1.

Aliens
The day had finally arrived! She woke up before the rooster crowed and got herself ready within
half an hour. The only thing that spoilt her mood was the weather. The sky above was full of
luminous, dark raged clouds and the rain started to shower the Earth. Despite having such bad
weather, Julia and her parents were still looking forward to the long awaited family trip. They
started the journey after having their breakfast and the journey took approximately four hours to
reach their destination. Julia’s father drove extra carefully along the way.
“Mom, dad, have you both been to Pulau Redang before?”, asked Julia.
“We have been there once. Before we got married, to be exact”, replied Julia’s mother while
recalling the fond memories she had with Julia’s father a few years ago.
Their conversation started with this and continued until they arrived at the chalet they would be
staying for two nights. Julia felt the chalet looking anomalous and was not what she had seen
online. There were only a few people in the chalet, not more than ten including them. The lights
were flickering, the roof was with holes and the doors were made of old wood. The chalet
seemed like a low-budget chalet. Without thinking further, Julia and her parents checked-in and
got the access card to their room. Before going out to visit the places they had planned, they
decided to take a short nap. Julia could not fall asleep even after lying on the soft, comfy bed for
almost half an hour. She stood up and went for a walk around the chalet. Suddenly, she saw a
bright ray of light refracted from the sky to the jungle behind the chalet.
Curiosity killed the cat. Julia walked towards the ray of light. As she walked nearer to the source
of light, she saw an elliptical shaped aircraft which was known as Unidentified Flying Object
(UFO). At the drop of a hat, she quickly found a huge tree and hid behind it. She observed the
airship. She saw a few human-like creatures walking out of the aircraft. She was scared and her
legs started to shake like a leaf. She started to mumble to herself. After some time, she finally
built up her courage and walked towards them. As she walked towards the aliens, they saw her
and were talking among themselves. She could not understand what they were saying. She was
scared and brave at the same time. The aliens seemed to be afraid of her as much as she was
afraid of them.
“Hi…….?”, greeted Julia with her shaking limbs.
She did not get any reply from them but a strange look. All of a sudden, a tall, muscular alien
walked out fiercely and roared. Julia wanted to leave the jungle but her legs were glued to the
ground. The aliens surrounded her and looked at her from the top to the bottom. Not long after,
the tall, muscular alien offered his hand and smiled at Julia. At the moment, she was at ease and
shook his hand. Due to the difficulty in communicating in the strange language, he tried to tell
Julia about themselves using sign language. They were together for some time. Before leaving
the jungle, she requested to take a selfie with them as a proof of her meeting the aliens.
The moment Julia met the aliens was ephemeral. She headed back to the chalet excitedly
and wanted to show her parents the photo she had taken. The moment she stepped into her room,
she was baffled! Her parents were not in the room! She panicked. Her mind was as blank as a
piece of paper. She quickly called her parents and prayed fervently to God, hoping she could get
to talk to her parents.
 “Hello?”, answered Julia’s mother.
Julia was relieved when her mother picked up the call. She asked her mother where they were
and went out to meet them. When she met her parents, she told her parents what she saw and
wanted to show the photos she had taken but she realised the photos were not in her phone. She
had no evidence that could prove to her parents that she had met aliens in the jungle. Her parents
did not believe her and assumed it was her hallucination. Her parents refused to listen to her
further explanation but brought her to the beach they planned to do. Julia was disappointed for
not being able to prove her experience of encountering the aliens.

###My friends paid a heavy price for stealing (went missing due to ghost). No matter how tough
is the life as a fisherman, I promised myself to never steal anything in future.The wind blew
strongly. Out at sea, I had spread out the fishing net, and was resting on the boat, waiting for fish
to get into the net.”
“On the wall of the boat, there is a yellowish photo with a few fisherman including me, smiling
happily. ”
yellowish photo
“As my gaze fell upon it, tears started welling up in my eyes, and rolled involuntarily down my
cheek. They are all my dearest friends, but now I am the only one left.”
“Looking at this photo always bring back a lot of painful memories for me. I still vividly
remember the night when I was chatting with my friends on the beach. ”
“I started to grumble to my friends about the tough life of a fisherman. The sea had been rough
recently, and we were unable to go out to the sea to catch fish. Our income was cut off
completely. ”
“One of my friends suggested to go to an abandoned hospital nearby to steal some valuable items
and generate some income. We agreed...”

### On a personal note, I vowed to never give in to the demand of the big bullies anymore. It
could be achieved by showing a tough stance against them, and by asking for help from the
teacher. According to a wise adage by Nelson Mandela, “Resentment is like drinking poison and
then hoping it will kill your enemies.” Ultimately, I had chosen to forgive what Jack had done to
me and we turned from enemies into friends.

