The Misunderstanding

He was sitting in his apartment; lighting a cigarette while waiting. The phone suddenly rang.

‘Yes?’ he picked up the phone and answered.

‘Is everything going as planned?’

‘Yes, boss.’

‘You leave in 15 minutes. 27^th Oak Street is the location. Remember; stick to the plan. I don’t want you screwing up this time.’

‘I won’t, sir, I promise.’

There were a few seconds of silence, and then his boss hung up. He collected his weapon and left the house. He was there within the next 10 minutes; waiting around the corner for Mr. John Jones to come home from work. Three minutes past by and he heard the sound of a car approaching the house. He hid himself. You could hear footsteps coming towards the door. He was still waiting for the right moment, for the moment where he would do as he was told and get the job done. The night was dark; darker than it usually would be. It was only a matter of seconds. Only a few short seconds it took him to do this. Nobody knows how he managed to do it so quickly. Suddenly the sound of a gunshot filled the empty space…

He woke up the next morning relieved that he had finished the job. He had done his duty. He turned on the TV to watch the news. The reporter was talking about a crime that had taken place the night before.

‘… It happened at this very house, in 27^th Oak Street. The police suspect that it was a case of murder that happened here last night. John Jones came home last night to find Ralf Jones, his brother dead. The police had already arrived before he got home …’ the reporter continued.

He sat in front of the TV with his mouth wide open. ‘This can’t be…’ he thought to himself. He jumped when his phone rang. It was his boss.

‘Hello?’

‘You see what you have done??? You have ruined EVERYTHING. You can’t even follow simple instructions, can you?’ His boss shouted with an angry voice.

‘But sir, I thought it was the right person…. I SWEAR IT!!!’ He replied while shaking.

‘YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING RIGHT. You’re ABSOLUTELY USELESS!!!’ His boss shouted in an even louder tone.

‘PLEASE, SIR…. Let me explain!!!’ He said in fear.

‘THAT’S ENOUGH! I have just about had it! I don’t want you working for me anymore. YOU’RE FIRED!’ His boss shouted.

His boss then hung up on him...

Extract 3, End in Tears by Ruth Rendell

I found that this piece was the best one out of all the other pieces of crime fiction that I read. It was very well written. What I liked a lot about this piece was that the style of writing was simple, yet was written in a way which was appealing to the reader. When I started reading this piece, I didn’t get tired of the story line and found myself wanting to continue reading in order to find out how it ends.  For instance, at some part of the story which was towards the end, the writer was writing about what was happening in every minute that passed by before the murder was going to take place; and that made the reader anxious to find out what would happen at the final minute in which the person was going to be killed. The story was short, but also very effective.

I will love him forever...

What a wonderful feeling love can be…

As wonderful as a beautiful rose…

A person by my side who is so dear to me

And day by day…our love grows and grows

Every day I see his wonderful face

 And remember how lucky I am to have him

 Then I feel that my heart begins to race

And I know it must be love I feel for him

I have never felt this way before

Ever since I met him the hole in my heart was untied

There is no one else I would ask for

Because he is the only one I want by my side

The future is very hard to tell; however

But all I know is that I will love him forever…

Love

You came and healed the hole I had inside
You told me I would be alright
I can not count the times I'd cried
Before you saved me with your shining light
You gave me hope and made me strong
You helped me fly so high above
You made me sing a whole new song
And all because of all your love

Iran

A country which one would not know much about
A country which has housed  poets and politicians
A country which has been misunderstood
A country not often spoken of
A place one would try to escape
But wouldn't be able to let go of
A home full of memories
Both sad and happy
My country
My home

Parrot

You speak a word and then wonder
Why the echo comes back to you
You look around and think the sound is from yonder
When you realise it's from a feathered creature red, yellow and blue

The shocking news...

It was October 19^th of last year when this happened. When we found out what was going to happen. Our parents called us from the other side of the house to the living room. Sara and I sat down. They looked like they had something to say. You could see the worry in their eyes. They probably weren’t sure how we were going to take this. How we would react.

‘We’ve been thinking. Judging by the political views of the country and all that has been going on recently, this country is just not a safe place to live anymore. So we’ve been considering moving to another country.’

A few seconds I was just lost in what my mother had just said. I had lost my words. As if I couldn’t speak. Was this a joke? What on earth were they talking about? Had they lost their minds?

Finally when my words started coming back to me I started speaking. ‘What? You’re kidding, right? Please don’t tell me you’re serious…’

They didn’t have to tell me that they weren’t serious. I could tell by their facial expression that they weren’t joking. This was impossible. How could they have come up with a solution like this?! Yes… the family was going through a really tough time during summer with all the political issues that the country had. But I never thought anything in the world would make them decide to finally move from a country they’d been living in for so many years. My birth place… The place where all my family and friends were… They always told us that we would never move to another country. That’s what they had planted into our heads. A theory we thought would never change no matter what. And now they were saying the exact opposite! It was like we had to rearrange the information we had in our heads already. To plant the opposite theory.

