CONTINUOUS: NARRATIVE WRITING With a starting phrase Write a story starting with: The widow had to work hard

d to bring up her little son alone... The widow had to work hard to bring up her little son alone. This was after her husbands early death. She and her son lived in a wooden house. It was a small house with only one bedroom and a kitchen. Mariam wanted Sam to study hard to get good result. So she would not let Sam help her do any household chores or wash his own clothes. The years flew by. Sam sat for his SPM examination and pass with flying colours. His mother was very happy. She went round telling her friends, My Sam will be leaving for the city to study in a college. He will become a Manager one day. Ill move to live with him in the city. Then, my struggle is worth it. So Mariam continued to work hard to send money to Sam who was studying a business degree. For Mariam, it was a tough life. Meanwhile, Sam kept on phoning home to ask for more money. Mariam even had to borrow from her neighbours and friends to send her son the money. Three years Sam stopped calling home. He did not even let his mother where he was. When she phoned the faculty, they told her that he had graduated and left for job. However, they could not her more. Mariam was baffled. Where was Sam? She was so sure he would come back and fetch her for city. So, she started to pack some of her bags and boxes. Three months later, there was still no news or call from Sam. One day, Mariams niece, Kate, came to talk to her about Sam. She told her aunt, Auntie, a friend of mine met Sam in a bank. Hes the branch manager. This is his address. Early in the morning, Mariam took the first bus to the city. At the bus station, she took a taxi and showed the taxi driver the bank address. On the way there, she told the driver about Sam and what a filial son he was. The driver stopped his taxi in front of a tall building. She got out of the taxi and smiled at him happily. This was the moment she was going to meet Sam. She imagined him showing surprise and delight at meeting his mother. Inside the building, a security guard asked her who she was looking for. She told the guard Sams name. The bank staff saw an old lady holding a worn-out handbag. They were wondering, Who is this woman? Why is she asking for our manager? Meanwhile, Sam pretended he did not know his mother. Feeling disgusted and ashamed, he asked the security guard to ask her to leave. Mariam was shocked to hear that! She looked Sam in a disappointed feeling ever, and ran out of the bank. Back in her house, Mariam cried the whole night. She cried and cried till she had no more tears. The next morning, she was sitting by the window with Sams photo on her lap. She saw him walking towards their house. Soon she was shouting and crying, My Sam is back! My Sam is back! Sam ran towards her and hugged Mariam as he never let go. He was so sorry and regretted the way he behaved. His colleagues were the one who made him realized his big mistakes neglected his mother. The neighbours heard her. They too shouted and cheered, feeling happy for her. 574 words.

CONTINUOUS: NARRATIVE WRITING: With an ending Write a story ending with ... En. Nizam was grateful he had such good neighbours.

Not even in his wildest dream did En. Nizam think he would lose so much in such a short time. It had been a trying period. When he got word that his father was on his death bed, En. Nizams family rushed to his hometown. Even before the funeral rites were over, he received a call from his immediate neighbour that his house was partly destroyed by fire and that the cause of the fire was believed to be arson. Members of En. Nizams immediate family and his relatives were in state of disarray. First, it was the death of an elder member of a family, then this misfortune. Although En. Nizam was worried, deep in his heart he knew that he had very good neighbours, friends who would stand by him in good times and bad. Sure enough, the minute he set foot in the compound of his house, he knew he was right. His neighbours, Mr. Subra and En. Majid, were there taking a close watch on the house. He learnt from them that the neighbours had been taking turns to keep an all-day vigil on the house. He thanked them from the bottom of his heart. After inspecting the damage caused by the fire, En. Majid handed donations collected by the residents living in the area. His neighbours had passed the hat around and the donations came up to a significant amount. Although, the donations was still short of the amount required to repair the damages, en. Nazim was grateful. The next day, En. Nazim was even more overwhelmed by the care and concern shown by his neighbours. They were there to extend their condolences and to show their support. Donations came pouring in. The women folk were busy preparing all the meals for the family. With the help of his neighbours, En. Nizam got a building contractor to repair the damaged sections of the house. The repair and renovations took almost a week to complete. When the house was ready, the neighbour turned up in full force to congratulate him. Tears welled up in E. Nizams eyes. He was at a loss for words. En. Nizam was grateful he had such good neighbours.

