It started as a normal day at Kampung Bidara when someone appeared unexpectedly in front of the village entrance. Rania, one of the girls from the village was surprised and overly confused at the sight of a mysterious man who walked into the village nonchalantly.
Reading books is like going through a portal of whole new world and a chance to escape from reality. In different ways, reading books is also sort of understanding one's creative minds in expressing feelings, experiences and built-up stories of the writers using words.
Books open the door of knowledge and imaginations. People nowadays are not ken to read because of many obstacles. They tend to play video games and watch movies. However, there are still people who enjoy reading books and I am one of them. So, is reading books really good?
For me, reading a book is an escape from reality. I enjoy reading since I was 12 which my first book was 'Cinderella and Fairy Tales' authored by Angela Smith. Since then, I spend most of my leisure time to read and drown in my own imagination.
That morning I had never been so scared and sad at the same time in my life. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, casting long shadows across the deserted street. As I walked to school, my heart raced with a mix of excitement and fear. Little did I know that this day would change my life forever.
It was cold and gloomy morning and I expected it was about to rain. I was already heading to school when the sun had not even risen yet. Since it was my senior year, this was the routine I must follow. As I stood right in front of my class, it was bleak, cold and completely dark. The only visible sight was the flashes of lightning that occasionally brought the loud rumble of thunder. That was the first time I saw him. Little did I know, my entire life was going to be ruined because of him.
Do you love shopping and being surrounded by elegant, modern and aesthetic vibes at the same time? If so, then Sunway Carnival Mall in Seberang Jaya suits you very well. But surely, what makes this mall shiner than other malls in our nation?
The first time being away from home, I was on cloud nine. If happiness were a mountain, then I was on top of Everest. It was my first time ever outing with friends. I came from a not-very-financially-stable family. Therefore, I need to save money through hard work and immovable will power and courage. Finally, I could go on a holiday with Brian and Jay, my childhood buddies.
The first time being away from home, I was anxious. Living as a spoiled kid made me overthink on how I could survive being alone without Ma, Pa, Tom and Ryan. I had to admit as an introvert, it was not easy for me to start a conversation with strangers.
For a shopaholic like me, going to a mall is my way of escaping from reality. I have been to numerous malls all over the country and experience lots of things in every mall I have visited but the one in my town is always my favourite.
Have you ever seen a mall that is located next to a beach? Well, let me bring you to Queensbay Mall in Penang. This mall is a popular attraction among tourists and locals because of its strategic location and comfortable hospitality.
Sometimes, helping others might seem exhausting and boring. However, it is the small kind act that could put a smile on someone's face. Even the smallest thing such as helping an old lady cross the road or doing charity for the poor could affect one's life.
The first time being away from home, I was really anxious and had butterflies in my stomach. Since I was the eldest grandchild, I was chosen and instructed to find the missing heirloom which my grandparents had left it for us. To make the matter worse, I was only given clues on where to find them.
That morning, I had never been so scared and sad at the same time in my life. Ah! I shouted out of my lungs as I was traumatised by the scene that I was witnessing. A small pool of red sticky liquid. As I was figuring out the source of the stain, I found out it was coming from my sister.
I was literally hyperventilated as many bad thoughts started coming to my mind: What if my sister was murdered? What if she was poisoned? Out of nowhere, I heard a grunt from my sister. "It hurts," she was holding her tummy, could not bear the pain.
"Oh, no! This is bad," I whispered to myself as I quickly got on my toes to alarm my parent about the current situation. I tried to find my only parent, Dad. Yes, it was just me, my sister and Dad. Mom died years ago.
"Dad, Julia was stabbed and she is bleeding!" I managed to tell him despite my anxious feeling.
"Huh? She was stabbed?! Dad was trying to process the info that I just relayed. After a split second, he grabbed his iPhone 14 to call the hospital.
"Good morning, how can I help you?" the receptionist greeted Dad professionally.
