Life

by Yu Ying Kit (5A)

With a man’s nervousness and a woman’s pain, a little baby came into the world.  “Congratulations!  It’s a boy!” the nurse said.  The man and woman were so happy, and they promised to look after him with great care because they loved him so much.

Before long, five years had passed.  The boy had grown up.  He had learned to be sensible and to care for others from his parents.  One day, he saw three big boys bullying a young girl.  Even though the little boy knew that the three bullies were stronger than him, he still tried to stop them.  Of course, he couldn’t defeat them, but the bullies did beat the little boy instead of the girl.  After that, the three boys left.  The boy lay on the ground, not moving.  The girl worried about him, but soon the boy got up and said that he was fine.  This was the beginning of their friendship.

On the boy’s sixth birthday, he played with his friends all day but was still unhappy.  By ten o’clock the boy felt disappointed, but he still waited hopefully.  Finally, at eleven o’clock the doorbell rang.  The boy opened the door and saw that the girl stood outside.  The boy smiled.  He didn’t care that she was late.  He took her hand and they entered the dining room together.  They ate cake and played games.  It was possibly the happiest birthday ever for the boy.

A few years passed.  During this time the girl often came over to the boy’s home and played video games or watched TV with him.  Soon the boy’s “girl” “friend” became his “girlfriend.”  Their life was happy and peaceful because they loved each other.

One day, the boy brought a black box home.  It was a surprise for the girl.  The boy opened it and a puppy jumped out!  The girl loved the dog so much and excitedly gave the boy a grateful hug.

A couple of years after their wedding, the two had a lovely daughter.  It was a very happy life for the family: a mother, father, daughter, and pet dog.

When their daughter was five, the family was playing with a ball outside.  The daughter kicked the ball into the road and the dog ran after it.  There was a sudden yelp as a car hit the dog.  Even with blood on its body, the dog got up and slowly carried the ball back to the family, put the ball down, licked the boy’s hand, and then it closed its eyes.  They were all so sad about the death of their dog.

Three years after the death of the dog, another tragedy occurred.  Feeling sick, the girl went to the hospital.  The doctor told her that she had cancer.  The boy was shocked and heartbroken.  He wanted to save the girl, not wanting to see their lovely life disappear in front of him, but it would take a lot of money for treatment.  The boy did not have enough.

He felt terrible.  He went to a bar to drink because he didn’t want to feel the sadness.  One night at the bar he told a man about his trouble, and the man listened.  He said he knew a way for the boy to get the money.  The man was a soldier, a mercenary.  He told the boy that if he became a mercenary too, he would get enough money to pay for the cancer treatment.  It would be dangerous, but the boy wanted to save the girl’s life more than his own.

The girl tried to stop him, but he left anyway.  He signed up to be a soldier in a war far away.  She cried when he left.  She didn’t care about the money.  She just wanted him to come back alive and healthy.

The war lasted five years.  Even though her cancer was gone, the girl was sad because the girl had not had any information about the boy for more than two years.  She didn’t know if the boy was still alive or not.  Then she heard the news that the army the boy had joined had lost the war they were fighting.  Feeling helpless, she cried for days.  She waited for the letter to tell her that her husband was dead.

Then, the doorbell rang.  The girl opened the doors with tears still on her face.  To her surprise, instead of the terrible letter she expected, the boy stood outside!  She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the house.  They hugged each other, feeling a happiness and excitement greater than ever before.

Life.  It’s sad that so often we don’t know its real value until we lose someone.  So long as we have life, we have hope.  We should learn to value every moment of life before we see it lost in front of us.

Getting With the Progam

by Siris Zou Fengze

I’m an ordinary programmer.  I get good pay, so I seldom have any financial problems.  My life is kind of good, but honestly, I am not really keen on my job.  My work requires me to sit in front of the computer day and night and do the same thing repeatedly.  In order to make a living I have to bear this dreary work.  There’s another disturbing rule to my job: my pay will be deducted whenever I make a programming mistake or fail to finish a project on time.  The pressure just gets bigger day by day.

After a hard day’s work, I leave the company with a fatigued body and spirit.  Due to a lack of rest, I made several programming mistakes today.  After a couple of drinks at the local bar, I return home.

The first thing my eyes see is the large world map I have posted on the wall of my flat.  Pictures of scenic areas are pinned all over it.  The bookshelf next to the map is full of books about various attractions in different countries.  However, I’m too tired.  I just glance at them and lie down on the sofa.

After a short while, the shrill ring of my home phone wakes me up.  It’s my manager.  He wants me to submit the customer feedback about my project to him immediately.  It’s all too irritating.  I grudgingly get up off the sofa and head over to my chaotic desk to find the files.  I search the top of the desk and open the drawers.  That’s when I find a dusty old notebook that seems familiar.  Curious, I flip it open.

It was my childhood “travel” journal.  When I was young, I was so interested in travelling and exploring the world.  Since I didn’t have the chance to travel then, I could only imagine what it was like in these different countries.  I had written down my imaginary travel experiences.

I flip through the notebook page by page until I came to the last one.  There, in my child handwriting I had written, “I will be a traveler and go to every quarter of the world someday!”  So here I am, asking myself, what does my everyday work really mean?  Just to earn a little money, to have more things?  I ask myself this question again and again all night.

In the morning, I have a clear answer.  I open my computer and type up an email, attaching a copy of the customer feedback for my manager.  I also attach my resignation letter.  I’d rather live a life of meaning than one of just affluence.  Time to pack up my luggage and set off on my journey. 

If We Could Show More Concern for Society

by Silvia Wang

Recently, a tragedy occurred in Melbourne.  A man called Jimmy Gargasoulas stole a car from his neighbor.  In a show of anger, he burnt the car’s tires in front of the Flinders St. train station and sped down Bourke Street, striking many people with the car.  There were many casualties.

Just before the incident, Jimmy updated his Facebook profile several times.  His posts were all anti-social and negative.  What is confusing is that nobody paid attention to this.  Nobody tried to talk to him.

The reason people neglected this man is clear from Australian media. Gargasoulas caught the attention of police because of violence and domestic abuse.  He had been taking drugs and was reported to have serious psychological problems.  His neighbor reported that he always heard fighting and violence from Jimmy’s home, where he lived with his mother.

On the day of the attack Gargasolas first beat up his neighbor and forced him to hand over his car keys.  Then he went on a rampage, assaulting people, yet still he was not given attention.  Gradually, he became insane.  Finally, the tragedy happened.

After being arrested by police, Gargasoulas said, “My mom doesn’t understand me.  The people around me treat me like a monster.  No matter what I do, nobody pays attention to me.  I feel aggrieved and angry!  So, I wanted revenge on them!”

How could such a thing happen?  Had the police stopped him earlier that day when he was assaulting people, no one would have been killed on the main street of the city.  If the people around him had shown more concern about his abnormal behavior, this insane man would never have had the opportunity to commit this horrible crime.  If there was zero tolerance for violence and delinquency was prosecuted immediately, a lot of crime would be stopped before it could bring misfortune to others.

Things that have already been said or posted online cannot be recalled.  People who have already died cannot be brought back to life.   However, we can do more from today onwards.  If we pay attention to “minor” bullying on school campuses future violence can be curbed.  If we spend less time on entertainment or online games and spend that time caring for our friends and families, they will feel more positive and this will in turn improve the warmth of society.  If everyone in society is more warm-hearted and less indifferent to social issues, we can all live in a more peaceful and harmonious world one day.