My Daughter's Noble Sacrifice

My wife called,"How long will you be with that newspaper? Will you come
here and make your darling daughter eat her food?"

I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter Sindu
looked frightened. Tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a
bowl filled to its brim with curd rice. Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for
her age.She has just turned eight. She particularly detested curd rice. My
mother and my wife are orthodox, and believe firmly in the 'cooling effects' of
curd rice!
I cleared my throat, and picked up the bowl. "Sindu, darling,why don't you
take a few mouthful of this curd rice?Just for Dad's sake, dear." Sindu
softened a bit, and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. "OK, Dad. I
will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this. But, you
should..."

Sindu hesitated. "Dad, if I eat this entire curd rice, will you give me whatever
I ask for?" "Oh sure, darling," I replied. "Promise?" "Promise."
I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine, and clinched
the deal. "Ask Mom also to give a similar promise," my
daughter insisted. My wife put her hand on Sindu's, muttering "Promise."

Now I became a bit anxious. "Sindu dear, you shouldn't insist on getting a
computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not have that kind of money
right now. OK?"
"No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive." Slowly and painfully, she
finished eating the whole quantity. I was silently angry with my wife and my
mother for forcing my child eat something that she detested. After the ordeal
was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All our
attention was on her. "Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!"
was her demand.

"Atrocious!" shouted my wife, "A girl child having her head shaved off?
Impossible!" "Never in our family!" my mother rasped. "She has been
watching too much of television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with
these TV programs!"

"Sindu darling, why don't you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing
you with a clean-shaven head."
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"No, Dad. I do not want anything else," Sindu said with finality.
"Please, Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?" I tried to plead
with her.

"Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice." Sindu was in
tears. "And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for.Now, you are going
back on your words. Was it not you who told me the story of King
Harishchandra, and its moral that we should honor our promises no matter
what?"

It was time for me to call the shots. "Our promise must be kept."

"Are you out your mind?" chorused my mother and wife. "No. If we go back
on our promises, she will never learn to honor her own. Sindu, your wish will
be fulfilled."
With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big
and beautiful. On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a
sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned
around and waved. I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy alighted from
a car, and shouted, "Sinduja, please wait for me!"

What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. "Maybe, that is the in-
stuff," I thought.
"Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!" Without introducing herself, a
lady got out of the car, and continued, "That boy who is walking along with
your daughter is my son Harish. He is suffering from... leukemia." She
paused to muffle her sobs.
"Harish could not attend the school for the whole of the last month. He lost
all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come
back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the
schoolmates. Sinduja visited him last week and promised him that she will
take care of the teasing issue. But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her
lovely hair for the sake of my son!"

"Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your
daughter."

I stood transfixed. And then, I wept. "My little Angel, you are teaching me
how selfless real love is!"

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An Unexpected Surprise: A Personal Essay
Life is full of unexpected surprises. There are many opportunities when
one can secretly wish for something exciting to happen – something
out of the ordinary. The real surprise is when the wish unexpectedly
comes true. I never believed that something like this could ever
happen to me; such a thing that would make me stop and look back at
the events in awe. I think you would agree that something as simple as
being lost in the forest for less than ten minutes should have no
influence on my life. If you do agree, that makes both of us wrong.
Throughout my childhood, I loved the wild. My family and I would
always go for a walk in the downtown forest of Coote’s Paradise.
There were many times I thought of what could happen if we were to
lose our way from the trail and have to live off of the land until we
found our way back to civilization. I thought it would be the greatest
experience ever.
As my brothers and I grew older, we continued to go for these walks
with our parents but the dreams of living in the forest I soon forgot.
That’s when it happened. We decided to take a different path off the
main trail. Before I knew it, the path had disappeared and no one in my
family could tell where we had come from. It was so unexpected. It
gave me a feeling of excitement that can’t be described. Everything in
the forest seemed different. The trees were a deeper shade of green.
The birds chirped in a different tone. Vines covered almost every inch
of the ground. One part of me never wanted this moment to end. I felt
completely free from the stress of my life outside of the woods. It was
this moment that I realized that I would much rather stay here for the
rest of my life than go back to society.
I think that another reason that I felt carefree was because my parents
didn’t panic. They took the situation under control and headed for any
open area in hopes to find a map (many of these maps were found
throughout the grounds, telling you where you were). From my point of
view, at the time, it seemed as if they were excited as I was about
losing our way. In the end, it only took my parents ten minutes to find
such a map and we were back on the trail in no time.
An experience like this made me think about my place in life. I’m the
type who loves seeking out adventures. When we were lost, I realized

