4C(15-16) Lam Tiffany Wing Ching
Learning English through Short Stories (2015-16 S4 Final Examination)
Your school is holding a short story writing competition on the theme, “Love conquers all”. You will join this competition
Write a story on this theme.
It was a dark, wintry night when they took them. The Fuhrer had just ordered the persecution of their whole race. He had been asleep in his room when he heard a loud crash outside. He sat up groggily, trying to find the source of the sound, and that was when he heard it. Screaming. A girl’s shrill scream shattered the peaceful night. Worse still, he recognized that scream. It came from the girl next door. The one he held close to his heart. He heard a gunshot, followed with even more yelling and wailing. ‘Move!’ He heard a man’s gruff voice order. He crept out of bed towards the window, just in time to see her baby sister drop to the ground. A soldier had thrown its small body on the ice-coated road. It did not move. He turned and, after flinging open the door, charged down the stairs, his body trembled with rage. Suddenly, his father appeared and held him down while he thrashed and struggled. He shoved his dad, letting out a shout. His father covered his mouth and snapped in a hushed voice, ‘Shut up, you idiot! Do you want them to hear you? They’ll kill you if they hear you here shouting like the stupid airhead you are!’ He didn’t listen and struggled some more. ‘I have to save her!’ he mumbled through his father’s hand. They continued to wrestle in the hallway, until he collapsed to the floor, his energy completely spent. His cheeks were wet. He did not notice he was crying. Her entire family had been carted away to those concentration camps, he knew. He was going to save her.
He went to apply to become an officer on the very first day. When asked where he wanted to be stationed, he said the name of the nearest concentration camp without hesitation. The interviewer raised his eyebrows at him, and said, ‘Only senior officers can be stationed there, kid.’ He felt his eyes widen, and panic-stricken, he blurted, ‘But I really want to go there. How do I become a senior officer?’ The man eyed him again, and said two simple words, ‘You train.’
He was taken to the training field later, and as he took in his surroundings, he felt his heart fall. The training was intense, and he had hidden one tiny detail from the man who interviewed him – he had asthma. His respiratory system would not be able to handle whatever was in store for him, but as he thought of her, his worry subsided immediately. He had to get her out, and the only way to do that was to endure and carry on.
His first task was to run ten laps around the field. Just after jogging for some time, his heart began to thump loudly. He felt the blood rush into his head. He had hoped that it was adrenaline, but he knew better. The blood was a bundle of nerves. He cursed his cowardice, but on the third lap, he felt his chest constrict, and less oxygen passed through his brain. Each breath became shallower, and black spots began to form in his eyes. His temple ached, and he could not think anymore. He shook his head, trying to clear away the fuzziness in his mind, but it did not work. Instead, he became even dizzier. He took a deep breath, but the breath could not reach his lungs, and he felt like he was drowning. The suffocating sensation pressed hard against his chest, and he gasped. The gasping turned into a huge fit of coughing. He sank to the ground, heaving and retching, not able to breathe. He was only vaguely aware of the people gathering around him, and the concern etched upon their faces. Then he passed out.
When he woke, he found himself in a room that looked like a ward, and the interviewer stood, glaring at him. ‘You never told me you had asthma, boy. Do you know how much paperwork you made me do by fainting on the field?’’ “I’m sorry, sir,’ he said, not bothering to explain. He knew he was out, and the thought of not being able to save her weighed like a brick in his heart.
‘You cannot fight. But you can do the administration work for the army. Then, maybe, you will be stationed at that camp,’ the officer said. His hopes soared. So maybe he could save her after all.
He started working right after he recovered, doing all the work possible to make a good impression of himself. He had to get her out of the camp. But there was a second tiny detail he had hidden from the interviewer. At the time of the interview, it didn’t matter, because he thought he would be fighting. But now, he was required to read and write for his job, and he was dyslexic. He worked till late at night, often using hours to figure out one job. He was careful, because dyslexic people were easy to identify, and one mistake could give him away. He wasn’t so sure he would be given a chance the next time he slipped up. He often thought of her smile, and he knew that he loved her. She was the best person he knew, and before he was able to get himself into that camp, he could only pray she was still alive. His head ached from all the hard work, and his shoulders slumped forward because he did not have the energy to stand straight. There were dark circles beneath his eyes, and grey strands in his hair that should not exist. But it was worth it.
He continued working tirelessly, and although this drew praise from his seniors, it also drew jealousy from his colleagues. They isolated him, and sometimes jeered at him in his face. But he took it in. He did not fight back. He had his eyes trained on the goal, which was to find her in the concentration camp. Because of his lack of rest, his asthma worsened, and he had asthma attacks often. Finally, after two years of hard work, his senior sent him a notice and stationed him at the very camp he was aiming for in the beginning. It had been two years, but he did not know if she was still alive.
He arrived at the camp, and holding his breath, he went in. What he saw shocked him to the core. He saw dead bodies piled high like a mountain, with the rotting smell of flesh wafting through the air. Skinny people were dragged around, their eyes sunken and their limbs like sticks. His fear started to rise: was she alive? It seemed impossible under this situation. He went into the women’s bunks, and the air stank of unwashed bodies. He scanned all the people, who stared right back at him. Finally, in the corner, he saw her face. It was weary, barely recognizable, but it was definitely her. They looked deep into each other’s eyes, and they smiled. She had survived all the atrocities and disasters in hopes of seeing him again, and he had fought his way through, conquering his own illnesses and disabilities, to see her. Their path ahead would be rocky, but they had each other. Love does conquer all.