The Last Mail

“Kill it! Kill it, or it will kill you! Bang! Bang!” A voice echoed from the edge of the room, into the living room; into the kitchen; and into the toilet. Rats were crawling all over the dark storeroom under the moonlight; dogs barked at each other; and the flies on the food started to fly away. Rudolf woke up from the noises, and he heard the echoes. He started to fear, and he was shivering and sweating. He went down from his room on his tremulous feet to see what was happening. He walked past the window, and he saw the full moon shining across the land. Along his way down, he heard people’s laughing coming out from the small room, which was his neighbor’s room. He walked towards the door, and he saw a shadow on the edge of the wall. He started to panic and closed his eyes tightly.

“What are you doing here, son?” asked the person curiously. Rudolf realized that it was his father’s voice, so he felt relaxed like putting down a cumbersome. He was going to tell his dad about that. He wanted to hug his dad after the horror, but there was always a wall between them since his mother’s death.

“Dad, there was some bizarre noises coming out from there. Can you check what is going on in there?” asked Rudolf politely. His dad didn’t answer and kept nodding his head. His dad seemed to be thinking that Rudolf was lying. There was so quiet, and they could even hear the dripping sound of the water from the tap in the kitchen. The noise from the room had gone while Rudolf was walking down from the staircase. Suddenly, he heard a beep sound from the clock. It got their attention, and it showed 3.00a.m.

“This is your new excuse, huh?” asked his dad with a grim look. His dad had never believed what he said since last year, which was the year his mom died. His trust was gone because he liked to play prank, and it indirectly caused his mom’s death. Rudolf’s dad thought he was going to play another prank on his neighbor again, and his mom was dead of an accident after his prank on his ex-neighbor. Because of that, his dad had never believed in him again. Since no one trusted him, he started to ignore everyone and not trusting anyone. That incident had made a great impact on him and his father.

The light wasn’t turned on, and the room was so dark. Although it was very dark, Rudolf could still see his father’s disappointing face under the shine of the moonlight. Rudolf hated that reaction. He felt that he was enough for that, so he rushed back into his room and slammed the door without explaining anything. His dad was very upset of him. After he had gone back to his room, two boys came out laughing quietly and went back to their room.

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“Hey pal, had a good time last night?” asked Dan with a funny voice. The other guy beside him burst into laughter too. They were mocking him as they liked to bully the students younger than them, especially Rudolf. They were one year older than Rudolf, and they were his neighbors who caused the conflict between Rudolf and his dad last night. Rudolf gave them an angry look and went to his class. They were still laughing and everyone was looking at Rudolf, but no one would dare to stand out to stop the harassment.

The bell rang, and the school became really quiet. The students were ready for their class. Rudolf was sitting at the right back corner of the room, and Lynn was sitting beside him. Lynn was a dorm student, and she was his best friend before his mom’s death. He started to be very quiet and never talked to her again since his mom’s death. He was having English class. The teacher was talking about trust and wanted them to write an essay about it. Before writing the essay, she wanted them to discuss with their shoulder partners about it. Rudolf’s partner was Lynn, and she was waiting for Rudolf to start the discussion because she was shy; but he didn’t.

“What happened last night?” asked Lynn in a caring way. Rudolf remained silent because he thought she was going to insult him as Dan. The class was full of discussion. They talked about a lot of things, including something illogical like aliens; but Rudolf was not interested to say anything. The class was very noisy, except the corner where Rudolf was sitting. The teacher saw it and she asked them to discuss about it as she wanted everyone to participate in this discussion. Lynn wanted him to say something, so she asked him some questions and hoped he would answer; but nothing came out from his mouth.

“Why do we need to have trust? Trust can go away in three seconds because of a misunderstanding. I don’t need other people to believe in me, and they won’t!” shouted Rudolf rudely. He thought there was no point to need people to trust them. His dad wouldn’t trust him, and he said people wouldn’t be trusted again if they had done just a mistake. Lynn wanted to help him, but Rudolf didn’t want anyone to intervene in this matter and he thought this was none of her business. Lynn insisted to help him, and forced him to listen to her. She thought there was some plausibility that she would be able to help him; so she promised that she would make a big difference in his life, a big difference!

He asked her what she could do, and she didn’t reply as she was thinking what to say. He waited impatiently for her and said she couldn’t help him. He said trust was useless. Then, she started to say something immediately. She said if we don’t have trust, we will feel meaningless to live in this world. She asked him what caused him to think like that, so pessimistic. Rudolf had never told anyone about that until that day. He told Lynn that being immature and naive made him not trustworthy. He said no one would believe in him again once he had told a lie for only the first time, and that was just an error.

“Everyone needs to earn their trust. Trust is not given by others, but it is given by yourself, by your effort.” said Lynn softly. She told him once a person lied, his being trust worth went down, but the person can earn it back by making some efforts. She talked too much like preaching. Rudolf felt bored and stopped her. She ceased, but she was not upset because she could feel that Rudolf had received the message into his heart by looking at his face. She knew he would change.

