hi all followers if there are any :X
this is a story i wrote for my Language Arts SIA... hope that it's moving enough to all of you >< enjoy!
PS: its a bit wordy thats all cos its on a small screen >.<
~ZELOR~
I ran.
Passing a couple of flickering street lamps, I took a sharp turn into the dimly-lit alley, with documents clutched tightly to my chest. Panting heavily, I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw him. The sight of my father was always enough to ease any worries I had. This time, however, a worried expression on his face was sufficient to tell me how dire the situation really was. He embraced me with a tight and loving hug for just that few seconds, and that reminded me vividly how my father would do that each time he thought of my mother and how she died---she contracted an illness that proved fatal after she lost her hearing and sight---when I was just a little girl. Pushing me away slightly, he looked at me. My father’s weather-beaten face was, for the first time since my mother’s passing, tear-stained. He ruffled my hair a little, thrust me an envelope and ran off without turning back. Taking a last and final glimpse at my beloved father, I sped off in the opposite direction, towards the auto-car waiting to ferry me to the airport.
I jumped in to the car, blurted out a couple of instructions, and it sped off. I sat deep in thoughts, wondering how I got myself into this mess. Suddenly, everything started to fall in place: Singapore’s Prime Minister had hired low-profiled scientists to invent the chip called Zelor, which reduces one’s hearing capability and sight sensitivity permanently. When he made this invention public, he did not say that the effects of this chip once implanted cannot be reversed. So now after Singaporeans are suffering under the negative effects of Zelor, he then promised everyone that he would come up with another chip that lets us control it. With me working for him, I knew that he was a complete liar, even his son, who is my fiancé, hates him to the core, but he is forced to side with him because of their relationship. I then campaigned against the government’s actions, and that drove the Prime Minister up the wall. He had the police go on an island-wide manhunt for me just yesterday. And luckily, he did not make this public, otherwise the whole country would be protesting against him.
This all just boils down to nothing but: greed for fame.
“Reached desired destination, next command please.” The auto-car’s robotic voice broke my string of infuriating thoughts. I hopped off the auto-car, instructed it to return to my home garage, and it sped off into the darkness. Now, airports are just places for one to teleport from one country to another; no more traffic controllers, no more tight security checks, no more long transition periods, just an arrival and departure hall with some shops and restaurants. I proceeded to the gantry to enter into the departure hall, scanned my fake passport and it only recognized me as Yvonne Too, a happy girl going on a holiday. Deep-down inside me I am a sad person who has to leave my lover behind just to do what is right for my homeland. I selected the nearest vacant teleportation cubicle, chose my desired destination and in a twinkle of an eye, I was in Paris.
I felt more of a free person when I was in Paris: no more people hot on my trail, no more journalists knocking on my house door asking me for an interview, no more surveyors going from door-to-door taking surveys for The Census. I decided to roam the streets of Paris for the rest of the evening before finding a place for myself to stay in while I did my research.
A romantic ambience greeted me as I stepped out onto the streets of Paris. One could see the Eiffel Tower towering over you in the distance; the lights inside the Louvre gave off a romantic glow; the fresh and crisp water smell coming from the Seine River in the distance. I came to a run-down motel and decided to check in.
“Bonsoir madame, a room for you for the night?” a young and well-dressed receptionist greeted me with warmth and humility.
“A room for the week would be better for the time being.” I bowed graciously to him as he handed me a unique set of room keys. I skipped up the stairs to my designated room, unlocked it, and began to set up my experimenting equipment.
**********
As the days passed, I grew friendlier with the receptionist and I even learned some basic French from him too. On certain occasions, I would ask him to become my guinea pig for my experiments during his off days and he would happily agree to it.
The day finally came to me.
I was playing with this instrument of mine when it cut me. In a flurry, I accidentally used Refrot instead of alcohol to sterilize my wound. And to my surprise, my skin just healed the wound in a blink of an eye. This suddenly gave me an idea.
“EUREKA!” I screamed, running down the stairs to the reception to share my good news with him.
“Je l’ai fait! [I did it!]” I hugged him with joy as I shared with him my findings. I would use the non-toxic chemical Refrot and when it comes into contact with blood it releases Turtos, a kind of chemical that reverses the effects of Zelor, restoring one’s original sense of hearing and sight. With this, I could return to Singapore with my findings to share with my citizens to ease them from their torture.
Upon my return to Singapore, there were tight security checks island-wide. The Prime Minister was still hot on my heels. I presented them my fake IC from the same thick envelope my father gave me a while back but alas; they saw through my trick and apprehended me on the spot.
Then everything else was a total blur.
**********
To my final destination I trudged, with heavy footsteps.
The heavy metal gate behind me slammed tight shut, the deafening clash of the lock clicking together and the four cold and bare walls staring right back at me. That, was all I needed to know that my fate was sealed.
Sealed shut.
I slumped onto the cold cemented floor, thousands of thoughts dashing through my mind.
Why, did I protest against the government about the implanting of the chip when I knew, I would end up at this very place? Why, did I decide to live the life of a fugitive when I could end my sorrows effectively and quickly by committing suicide? Why, did I want to invent something that would eventually end up in the waste baskets of many?
As I thought deeper and deeper, I felt myself falling deeper and deeper down the threshold. Tears of deep, etching sorrow rolled down my cheeks which were painfully sore from the endless slapping torture I had just received. When would my sorrowful days end?
Never…
**********
“This is the cell she was in, Aubrey. Why are you still so interested in her? I thought you broke up with her already?” the jail warden asked me with much curiosity present in his voice. I remained silent, not wishing to tell him the truth, lest my father finds out about it.
“Why did she die? TELL ME! WHY?” I grabbed the warden by his shoulders and jerked him hard. I let go of him as suddenly as I shook him, apologising profusely.
“She died of SFI and a broken heart. It is rumoured that her father was killed in a raid right after she left for France and that now Singaporeans are enjoying their life to the fullest without her presence anymore. Just admit it, Aubrey, you still love her, don’t you?” I could feel the anger inside me boiling, and left the prison quickly lest I threw a tantrum there. How could my father take credit for Lirienne’s brilliant invention?
How could he?
I sat in my auto-mobile and tears trickled down my cheeks. My world seemed to crash down like it had no supporting pillars to help me stand up strong again… my father had taken away my one and only chance of marrying the woman of my dreams.
My one and only chance, just gone…
Word count: 1393 words [only story]
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