That day was when we found out about what was going to happen in the following year… The day we got the shocking news…

Opening 9

This opening was the one I found most interesting compared to all the others. I liked the subject which was being referred to in this opening; And in my opinion the way it was written and the detail given, makes the reader want to continue reading the story and  I found it very interesting. The writer was using simple words to describe the situation which I admire about this piece. I liked how they were all trying to talk to her at the same time and to teach her different things and how she started laughing because of that matter. Generally I found the topic and the choice of language of this story appealing compared to the other ones I read.

The wish

The sound of applause arose. I suddenly became aware of the moment. My mind returned back to the stage after disappearing into the world of music for a few minutes. I stood up and stared into the crowd that was clapping for me... And I saw her... She'd been there all this time, listening to me. I stared at her for a few seconds and smiled... Nothing could have made me happier at that moment...
All I ever wanted was for her to hear me play one more time; I wanted to see that image of her watching me play once more. I wanted to see her face in the clapping crowd again like I did when I was a kid. Years past after I had to say goodbye to her, but I still continued playing. I was continuing playing piano because of her; Because I knew she would want me to. She was the one who always incouraged me to play; The one who always sat there and listened to me while I played. I spent most of my time with her. She would tuck me into bed every night and tell me stories. She was always by my side...
The next performance took place. It had been a long time since my last performance. But so many things felt the same that night. I don't know why, but it felt as if history was somehow repeating itself. Apparently it was...
The sound of applause arose. I suddenly became aware of the moment. My mind returned back to the stage after disappearing into the world of music for a few minutes. I stood up and stared into the crowd that was clapping for me... And I saw her... She'd been there all this time, listening to me. I stared at her for a few seconds and smiled... Nothing could have made me happier at that moment...

Better than Heaven...

I thought I was going crazy because the same day... the same scenes... and the same heartbreak was approaching me all over again... This was it... This was when I had to say goodbye to my dearest one in the whole world... The one I had taken care of... My shining light in the dark... My angel!... This was where it was going to take place... This was the end, but I wouldn't let it be him... I wasn't going to let the nightmare come to life...
Holding him tightly by my side, I got into the cab. I couldn't let go of him... I tried holding back the tears... but before I knew it, they flooded my face... The pain I felt because I had to say goodbye was killing me... Burning inside... Tearing me apart..."I love you, dear... Be careful..." I whispered in his ear. I wrapped my arms around him... Holding him tightly and protecting him...
I felt as if a thousand knives went through my body...The crash took place... The drunk driver smashed the car... I heard a scream and that's all...
The next thing I knew was that I was in an emergency room... Doctors and nurses rushing towards me... The knives still piercing me... My eyes struggling to stay open... trying to find him...
I closed my eyes thinking they would be shut forever... Shut without seeing his beautiful face for the last time...
I didn't know how long my eyes had been closed. When I opened them, they were surrounded by white... Was this heaven?... Where was I?... I found out what was going on when a small, blurry figure ran towards me and cried out:"Mommy....."
He wrapped his tiny arms around me... I felt the tears of joy flood my eyes... That was when I realised this was better than heaven.....

My Only Hope

I'd been practicing for months... I'd been playing the same instrument for the past 10 years... I'd performed before and I wasn't nervous about it. But I didn't know what was wrong with me at that moment when they told me that my next concert would be an audition for one of the best music schools in the world... I had never been more stressed about anything in my life before... Until today I don't have the words to describe my fear for that concert...
The only way I thought would relax me about the whole situation was if I talked to my best friend about it... She didn't only try to calm me down, but she came up with a solution to help me... I played the cello and she played the trumpet. She suggested for us to play a kind of remix for the concert. So that's what we decided to do...
Only a few days before the concert, I can't say that I wasn't nervous at all... I was... But I knew that I wasn't alone... I felt relieved because of that matter...
The song began... The cello went first... That's the only sound you could hear at the beginning of the song... The cello felt lonely in the first couple of seconds... But everything fell into place when the sound of the trumpet joined in...
My best friend made my hardest and scariest moment easier for me... I swore from that day on that I would be there for her just as she was there for me...
From that day I learnt that friends make life bearable... And at many times in life they are known as our only hope!...

Everything is going to be ok

Once more there was nothing to do...Once more I felt lonely and sad... The exact same thing that happens every day in this house... A fight over something so worthless which turns into screaming... A family who couldn't care less...
Like all times, I went to the playroom... And I ran into his arms again and hugged him. I started crying in his arms out of misery and loneliness...
Then I pressed the button I press almost every day... I heard the words that make me feel better and comforted every time I'm upset: "Everything is going to be ok..."