S H O RT S TO R I E S F R O M T H E G LO B A L C LA S S R O O M |
2014
’HOW DARE YOU STEAL!’ bellowed a voice painfully close to my ear. ’DO YOU KNOW WHAT A SIN THAT IS?
TAKING SOMETHING THAT IS NOT YOURS!’ Ropes cutting uncomfortably into my skin, I glared up defiantly at
the King of the Sea, who did not look all that dignified while striding back and forth and thrashing his arms wildly.
But his words had no effect. I did not feel any regret or remorse for my actions. All I felt was burning, searing hate. I
had done nothing wrong; I had simply used my wits to my advantage!
At that moment, my outrage overcame my self-control. Letting out an ear-splitting roar I thrashed forcefully,
breaking free of my bonds. As I streaked out of the vast double doors, my fury grew, boiling and churning and
wreaking havoc in my mind until it became a howling mass of terrible, blinding, red rage.
It was only after I was outside that I fully understood the words the King had shouted after me: ‘You will never
become a dragon!’
As the terrible realization that I would never hold a yu-i-ju again struck me, I was overwhelmed by a fresh, intense
wave of anger – this time accompanied by a massive bank of rain clouds that rolled formidably towards me.
My revenge had arrived.
Narrowing my eyes, I directed all my willpower at bringing the clouds closer and closer. With my every breath, their
size and speed increased frighteningly, changing from a mere dot on the horizon into an oppressive, looming, grey
mountain in a matter of minutes. The air, crackling with electricity, was damp and humid. Wrathfully, I declared that
there would be no limits to the damage I would cause to this place, if only to prove that I would not be treated so
scornfully, and all of a sudden, the rain began.
Huge, fist-sized raindrops splashed down and soon created a mighty, rushing torrent of water. The sound steadily
swelled into a deafening roar until the ground trembled. The landscape – once green – was now a muddy, dirty,
brown, and the swirling currents of murky water carried off anything and everything. Only the occasional debris,
swept away by the water, could be seen. ‘Behold the devastation I have caused!’ I thought. ‘I will never stop it!’ The
clouds gathered up, plunging the world into darkness. The rain beat down harder than ever, creating a throbbing
curtain of noise that blocked out all else.
Suddenly, a sound pierced through the curtain. It was small and insignificant, yet it reached me unbelievably clearly.
When I recognized the sound, it made my heart stop.
For the soft, wailing, lament was the cry of a newborn baby.
Heart thudding frantically, I peered through the pouring rain for the source of the sound. There! A tiny, helpless,
baby, clinging desperately onto a piece of driftwood. The driftwood was wedged precariously into a mound of sand.
Watching it dangling there, my first instinct was to rush to its aid, catch it, anything! But I then recalled my hatred
for the King. What is it to me? I thought, turning away, but images of the baby drowning kept appearing before
my eyes.
‘Argh!’ I grasped my head with both hands and twisted from side to side, unable to control the swirling storm of
emotions inside me. Turning around, I caught a glimpse of the baby: three fingers feverishly clutched the board,
which – my heart lurched – was about to break free of the island. Soon, the baby would be gone, swept away.
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