3
that I had everything I would ever need with me – my family. They’ve
always supported me in everything I do. This experience made me
realize that families need to stick together; you don’t realize how much
you need them until, for a moment, you think they’ll be the last people
you see for the rest of your life.
It’s incredible how much a simple thing like being lost in a forest for ten
minutes will affect your outlook on life. Things like not being able to
find your way back to where you came from make you appreciate the
little things in life. Looking back on the day, I realize now that it was
fate. Moments like that are few and far between and should be taken
as a lesson. Surprises like this were, and always will be, an
unexpected gift for all

4
An Unexpected Incident

Do you think good deeds always pay off? If you think so, think again…

Here I was, in the park near my house, immersed in the one and only game of
the year – ‘Pokemon Go’.

As I was sauntering along the path, the cool gentle breeze caressed against my
chubby cheeks. Suddenly , upon spotting my ‘prized prey’, I sprinted like a
horse of a gladiator to catch it.

The chase was a tiring one. After successfully capturing a few Pokemons to
my heart’s content, I realised how exhausted I was. This time I darted not to
catch a Pokemon but to a bench to ‘catch’ my breath. I was dead beat.

As I was resting, I noticed a few people playing with their adorable dogs.
There was one particular owner who caught my fancy as he appeared to be
more or less my age. He was playing with a frisbee with his agile and juvenile
dog. I was enjoying the rapport between the master and his pet.

After a few exchanges, the wind blew a bit more violently changing the
course of one of the throws causing the frisbee to land relatively close to
where I was sitting. Genuinely, wanting to do a good deed I bent down to pick
it when suddenly, I felt a set of sharp teeth sinking into my wrist!

“Ah!!!” I bawled my lungs out as I winced in pain.

Unfortunately, the apparent size of the dog and the intensity of the bite were
disproportionate! The owner rushed to the spot looking very remorseful and
upset.

“I’m so sorry but you really shouldn’t have touched the frisbee as my dog is
very possessive about it and must have thought that you were taking it away
from him. He’s cheeky but usually doesn’t bite,” he said ruefully.

With his arms akimbo, he lashed a tirade at the dog. However, the dog could
not be blamed as its reaction was second nature to it.

5
The owner informed my parents on what had happened and accompanied me
to the a poly clinic nearby.

Luckily for me, it was not a serious bite and could be sorted out with a simple
jab and a small plaster.

The owner apologised yet again. As he was leaving, he gave a small piece of
advice which was to concur with the owner before petting a dog or touching
any article related to it. I nodded my head in agreement.

As I was heading home, I began to reflect on my actions. I had come to a

conclusion that it was good to extend a helping hand but sometimes being
overindulgent can actually misfire.

6
An incident I would like to forget
There are many incidents in our lives that make us happy or sad. I was
recently the victim of a snatch thief. This is one incident that I cannot forget.
It was an incident that changed my life forever.

It was a Saturday morning, like any other weekend and I was on the way to
school for extra classes. I had to take the city bus to school. As I walked down
the street from my house I noticed that the road was very crowded. Buses,
cars, taxis, motorcyclists and pedestrians created a hustle and bustle that
would easily unnerve anyone. I kept my cool as I walked down the pedestrian
path towards the bus stop. My thoughts were however far away, as I was
preoccupied with the mid-term exam that was just around the corner.
Suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, a motorcyclist who was just passing
beside me, tugged at my bag, which was dangling from my shoulder.

I spun around and reeled from the force of the moving vehicle. I felt a harsh
pull. Within a split second I was sprawled on the pavement. I felt numb and
everything around me became blur. I heard people shouting, but I was too
dazed to talk and too shocked to even get up. I did not remember anything
after that. When I regained consciousness. I was in the hospital and my legs
and arms were bandaged. Yet I felt no sensation or pain. I was just too weak
to even move.

'What happened ?' I kept asking myself. How could this have happened to me,
I thought ? My parents, my sister and my brother were there and their grim
faces told me that things were not right. The doctor finally broke the sad news
to me. I was now paralyzed and would not be able to walk again. I was
shocked and did not know what to say. there was a lump in my throat. The
tears that rolled down from my eyes slowly wet my pillow.

