“Hi, are you Andy Low?” asked a guy. I was brought into one of

Sichuan’s hospital after the fateful incident. “Yes, I am.” I replied.

The guy told me he was a reporter from Singapore and came to

interview me about what had happened during the earthquake. All

my memories came rushing into my mind. Tears came rolling

down my cheeks as I related the whole incident to him.

The whole landscape was bathed in the warm glow of the rising

Sun. My family and I had just alighted from the flight last night.

The Trip to Sichuan, China was a reward for my sister and I as we had

gotten good results for our SA1. We were staying in a 5-star hotel

and the room was so luxurious. My sister, who was 9 years old,

had just look through the tourist brochure from the hotel, looking

for the children’s section. She found out that Sichuan had a famous

cinema and wanted to go there to watch a show. I rejected it as I

know she would watch a childish show. Just then, my sister broke

into tears and ran around shouting “Brother don’t want to go with

me to the cinema!” My mum came and told me that I should go

with her. “Not again?” I moaned. Why mother was always so unfair!

I don’t like my sister because she was always snatched the remote

control and what’s more, I had to let her! Being a big brother was

always difficult! When we reached the cinema, my sister was over

the moon. She went around looking for all sorts of shows. She

made up her mind and wanted to watch ‘Tom and Jerry’, which

was in chinese. “What a baby!” I thought. We bought our tickets

and went in. We went to our seats and sat on it. The show was about

a cat chasing a mouse. How boring! Just when the cat was going

to catch the mouse, a lady in the front row stood up and screamed

at the top of her voice! Is she afraid that the cat would eat the

mouse? At that moment, my feet was registering some strange

pulse emanating as if it came from the floor itself. It felt like the building had a heartbeat and

I was strapped onto it. The pulse was something strong, and I could feel it up my ankles

and knees. “It can’t be happening.” I murmured. After that, the

whole cinema was in total chaos, everyone was running all around,

pushing one another. I stood up and held my sister’s hand and ran

with her. But we cannot escape in time as we tripped and fell onto

the ground we thought that this was the end of our live. “Are you

ok?” I asked. “Yes.” my sister replied. We were trapped and there

was no way out. Breathing became harder every minute. The

chunks of bricks and concrete that buried my sister and I were

pressing tighter by the hour, crushing us. We did not feed the pain

as our bodies had gone numb! Then there was the rain, sharp and

cold lashing at them through the cracks.

“I don’t think we would make it,” I told my sister. Our faces just

inches away and our arms wrapped around each other. “We must

have faith in ourselves,” she replied. We whispered encouragement

to each other. “Do you think our parents share the same fate as

us?” I asked. “I hope not. May god bless them,” she replied. I tried

to focus my mind on two things: How can I get out? How can I

stay alive? We did not feel hunger or thirst. We had to take turn

breathing. We had some sleep to save our energy. But we were

too terrified to fell asleep.

Then slowly the daylight began coming back through the crack.

Hours later, we heard crunching footsteps on the rubble and they

kept yelling “Is anyone there?” “We are here!” I shouted as loudly

as I could. I heard them saying, “Hold on, we are going to save

you right now.” At last, we heard the rumbling of heavy machinery.

After five or six hours later, a straw came down through the

crack. We took turns sipping the sugar water. The crack was

getting bigger. Some workers came and grabbed us out. Finally.

we were out! We went sent into the ambulance and they drove us

to the hospital. I tried to hug my sister but I could not as I was

badly wounded. Nearly a week after the rescue, we were both in

tremendous pain. I felt as my heart was being squeezed. I cannot

sit up on my own. We found out that our parents were safe and

sound. My stout body was covered in scabbed over with blood and

pus.

“Sorry I need to get some sleep.” I told the reporter. The reporter

thanked me and walked out of the ward. The terrible incident will

forever etched in my mind.

An inconsiderate Neighbours

When I looked at the next door I would recall the incident

that make me what I am now. This is all how it began……..

