her brother, they were able to take things easy. They
watched their children grow up and out of the house.
At the age of 60, John fell very ill and only lived
for three painful months, but comforted by many
unpublished, wonderful stories read to him every day
by his one and only true love.
"But what happened to the children?"
"I'm just getting there…"
Afterwards, the writer moved back to England with
the children. One fateful day she went outside for
a morning walk on her way to sit and write by the
local lake. As she crossed the road, a driver dropped
a cigarette and veered out of control; he knocked her
down. She recovered from all her physical injuries
but developed a strong amnesia, leaving her with
large spaces in her memory. Her son had many of the
stories published, which became best sellers. She
was a brilliant writer.
"That's an incredible story," she said with tears rolling
down her cheeks.
"She is an incredible person," he replied with a lump
in his throat. After a few minutes of staring at the
lake, he brought himself to say: "Well, I'll be off now,"
then, without warning, a sound as piercing as the
smashing of glass, came from the bench.
"Tony?"
He turns and smiles properly for the first time in nearly
a year…
They embrace; she is crying, but she is not upset. They
sit and he reads one of her favourite stories to her, for
at least half an hour, before he escorts her to her room.
"Will you visit again?"
"Every single day," tears streaming from both their
eyes. "I always have … and I always will..."
The Perks of
a Broken Wrist
By Emma Smith, Fifth Form
As most of you have probably experienced,
being injured and having to continue with
the busy school life is not only painful but
also frustratingly uncomfortable. The countless trips
to san, getting mauled in the lunch queue, and the persistent questions of "How did it happen?" or "Are
you okay?" adding further complications.
However, there are, surprisingly, advantages which
make the difficulties of the temporary injury worthwhile,
as a sacrifice, if you will, which are often overlooked.
So what are these so-called perks, I hear you cry?
Well my personal favourite is the free food. Within
minutes of announcing the dreaded news, I had an
array of baked goods arrive directly to my study desk
(and not to be seen half an hour later!), which seemed
to be continually restocked, much to my delight.
A close second place is not being able to write.
Lessons, especially English, are now considerably
more bearable: no aching wrists or cramping fingers
for me. And for those particular teachers who insist
I go through the struggle of copying down the notes
myself, there is a slight amusement factor in my
attempts at legible words. For example: 6.3 ,o;;opm
hrtma,s werd ime,pkired in `=22 can be translated
into "6.3 million Germans were unemployed in 1933."
Finally, I am milking the fact that I have carers, who
are with me at all times of the day, to carry out the
trickier jobs. My hair is tied every morning, my makeup adjusted and even my food is cut into little edible
pieces, without my asking, leaving me feeling terribly
regal. (Did Beckham feel any different?)
So, to all those off-gamers in my situation, I hope
you appreciate the benefits karma has blessed you
with. And to everyone else: keep up treating us like
royalty, but hold the pesky questions!
The Wild One
By Harry Cooper-Simpson, Third Form
Winter was approaching. This much was
obvious to Lan, as he padded quietly
through the woods. The trees, once full and
green, had begun to wilt, shedding their leaves onto
the forest floor. The air had a nip to it, a chill that
was proverbial and somewhat comforting. Steadily
days grew shorter, and many animals had already
entered hibernation, stowing away for the winter.
Lan knew what was coming. It was to be his third
winter, and he anticipated it eagerly. Twice before,
he had experienced the great snow falls, the cold but
bearable weather and the lack of food. Fortunately
the summer had been generous.
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