Broken Dreams, Fulfilled Promises

Imagine you are the writer of the book – Plan a sequel (Part 2)
“Broken Dreams, Fulfilled Promises” [Carolyn Ros]

As Johan slowly regained his memory, Carolyn felt blithe. She continuously prayed and thanks God for the healing of Johan after such a long and difficult period.
A few years passed, and their four children grew up healthily. Jozua, who was affected by a sickness when he was young, was the most filial. He took care of Johan, his father, ever since he was hospitalised. Although his father had brain tumour and lost his memory years ago, he is fine now, because of the constant care by his family.
One Saturday afternoon, Jozua had a relapse. His sickness reacted again.
“How could his sickness react again? The doctors said he had fully recovered, but… WHY?” Carolyn said frantically. Immediately, they sent him to the nearest hospital.
As Carolyn is a Christian, she prayed non-stop,” Dear Lord, I pray for my son’s safety. He is a very wonderful son, please don’t take him away from us. Please don’t make all of us worry again.”
The next morning, the family found Jozua lifeless in his bed. They were shocked and aggrieved. Carolyn especially was heartbroken. Jozua’s siblings were moaning the lost of their beloved brother. Johan was filled with grief as Jozua was the most filial son who took care of him.
The whole neighbourhood attended the funeral. Everybody had only good things to say about the boy. Life continued for them. Carolyn slowly was settling back to her normal self.
One night, Johan was thinking about his son. Tears flowed down his cheeks. His heart was heavy with sorrow. Out of a sudden, he heard a faint voice. It became louder to his ears. It was Jozua’s voice. “Don’t grieve, daddy. I’m at a wonderful place. There are beautiful flowers and greenery around me. I’m with loving people who are taking good care of me, just like you. I’m here coaching little children who are here before their time. They adore me like a big brother. I enjoy their company and always try to make them happy. This is my mission. Please do not feel sorry for me. I am at peace with myself. One day, we will meet again. Rest assured that I am always keeping all of you in my heart and mind. Good bye daddy.”

Burned Alive

Imagine you’re one of the characters – Write an alternative ending to the story.
“Burned Alive” [Souad]

… Although Souad was married in Europe after her countless treatment for her burnt body, things did not go on smoothly for her.
“SOUAD! COME HERE QUICKLY BEFORE I SMACK YOUR HIDEOUS FACE!” hollered her husband. Souad dashed towards her husband hastily.
“Yes?” questioned Souad. Her husband pushed her onto the hard and cold floor.
“Look at what you’ve done? Look at this! Why is there a stain on my sofa? Why are you so careless to spill your drink? WHY ARE YOU SO CARELESS! What if bugs crawl onto the sofa? HOW HOW HOW?” screamed her husband, infuriately.
“I’m so sorry; I promise I won’t do it again. I promise.”
“Always say, but never do.” He shook his head and walked away.
Souad walked towards the bathroom, close the door, and wept pitifully. Tears rolled continuously down her scalded cheeks. She was never allowed to cry in front of her husband, if not her husband will reprimand her. She looked into the mirror, and saw her awful and burnt face and thought, “Is this my fate? To live in a world controlled by men? Even my husband controls me, where’s my freedom?”
The next day, she woke up and realise her son was right beside her. He flew from West Bank all the way to Europe. Since her son was living alone in his foster family’s house in West Bank, he said,” Mummy, I have never gotten a chance to live with you since I was a baby. But it’s okay; I know why you sold me to another family. It is because you love me so much that you didn’t want me to suffer with you and my irresponsible father in West Bank. You’ve suffered too much, mummy. Let’s go live somewhere else, so that you won’t be controlled by stepfather anymore.”
“I’m afraid I can’t. If your stepfather finds out, I’ll be in hot soup!” Souad said sadly.
“Don’t be afraid mummy, I’m here, and you won’t be in trouble.” Souad’s son calmed her down. She reunited with her son and regained her freedom. From then on, Souad began a new lease of life.

