Never Turn Your Head

Never Turn Your Head

There once was a little girl named Mary. Her younger brother, Jack, fell down from the balcony on his fifth birthday when their parents went out to buy him a birthday cake.

Jack died on the spot.

The poor parents were heart-broken, but what made them even more worried was their daughter who looked in shock. Since the balcony railing was too high for a five-year-old child to fall off, the parents asked the sister who seemed to be the only one knowing what had happened. However, Mary’s answer was quite terrible: “I … I only saw an old granny standing beside Jack, and the next moment, Jack flew away from the balcony …”

The parents were frightened, too, especially when Mary described the strange old woman in detail; they found out that her appearance was exactly the same as Mary’s grandmother, who have been dead for more than ten years!

Soon Mary was taken to Doctor White, who was old but experienced. He listened to Little Mary’s story patiently and had a careful check throughout her. Then he was busy analysing the results of examination when Mary burst out laughter abruptly. Doctor White asked kindly, “What are you laughing at, my sweetie?” Mary answered without a thought, “The boy dancing around you is so funny! How can you work with him singing strange songs to you, Mr White?” “What? There is no boy at all! Don’t say such silly things!” Her father shouted at Mary tensely. Mary felt wronged and cried, “He is just here! How can you ignore him? He has red hair and green skins, and his eyes are so big …” Mary cannot continue because Doctor White turned pale and lost his breath suddenly. Soon he died of a heart attack before any first aim could be done.

Mary’s parents seemed close to despair. They had no choice but to take her to Father Smith, who was a respected figure in this small town. Father Smith had already heard of the stories about Mary. Though he regarded it evil, he believed that God loves everyone. So he told the poor parents that all they can do and they should do was waiting, waiting for God’s grace. “As a matter of fact, it’s not strange for children to see something adults cannot see. It would be better as she grew up. You should have confidence.” The two adults left gratefully with hope. Just then, Mary asked naively, “Why the aunty in white seized Father Smith by the throat all the time?” Her words became a huge stone in their minds.

Though things didn’t seem to change, her parents still tried their best to bring Mary up. Fortunately, other kids in the town seemed fond of playing with Mary, because they like listening to her discoveries, which would become interesting ghost stories afterwards. Mary then became very popular in school and was appointed as the monitor of her class.

Everything went well until one day there came a new boy in Mary’s class. His name was John, and his family moved here because of a job change. When John was introduced on that morning, Mary welcomed him warmly on behalf of the class. However, when John saw Mary, he revealed scary. Mary took a step forward, John took two back immediately; Mary was confused and took another step forward, then John took two steps back again.

Mary was embarrassed. Suddenly she screamed out, “Never turn your head!” All students and even the teacher looked at the boy and the girl with not only worry but expectation of a new scary story.

“It’s you that should never turn your head!” To everyone’s surprise, the trembling boy also cried out, “There is a boy with blood on your back! And he … he keeps sobbing, ‘Why did you push me away from the balcony, my dearest sister?’”

Nurture Matters More

Was Barack Obama, the one with one of the highest intelligence quotient (135) among all the presidents ever in American history, born with such a brilliant brain? Certainly, such an impressive IQ does have something to do with his gene, but is gene the decisive factor? There are some people who believe that those who are successful were just born to succeed--- it is all written in their gene. However, compared to nature (what we were born with), nurture plays a more important role in one’s intelligence.

One reason why I believe so is that it is education, one of the most important parts of nurture, rather than their nature, that shapes people to be who they are now. Apart from their race and sexuality, is there a world of difference between people when they were born? The answer is NO. Nobody was born with the ability to speak a certain language or with skills of dealing with equations. However, after several years, there is distinct difference between them. Some can be the elites that lead the world, while some may have difficulty in finding a stable job. What makes such difference? Education! While no one was born with unique ability, those who receive better education surpass their peers. In other words, it is education that makes the difference possible.

