2.

PAIR WORK 2.1 Story writing

Broken Soul In The Wind

By Dorothy Chong and Tracy Lee INTRODUCTION Wind howled in the night; lightning lit up the dark skies around the city. Rain suddenly broke the deadly silence of the night and the thunder struck. The outline of a child could be seen on the balcony of a high rise apartment, unfazed by the loudness of the thunder. The boy was shaking like a leaf. Rain drenched his clothes, adding a deathly chill to his spine. He looked at his watch. It was 1.59am and it was time for his plans. An old Grandfather Clock struck twice in the distant as the boy left a note on his fathers desk. DEAR GUNGGUNG AND POPO (gunggung=grandfather, popo=grandmother), I AM SORRY. PLEASE FORGIVE ME Then, the boy jumped into the darkness below CHAPTER ONE Birds chirped in delight of the beautiful sunshine coming through after a monsoon season. A young boy by the name of Alex sat by his window and looked out at the world outside. Today was his first day of school. It was the first time that Alex had found great enjoyment out of his life. The playground at school. The running. The chasing. The warm weather. However, despite all the fun, Alex had left his pencil case at school by the playground and this meant trouble to him. It was extremely hot that evening and cries of pain could be heard from the house. The bugs and crickets were singing outside as if they were singing a song

of pain sympathising Alex. WH-TSHHHHH! WH-TSHHHHH! WHTSHHHHH! The rattan cane swung through the air and landed on Alexs thighs, drawing a dark red mark on his white pale skin. There were already a dozen long but red streaks on his legs and arms. The pain was so unbearable. Alex wondered if he would die because of the pain he suffered. WH-TSHHHHH!, landed on his thigh again and blood came pouring out, creating a pool of blood on the marble tile. There was a smell of fear in the air, or perhaps it was just a smell of blood. Alex quickly crawled under his bed, trying to hide from his mothers deadly rattan cane. ALEX! GET OUT NOW! OR ELSE YOU WILL GET AN EVEN MORE SEVERE BEATING LATER ON! Alex then unwillingly climbed out of his hiding spot and faced his reality. WHTSHHHHHH! WH-TSHHHHHH! WH-TSHHHHHHHH! Alexs mother swung the cane like a baseball bat and caught Alex in the face. More blood came streaming out from the cuts. Pools of blood and tears and even sweat gathered on the floor. By now, Alex looked more like a soldier fighting a losing battle in the war rather than an 8-year-old kid. KNEEL DOWN AND FACE THE WALL! NOW! commanded Alexs mother without a concern to her sons severe wounds. With the big cane in her hands, Alex dared not to disobey his mothers orders and immediately kneeled down on the cold hard tile facing the grey wall. My life, thought Alex as he lost consciousness CHAPTER TWO Consciousness returned to Alex and then came the flashes of pain across his face and whole body. His parents were having a heated argument again. Yells of frustration and explosions of anger can be heard from the room next to him.

Before he could stand up properly, Alex was attacked by his drunk father. A mean right hook to the back of his head was enough to cause Alex to vomit out blood. Dizzy. Pain. Confused. Sick. The sight of his son throwing up blood wasnt enough to stop Alexs father from hitting him even more. BANG. CRASH. Outside, Alexs mother was a making a hell of a noise. Alex lied on the floor exhausted and in extreme pain. He felt lonely and helpless. How he hoped there was someone there to help him. He longed for someone to give him a loving pat or even a kindly smile. CHAPTER THREE Blurred vision impaired Alex and he felt like he had been involved in a boxing match. His whole body was sore and there were countless bruises and cuts and not to mention a load of blood. Nobody loves me, thought Alex, nobody cares. Alone in his own world. So dark. Unloved and abused by his own parents. Alex thought of running away but was afraid of the consequences of getting caught. Grrrrrrrr, sounded Alex stomach and it was enough to distract his thoughts of running away. Slowly getting up to his cracked and bruised feet, Alex realised that his right ear was hurting a lot so he looked at the mirror in front of him and saw that the bottom half of his ear was disjointed from his head. Ignoring the pain, Alex was attracted by the sweet aroma of dinner and slowly followed the smell into the dining room. His mother stared at him wickedly while his father was holding the kitchen knife as if he was threatening to hurt Alex. Ma, I am hungry, Alex told his mother, who was feeding his younger sister. NO DINNER FOR YOU TONIGHT! Ma pleaded Alex, but to no avail his mother said, DONT YOU MA ME! NOW GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM!

Threatened by the sight of his father with the knife in his hands, Alex went back to his room. Grrrrrrrrgrowled his stomach again. Alex laid in his bed. His shirt was stained with dry blood; his white shorts was half red. His face and body was filled with cuts and bruises. Looking back at his day, Alex thought about how his day turned from good to bad and involuntarily fell asleep. CHAPTER FOUR It was the midnight. The old Grandfather Clock had struck a dozen times and woke Alex up. The night was silent. The bugs and crickets had stopped singing. The dim moonlight was shining through the window and shone into Alexs room. Runaway. That was the thought that had crossed Alexs mind. He had planned to run away to his grandparents as they were the only people in the world who had loved him and cared for him. Alex turned his thoughts into action and quickly packed some of his personal belongings into his school bag. It is the same bag that he had brought with him to his first day of school only 16 hours ago but it was now his runaway bag. DONG! struck the Grandfather Clock which was showing the time 1am. Alex quietly tiptoed his way to the front door. His hands reached for the door Before his hands reached the door, Alexs father had grabbed his body a nd carried him back to his room. His plan of running away from home had been discovered and ruined.

FOUR MONTHS LATER One windy and chilling night, the outline of a child could be seen on the balcony of a high rise apartment, unfazed by the loudness of the thunder. Alex was shaking like a leaf. His clothes were wet. He looked at his watch. It was 1.59am. The events of the past four months went through Alexs head. He recalled all the countless arguments and yelling in his home. His fathers leather belt. His mothers rattan cane. Then an old Grandfather Clock struck twice in the distant as Alex left a note on his fathers desk. DEAR GUNGGUNG AND POPO, I AM SORRY. PLEASE FORGIVE ME He then jumped into the darkness below him