1st: Elsie, TKGS
Bad Habits
It stood there. A small and unattractive puny creature.
Despite this, it had a Glasgow grin of a Cheshire Cat-promising many great things.
Great things to be worked on. Great things to be aimed for. Great things to be accomplished.
An attractive smile indeed.
Stretching from ear to ear, unnaturally wide and showing.
The art of well accomplished magnetism.
Magnetism so great, attracting scores of victims. Willing to learn,
willing to grow, willing to be berated, willing to suffer. And suffering
brought it the will to stretch.
Stretch and occupy. Stretch and occupy.
“Never leave me alone.”
The tide of victims never stopped,always approaching, pushing and impatient to reach it. Through this, it got power. The
Power.
They worshipped it, kissed it, washed its feet, fell on their knees bowing and mumbling incoherent praises.
Authority.
They named it, asked for its help. They knew it could, and surely it would.
Strength.
The strong illusion they had. The misleading interpretation they had.
And through these, it rejoiced.
Power. Authority. Strength.
The opposite of good, the innocent.
And it grew, slowly but surely.
“Grow, grow…aid it with some silver and gold…provide ‘em slaves and make it whole…”
The chants increasing in intensity, in volume and numbers.
Grow, grow. Grow my little one, grow.
Like a faun to a stag.
Like a caterpillar to a butterfly.
And along with it, the grin grew.
Wider, wider. Those teeth. Beautifully aligned, straight and perfect.
It reached for the sky. It was there. The goal.
To be worked on. To be aimed for. To be accomplished.
It was bliss. Heavens. Like the simple blessings in life, worth living for.
A heavenly demon.
“Is it really?”
“True bliss?”
“You would call this blasphemy happiness?”
Everything faltered, like the sudden flash of the television screen. The failed static and abrupt surprise.
The uneven rhythm was growing with each breath.
“You choose.” It rasped, malicious grin oddly fixed.
“Between those two. Them, or me.”
And thus the two conclusions were simple.
FOR IT:
And so it repaid. It gave back everything it could provide. For only the loyal ones…oh yes, it did.
It made sure to. It never went back on its word. It dislikes depts and hence it paid them off.
Bright, livid colors. It was beautiful, an euphoric high of treasured happiness.
Face flushed, a shining complexion.
A morbid fascination.
Like a small kitten discovering the outside world for the first time.
Happiness?
Is this…real happiness?
Does it really bear the fruits of goodness?
No.
Nothing but an illusion. Nothing but an illusion.
FOR THEM:
The crowd flowed away, pushing through the burning gates of Hell. They left.
Not a single glance was spared, not a single tear was shed.
The clock turned, seconds ticked and hours flew.
The single drop of rain, the breeze winding through the grass, caressing the broken petals of fallen flowers.
A silence which is not of King Midas’ property.
The teeth were disappearing, bit by bit, covered up with quivering lips.
Lips which once stretched so far and wide.
Like a single survivor in a bloody battlefield.
Like the ugly duckling cursed to never grow.
Like the dying bird in a iron cage for display.
Desolated, despaired, abandoned and alone.
Returning back to the plain creature it was. Shrinking, slowly but fast.
The degradation, the humiliation.
The high shrieks when it fell from the tallest tower it once strutted on.
The cruelty of loneliness.
More than one can handle. More than one can think of.
The cold wind blowing its tangled mane into its eyes.
It shook. It fell over itself, shivering in agony.
Choking on its own tears, unseen and trampled by countless oblivious feet.
Thunders roared and lightning shouted.
Conceal. Conceal. Conceals itself far beneath originality.
Hiding. Shamed and embarrassed.
Like a plant left on the shelf unwatered in the burning heat.
It was dying, rotting.
No longer a thing that existed.
Not a trace at all.
Not even the sound of the final desperate scream.
Blown into nothing.
Nothing.
XXX
When you have a bad habit…
Do you feed it?
Or do you ignore it?
A bad habit is like a plant on the shelf.