2. Tsunami
Julia was in jubilant mood when thinking about her upcoming school holidays. Julia was always
known as the ‘school nerd’ due to the insane amount of hours she would spend studying
everyday. She would finish her school work in a splash and proceed to bury herself under piles
and piles of worksheets, working her way through from the morning until the moon greeted me
the serene night, where its very presence was to always remind her of the word ‘rest’. Yet as the
saying goes, hard work pays off, which was what made her who she is today : A scholar studying
in the top university in the country pursuing in the field of Artificial Intelligence in hopes of
contributing a revolutionary creation to mankind. Hence, in a bid to take a break from reality,
Julia and her family have decided to jump at the chance to take the weekends off at the beach for
a well deserved rest.

Julia’s parents and her elder brother enjoyed the beach but never really liked the ocean. The
calmness of the azure surface, the gentleness of the sea breeze that feintly caressed their faces
were merely an illusion to lure people into the blue graveyard, to them at least. For Julia
however, the ocean was like a part of her. She enjoyed every single thing about it, especially the
sunset at the beach. The golden rays from the fiery orb that enveloped and mingled with the blue
sky, forming a hue of orange and violet that met the vast, tranquil sea at the silvery highlights of
the horizon. To Julia, that was the most mesmerising scene that had ever caught her eyes.

At the beach, Julia and her family satisfied their hunger with a scrumptious dinner and had a
delightful family bonding session while enjoying the magnificent sight of the ocean. They
witnessed huge waves that piled up to an incredible height as the waves approached the shore,
attracting many surfers to rush to the water in order to catch it. As they watched the surfers, the
awe in their eyes quickly turned into shock when the water swallowed the surfers in what seemed
to be an instant yet they resurfaced and strolled up the shore laughing in delight as if they had not
just escaped the grasps of death. However dangerous it might have sounded, Julia had always
been an avid fan of surfing as it made her feel weightless and free from the burden of society.

“Cool isn’t it? Let’s go surfing too!” said Julia to her parents and her elder brother.

Her parents and her brother looked at each other with their eyes squinted dubiously but
eventually gave in to Julia’s suggestion. As they were about to get their surfboards behind the
coconut tree, they turned their head around and looked at the ocean. At that very moment, their
lives flashed before their eyes as they saw an enormous wave moving towards them, engulfing
everything it came across mercilessly.

“Grab onto this tree tightly, quick!” shouted Julia’s parents before the strong waves devoured
them cold-heartedly in the blink of an eye.

Her head pulsated in pain as she slowly opened up her eyes, her vision was blurry but yet she
recognised the place. She was in a hospital. Full of curiosity yet anxious of what she had in
mind, she anxiously asked the doctor in charge on how she ended up at that very spot. It turned
out that Julia and her family members were the only survivors of the tsunami that hit the beach
and were very fortunate to be rescued. Julia was ambivalent, she felt sad that many had lost their
loved ones in that tragic tsunami but she was also relieved at the same time as her family
members’ lives were not taken away by the merciless tsunami. Julia would have never thought
that a casual day at the beach would become a memory that will be stuck in her head forever.

After what felt like an eternity, she slowly regained her consciousness. Her head pulsated in pain
as she slowly opened up her eyes. Her vision was blurry but yet she recognised the place. She
was in the hospital. Confused, she anxiously asked the doctor in charge on how she ended up at
that very spot.
It turned out that Julia and her family members were the only survivors of the tsunami that hit the
beach and were very fortunate to be rescued. Julia was ambivalent, she felt sad that many had
lost their loved ones in that tragic tsunami but she was also relieved at the same time as her
family members’ lives were not taken away by the merciless tsunami. Julia would have never
thought that a casual day at the beach would become a memory that will be stuck in her head
forever. Mother nature is indeed very generous to mankind but at times can also be very ruthless
and unforgiving. In the pursuit of developing new technology for mankind, Julia vowed to never
forget to make environmental conservation and sustainable development as her top priority.
Ultimately, there is only one mother earth, and mankind needs to live in harmony with nature to
never fall into the danger of self destruction.

2. Haunted Abandoned mansion

It was a fine day and we were all very excited. To recall, James, Gordon and I had planned a trip
to Penang. Most importantly, we all had never been away from our parents and this time we were
going to make it a one day outing.