"Please send an ambulance to my house right now! My daughter is bleeding," he explained nervously.
"I need you to calm down, Sir. Could you explain to me why she is bleeding?" she asked politely. Out of the blue, Julia came out from her room. Both of us were startled by what we saw. Dad hung up without ending the conversation.
"Hey, we thought you were injured terribly?" Dad looked worried.
"Huh? Hurt?" My sister was confused.
"Did not you get stabbed?" Dad added, concerned.
"What? I was not stabbed. I am on my period, Dad," she explained.
"Daniel, why did you tell me she was stabbed?" Dad turned facing me. He started to get furious.
"I'm sorry Dad, but how I am supposed to know about period?" It's even my first time hearing about it," I defended myself. That was how my traumatised experience turned into a learning experience.
It was a typical Sunday. No school, no tuition classes and no traffic jam. It was my routine to deliver homecooked food to my sister's family and when I reached at her house, the front door was open. I slowly tiptoed inside calling for Sonia, my sister and James, her husband. To my horror, a puddle of blood in front of the master bedroom captured my attention. "Where is Sonia? Where is the family?" I was in tremendous fear as I could not feel my legs anymore. With the sanity left, I searched for them.
Recalling the moment a year ago when my sister moved out to this house with her newly wedded husband, I always had this uneasy feeling. Her husband appeared to be kind, understanding and soft spoken but I got a hunch that that was not the real him. It was just a façade he was displaying to us. I had seen him kicking a kitten, shouting to kids and I never knew it could be even worse.
Tiny bruises on Sonia's body proved it all. Perhaps I watched a lot of crime dramas but looking at Sonia's terrible condition made me start to doubt James more. Even though Sonia struggled to cover the pain, she could not hide it from me. I could tell how suffer she was without even glancing at her injuries. I once told Ma about this but she advised me to stay away from their marriage problem. Yet, I felt I had seen enough.
When I was about to compose myself as fear and panic engulfed me, a scream caught my attention. It came from the backyard garden and it was Sonia's! I dashed into the garden and what I witnessed left me speechless. James was punching and kicking Sonia while she was hanging for her dear life. They did not realise I was there and I took this precious chance to save my only sister. I quickly took a shovel and approached James from behind. I swung it hard and the shovel hit James' head. Blood was dripping and he fell to the ground.
Neighbours came to help. They contacted the police and brought my sister to the hospital. James was arrested for his crime; not only abusing his wife but also a drug addict. After almost a month being hospitalised, they finally got their divorce. A restraining order was issued by the court to protect Sonia. The image of blood covering her was still playing repeatedly on my mind. I would never forget that moment until my last breath.
It was a sunny day. In the middle of the vast ocean, my family and I were spending our holidays on a private island hopping expedition in Pulau Redang. The boat that we rode was driven by Mr. Pokku and his son, Alif as the tour guide. We were having a blast chatting with them.
We headed for our first destination which was a small sandy island that seemed like it just spawned out of nowhere. A lot of other tourists were busy taking pictures and cherishing the moments. No exception for my family. After some camera-clicking sessions, we went for a swim. I was in awe when I found out I was a pretty skilful swimmer. After a while, we agreed to continue our trip to the next location.
During the journey, while enjoying the breeze on the boat, Alif shared his experience in swimming and snorkelling. We discovered that he was a really amazing swimmer. We reached at our next destination which was in the middle of the blue ocean. Without asking lots of questions, we put on our life jacket and also the snorkelling equipment before jumping into the water. While eyeing the dazzling corals, Alif immediately got into the water with no safety equipment at all! He was able to dive, glide and float expertly and seeing this, jealousy filled me in.
I immediately went to the back of the boat and took off my equipment. I jumped into the water without any hesitation. At first, I manage to calm myself down and stay afloat for quite a while. Out of the blue, my legs cramped and I panicked. I tried yelling for help but unfortunately my voice was not loud enough to be heard by my family. I descended slowly to the bottom of the sea struggling to survive. When I thought that was the end of it, a strong hand reached and pulled me up to the surface.
