Sweet Potatoes, by Amy Lim Su Yen

Section B: Continuous Writing

[50 marks]

2. Write a story ending with:

                “……it made me realize the importance of love in our lives”

“If you look to your right, you will be able to witness one of the most marvelous man made structure in the world” our tour guide said in a loud and clear voice. I looked at the structure on my right in amazement, mesmerized by its magnificence. However, at the same time I imagine the blood spilt to make this possible. I picture the torture and pain the Chinese has gone through to build this wonder of the world.

“Amanda, amazing is it not? I never thought the Great Wall of Chine will be this breathtaking. Come on, let us climb it” Harry said in excitement. I looked at the great wall again and I cannot help but to think about the number of people sacrificed to make it possible. Harry starred at me, waiting for an answer. “You go ahead. I want to stay down here. Wave to me when you reach the top” I smiled half heartedly.

He looked into my eyes as though to seek for an answer to his curiosity. “You seem odd today. Anyway, wait for me here. I will just take a while to climb the Great Wall of China. After all, I am quite an athlete myself” he praised himself. “Sure you are, Harry. Go on, the rest of the tour is leaving you behind. I will wait around here. Meet me at the tour bus when all of you are done climbing the magnificent wall” I emphasized on the word wall.

Harry smiled and trailed off behind the tour group heading towards the stairs of the Great Wall of China. I looked around me and an extreme number of tourists are around. All of them flashing their cameras and eating sweet potatoes. Do I see people eating sweet potatoes? My stomach growled looking at the steaming hot sweet potatoes they are eating. I can tell it is steaming hot judging by the white smoke coming from it.

My nose cannot resist the sweet aroma from the sweet potatoes. I scanned the whole place and tried to find the source to these mouth watering looking sweet potatoes. After a few minutes, my eyes caught sight of a very long line next to a souvenir stall. My feet automatically moved towards to the crowd. The sweet smell of hot piping sweet potatoes grew stronger and stronger. It is as though the smell is dancing around my nose.

“Excuse me is this the line to buy some sweet potatoes?” I asked a lady in front of me. However, she did not look like a tourist but more of a local. She smiled and mumbled something in Chinese which I did not really understand. Actually, I did not understand a single word she just told me. I as lost at words not understanding her and she gave up explaining things to me and reverted to focus on the line.

I was about to walk away but an elderly Chinese man came and greeted me with the warmest smile this winter. He greeted me in fluent English. “Good morning, miss. Want to buy some sweet potatoes? Just wait in line, its normal and I guarantee it will be worth the wait. You will not regret trying the sweet potatoes” he smiled. “Is it that impressive? The line is extremely long” I asked him, puzzled. His smile did not fade and it is still there, plastered on his wrinkled face. I felt a warm aura coming from him. “Just try it for yourself and tell me what you think of it” he replied me.

Just as they say, curiosity kills the cat. I am hungry as well and Harry is definitely not an athletic person so I might as well kill time and assist to my growling stomach. The line was getting shorter and I waited patiently to get my hands on some sweet potatoes. After approximately 20 minutes it was my turn. The Chinese lady in front of me bought about ten sweet potatoes. I am shocked when I see a little girl selling the sweet potatoes. She is at least around the age of twelve. She is so skinny her bones are protruding from under her skin.

“May I have two sweet potatoes please” I said pointing at the sweet potatoes and lifting two fingers up to her. Just in case she does not understand me. She smiled and nodded her head. There were about twenty sweet potatoes left in the basket and at least double the people in line behind me. She handed me the sweet potatoes and asked for 2 RMB. I handed her the notes carefully as I was afraid to hurt her small fragile hands. She smiled and said thank you.

I walked to the side and then I noticed she started to pack her things and everyone who waited behind me left. What happened? There were still sweet potatoes left so why did everyone just leave? “It is time to go home” the friendly Chinese man answered me. It’s a bit scary how he seemed to know the questions I asked in my head. “How did you know…..never mind. What do you mean it is time to go home? There were still potatoes left and waited so long in line” I asked my questions out loud this time.