Left uncared for, it will die.
Water it, and it will strive.
You choose to reign over it, or it reigns over you.
A fight is unnecessary, the struggle is useless.
The best is to never give it an opportunity to grow.
And it will turn to nothing.
2nd: Priya Lakshmi, 16, TKGS
I am Alpha Centauri
I look up from my balcony to see Alpha Centauri,twinkling about the
dark,stygian night sky. He told me that the light from this star came
from thousands of years ago. For all I know, this star could be dead
now. But, there is this familiar sense of poignancy when I look up to
it. It was because of this star that I attempted to change.Has there
been any change in me? It seems ridiculous to think that I have gotten
over it. Gotten over THE habit.
It wasn’t but six weeks ago when my secrets were spilled.I spilled it.
He made me spill it. It felt like being skinned.It was a painful ordeal;
a part of me stripped bear for my parents to know what was going on.
Glass shattered.Lips trembled. “For the sake of God, what got into you?
Oh my poor baby.Why didn’t you just tell me? Tell your mother…”
Tears flowed freely; a valley of emotions poured out to cleanse the soul
and start anew. All because of him – my blessing, my curse. My Dylan.
My aggravatingly good looking, quick-witted, 6’3 Dylan. His sparkling
blue eyes; always bright,always brimming with honesty. He asked me and I
told him. I had to tell him. It was either that or delving even more
into THE habit. Self-inflicted wounds. My bad habit. Yes, it may seem
stupid but it seemed like a better outlet compared to spending agonising
nights without sleep. Muffling my sobs into my tear-stained pillows.
Tasting my own salty tears. Just wanting to feel happy. Happiness which I
thought I can never get. He saw the scars on my thighs. I had that gut
feeling to not wear shorts that day but I did anyway because who am I
kidding, Singapore is really hot. I had made it a point to put concealer
on the pale pink lines that stretched across my upper thighs but that
didn’t really work out that well. Dylan had wanted to meet me at the
park behind his housing area because he wanted to tell me something
important. And so I made my way to him but not before feeling sick to
the stomach, looking myself in the mirror, feeling dreadful as always.
It was impossible to not notice my flabby arms and large thighs and the
folds of my stomach. I set those thoughts aside and set out to meet
Dylan. All I kept thinking about that evening was that I have never seen
him as preoccupied and fidgety as I had then.
“Dylan,what is going on?”
“Well..It’s just..I think..umm”
“What,cat got your tongue? Because I am relatively free today. Maybe I can help get your tongue back”
“Well,aren’t you a funny kitten. Okay, I had wanted to tell you this
from the start of this year but I just didn’t have the guts. I like
someone and I really want to be with this person. And
I’m planning on asking her out today.”
Silence. I was smiling but inside I am breaking down. My one, sole
source of comfort is gone. Because having my parents divorced isn’t
enough. Because having them fight day in and day out because of me isn’t
enough. Because having teachers putting so much hope in me to do well
in every exam and every competition isn’t enough. Because having to meet
everyone’s expectations despite it being ridiculously tiring isn’t
enough. Because never being able to feel content with the way I look or
think or do things isn’t enough. Now, the one person who understood me
is gone. Well, at least ‘that’ girl is a lucky girl.
“Oh, good luck then. She must be a very lucky girl,” I said, not
recognising my own voice, suddenly surprised with the composure I had.
He wasn’t looking at my eyes as I spoke. He looked at my thighs and I
knew that I couldn’t put up a pretence anymore. This perfect wall that I
had built is a goner. The look he gave me spoke thousands and seeing
the concern in his eyes ripped me apart. I didn’t deserve it.
“You don’t deserve anything,” said that tiny voice in my head. “You will
never be good enough. Never.” Mere words once uttered by my mother but
boy did it cut so deep.
I collapsed in a heave and let it all out. He just held on to me and let me cry in his arms.