Vietnam War Life Story

Describe your favorite setting from the story and comment why you like or dislike.
“First They Killed My Father” [Loung Ung]

The setting I like the most in this book is when Loung was walking to the infirmary to recover to become strong so that she will not be kicked out from the refugee camp and the scene when she found her mother and baby sister. She was walking along a dusty and muddy lane, with many land mimes along the side of the road. She struggled as she walk, because she was famished. It took her the entire day to reach the infirmary.
Loung mustered up courage and asked for permission from the person in charge of the refugee camp, Met Bong, to allow her to have the permission slip to go to the infirmary. This displayed her endurance and resolution to stay alive even though she was all alone stranded in the camp, during the war.
Along the way, she found a small cotton field. As she was hungry, she recalled that the black round seed in the cotton can be eaten, thus tried and it appeased her stomach. This act also refers that at such a young age, she knows many survival skills, and is very ingenious.
She saw many scenarios in the infirmary of people deadly sick, and half-alive, but she still walks across all of them. If I were her, I would definitely be panic stricken, even at the age of fifteen. All these incidents proved, that even a young girl like her is able to go through all the sufferings and pain, what more a teenager or a parent?
The author has definitely given her a wondrous role to inspire many people to be undauntable and fearless at all circumstances. All of us should learn from her that no matter what happens, if there is a will, there will always be a way to carry on.

Ugly?

Pick controversial issues and give opinions.
“UGLY” [Constance Briscoe]

“The black woman beautiful is as far away from white woman beautiful as the beauty of night is from the beauty of day. Beauty in this essence comes in differing forms but it still seems as if we have one ideal.”
Is being ugly, a sin? Why do people despise people who are ugly? Why do people not look at the inner beauty, but the outer beauty? Uncivilized people tend to keep away from “ugly” people as they think that it is a shame to be with them. People always say “Having inner beauty is the real beauty”, but do they really mean it?
In my opinion, inner beauty is more important than outer beauty. I do not dare deny that majority of the people prefer people with a greater appearance, and attractive people get a job easily. For example, we know good-looking guys usually get higher scores on job interviews, but this does not mean that they can neglect and abhor others.
Outer beauty is not so important to make a person good. We should not judge a book by its cover, to see if the person is courteous and well-mannered. In our society, beauty also gives us many advantages such as having a good social life, making friends, getting a job, and getting a promotion. Whenever, we look at good-looking guys and girls, we usually form stereotypes. We think he or she is a good and kind person. This is why cosmetic surgery is so popular in our society.
So, what is real beauty? I want to say that inner beauty is the real one because if someone has beauty in his soul, he looks like a really beautiful person. The beauty looked at with eyes doesn't last forever. Instead of concentrating on outer beauty, we should concentrate on inner beauty. The point is that inner beauty is more important than outside beauty. So, if we make the effort to make our minds beautiful, we'll be happier.

Shotgun Marriage

Pick controversial issues and argue why you agree or disagree.
“Shotgun Marriage” [Day Leclaire]

Since olden days, the institution of marriage is sacred. It is a norm in society that people have to be married having children. But nowadays, the trend has changed. Teenagers are pregnant even before they are married, and thus have to get married before the appropriate age. There are many advantages and disadvantages on this matter.
Shotgun marriage keeps relationship going. When the child is born, both parents will nurture and provide love and comfort for the child. Shotgun marriage also lessens the financial burden of the female party as she does not need to worry on how to raise the child all by herself. The male is able to go out and work, whereas the female is able to take care of herself and the baby, so that both will be healthy.
On the other hand, shotgun marriage can cause more trouble. Usually, it does not last long due to the fact that they are still young, not knowing what they are doing. Some people who do not accept shotgun marriage will start mocking the couples for being “lowdown”, “shameless” and so on. Comments like “the girl marries the guy because he is rich and is able to provide for her”, are unduly common. As couples are young, they will not be able find a stable job to provide for the family. If the family is not rich, for the worst case scenario, the male has to quit school to work as a full time worker in order to earn more money.
I disagree to shotgun marriage, it is unsafe. Teenagers are too young get married, and they do not know how to think properly before they make a decision. I am sure that even without marriage, both parties will still take the initiative to take care of the baby instead of aborting it.