He smiled and starred at the little girl as he answered me “It is time to go home and feed her family. They are waiting for her”.  He continued to explain to me her story. Droplets of water welled up in my eyes after I heard his explanation. I found myself starring at her as well after she finished counting the money she collected today. She picked up her basket of sweet potatoes and started to walk off. I want to follow her, just to see where she leaves.

My heart told me to follow her but I was reluctant. I was hesitant. “Go on, follow her. You will learn something about life” the old man said. I was about to think he can hear my inner thoughts. It was upright scary. Nevertheless, I nodded and thanked him.  The little girl was already at quite a distance from me so I hurried off to trail her. Lucky for me, I am opposite of Harry. I am the runner for my school and state.

As I followed her out of the Great Wall attraction place his words linger at the top of my mind. “She is the eldest of five siblings. Her mother was crippled after an accident at the factory. Every day, this little girl we call Xin Kai will sell the sweet potatoes here”. She walks rather fast and we reached a small village away from the local attractions. “Her family waits for her every day. They will wait for her to come home. The sweet potatoes she did not sell will be their meal for the day” his words remained in my thoughts.

Xin Kai walked into a small old and rundown house which looked more like a shack to me. I hid at the side of the house as she entered the front door. Suddenly, I heard screams of laughter coming from inside. I peeped through the window and my heart was melted. Inside, were five really small kids ranging from age three to nine year old. They had three beds, a round wooden table, five chairs and a small kitchen.

All five of them sat eagerly at the round wooden table while I see a woman lying in bed which I presume is their mother. Xin Kai smiled and gave them each the sweet potatoes she brought home with her. I watched them laugh and eat together. They have little, close to nothing but they were happy. I stood there for quite some time until I realized Harry might be waiting for me so I decided to take one last look at them before I leave.

My heart was filled with admiration. I ran back to the tour bus with the image of Xin Kai and her family in my head. Harry crossed his arm in front of him like a teacher waiting to punish his students and gave me a smirk on his face. “So you better have a reason for making the whole tour wait half an hour for you, Amanda” he said as I approached him. I hugged him tightly. He was taken aback. “Here you go, sweet potatoes” I pulled myself away from him and handed him the sweet potatoes I bought earlier on.

He just took it silently, most probably still stunned at my hug. The old man waved to me from his small stall as I sat at the window in the bus. He still scares me but that smile and the friendliness is more than enough to surpass this fear I have. I waved good bye. I might come back to this place again. Who knows, time will tell. My mind wonders off somewhere. I can hear the laughter from Xin Kai and her siblings in my ears. “Hey, snap out of it. Amanda!” Harry nudged me.

“Yes?” I asked, coming back to reality. “Where did you buy these sweet potatoes from? It is really good” he said while eating. I looked at him and smiled. “I bought them just now, from a little girl called Xin Kai”. A girl with almost nothing but still goes home to a happy family every day. A girl who has five siblings waiting for her at home, laughing and eating together. She has nothing but love for her family. I smiled at the fresh memory still at the tip of my thoughts.

This trip will never be forgotten. It made me realize the importance of love in our lives.

[1658 words]

1 hour

Written by, Amy Lim Su Yen

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Article: Take just ONE and congratulations you are installing cancer

First of all, let me assure you that it takes just one cigarette and you are on your way to your death bed. Smoking is more hazardous than anything else in this world. Of course, unless you decide to jump off the building or pull a gun to your head then that is an immediate death but smoking is different. It develops slowly, the negative effects gather itself without you realizing it until one day it hits you like a thunder struck. Everything about smoking leads to one thing which is death. Every part of the world tells you the same thing about smoking, DEATH. No matter what language you speak it will translate smoking to one word, DEATH.

If smoking leads to nothing else but death why do people still want to put this tiny little deceiving cigarette into their mouths? First of all, the most common reason for doing such a foolish act is CURIOSITY. Just imagine yourself, young, naive and plain dumb. All your other so called cool friends are smoking and you wonder what is it like. Everyday, you hear of it, you see it from other smokers and you smell it. The CURIOSITY just starts to build up in you until one day you cannot hold it any longer and then you decide that one tiny cigarette will not do you any harm so you give it a try, just ONE.