TITLE: Friends
It is said that "no man is an island". Personally, I think that the saying is absolutely true. From time immemorial, Man has craved for companionship from his fellow man. It is one of our basest instincts, one dating back to the dawn of mankind. The need for companionship has become ingrained in the human psyche. With the passing of the millennium. we have become so dependent on this companionship that we simply cannot survive without it. In the modern context, our friends provide us with the aforesaid companionship that we so crave. What, we might ask, constitutes a true friend? The emphasis here is on the word "true". Is a true friend someone who you say "hello" to every morning? Or is it someone who does you favours when you need them? Or is there something more: a connection that is more profound? The answer to the latter is definitely "yes". Friends, in the purest sense, are one's soulmates. It sounds cliched I know, but I truly believe that it is so. True friends understand each others' needs and emotions. This understanding leads to mutual respect for each other. I also believe that understanding is a prerequisite for all good friendship. It is the mutual respect that friends have with each other lead them to care for one another whilst respecting their respective personal space and privacy. That is why when I say "soulmates", I mean that friends have an instinctive understanding, an "emotional compass" if you will, of their friends' feelings.

In the same vein, friends are people with whom one can just be oneself. With friends, there is no need for false pretenses or facades. A true friend is someone who knows the worst about you and loves you just the same. As the saying goes, "love is blind, but friendship closes one eye". This simply means that although friends see our faults and shortcomings, they choose to look past them to see only our positive traits. Thus, it does not matter if you have a host of annoying habits, or are not good-looking, or even you are singularly untalented in everything you do. A true friend loves you simply for being yourself. Nothing more and nothing less. Friends are people whom you can trust implicitly. Have you ever told someone your deepest, darkest secrets only to have them go out and tell others? it hurts, doesn't it? What is worse, your secrets come back to you through the grapevine. That, most emphatically, is not what true friendship is about. A true friends will always keep your secrets, no matter how juicy they are and no matter how much they want to share them with others. For that reason, we trust our friends enough to pour out our feelings and thoughts to them, all the while knowing that they are in safe hands. Ever heard the expression "laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone"? It is sadly, very much a norm in today's hypocritical and callous society. But every cloud has a silver lining. In this case, the "silver lining" comes in the form of our friends. Friends are always there when we need them. Whether we need someone to celebrate with, or we need a shoulder to cry on, they are always available. When we are down in the dumps and are discouraged, they become our mainstays to help us to keep our heads above the proverbial water. In a way, friends are like our personal cheerleaders and also our personal critics if the need arises.

The singer and scriptwriter Woody Allen once wrote in his lyrics, "I get by with a little help from my friends". The way I see it, he sums things up beautifully. A life without friends would be a lonely and sad one to say the least. Friends are like a ray of sunlight in the gloom's of today fast-paced individualistic world. Consequently, we must treasure the friends we have, for true friendship is rare. What would life without friends be like? I, for one, would never like to find out.

Friend.. What happened? I could hear myself asking this question over and over again. As I slowly regained consciousness, I found myself in hospital. The past flashed through my mind. I realized with horror what must have happened. Ismail and I are the best of friends who have lived in the same neighbourhood for umpteen years. In school, we have always joined the same sport cross-country. The two of us never failed to jog every morning in the park. We especially liked jogging along the path by the big river. One fine morning, we went jogging by the river as usual. We were jogging slowly as we talked about the coming inter-school cross-country competition. I said, Peter is bound to be one of the two to be chosen to represent our school. I wonder which one of us will be the other lucky person. Ismail suddenly stopped jogging and looked uncomfortable. His voice faltered as he spoke, Karim, I dont want to keep it from you any longer. Mr. Lim has already told me that Peter and I were chosen. My face dropped. All my wild dreams of being the inter-school cross-country champion were shattered. If only I had practised more often, if only if only Ismail were not such a good runner. I was so overwhelmed with disappointment that when Ismail came over to comfort me, I pushed him away roughly. He lost his balance and grabbed at me for support. We screamed as we both fell into the river. The next thing I remember was being in hospital. Friends and relatives who came visit me later told me that they knew. Ismail had saved, risking his own life as he was not strong swimmer. His knees were injured while trying to save me. I felt exceedingly ashamed of myself. I had put Ismails life in danger through my unreasonable, childish behavior. Yet, he had saved me. As a result of his knee injury, Ismail would not be able to represent the cross-country race. This made me feel worse than ever. I have, since that incident, resolved to make it all up to him in whatever way I can. I will try my best to be true friend to him as he has been to me.

