your eyes and view the battlefield

A cry is heard as doctors raise their sword

With lives on threads, they never cease to yield

No rest, no ease can anyone afford

Our hands, though distant, join in hope to pray

For all to meet with peace and rest today

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