“Lalala!” the music keep coming to my ears. I could not

sleep because of all those irritating music! “What an

inconsiderate neighbour!” I thought. The next day, I woke

up, feeling restless and had panda eyes. I wanted to complained Ah

Seng who was the inconsiderate neighbour but I was told that he

was once a gangster. As a timid boy I did not dare to complain.

I got myself prepare for school.

I had overslept and I ran as fast as my legs could carry me to my

school. I had finally reached my destination. “Phew!” I was

not late. I quickly got to my class. When I got into the class, Ms

Tan had just arrived. “Today we have a surprise test.” she said.

“What? A surprise test!” The class lamented. The test had

been given out to us and all the questions are too complicated to

understand. My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to find a solution

to the question. The question seemed to be mocking at me,

challenging me to answer the questions. My eyes were staring

hard at the question but my mind was a complete blank. I

narrowed my eyes and tried to concentrate on this question-

but I just couldn't find the answer. Beads of perspiration

formed on my forehead as I racked my brain to recall all the

solutions to all the complicated sums. I gave up finally. I went

to sleep and tried to do the test after I had my rest.

“Alex Low wake up!” Miss Tan boomed. I woke up

up realizing that I did not even do a sum and the paper was

filled with my saliva. “Sleeping at school, how rude!” Ms

Tan roared. Everyone in the class giggled and they are

mocking at me. How unlucky I am! I got scolded by Miss

Tan and I was mocked my classmates. I was outside my home

glaring furiously at Ah seng’s house. “If not for him I

will not get ‘0’ marks for my test and I will not be mocked by my

classmates. Vengeance struck my mind, I must take revenge.

Boiling with anger, I went to his house and knocked

continuously. After a moment, a man with tattoos around

him and big muscles stared at me angrily. “What do you

want!” Ah Seng boomed. How rude is he, talking to me with

loud voice. The make the matter worse, I roared loudly at him

“I want to complain about all the noises, you had make

yesterday night. Can you please off it during the night!”

After what I said, Ah seng glared at me, wanting to

challenge me. Without apologizing, Ah Seng boxed my face.

“How dare you bully a kid!” I shouted. “Who ask you make

me mad?” he replied. He rain punches at my stomach and I

doubled over in pain. I was soon defeated and fell to the

ground. He gave me one last kick before he went back into

his house. My mother heard all the commotion and went

out to see what was happening. She realized that I laid spread-

eagled on the floor. The fighting was so fatal that I almost fainted.

Although my vision was now blurred, I

could make out a figure, a woman was looking around

frantically. Soon, bruises covered all parts of my body.

Suddenly, the world began to whirl around me as the last thin

thread of consciousness slip away and I was swept into

unconsciousness. I rubbed my eyes. Everything swam before


my eyes before I opened my eyes fully. Am I in heaven? But

I noticed my parents looked worriedly beside me. “Mum,

where am I” I asked. She related the whole incident to me. Ah

Seng was also sent to jail .

“I had been sent to the hospital and….. I become a

vegetable and I cannot walk forever?” I asked. She nodded

sadly. “You should not go to Ah Seng’s house. All

the neighbours were scared of him so they stayed silent and

did not complain.” my mum told me. “Why am I so foolish?

Why am I so rash?” I thought. “Alex come and eat your dinner
.” my mum said. I was snapped from my daze. “Ok mum.” I

replied. The horrible scene of Ah Seng beating me will etched

in my mind forever.

“I got so much homework to do, how can i finish all of the

homework with just only one night.” I groaned. It was quite late and

my parents had just slept. I need to finish all my homework before

I go to sleep. “One last sentence!” I smiled as I saw my

masterpiece, my compo. Just before I was going to save it,

something else happened. The computer had automatically shut

down as it had crashed. “My masterpiece……..” I yelled.

“Miss tan is going to skin me alive if I did not do my compoI shivered in fear.

"I better did another by writing it", I thought. I quickly

took a paper and wrote a compo down as quickly as I could.