A broken promise

Why is this mathematics exercise tougher than usual? It is taking me forever to finish it even though I started at eight oclock. Now it is already 10 oclock and I am not even halfway through. I kept glancing at my computer at the corner of my room. It looked so inviting, making me unsure whether to continue my homework or to just stop and go online. It look me exactly two seconds to make up my mind. I am going online! Obviously from my decision, you know that I am an internet freak. I am willing to do anything (including procrastinating my mathematics homework, even though I know very well my teacher is Mr. Fitzgerald, or more popularly known as Mr. Fitz the Bald. May God help those who dare to mess up with him!). O.K., so I am a self-confessed internet addict but at least I am computer literate!I absolutely adore computers but my greatest love has got to be the Internet Relay Chat (IRC). This is because it gave me a sense of freedom and exhilaration,unlike anything I have experienced before. You can be a supermodel, an astronaut or the local zoo keeper and no one would even know the difference. When I sat in front of the monitor and clicked on the IRC programme, a short but unique name caught my eye. Neo. I said hi and introduced myself. I was ecstatic when Neo answered and turned out to be a great conversationalistand we hit it off immediately. We chatted about everything and I felt as though I had known him since the dawn of time. It never occurred to me to get back to my homework and by the time I did, it was already too late. Realizing this, I dreaded the next day because that was when I had to brace myself for the impact of Mr. Fitz the Balds blashing. I could picture him now, nostrils flared, sweat trickling down his forehead, the gestures of his hand animating his words, eyes that shine with a wild black fire and a head shinier than usual (sometimes you can even see his veins becoming visible and that makes his complexion become a weird shade of red). God, please help me! The next day was a living hell. Everybody was mad at me and I was mad at myself. I just wanted to shout it out to the world, I am a victim of modern civilization!. Then, to relieve my stress, I went out online and Neo was there. He asked me about my day and I told him how I overslept and missed the bus to school, how Mr. Fitz the Bald punished me in front of the whole class and how the class shunned and threw a cold glaring look at me because they had to complete ten exercises which were due the following day just because I failed to complete my work. He just listened to me and was very understanding and supportive. He even sent me a bouquet of virtual flowers to cheer me up and I was touched. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. We continued to be friend for a whole month without even knowing how the other looked like but this teeny-weeny fact did not bother me at all. But then, one day Neo told me he would really like to meet me because he felt as if were friends faceless voices. I tried every trick in the book but I could not dodge his request. He noticed my effort and he demanded why I was acting that way. I could not explain why and so I finally gave in. our meeting was set, he was supposed to wear a navy blue shirt, khakis and brown leather shoes. When he described what he was going to wear, I

ealized that he must be quite rich todress so elegantly. As for me, I was just going to settle on a red blouse and myfaded blue jeans. We agreed to meet in front of Starbucks coffee house at two oclock, two days from now. Surely you must be wondering why did I not want to meet him. I was afraid that if he knew how I looked like, he would not have interest in being my friend anymore because I was not like other normal teenagers, so vibrant and full of life. When others ran, I lagged behind because my artificial leg could not stand much pressure. The truth is, I was not born handicapped but lost my leg on a mountain expedition last year. I was helping my friend up the ravine but I slipped and fell. I was alive but my right leg was severely injured and had to beamputated. That is why I now have a prosthetic leg. I have felt wonderful it was to be normal and it makes the pain much harder to bear. My old life which full of physical activities, seemed like a passing wind, never to come again. I was not fit anymore to join my friends and that threw my confidence out of the window. I was afraid Neo would not accept me. The next day, my mind was occupied with thoughts of him and his reaction. So, to ease my mind, I made him promise not to judge me by my appearance but by my inside me. I did not tell him the truth because I wanted to know if he was sincere in his friendship. When the moment finally came, I was ready for anything. When I arrived, I noticed a fine looking young man that fits Neos description. When I said fine looking, I was not kidding. He came with his friend, so before I approached him, I studied him first. He was athletically built and tall with mocha coloured skin. His hair was neat and it looked as though it was woven from the hues of midnight sky. His eyes, brown and alert but with certain mysterious glint. It made him looked arrogant and egoistical. I could see that he was so anxious and restless that even his friends comforting words could not help to soothe him. Slowly, I walked up to him and introduced myself. I smiled at him but I could see that he was shocked to see my condition and he failed to hide it. Hebabbled something indecipherable. He asked how I was and we chatted a little but he seemed restless, I looked at him knowingly and then he glanced at his wristwatch. He excused himself and said that he had to go. Neos friend looked at him in disbelief but Neo ignored his glance. Neo promised to call me later then he hurriedly left. It happened so fast and before I realized it, he was gone. Neo had failed the test. He could not handle the truth, so it was better to let him go. There was no sense in postponing the inevitable. I knew he would never call me again. I knew that our first meeting was also our last. There would be no next time. He had broken his promise and maybe it was true that broken promise lead to broken hearts. Even though I have been through similar situations before, it still hurts. But I will still keep trying because I believe that even when the darkest moments dawns, it comes with the promise of a new day. I just have to move and live with the fact that sometimes, people are not what they seem to be. Thanks to Neo, I know it now.So, as I sat at the corner of the table at Starbucks, looking out the window, I saw a group of teenage girls giggling as if laughing at a secret joke. How I envy them! I looked at them as they passed by and then I reflected on what had happened. I looked down at my coffee and saw my reflection. Then suddenlya tear trickled down my cheek and fell into the coffee, obscuring my reflection.