Upon checking into our hotel at Jalan Macalister, both the other guys were already checking-in
on social media. They had always been competing about who has the greatest number of
interactive followers on Instagram which I never had understood the rationale behind such
superficial achievement. Since they were minding their own business, I started taking my own
sweet time unpacking my luggage. Believing that this was going to be the most relaxing trip
ever, the short-lived calmness was abruptly interrupted when Gordon blurted out a few words in
extreme excitement. “Do you guys know about the abandoned mansion?” He then started
explaining about the building left abandoned just a few meters away from us. That was how our
adventurous journey began.
The mansion stared back at us even just by taking a glimpse from afar. Gordon pushed open the
front gate carefully before leading the way to the mansion while leaving both James and I
gingerly making our way behind Gordon. We were well informed from the Internet that no one
was allowed to enter. However, curiosity overcame us and we picked the lock of the main door,
granting us entrance into the sacred lair of the unknown.
A slight streak of sunlight entered the main hall before us. Upon the sight of skeletons, the three
of us were completely stunned. Our jaw hung wide open for at least a minute before we came
back to our senses. My sixth sense told me that something was about to go wrong and a further
step from the door would cause us great trouble, so I urged the other two to back out.
“Don’t be such a chicken,” said Gordon with a shaky voice.
“Aren’t you scared too?” I challenged him.
Having a chance to explore, we decided to venture deeper into the mansion at last. The design
looked like some sort of torture room or a prison. Even though I was afraid, I was eager to
discover more. Throughout the lair, we did not lose sight of blood stains and spider webs. These
were at every corner, every turn. The occasional howls from a distance made the hair on our
backs stand up straight. We finally arrived at a long hallway. James picked up a piece of wood
and lighted it with his lighter. He had always kept a lighter handy although he did not smoke.
The fire seared at first, but later it simmered down into a stable flame. I was able to see the wall
clearly. There were ancient writings, the kind we usually see in Egyptian grave robber movies,
but this time it was real. As an expert in History, James tried to decipher the carvings the best he
could. Meanwhile, Gordon leaned towards the wall to catch his breath. At that very moment, a
cold chill went down my spine.
“Watch out!” I shouted.
Before Gordon could react, that portion of the wall flipped, trapping him on the other side. We
knew there was no hope when the wall shut close with a thud. All he could let out was a loud
shriek and he vanished behind the walls. I pounded against the wall, shouting his name but there
was no reply. Only then did I know what real terror felt like.
“Let’s get out of here, we need to inform the police!” I demanded James.
James got to his feet and swiftly we sped through the hall way. My heart was racing. I could hear
my heart pounding. Wait, that a creak I heard? “Uh-oh,” I thought to myself. In a split second,
the ceiling began to crumble. My sub-consciousness took over. I sprang forward and tackled
James. Both of us fell to the ground and we were lucky to not get hit by the fallen plank. Just as
we thought that trouble was over, the burning piece of wood slipped out of his hand and the
whole interior was on fire. The place was coated in grease! Fire was spreading like mad. I
struggled to get up.
“Come on, there’s not much time left!” I screamed as I turned towards the exit.
“Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!”
As I turned my head 180 degrees, it was already too late and a burning pillar had fallen onto
James’s leg. I tried my best to pull him out but the heat was hardly bearable and the fire didn’t
allow me to go near. My eyes were watery. I was completely out of ideas and that left me in
despair. James gave me a gesture by waving his hand as hard as he could to tell me to save
myself. It was the toughest decision for me to leave my friend. All the moments we spent
together flashed though my mind as memories. How could I leave him now? As the fire was
close to sealing the only exit, I knew I had to be rational. I dived for my escape route.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as the mansion erupted into flames behind me. Maybe it was the
disaster that had left me in such a state but not the mansion.
3. Nightmare
I just finished reading my horror novel in the library. I was walking to my dormitory along a
dark corridor. The lightning flashed across the sky followed by the roar of thunder. The howling
of the wind frightened me. It was a cold grey evening with dull sky and threatening rain. When I
walked along the eerie alley to get to my dormitory, I heard a whisper in my ear.

“Irene!” The voice was in a jubilant mood but sounded weird as the sound came in an echo and
kept repeating in the narrow yet dark alley.

I gulped down the saliva that had pooled in my mouth and quickened my pace to reach my
dormitory. As I was passing by a small room, I heard an old school song being played. The door
was half opened and it looked darker in the cloudy evening. There were always some rumours
that the room was haunted, and it actually took me a few seconds to decide whether I should
enter the room. Eventually, I opened the door as I was eager to discover more even though I was
afraid.

Spider webs were found at every corner. These made my hair on my back stand up straight.
Goosebumps were apparently visible on my skin. At that moment, the only thing I wanted to do
is to run out of the room. Suddenly, the light was switched on. I was able to see some ancient
writings on the wall clearly, which were the kind we usually see in an Egyptian grave robber
movie. At that very moment, a cold chill went down my spine. My sixth sense told me that I
should leave this room as soon as possible or something unwanted might happen.

I turned my body to the door and found that the door was locked. I was terrified when I heard a
sound calling me.