I was such in a rush that I could not remember what I had wrote just

now. “I am so tired” I yawned. I almost fall asleep while writing

the compo. I put on my MP3 to keep myself awakened. I need to rest to regain my energy.

I soon fall asleep without realising it.

The next day, my mother removed my MP3 earpiece and yelled

at my ears “Andy wake up!” Despite her yelling, I was still

asleep. She tried many times to wake me up but to no avail, I was

still not awakened. She give a last try by pinching me as hard as

she could. "Ouch!" i yelled. "Time flies by very fast. One moment i was writing my compo, the

next moment its was time for school."I thought. I woke up, rubbing my eyes “You are late for

school.” my mum told me. Looking at the time, I stood rooted to the ground. This was

my first time to late for school! I told my mother that I didn’t

want to go to school. “You must. Exams is around the corner, you

must go to school to let you teacher revise with you.” She replied.

Knowing that I had no excuses to deny her order, I quickly go and

prepared myself for school. I skipped my breakfast and rushed to

school as fast as my legs could.

Upon reaching the school, I asked the security guards to open the

door and let me in. When I reached the hall, a prefect came to me

and wanted to write down my name. I was dismissed to my class

soon. Rumors spread around, saying why did I late. Miss Tan soon

came and brought me up to our class. First thing she asked was to

hand up the compo that we had done. Fear engulfed me as I knew that I was going to

die! I went up to her and tried to explain to her the reason why I

did not do my compo. She glanced at me with bloodshot eyes and howled at me

“You are one of those lazy fellows, everyday use excuses to make

up your mistakes. Everyday did not do homework no wonder your

grades had dropped!” I stared at the floor, fighting abck my tears fom splling out

of my eyes.I apologized to her and went back to my seats. "I was late from school and

scolded by Miss Tan. How unlucky i am!" I thought

What an unlucky day!” I cried as I kicked away a can of ‘Coca

Cola’ drink. I, who always was the top 10 is the class, had failed

my exam miserably. “I should have listen to my mum’s warnings

not to play too much computer!” I exclaimed. I did not dare to face

my parents as I will get some scolding for sure, like what Ms Tan

did just now at school. From the corners of my eyes, I spotted

something, not a human but an animal! It was a big, fierce and

strong dog! Out of frustration, I picked up a stone from the

ground and threw at the dog. The dog turned back and stared

at me with big, red bloodshot eyes!

It stared at me, wanting me to challenge me. The dog barked and

growled furiously. I tried to run for my life but my legs are too

weak to even move. I knew that I was no match for him. I tried to

sneak away but the dog sensed my move and charged at me like an

angry bull. At that moment, I turned around and ran as my legs

could. I ran helter-skelter, no holds barred forward towards the

next block. When I thought of the dog trying to bite me, I picked

up my pace. My chest heaved and I panted for breath as I struggled

to keep the distance between the dog and me further away. My

legs felt like lead as I forced them to carry me forward. My lungs

burned as if pleading for me to stop but I was unrelenting. Now,

the dog which was chasing me was panting hard as well. I turned

into an alley and the dog followed into it. It was a dead end! I was

trapped like a rat in a barrel. The dog walked menacingly towards

me. I held my breath and shiver went down my spine as the dog

drew nearer. I stammered in fear as I saw the cruel glint in the

dog’s eyes. It was ready and prepared to attack me anytime. I

looked around me in desperation. I gave a whimper and looked as

pale as death. Just when I thought my end was near, I heard a

sound, “Jimmy where are u?”.

The dog immediately turned around and find the source of the

voice. I was scared by the accident and soon fainted all of the

sudden. I woke up, thinking I was dead. I realized that I was not,

as my parents was sitting near me. “Where am I” I asked. My

mother related the whole incident to me. I was told that I was in

the hospital. A guy, who I did not see before, came into my ward.