I was strapped in my seat I was strapped in my seat, ready for takeoff. There was a deep rumbling sound as the engines prepared to start. My hands clenched the armrest, sweating in excitement. I heard a countdown. Beside me, Allan screamed in uncontrolled joy. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Blastoff! We looked ahead, and the vehicle lurched forward, and suddenly we were shot like a dart towards the stars. Our jaws vibrated and we screamed, feeling the gravity pulling down on our bodies. Suddenly, the craft shook, and we saw laser bursts right in front of our screen. The computer announced that we received damage on one of our rockets. Allan looked at me in fear; he did not expect this to happen. We saw spacecraft of unknown origins flying towards us, then suddenly there was a bright flash and an explosion. Sparks flew around us and smoke sprayed out of broken pipes. Allan and I were shocked, unable to do anything as we were strapped tight. We watched horror as our craft turned sideways and we fell back towards earth. As we fell down, we could feel the heat of the craft as it burned through the atmosphere. The vibration shook our jaws once more, and we screamed in anticipation of what would happen if we hit the ground. Suddenly the computer uttered some jargon, and our descent slowed down. We slowed down then glided safely to our base, visible in a distance. There was a voice, and it told us that they will bring us into their base for repairs. There was another voice, this time its Allans looks like were not leaving Earth this time he said. We unbuckled our straps and stepped out of the cockpit That, was the best simulation ride Ive ever been on! said Allan. I replied Yeah totally! It felt so real. Remind me to thank your uncle for a wonderful weekend Uncle John greeted us not far from here, and we burst into a hailstorm of screams and excitement as we told uncle John about his new simulator ride. Escape From earth was one of the few rides uncle John had designed for his park. It was the state-of-the-art simulation ride and the most advance in the world. There were not many people in this park. It was located in a private island off the coast of Costa Rica. Uncle John is a wealthy businessman, and he had spent almost all of his fortune into this one amusement park. This park, he claimed, will turn all other theme parks in the world obsolete. The theme park was due to open to the world next year, and I was one of the few who was given the privilege to witness its wonders. Almost everything here is automatic, from conveyor belt sidewalks, to automated burger stalls. There were only a few maintenance workers here and there. This park, cleverly named The Lost World was advanced, mysterious and isolated from the world. Alan and I were cousins. That is why Im here with him now, on this island where no man once dared to venture in. We were testing out the rides to see how great it is. So far, everything was out of this world. Journey to The Center of the Earth was