Little did you know that one cigarette leads to another and another. It becomes a regular habit, then it evolves into a craving and then it becomes an addiction. So congratulations you have just started to install cancer into yourself. Therefore, never give in to your curiosity when it comes to smoking. Ever heard of, 'Curiosity kills the cat'? For your information, in this case its not curiosity kills the cat but rather, 'CURIOSITY KILLS YOU'.

Well obviously there are more than one reason as to why people start smoking but non of it valid. You want to smoke because of stress? You want to smoke because you are bored? You want to smoke because its a trend? You want to smoke because you just want to? My last question is, are you out of your mind? Stress is not the reason to start smoking. If you are bored, go do something productive with your life. Even if you waste your time on something unproductive it does not matter as long as you do not reach out for a cigarette because of your boredom. If you want to smoke because you just want to then no one can help you because you are in control of you.

However, if you choose to smoke you are not only foolish but selfish. Selfish because when you smoke the people around you suffer a worse fate than you will. The people you love, your mother, father, siblings and friends will be pulled into a worse fate than you would. When you smoke you are an active smoker and the people around you are passive smokers. Unfortunately, the possibility of death for passive smokers is higher and faster than active smokers. The amount of smoke that you inhale is doubled for passive smokers. So just remember this, when you smoke you not only kill yourself but the people around you especially your loved ones.

Next on, if you are a pregnant smoker than you are not just selfish but heartless. If you do not know by now, smoking will cause premature birth. Your baby will suffer because of you. Your supposed to be perfect baby with complete body parts is now ruined because of you. You smoke but your baby is suffering because of it. Your beautiful baby girl or boy who has not even know what smoking is has already been affected by it. Worst of all, some babies do not even get to see the world because of the selfish act of some very irresponsible mothers. Selfish and heartless complex organism and you call yourself a human being.

Fortunately, smoking is not an immediate death sentence. Its never too late to regret and start a new beginning. You can still stop smoking now and your life might just be spared. However, it takes a lot of determination, strong will and support to successfully forget about your addiction. There are many smokers who has conquer their addiction and banish smoking from their life. You too can do it. If you think you can, you can. Ask for help from your family members, from doctors or even experts. Do research, read articles and even ask other smokers who has stopped smoking. Search the internet for rehabilitation centres. Others will help you if you want to help yourself.

Pictures credits as tagged.
Article: Take just ONE and congratulations you are installing cancer written by Amy Lim Su Yen.

[Blogging and practicing my writing skills for my English 1119 SPM paper as well, its like killing two birds with one stone]

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Short story: Rainbow promise

An incident in the news inspired me to write this story. I hope you enjoy reading it.

"Stay on the ground" he yelled at the top of his lungs as he aimed his death threatening weapon at us. My three year old brother held me tight and I could feel him shivering in fear. In front of me is an elderly couple, both of them calm and their hands were holding each other. He fired a bullet at the blue aluminum that is on top of our heads. A women dressed in red was screaming. "Quiet" he warned the women. She immediately hid herself behind the front passenger seats.

I prayed that all this will come to an end right now. All we wanted was a nice holiday to draw ourselves away from the busy city life. The sound of glass shattering screeched in our ears, a window just broke into a million pieces. “Surrender yourself and let the hostages go this instance” the police exclaimed to him. The eighteen of us just remained as silent as a mouse, listening to their negotiations. In our hearts, we just wanted to leave this bus safely.

He or rather if I am not mistaken, John pulled a boy from behind to his side as he revealed himself to the outside world. I recognize the boy. He always sat next to our table during breakfast at the hotel. A decent boy, very polite and well brought up by his single mother. His mother called him Ah Boy and they came on this trip to celebrate his success for getting accepted into one of the most prestigious university in China.

My attention was brought back to reality. “I want my job back, give it back to me and I will not hurt anyone” John demanded. My brother covered his eyes and ears. I can see string of tears streaming down his crimson red cheeks. I whispered into his ear, “It is okay dear. The police will get us out soon”. My hands wrapped around him tightly. I will protect my brother with all my life. However, my heart beat is faster compared to the time ticking past at this moment. I turned my attention to John, he does not look like any harm at all. He looked to me as a very desperate and devastated man.