Another reason why I think nurture matters more is that, through hard work, people can compensate for the gap in nature. Think of Albert Einstein, who was not able to speak his first word until 6 years old and who was always regarded as the slowest student in his early years. Judging from his nature, who would think he can become a physicist? Who would think his theory will one day completely change the way we see this world? It is because of his perspiration that he made all these happen, not his nature. Albert Einstein’s story is the best illustration of the importance of nurture.

There has long been debate on the importance of nature and nurture and everyone wants to be called a genius. However, while nature does play a role in one’s success, when you consider education and how nurture can change one’s nature, nurture clearly matters more. 

(Just try to write an essay in the same the way as those essays in the textbook are...)

Healthy biological clock

Yesterday I read an article on a website which was about a healthy biological clock. I found it very useful so I want to share it with my friends.

7:30-Get up. Study shows that people who get up before 7:21 have more possibilities to get cancer.
8:00~8:30-Have breakfast.

9:30-Begin to do the most difficult work.
11:00-Eat some fruit.
1:00~1:30-Have a rest in noon. Doing this after a whole morning’s hard work can make us more energetic in the afternoon.
16:00-Drink a cup of yogurt.
17:00~19:00-Do exercise. According to the biological clock, this is the best time for exercise.
23:00-Enjoy a shower. A shower can help us relax and make it easier to fall into sleep.
23:30-Go to bed. If we get up at 7:30, go to bed at this time will make sure that we have an enough sleep.


When I read this article, I was very surprised. I know that sleep too late is bad for health, but I never heard that getting up earlier is also harmful for our body before.


After reading, I made some changes of my own biological clock. For example, I will have a noon break, every other day I go for exercising at dusk, and I will go to bed earlier if I have nothing important to do. However, I don't think it's a wise choice that living in the same biological clock in the article. There is no need for everyone to do all the same according to the article, because we have our own lifestyle and prefers. We cannot deny that a healthy biological clock is beneficial for our study, work and even life, and what we need to do is change our biological clock into a healthier one.

Forever Melancholy Prince

   Today is a famous handsome Italian football star’s birthday. His name is Roberto Baggio, one of the greatest Italian football stars.
   In 1994, the 15th World Cup was held in America. Italy got into the final because of Baggio’s fantastic and heroic performance. In the final, Italy had a hard game against Brazil. After 120 minutes, the score was still 0 to 0, so they had to take penalty kicks. Before Baggio shot, Italy was fall behind by 3 to 4, so his shoot determined the result. As the soul of Italy national team, Baggio beard the whole Italy’s expectation. Sadly, he lost the chance. His unforgettable melancholy view of the back lived in football fans’ hearts forever. Afterwards, he got the unique nickname called ‘Melancholy Prince’.
   Baggio retired in 2004. After that, he devoted himself to the charity work and got the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.
   Maybe many people think Baggio is ugly because his right leg is obviously thinner than his left leg. In fact, the reason is that he had a terrible accident in a match when he was 17, which almost ruined his whole football life. His right knee was so seriously hurt that every match or training could be his last time to play. Whenever in the matches or just daily trainings, Baggio suffered large pain. Many players like him choose to retire in such a situation. However, Baggio insisted on fighting. The injury can never beat his strong mind!
   Though Baggio’s football life is imperfect and unlucky, his quality and personality inspires me and the world.

Silent Love

This story happened in a small city in the northeast China. The two families had been the neighborhood ten years. They were no agnate though they have a same family name. Each of them had a child. One was a girl and another was a boy. They had a similar name Lin Ke. The boy was one year older than the girl. When they were children, everybody around them said jokingly that they were childhood sweethearts. As time passed this became true when they were in the senior high school.

However, unpredictable things always happen at this moment. The boy hurt his soundtrack in an accident. The doctor said he was not able to speak for the rest of his life. The boy thought he was not good enough for the girl, but the girl did not think it was necessary. She just wanted to be together with him, so they kept their relationship and the boy hid his shame. At that time the boy is grade 3 and the girl was grade 2. In the rest of the year they spend together in the high school. They learned sign-language and made a deal that they will meet in an equivalent university. Then the boy went to his city. They lost the contract the whole year after they separated. Fortunately, the girl was accepted by the same university as the boy. She could not wait to meet the boy, so she came to the city a week before her school started. However, she cannot find the boy. A university teacher told her that the boy did not register last year. Girl became very depressed. It seemed that part of her life lost.