I am now stronger but must learn to be more confident of myself. I have learnt
to pray and hope that I will be able to move around in my wheelchair. It is one
incident that has changed my life and I will never be able to forget.

hustle and bustle noisy activity

around the corner nearby

a bolt from the blue something that is unexpected

7
*****

It was an unusual morning, the weather was incongruously perfect, the skies
were too clear, some white and fluffy clouds were happily roving in front of
the otherwise blaring sun and its unbearable heat. The temperature was just
right, at least by Malaysian standards.

The smell of burnt wood was no more, oh yes, the haze has disappeared. A
very unusual morning indeed. Weather reports say the haze has drifted its
way past Malaysia to our unfortunate Southern neighbour, Singapore.

Love and Mrs. Leonard

I grew up knowing I was different, and I hated it. I was born with a cleft palate, and when
I started to go to school, my classmates - who were constantly teasing - made it clear to
me how I must look to others: a little girl with a misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided
teeth, and hollow and somewhat garbled speech. I couldn't even blow up a balloon
without holding my nose, and when I bent to drink from a fountain, the water spilled out
of my nose. When my schoolmates asked, "What happened to your lip?" I'd tell them that
I'd fallen as a baby and cut it on a piece of glass. Somehow it seemed more acceptable to
have suffered an accident than to have been born different. By the age of seven I was
convinced that no one outside my own family could ever love me. Or even like me. And
then I entered the second grade, and Mrs. Leonard's class. I never knew what her first
name was - just Mrs. Leonard. She was round and pretty and fragrant, with chubby arms
and shining brown hair and warm dark eyes that smiled even on rare occasions when her
mouth did not. Everyone adored her. But no one came to love her more than I did. And
for a special reason. The time came for t;he annual "hearing tests" give at our school. I
was barely able to hear anything out of one ear, and was not about to reveal yet another
problem that would single me out as different. And so I cheated. I had learned to watch
other children and raised my hand when they did during group testing. The "whisper test"
however, required a different kind of deception: Each child would go to the door of the
classroom, turn sideways, close one ear with a finger, and the teacher would whisper
something from her desk, which the child would repeat. Then the same thing was done
for the other ear. I had discovered in kindergarten that nobody checked to see how tightly
the untested ear was being covered, so I merely pretended to block mine. As usual, I was
last, but all through the testing I wondered what Mrs. Leonard might say to me. I knew
from previous years that she whispered things like "The sky is blue" or "Do you have
new shoes?" My turn came up. I turned my bad ear to her, plugging up the other solidly
with my finger, then gently backed my finger out enough to be able to hear. I waited and
then the words that God had surely put into her mouth, seven words that changed my life
forever. Mrs. Leonard, the pretty , fragrant teacher I adored, said softly, "I wish you were
my little girl"

8
WEAKNESS or STRENGTH?

Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength.

Take, for example, the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study
judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing
well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training the master
had taught him only one move. "Sensei," the boy finally asked, "Shouldn't I
be learning more moves?" "This is the only move I know, but this is the only
move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied. Not quite understanding,
but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.
Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament.
Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match
proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became
impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match.
Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. This time, his
opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy
appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the
referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei
intervened. "No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue." Soon after the match
resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard.
Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him.
The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every
match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his
mind. "Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?" "You won
for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of
the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense
for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm." The boy's biggest
weakness had become his biggest strength. Shalom u'vracha!

9
 Attitude - You Choose

Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and
always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he
was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a
natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there
telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing
this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and asked
him, Ï don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you
do it?" Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have
two choices today. 1. You can choose to be in a good mood or.... 2. You can
choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time
something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or... I can choose to learn
from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me
complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or.... I can point out the
positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. "Yeah, right, it's not that
easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," Michael said. "Life is all about choices. When
you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you
react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to
be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you
live your life." I reflected on what Michael said. Soon hereafter, I left the
Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought
about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several
years later, I heard that Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling
some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and
weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods
placed in his back. I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I
asked him how he was, he replied. "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna
see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone
through his mind as the accident took place. "The first thing that went through
my mind was the well-being of my soon to be born daughter," Michael
replied, "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I
could choose to live or ..... I could choose to die. I chose to live." "Weren't
you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Michael continued, "....the
paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when
they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the
doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read "he's a dead man. I
knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a
big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Michael." She asked if I was
10
allergic to anything. "Yes, I replied." The doctors and nurses stopped working
as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Gravity." Over
their laughter, I told them, Ï am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am
alive, not dead." Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also
because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have
the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. "Therefore do not
worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34) After all, today is the tomorrow
you worried about yesterday