He yelled at the police again, “I did not do anything wrong so just give me my job back”. As John continued to reason with the police I noticed Mr. Tan and his wife creeping out the back door. They moved very slowly with caution, one step at a time. My father waved his hand at their direction trying to signal to them not to move anymore.

They ignored my father’s warning and just as Mr. Tan managed to escape he knocked over a glass bottle that was on the floor of the bus. John swings his head back and his eyes glared in rage. “Where are you going?” he shouted. At the speed of light, Mr. Tan grabbed his wife’s hand and tried to jump out of the door.  John fired a bullet at their direction but it went off target.

The police heard his gunshot and they tried to come closer to arrest the situation but John knew their tactics well. He pointed his gun perpendicular to Ah Boy’s head. They stopped immediately and went into stand by position again. Mr. Tan fainted after the gun was fired and his wife was wrapping her arms around him tightly. In my opinion, she is a calm and brave woman who is able to switch roles during such a critical time.

I can feel my blood boiling in my veins knowing that the police was trying to buy time and negotiate with John. Is it not more sensible to agree with his conditions just to get us out of danger? Even if they do not want to surrender to John’s demands then at least just lie for our sake and they can settle it later after we have been released.

I clench my fist thinking of their inconsideration. My mother sensed my anger and frustrations. She held my hand to tell me that everything will be fine. Suddenly, John fired another bullet and fortunately not at Ah Boy but at one of the police officers that tried to enter the bus. The police fell to the ground as the bullet hit him right at the forehead and he died and immediate death.

John knew he reached the point of no return as he stared at the lifeless body in front of him. All of us gasp in horror and we wondered if we will suffer the same fate. Droplets of water formed in his eyes. I looked at John and felt the presence of grief in him. Out of the sudden, the whole bus went crazy. They were afraid that they will be next. My father warned them not to do anything rash and remain silent but nobody was sane enough to listen.

I hugged Wen Hang tighter and I look straight into John’s eyes. His eyes showed great confusion and he was stunned. However, as soon as he realized everyone was hysteric and trying to escape he turned into a monster. He let out a huge laugh and started to fire bullets at us with no mercy. My brother cried out loud and the whole bus was out of control.

I moved myself in front of my brother and shield his body with mine. I shut my eyes as I prayed to the Lord. In split seconds, I felt something penetrating into my left leg and I screamed in pain. The pain is unbearable but it did not matter as long as it was I and not Wen Hang. Half conscious, I felt someone wrapping himself around the both of us. It was my father. He used himself as a human shield to protect us.

Everything happened so fast. The police managed to bring John down with one shot at his left shoulder. I screamed simultaneously at that time but not because of John. Another bullet that was fired by a police hit my father right at his chest. My father collapsed in front of me.

If there is one thing that I wish to change it will be the decision to come on this trip. My head is numb at thoughts, my body unresponsive and my emotions scattered into a deep hole of darkness. The rescue team came to our aid. I watched them carry my father out in a stretcher with white linen over his body.

I shut my eyes for a while, taking deep breaths and recalling what had just happened. We were on a trip of my choice as my reward for scoring high distinction for mastering my Er Hu. One fine day, during our tour around the city a stranger held us captive in our bus and after 12 hours of fear everything ended in bloodshed.  Tears started streaming down from my eyes, tears of grief.

I winced at my flashback and my thoughts wandered out the window. Someone knocked on the door and entered the room. 

My brother ran next to my ward’s bed while my mother trailed behind him. “Jie jie, how are you?” he asked me softly, putting his hand on my hands. I stroke his hair gently and replied him, “Fine my dear”. My mother helped me settle into my wheel chair as I am given permission to discharge from the hospital and catch a flight back home today.

We walked along a beautiful pathway and just as we were about to enter the cab, I noticed a rainbow. I smiled as I admire how beautiful the rainbow is. My mother rested her hands on my shoulder and Wen Hang held my hands as the three of us looked at the rainbow for a while. Everything will be alright now. I know it will be alright because my father is showing his sign of promise to us that he will look after us from the heavens above. Everything will be just fine.

The end.

©amylimsuyen

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