Meanwhile, in the girl`s family her parents were worrying about the girl`s tuition. A man came in and said he will support the girl to finish her university. Nevertheless, he did not want the girl to know. When the news came to the girl she was told that there was a distant relative who wants to support her. However, first thought appeared in her mind was "it is the boy". She begged her mother many times to prove. Finally, her mother told her the truth. She was very happy that moment and made a deal with herself. "When I finish my university I will marry him" she promised. Each holiday the girl came home early to find the boy. But the boy disappeared. Four years later, the girl finished her study. She got a degree and a qualification for a job in a foreign company. She believed that the boy will appear this time. However, he hardly left her a message, "I will support you forever in the dark".

Life must continue. Girl came back to her city to find the boy. A year passed she found nothing. During that time she got a terrible cough. The doctor told her that there was a tumor in her throat and must remove immediately. When she was waiting for the operation the boy appeared. He looked worried and weak with bondages around his neck. "What happened to you" boy asked the girl in sign-language. Girl gazed at the boy said:" I got a tumor in my throat. I will lose my voice like you after the operation. What happened to you? I find you many years. Where have you been?" "You will not leave me again, will you?" girl asked. Boy shook his head and gave her a hug.

The operation was successful. After that they got married. Even though their life was without any sound, they have a happy life.

Till now the story seems over. However, unfortunate thing happened again to this family after 3 months they married. The boy died in an accident. During the boy`s funeral. Girl cried:" Why God is so unfair! I hide my voice really wants to marry him. Why you part us again?"

One year later the girl went to see the boy in the cemetery. She found a letter on his tomb. It was written by the boy`s workmate. It said:" It was a year since Lin Ke died. I believe I must tell you some truths. Do you remember the first time you met him in the hospital? He was bandaged. That was not an accident. He was presently after his operation, which can make him speak again after cured. He had no time to celebrate because he does not want you to undergo what he had undergone." After the girl finished the letter tears filled her eyes. She cried voicelessly.

Mazumdar Sonali--Liu Yifei

The storytelling contest this Tuesday was for me a really exciting and unforgettable experience. Even though I was not the winner,  I did enjoy the whole process of my creating the plot in my mind, my writing the long long story, my rewriting it again and again...and my adding music as background. However there were a lot of aspects that I did not pay attention to. For example, I did not distinguish the difference between telling a story and writing a story. That led to my too draggy boring speech-like telling.


Whatsoever, I still want to post my story here again as one of my blogs, to share with you as a short story (maybe not as short as you expect)! If you do not think it would bother you, please continue!

-Chapter one-

An island, lying peacefully on the Atlantic Ocean, holds an empire full of harmony and civilization. Laughter, chitchat, sounds of bargain, with the call of seagulls, breath of sea wind can be heard everywhere, from the sunrise, till the sunset.

All citizens are moving on to the national ceremony the next day. At the same time a new braver will be knighted in front of the whole public, as a hero of the country.

“Lord Harris, here is your apparel for tomorrow’s ceremony.” a boy walks in Harris’s room with delight on his face.

“Do not call me Lord. I am still your mister.” Harris smiles back at his domestic. He was sitting in the table reading congratulatory letters from his fellow soldiers.

“We all know you will be awarded as knight tomorrow! And we knew that a long time ago. Your bravery and loyalty is the language spoken by everyone on this island!”

“Harris! My brother!” a man at the same age rushed in. Dalton and Harris grew up inseparably. They are nearly equal in battles. But only Harris was going to be knighted.

“Dalton!” Harris gets up from the chair, extends his arms to welcome.  “Glad to see your wound has been healed from the last battle! “

Dalton laughs out as hearing a joke: “Strong enough to survive from the graze, but not as strong as you are, THE NEW YEAR’S OWNER OF THE SOWRD OF POWER AND LOYALTY!” His smile seems to be still on his face, “I will be down on knees looking up at you for the rest of my life.” His eyebrows slightly frown, however all are out of the consciousness of Harris.