He told me that he was the dog’s owner and apologise to me for

what his dog had done to me. I told him that the dog attacked me

because I had purposely threw the stone at it. Although I was

discharged from the hospital, I shiver at night whenever I think of

those bloodshot eyes!

The full moon, a pale yellow, inched its way slowly up the night

sky, past the tree branches and finally nestled comfortably among

the stars. I was on my way home. The road I was walking on was

remote. “I am going to be late! Mum will definitely scold me!” I

grumbled. Not a car was in sight. “Ahh!” I heard a sound. I

stood there motionless. “What that? Could it be a monster?” I

said. Thousand of thoughts raced in my mind.

“Ahh!” I heard the scream again. Out of curiosity, I went to

check out the sources of the sound. What I saw was a woman

crying. “What happened?” I said with concern. The next thing I

knew was that the woman cupped my mouth and dragged me into

the car. When I was in the car, a man in the car knocked me

unconscious with a metal rod. Darkness enveloped me…...When I

regained consciousness, I found myself lying in a gloomy and

musty hut. I realized I was gagged and tied to a chair. I tried to

struggle to get out of the chair but my attempts were in vain. The

man, who knocked me unconscious, came in. “If u tried to escape,

this knife will pierce through your heart!” he threatened.

Later, I was told that I was kidnapped! Panic engulfed me. The

man went outside and called my parents. “Hello Mr Low, your son

is in our hands. To make sure he is safe, you must bring ten

thousand dollars to Yishun park tomorrow!” He hung up with a

loud bang. I knew I was in hot soup…Beads of perspiration down

my cheeks. I knew my family is not rich and my parents could not

raise so much money within one day. Times passed quickly and it

was soon to the next day. My dad had arrived, carrying a box with

his hands. When, the kidnapper opened the box, he saw old

newspapers in the box. He was about to shoot my dad when the

policemen came out from their hiding place. The kidnappers tried

to shoot the policemen but ran out of ammunitions. They

surrendered as they soon found out that they were surrounded and

outnumbered.

They policemen tracked down where the kidnapper called my dad

and found me in the hut. They brought me home and I found out

that the man had a companion who was a lady who had tricked me

and they were sentenced to jail. I learnt that never to go to a

shortcut.

Betty slumped onto the sofa and switched on the

television. It blared on as a television programme started. The

voice of the host of the “World’s Most Unfortunate Incidents”

drifted around the room. She sighed and withdrew her gaze from

the television. Leaning back the sofa, the scene of the incidents

unfolded before her as she recalled her unfortunate incidents four

years ago.

Betty’s mother brought her to the supermarket to buy some

ingredients to cook something for Betty’s birthday party.

The supermarket was sardine-packed as it was Sunday. They

searched around to find ingredients which are needed. While

chatting with her mother and at the same time looking for

ingredients, Betty saw something! She saw two men behaving

suspiciously near the shelves. One of them was looking frantically

and the other one was putting something in his coat very swiftly

Out of curiosity, Betty went towards without informing her

mother. The men who was looking around spotted Betty and

alerted his accomplice. Sensing danger, the two men turned around

and ran away without paying for it! While running, cans of drinks

dropped out of the men’s coat! Betty ran after them without

hesitation . The cashier who saw what was happening, quickly

dialed the number ‘999’. Betty chased the two men until they were out of the

out of the supermarket and on the streets. The men turned to the

right and was in the dark alley! The men soon found out that they

were trapped as they are at dead end! They knew that they had no

where to go! Their only way is to kill Betty and ran away! One of them took out knife from his

pocket and walked menacingly towards her!

Lady luck must be on her side! Just as he strikes at Betty, the

sound of police sirens rang the air. The men tried to run away but

the police had overpowered them. They were caught and sent to jail.

Betty learnt that they were from Malaysia and their work permits

had expired and could not work. Ad they did not have any money, they steal.

“Betty come and eat your dinner” Betty’s mum said and Betty

was jolted from her thoughts. “Ok mum. ”she said. The incidents

will forever etched in her mind as she was also dead from the sinister theives.