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Tick, tock, tick, tock, listening to the ticking sound of the clock, he waited for the red old Corvette to come back into the garage of his house. He watched some TV shows for several hours, but his dad hadn’t come home. Therefore, Rudolf went back to his room and waited again. Unfortunately, his dad didn’t come back before he slept. At around 12.00a.m, the Corvette finally arrived. His dad seemed to be very tired after a whole day of work, but he never worked until so late. He might be doing other things.

He went into Rudolf’s room and said quietly, “I must have you changed, my son.” He looked at Rudolf for a while and closed the door. Rudolf didn’t notice that he came into his room and said something. He was having his sweet dreams. Rudolf’s father went back to his own room and shut his door. Suddenly, Lynn called and told him something secretly. No one would know what she told him. After the call, he was so tired and wanted to sleep. But from the little space below the door, light was flashing out the whole night.

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“Hey, did you talk to your father yesterday?” asked Lynn while moving her head towards Rudolf. Rudolf acted like he didn’t care about it. He was very stubborn and thought it was embarrassing to say that. Rudolf became livelier than before but not much. He started to talk to Lynn and would smile at times. Lynn was glad to see that as she could feel the determination to change of a depressed boy.

“Rudolf, can you come here for a minute. I have something to tell you.” a sudden voice came from the front door of the classroom. Rudolf went out, and the person told him that his dad was suffering a lot of pain in the hospital. Rudolf quickly went to the hospital by the teacher’s car. He found his dad and sat by him, holding his hands. His dad was knocked down by a car after posting a mail in the post office. It happened right in front of the post office. He was terribly hurt, and his body was full of blood. At the moment, the wall between them was like broken down into pieces. He cried and told his dad to stay alive; but his dad was very weak, and he might not live more than an hour. Rudolf said sorry to his dad and hugged him very tightly.

“I’m very sorry, dad. Stay with me please. Don’t go!” screamed Rudolf. Rudolf was very sad. His dad was his only family member and he was going to leave him soon. He couldn’t stop crying and kept trying to talk to his dad to keep him alive. The nurses were touched by the deep love between a father and a son.

His dad tried to talk to him, but he hardly made any sound. He tried his best, and the only thing his dad told him before he died was Lynn gave him a call last night and told him something. Long beep which never stopped cut Rudolf’s heart into half. His dad had gone, to meet his mom somewhere in the sky. Rudolf went really mad, and he sat down on the floor crying and shouting. He blamed himself for not being good to his dad; not spending more time to be with his dad; and being so stubborn. He hoped the time would have gone backward, and he could apologize to his dad earlier, but everything was too late.

Rudolf needed to live in the school dorm because he couldn’t take care of himself at home without his parents. Everyone treated him very well, and everyone felt sympathy for him. They hoped he could be fine soon. Lynn was always with him, and she didn’t want him to do something silly. Rudolf changed a lot. He started to trust the people there. He appreciated their care and love. He became a good boy, but he never smiled again. He thought his dad didn’t realize what he had changed and hadn’t forgiven him. His face was very down even when he was thanking others for helping him.

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“Rudolf, you have a mail. It is from your dad!” shouted Lynn from the gate. She ran to Rudolf and gave it to him. He was very nervous because he didn’t know what it would be about. He took the mail and read through it under Lynn’s encouragement. There was a paper and a handcrafted love made of clay. There was only a short paragraph on the paper, and it said, “I love you; and I am very proud of you, my son. I am very sorry for not trusting you. But now, you have earned your trust by yourself. I hope you can live happily for the rest of your life.” At that moment, his tears dropped on the paper, and he smiled. He knew his dad wanted him to live in joy.

“Thank you dad; thank you Lynn; and thank you everyone. You are right, Lynn. We can earn back our trust from others.” said Rudolf thankfully with tears on his face. He knew what his dad was trying to say before he died, and he gave her a big hug and a kiss on her cheek.

Earth’s Degradation 

          In the past, the air was so fresh, the water was so clean, and the Earth was so healthy. Today, smell the polluted air, look at the polluted water, and feel the terrible heat of the sun; everything is polluted! The Earth is getting worse day by day. The Earth’s sickness is a chronic matter for every being on the Earth. Why? What causes the Earth to degrade, to get sick?

          People are too irresponsible. They don’t care about the Earth. They burn things without a limit, throw trashes into the sea, and chop down trees as their will. They just don’t care about it! People are so inconsiderate. They don’t think about the consequences of their actions. Everything is about benefit, selfishness, and self pleasure. They think the matter won’t cause them anything and don‘t bother about it. But, what about their descendants and the other beings?