A day I will never forget

It was a sunny day at the beach. The sand was hot under our feet. My little
brother Xoli started crying. “Pick him up, Busi,” my mother said.
I picked him up. He was so heavy. And his nose was dirty. I didn’t want that
snot on my summer top! I put him down and he started crying again. “Pick
him up!” my mother shouted. I picked him up again, wishing I didn’t have a
baby brother who was always such a pain.
Finally we got to a good spot and spread out the towels. My mother got out
her magazine and started reading. I tried to play on my cellphone but the sun
was too bright. So I lay down and closed my eyes.
Suddenly I realised it was quiet – too quiet. I sat up and looked for Xoli. He
was nowhere around. Then I saw him. He was digging in the sand close to the
water and a big wave was coming. “Xoli!” I shouted. But he didn’t hear me.
I started running as fast as I could. My mother had heard me and she came
after me too. But we were too late. The huge wave swept him off his feet. I
rushed into the water and managed to grab hold of his arm before he could be
sucked out to sea. I picked him up. He was spluttering and crying. When I saw
he was all right I nearly started crying too.
“Why did you go so far?” I started shouting.
But my mother took him from me gently. “He is just a baby, Busi. We should
have been watching him.”
The two of us sat with Xoli and built a sandcastle. I found shells to decorate
the castle and Xoli clapped his hands. My mother went to buy us ice creams.
That day I realised how much I love my baby brother.
11
Tips for writing good narrative essays
• Do not choose stories that cover a long time. Choose to describe short
events. (Notice that this essay is actually only about one thing that happened
at the beach.)
• Work out how to start your essay
(You can choose to start the story at the beginning, like this: That morning it
had been sunny and hot. We had decided to swim in the river…
Or start it in an exciting way, with direct speech:
“Help!” my brother cried. I could see that in the next few minutes he would
be swept away by the strong river current. But could we get there in time?
And then go back to explain what led up to the event.
• Only include relevant details. If it is a story about your brother nearly
drowning, the whole story must build up to the climax.
• Use direct speech if you can, to make your writing come alive. (Notice in the
essay above how there are small bits of direct speech, so we get a feeling for
the characters.)
• Use descriptive words to set the scene. (Notice in the essay above how you
get a picture of the scene on the beach, almost like a movie, so it is easy to
imagine.)

12
 Last Wish of a Fireman
12/3/2004
Those Phoenix people are OK!!! Read on.....Stop telling God how big your
storm is. Instead tell your storm how big your GOD is!

In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year-old mother stared down at her 6 year

old son, who was dying of terminal leukemia. Although her heart was
filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination. Like
any parent, she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all his dreams.
Now that was no longer possible.. The leukemia would see to that. But
she still wanted her son's dreams to come true.

She took her son's hand and asked, "Billy, did you ever think about
what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish
what you would do with your life?" "Mommy, I always wanted to be a
fireman when I grew up." Mom smiled back and said, "Let's see if we
can make your wish come true."

Later that day she went to her local fire department in Phoenix,
Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as
Phoenix.

She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to
give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine.

Fireman Bob said, "we can do better than that. If you'll have your son
ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary
fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat
with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! And if you'll
give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat
- not a toy one, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots. They're
all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast."

Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his fire
uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and
ladder truck. Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it
back to the fire station. He was in heaven. There were three fire calls in
Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in the
different fire engines, the paramedic's van, and even the fire chief's car.
He was also videotaped for the local news program. Having his dream
13
come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, so
deeply touched Billy that he lived three months longer than any doctor
thought possible. One night all of his vital signs began to drop
dramatically and the head nurse, who believed in the hospice concept
that no one should die alone, began to call the family members to the
hospital. Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a fireman, so
she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a
fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his
transition.

The chief replied, "We can do better than that. We'll be there in five
minutes. Will you please do me a favour? When you hear the sirens
screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA
system that there is not a fire? It's just the fire department coming to see
one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window
to his room?"

About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital
and extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor open window. Sixteen
fire fighters climbed up the ladder into Billy's room. With his mother's
permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they
loved him. With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and
said, "Chief, am I really a fireman now?"

"Billy, you are, and the Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your hand," the
chief said.

With those words, Billy smiled and said, "I know, He's been holding my
hand all day, and the angels have been singing . . "

He closed his eyes one last time.

14