PHarris asks:”Have you heard? Tomorrow’s ceremony will come as a surprise. All the singers will be on board after midnight and ships will be surrounding the island by morning. Their sound of singing can be heard on every location of the island in company with the first stream of sunlight!

Harris conceives the magnificent and remarkable scene. His is thinking of Tilda, his lover, who is also one of the singers.

Dalton sees the passionate flame in Harris’s eyes and suddenly feels inhibited. It hurts him. He cannot figure out why he can get everything he wants. Harris is a model he respect, but also a robber who takes away every possibility of his happiness! He got fame, status and respect from the king, and Tilda. Dalton cannot forget the day when she refused his courting. He cannot forget the way Tilda and Harris look at each other.  Envy is engulfing him, deeper and deeper. He simply makes a response to Harris then rushes out of the room.

-Chapter two-

Late in the evening, Tilda is waiting for Harris outside. Harris’s attention was soon arrested and he walks towards her, strokes her hair affectionately behind her ear and says:”I have talked to your father”

Tilda grinned,” So? I talk to him every day?”

Harris is a little embarrassed, “You know what I mean. And I’ve heard you are all going to sing on the sea. Tell me which ship you are going to sing on”

“I do not want to tell you.” Tilda answers “I want you to find me by yourself, I want you to distinguish my voice from thousands of us! Remember I will be singing for you. ”After saying that, Tilda skips away like a deer, disappears in the darkness of night.

-Chapter three-

Time seems to slow down before excitement. Everyone get up from bed when it is still dark. They gathered together with candles, the firelights on which cast beautiful orange veils over their smiling faces.

The night slowly fakes, but there is still fog surrounding.  Everything is in completely silence. As people are guessing what will happen, a clear girl’s voice suddenly flies onto the island from the mysterious fog. Meantime, a stream of sunlight penetrates the clouds. Later, more and more voices add in. people involuntarily move to the coast. All the candle lights rim a hazy shining contour of the island.

Harris closes his eyes, drunk in the music like everyone. His heart is filled with love, love for the country, love for the citizen and love for peace. Then he opens his eyes. The fog is still thick, but he sees a vague light appears on the sea, coming closer and closer to the harbor.

Strange! Harris suspects. He looks at Dalton who stands behind him. Dalton is also alert. Just after they realize what just happened, all the lights on the sea explode into the sky, like fireworks, passing through the dark night, right towards the island. The song suddenly stopped, as was frightened. People are confused but amazed by the beautiful scene, until a scream tears the silent. “Those are arrows with fire!” People start to scream and flee in disorder with panics. “It was fire attack!” Fire from an enemy battleship, from their neighbor empire, a more powerful and prosperous country! With the fog fading, huge battleships slowly emerge behind.

It is a sneak attack! After the fire arrows stop, thousands of soldiers land on, taking advantage of the random situation. They wave their swords at soldiers and innocent citizens. It was like a nightmare.

Harris yells Dalton’s name to cover him. he pulls out his sword in the scabbard, rushed in to the fight. Dalton stands on the highlands, using his bow and arrows to help Harris killing enemies around him. They are always best partners in battle.

But a scream of a girl break Harris’s concentration. He hears a voice calling his name from his back. It is Tilda. She is trapped on her ship. Harris cannot think more but still waving his sword at enemies. He cannot abandon his country for a girl. Dalton is also distracted by that. Tilda’s scream awaken his envy and hatred to Harris. He sinks deeper and deeper in his thoughts. Every time he kills an enemy around Harris, he feels he is holding Harris up nearer and nearer to the glory while pushing himself farther and farther away from Tilda. That is not fair.

Finally, Dalton is totally enraged! If I kill him now, no one will find out and Tilda will be mine, so do all Harris’s achievements! He retargets his arrow at Harris and shoot through his heart.