I threw up salt water and composed myself. I looked up to see my saviour, the hero who rescued me from death and to my surprise, it was Alif. He seemed to be out of breath. I thanked him profusely for putting his life on the line to save me. He advised me not to be overconfident and get ahead of myself. We kept that incident as our little secret and I would never forget about that moment until my last breath.
The blankets of sparkling stars were shining in the endless dark sky as the apple of my heart, James and I with our sweet little Grace were sitting on the grass in our backyard. The breeze that night was amazingly calming. Out of the blue, I heard a smashing sound and a scream of a woman from Grace's room. It was more shocking to find out that both, my husband and my child disappeared.
After I was able to calm myself down, I hurriedly rushed to Grace's room just to discover pieces of broken mirrors were scattering everywhere and the lifeless bodies of my husband and Grace. James' neck was like being sliced by one of the mirror pieces. I was startled by the devastating scene and could not believe my eyes.
Out of sudden, everything became blurry and I passed out. When I opened my eyes, I was on my bed. For just a moment, I thought everything was just a dream but then a child's scream caught me off guard. I opened the curtain and the bloody crescent moon was shining in the sky. I knew something was not right. I quickly went to Grace's room and she was in pain, grasping for air because an unknown entity was choking her,
Without thinking twice, I grabbed the broom stick and tried to hit the entity but it was futile since he was too strong. Out of my consciousness, he lifted me in the air with his muscular hands and slammed me to the mirror. I groaned in pain. James! That moment, all the pain was gone and my heart was shattered into pieces when I discovered it was James.
"I have put up with this child for so long but why can't you love me and only me in this world?" He looked sad for a moment then his face changed. He snickered just like every villain in the movies we have seen.
"You already knew my secret, now you must die!"
He dashed towards me with a knife in his right hand. I could not think of anything except to save myself. I grabbed the mirror piece and sliced his throat before he could lay his hand on me. Trembling, I sat with blood all over me contemplating about what had just occurred. What happened to our beautiful, small family? I despised the fate more than anything else and I would never forget that moment until my last breath.
That morning, I had never been so scared and sad at the same time in my life. "After those 9 years of ups and downs yet you leave me because of her?"
It all started when the wedding invitation made it way to my letterbox. 'Wedding Reception of James and Sophia'. I could not help myself but feeling suspicious about how it was just last week we were counting stars but today he would be marrying the girl he barely knew.
"This must be some sort of sorcery," my little fragile heart whispered.
Nevertheless, I mustered up my courage so I went to the church even when my heart was falling apart. When I reached there, I saw his bride's family all dressed in pastel. Her face was somehow familiar but I could not seem to remember where I saw her. It was the time for the wedding to start so everyone began taking their seat. Both of them were standing side by side and I couldn't help to think about how he must be wishing it was me.
After reading all the sacred words, it was the time for James to utter his vow. Out of the blue, he went silent and looked clueless. I heard the preacher instructing him, "Speak now or forever hold your peace."
There was silence and without thinking twice I stood up, shakily. All eyes were on me and they gave me this horrifying look but I was only staring at him. Our eyes met and that was the moment he realised he made the wrong decision that could destroy his whole life.
It was chaotic that time yet James ran towards me and grabbed my hands. "I'm sorry, Julie. I just have no idea what has consumed me but I have never wanted all of this!"
Without looking back, he pulled me and we ran out from the church. He explained that all this time he was unconscious and acting against his will.
Now that he mentioned, I suddenly remembered who the girl was. James' stalker back then, when we were in high school! It turned out that James had been possessed! That day, the wedding was cancelled and the guests had to go home. Even though the event was traumatising to both of us. it taught us to be stronger for each other. Now, we are enjoying our 70's life by the seaside reminiscing how funny and memorable our youth was.