He coaxed everything out of me.And I told him. How I can’t even look my
self in the mirror without feeling wretched.How everything my mother
says keeps ringing in my ears. How everything feels like a blow to my
stomach,knocking the air out of my lungs. How easy it would be to take
all that pain away with just a slit across my wrist. My tears stained
his denim shirt.
“Hey,look at me. Look me in the eyes.Yes,it may seem easy to just go
away but did you ever think how it would be for me without you? What
happened to the dream of becoming a paediatrician? You don’t want to
help children anymore? And how can you be so daft?
You’re the girl. You’re the one I want to spend all my life with. You’re
gorgeous and smart and you know me best.Never have I seen anyone as
caring and honest as you. Just looking into your eyes makes me feel
better. Makes me feel complete.Tessa, please stop doing this to
yourself.You’re a strong girl.”
We sat there till nightfall. Holding hands. Lost in our own worlds. A lone star shone brightly.
“Hey Tessa.”
“Hmmm.”
“Did you know that the light from this star came from thousands of years
ago? It’s Alpha Centauri. It is my favourite star. Do you know why?”
“No. Tell me why.”
“Because it reminds me of you. It is as bright as you are. It lights up
the sky just like you light up my world. And its light never dims
despite its distance. I want that to be you. I want to see you fight
your demons, and pull through. I want to look at Alpha Centauri be
reminded of the strong you. Put away your bad habit. Be a star.”
For him, I will be a star. I am Alpha Centauri.
3rd: Sonali D/O Anandan
Bad Habits
No one expected this horrendous habit to be the one to dig a grave for
Elisa; earpiece that was the object that killed her. Of course there
might be a doubt about how a simple mechanism could actually take
someone’s life in reality. This bad habit started when Elisa got her
special birthday present when she was 13. A smart phone paired with a
pair of earpiece was her dream come true birthday present. Elisa felt on
top of the world and over
joyous to be qualified as the modern teenager with a smart phone with
her wherever she goes. She started to download all her favourite and
mainstream songs onto her phone. Her phone and her earpiece was her life
companion. The one she breathed and lived with. Every single minute
that was available was spent solely on listening to music with loud
volume. Even after being reprimanded several times by both her parents
and teachers, Elisa turned deaf ear to it. It was almost impossible to
separate her from her phone and earpiece. One day this turned out to be a
fatal habit for her.
It was a banal day for Elisa. The sun was beating hard on her making her
perspiration crowd near her temples and ready to slide down. However,
Elisa paid no attention to that and continued to plug her earpiece in
her ears, the volume cranked up so high that even a passer by walking
beside Elisa could hear the booming of the music. The passer by shot
disapproving looks at her with keen eyes but Elisa was drowned in her
own world of music
to notice the sign of warning.
Once, Elisa reached close to her house, she arched her neck and looked
up at the sky, squinting as the sun rays were glaring at her. She took
the decision of jay walking across the busy main street to reach the
other side of the road instead of using the traffic signal to cross the
busy road. This was not the first time that she tried jaywalking in a
heavy traffic road. Hence she was careless enough to think that
accidents would not occur at roads such
as the one she was crossing.
Little did Elisa know her end was approaching and there was not anything
that she could do to save herself. She browsed through her vast
collection of music to keep herself occupied while crossing the road.
Moreover, Elisa cranked up the volume even louder, enough to shut down
the sound of the world. The empty road before was now being filled by
fast approaching cars that just whiz past you.
There it came; the car kept accelerating towards Elisa until there was
no chance for it to slow down and stop before it could hit Elisa. Only
high pitched screeching sounds of the wheels were heard before the still
environment was filled with Elisa’s horrified screaming as she went
flying through the air dropping a few meters away from where the car hit
her.
Shock filled faces surrounded around Elisa’s body which was spread out
as if it was a doll chewed up by a ferocious creature. Help was called
but it was to no avail as Elisa was painfully taking her final gasp of
air before her eyes became soulless… It was too late now and forever for
Elisa to realize her deadly mistake and her bad habit…