arguably one of the best rides. With the combination of the latest 3D screens and technology, the experience was surreal. We walked into a cave and as we walked further into the cave, we could see changed in the wall as we passed cavemen paintings and fossils. Suddenly we feel down a deep hole and we saw another world, filled with giant trees and animals. We saw a giant tiger about 2 meters tall, then it chased us. We ran into a cave just next to the place we fell from. And suddenly the cave entrance collapsed behind us. We walked straight and then we found ourselves walking out of the same cave we entered. Uncle John explained that with advance motion sensors and conveyor belts, we had not really moved more that 10 meters from the cave entrance. The tiger was an animation, a robot with lifelike movements. I was impressed beyond my imaginations. From then on, Allan and I were prepared for all 10 rides in the park. For the next two days, we had fun testing out the various rides. There was the Speed Demon, a roller coaster that rocked back and forth with the tracks, and it went in all directions, up, down, left, right, upside down and in a loop at speeds of more than 70 km/h. There was also the Jungle Survival Boat, where we had to use special air rifles to fire upon native Indians as they attacked us while we traveled with the river. The native Indians were robotic and they never move in a same way for each ride. Allan shot an Indian with his rifle and the Indian fell with a realistic scream. At night, we had a scrumptious dinner by the moonlight atop a building that rises over the trees. The roof were open aired, and we could see the island blanketed by a thick layer of mist, so the only thing we could see is the mist and the sky. It gave off a feeling of being in the clouds. Most of the hotel were not completed, but we got a room that was abit larger than mine, and it was luxurious. Then, faster than we could blink our eye, the day for departure came. Uncle John called us to the deck to go back home with him, as they just came there for an inspection. We were sad to leave this wonderful place, but we got onto the ship, and we looked back at the island in sadness, wondering if we would ever come back to the island again. Our fears came true when a few months later the news announced about an ice shelt in Antarctica that would soon break off and fall into the sea creating a giant tsunami of about 30 meters high. Uncle John quickly called to evacuate everything on the island to the mainland, with the rides as the top priority. Workmen worked as quickly as they could and evacuated most of the rides onto a ship. With the tsunami nearing, they could not save most of the rides and the ship left dock just a few hours before the tsunami hit the island, destroying almost everything without mercy. Only the finished part of the hotel survived, the rest of the park were flattened.

I felt faint. I could not believe what I was hearing. I wanted to die. The news was unbelievable. The alarming school bell rang meaning the end of another tedious and exhausting day of school. I made my way home taking all the possible shortcuts. As I was a few yards away, I heard a crowds chattering and a familiar voice like my dads. I started walking faster. I squeezed my way through the crowd. I noticed a body lying on the floor covered with a white, blood stained sheet. I started shouting at my dad not noticing his handcuffed hands. Whats happening? I screamed Nothing it is just a misunderstanding dear He answered hesitatingly What Is? I was then taken aside by two police men. They told me everything. Your mum is dead said the tall one The word dead echoed in my head. I could not believe what I was hearing. My poor beloved mums soul was under the sheet. My dad murdered her. I dared not to lift the sheet. But then I did and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek. She was taken to hospital by an ambulance, and as for my dad, he was taken to the police station for further investigations. How could he? I will never forgive him. I was left all on my own. No one to look after me. I was taken in to social care until my aunt comes. We have informed your aunt Betty of what has happened. Said the social worker. She had a shock and so she needs to recover so she will come to get you after a few days.

It was obvious that I will never be able to live with my dad. He is a murderer. I will never forget and forgive what he done to her, however I never thought that the day will come and he will murder her. After a few days the social worker told me to get ready. She said my relative Tea Sea Ting will be coming to get me to live with her. Then I remembered. Aunt Tea Sea Ting! She was the woman that I hated in the whole universe. It was absolutely impossible for me to live with her. She is a cruel cold hearted woman. She used to think that I was very much spoilt thats why I never got any or birthday present from her. She also said once that I had no manners and was an absolute disgrace to the family. Living with an aunt like that is complicated. She lives in northern Johore and I live in the east. I was always happy to think that she was far way and that I will never see her again. The car parked right outside her bungalow. My hands started shaking with fear. As I came out of the

car she gave me a you will regret it face. I entered the house and then she showed me my room. She was gentle with me at that moment since the social worker was there. However when the social worker left, she started picking on me. It was like I was living in hell. She would say that it was my fault that my dad killed my mum and that when I grow I will be like him. A murderer. It is in your blood she said one day. My life started to be complicated. I started to wet the bed from fear and nightmares of my mum. That led to more complications since she would get the chance to pick on me. I had to leave my school from east Johore and go to a dump near hers. School and home lives were hell. The thought of me never seeing my mum ever again was heartbreaking, but the thought of living with Aunt Tea Sea Ting all my life was like rain without clouds same as me without my mum. My Life Is Always Going To Stay Complicated.