“Don’t you miss me, Irene?” I saw a doll that was in a white pleated skirt standing at the corner
and smiling at me. I stood rooted and kept convincing myself that all of these were just a
hallucination. The creepy ghost doll, Annabelle, was standing in front of me! With her bloodshot
eyes and weird smile, she slowly approached me. I screamed, stumbled and hit the floor with a
loud thump. I fainted after that.

The next thing I remembered, my warden woke me up in the corridor as I was screaming out
loud. My friend, Amanda in a ponytail and dressed in pyjamas jumped out of her bed when she
heard the scream. I then told them about what had actually happened to me but all of them told
me that it was just a dream.

Despite the terrible nightmare, I had learnt a lesson to always listen to my mother’s advice to
avoid reading horror novels at wee hours especially during examination weeks. Nightmares are
usually the result of stress and anxiety so avoid reading scary stories before bed. Otherwise, you
will have frequent nightmares and may affect your daily routine.
4. Story
Help! Can anybody hear me?" A mighty scream ripped from my throat. Being chased by a
creature at the back, I ran as fast as my legs could carry. My heart sank and I stood rooted to the
ground with my mouth agape in shock as I realised that I was at a dead end. As the creature's
footsteps got louder and nearer, I could do nothing except praying to god, hoping to receive a
saviour. It all began with John, the mischief-maker.
It was the first day of the holiday when John suggested us exploring the abandoned hospital
located nearby our neighbourhood. Although others had agreed on his foolish idea, I declined his
invitation of the "trip" as I felt something bad might happen.
"I didn't know that you are such a coward, Desmond!" John said with a sarcastic tone, as usual.
Unable to withstand the embarrassment, I agreed with his idea to prove my courage. Four of us,
John, Danny, Daniel and I agreed meeting up at the backdoor of the abandoned hospital in the
evening.
It was a dark and gloomy evening, the skies were covered with dark clouds. One could easily tell
that it would be raining cats and dogs soon. When everyone arrived, we sneaked into the hospital
carefully.
Every step we made resounded through the air as it was entirely quiet in the hospital. The
furniture was covered with a layer of dust and spider webs. As we walked into an empty hall, we
saw four dark and desolate alleys to four different directions.
"Hey, why don't we separate and explore this 'awesome' place alone?" Again, it was John's idea.
Well, although it sounded irrational, we still agreed. As I walked into the eerie pathway, I felt
something amiss; something that had been following me for some time.
Suddenly, a white shadow zoomed past so quickly that I could not figure it out. I was swamped
by a wave of cold wind. Temperatures dropped rapidly sending me shivers of chill that crept
surreptitiously beneath my thick woollen clothing. Goosebumps were apparently visible on my
rough skin. Anxiety gripped me. However, I tried every bit of my effort to calm myself down,
telling myself that it was merely a hallucination and continued making for the other rooms.
Out of the blue, a loud scream pierced through the air. My breath hitched in my throat and cold
sweat broke out. It was John! To my consternation, I ran towards the direction of the scream. The
continuous loud scream led me to an old nursery room. At that very moment, I heard a faint
clinking sound. I gulped down the saliva that had pooled in my mouth and slowly opened the
door. After getting into the creepy room, I realised that the sound was originating from an
antique wardrobe. Accumulating all of my guts, I opened it immediately. It was a smiling baby
doll with some blood stain on its both cheeks and lips. My instincts told me that things might
turn ugly at any minute. Hence, I inched my way as far back as possible to avoid the creepy
thing. Out of a sudden, I felt my back banged onto something hard and cold. I spun my head
around and saw a red dressed lady staring at me.
"Hey, have you found my little baby?" She exclaimed to me with a mega-watt smile plastered on
her face. It was a frightening and gastly sight! My heart was lodged in my throat. My legs turned
to lead. My mind convulsed. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to flee, but I remained
frozen with tears of fear welling up in my eyes.
Somehow, my body found itself, discovered how to move again. I ran helter-skelter out of the
nursery room. Behind me, the ghost's eerie laughter reverberated through the air. Lady luck was
not on my side, I reached a dead end after the long chase. Gut-ripping fear flashed down the
length of my spine as I heard the incoming footsteps. Lightning zapped through the skies,
brightened my sight for a short moment. I could see the face of the creature as it slowly
approaching me with a big evil grin plastered on her cold pale face. It was time for me to show
my guts. I ran towards the ghost trying to confront it with all my might as there was no other
way.
"Ouch!" The voice came out from the ghost as I banged onto it and its mask dropped onto the
floor. It was John! Daniel and Danny appeared from the back of the alley while laughing their
heads off at my foolish acts. Momentary relief flashed through me as it was them all the while.
After this incident, I vowed that I would never agreed with John's foolish idea again. However,
one thing still remains a mystery to me until today, "What was the white shadow that I saw?"