          The oxygen level in the air goes down, but the carbon dioxide level is rising. It is a result of too much logging. The smoke exhausted by vehicles, factories, and open burning cause the air pollution. The chlorofluorocarbon released by air conditioners and refrigerators; and the nuclear weapons used during wars cause the ozone depletion. More ultraviolet rays from the sun can pass through the ozone layer. These cause the rising temperature of the Earth, which is also called global warming.

          Global warming caused the icebergs on the Earth to melt and made the sea level goes up. As a result, more floods will happen on Earth and low-landed area will be drowned. More and more disasters such as tsunami, earthquake, and volcano eruption will occur. The climate of the Earth will be affected too. Just imagine as if the Sahara Desert was snowing, everyone was sweating of the heat in the Artic, and the sea level went up to the Statue of Liberty’s body! Is that horrible for you?

          If the Earth continues to get worse, this may be the end of it, the end of us. More natural disasters and disease’s outbreaks will happen on Earth. Our health may be affected. For example, the dirty air caused lung cancer, asthma, and other diseases. Some animal will be extinct due to the high temperature or the polluted living area such as turtles can’t live in the dirty sea. The ecosystem will be imbalanced, and the natural resources will be exhausted. If it is not stopped; consequently, the Earth may not be a suitable place for living things to live in. It is not a good environment anymore, and this may be the doom of every being on the Earth.

          Do you really want to live in this kind of environment? Do you want to have a good place to live in? The Earth can be a good place if everyone cares about it, picks up their responsibility, and works together. Everyone wants to see beautiful blue sea, fresh clean air, and a healthy greenish Earth full of trees. We hope that in the future people will wake up and really take action for it. We can make a difference.

Unforgettable Trip 

              Every year, my family will arrange a family trip to different countries. Most of the time, we go back to Hong Kong to visit our relatives or traveled in Asia. But last December, we went to a new continent-Australia. We went to a place, there is well known for its beautiful beaches, the Gold Coast. It was summer time there, and it was very hot. As our flight was delayed, we reached there in the early morning. We stayed in a hotel called Courtyard by Marriott.

           We went to three different theme parks, which were Warner Brothers Movie World, Sea World, and Dream World. I didn’t ride a lot of the rides, but my siblings did. There were many rides in every theme park. Most of them were too exciting which made me sick. The Movie World had many cartoon characters, and I took photos with them. There were some marine animals in Sea World, such as dolphins, polar bears, and sharks. Dream World had two animals that I had never seen-a kangaroo and koala. I fed the kangaroos and took photo with the koala. The kangaroos were very cute.

            The most interesting part in those theme parks was a place called “The Mummy 3”. It was a big and dark haunted house with little light. People dressed like ghosts and would pop up suddenly to horrify us. There was a man that I couldn’t forget. He dressed as a commander and kept shouting, “Do not laugh!” He was very funny and scary, so we laughed. That was my mum’s first and also the last ride. That was very scary. I would have fainted if I were alone. I took the last position in the queue. Fortunately, a big guy named Mario got behind me before we got in. We were shouting most of the time, but he was laughing all the way.

            We followed an activity called “Catch a Crab”. We went on a boat, and we were taken to the middle of a sea. After the explanation of the tour guide, we got off the boat. The water was shallow, clean, and transparent. We got our equipments to catch our baits for the fishing. After that, we got into our boat and went to a deeper sea. We fished with our baits and fed birds with some dead fish. We caught crabs too. Every group could have two people to catch the crab. My elder sister took part. They pulled the string, took the cage, and got the crab. There was one crab in each cage, but some got two. Then, we were given a crab and some oyster per family to eat. The crabs and the oyster tasted good.

            We visited my dad’s Australian friend. We had dinner at his house. They were Indians, and we had Indian cuisine at there. He fetched us from the hotel to his house although it took almost one hour to reach his house. They were very friendly. The next day, we went to a few shopping malls. The shopping malls at Gold Coast are different with the shopping malls in Malaysia. They have outdoors and indoors. They are not in a big building. There are different shops in different buildings, but the whole area is a shopping paradise. It is very unique.

            There are beautiful beaches. We went to a beach called “Surfers Paradise”. We went to the beach at around two o’clock afternoon. Many people were surfing in the huge waves. The sun was very strong, and we played for two hours under the hot sun. We got a terrible sunburn after that. That was really a hard time for us, especially during our sleep. Beside the hotel was a street filled with souvenir shops. Because Christmas was coming, there was a big Christmas tree in the middle of the street. There were shops and restaurants. We had steaks at a restaurant called “Hog’s Breath Café” for several times as my parents thought that steaks in Australia were very good and inexpensive. In fact, they were very juicy and fresh.

            We went back to Malaysia on the 25^th December, which was the Christmas day. We missed this event. It would be a sensational ceremony. Gold Coast gave me a peaceful but exciting impression. I get to know the lifestyle of the people in Australia. That was a fun trip, and we all hoped to visit there again. I have been to many places, but Australia is surely one of my favorite countries to visit.