No! Tilda cries on the ship seeing Harris collapsing down! She feels no strength in her body, like her soul has been taken. Then she sees Dalton holding his bow, his eyes shining with excitement. At the same time, the ship rocks and she falls down into the sea.

-Chapter four-

Dalton is in panic while finding out Tilda is no longer in his sight. He makes a mad dash to where Tilda fell. When he rushes to her, he only sees Tilda’s body floating by the seashore. His bow is dropped on the ground, he feels his heart broken into pieces. “What have I done… it is not what is supposed to be… what have I done…”

He staggers through water to Tilda, holds her body and cries. “you are not dead…you are not dead… do not die…” but he can no more feel Tilda’s breath. He cries desperately, shouting  “You are mine! You are still mine! No one can take you away from me. We are going to leave here together. He picks up a sword with him, carries her body on a boat anchored next to him. He quickly unties the rope and rows it away from the harbor which is being swallowed by fire. He keeps rowing and rowing until they are in a distance away from the island.

He hugs Tilda tightly, bending on his knees. “I don’t care if I have betrayed the country. I just wanted to be with you! But why! I lost everything, my country, my friend. I cannot let you go!” The crackling sound of fire seems to keep reminding him he has become alone. He buries his head in Tilda’s body, can’t help crying.

Suddenly a shriek of the wind pierce through his noise of grief, so does it stab into his heart. Everything abruptly seems to be silent to Dalton. He can feel an ice-cold sword in his body.  Shocked and frightened, his eyes opened widely. The body besides him slightly moves, but he dare not roll his eyeballs to look at the girl who he thought has dead. He feels no ache in his wound, but a huge pain in his heart, his throat, his eyes and brain. With a harsh sound, the sword was pulled out from his body and he collapses on his knees, facing down.

Tilda stands up, with the bloody sword in her hand. She was not dead. She could not die before revenge. She faces to her homeland, to her lover, with no emotion on her face, but the image of the crazy fire swallowing the land reflecting in her eyes. The crackling sound of fire slowly tears her up, she finally cannot bear it anymore and collapses on her knees.

-Chapter five-

On the island, some children huddle together in a temporary refuge, hoping not to be discovered by soldiers passing by. Turbid tears slide down their cheek. They keep biting their lips, trying not to make a sound. In desperation, a faint but bright girl’s voice awakens their hope. It seems to come from the sea, staunchly cross a long distance. They raise their head, listen carefully, forgetting sorrow, pain and death. The song lasts, until finally buried in the crackling noise of fire.

Last Sunday

It was in last Sunday. I made up my mind to keep fits by exercise. So I went to NUS swimming pool to have a good afternoon. My friend told me that if we bought the tickets, we could swim. I arrived at the gate and told the man in charge that I wanted to buy a ticket. He said that he felt so sorry that the ticket office was close. What's more, he had some tickets which he was not able to sell. At first, I was unhappy and thought that in China, if I could persuade him to sell the ticket to me. The man said that those tickets were from people who bought from the tickets office. I tried to persuade that I could pay for him then he could hand over the money to the ticket office. But he rejected me and said he should obey the rules. Then he said he may allow me to swim in the smaller pooh where he could see me. He said that actually it was fine that i do not have a ticket. All he wanted to do was to prevent everyone from accidents. He said that NUS would record everyone in case of accident and that is the reason why I had to buy a ticket for I was not a full-time student now. But I did not want to get him into trouble. So I thanked to him and prepared to leave. Suddenly he asked me and told me he had talked to an old man who had some tickets for himself and the old man promised to sell me one ticket. I was surprised and jumped from the floor. I went swimming as soon as possible I bought the ticket from this old man. I was touched by Singporean and the system here. In China, the security do not care too much about the safety of people. But in Singapore, they record everyone in order to make sure everyone is safe! Besides, people always want to make some extra money. However, in Singapore, they follow their principle and take responsibility of their own behaviors. Last, this man in charge was so kind and tried to make everyone happy, he do not just do his own job but help me find the solution. I was really moved by the high civilization of Singapore.