Monday, August 3, 2009 / 7:02 AM
DRAFT 3!!!!!!
The trees swayed in symphony with the wind, the sun shining brightly down upon the straw huts. The female villagers were walking back to their huts with heavy pots filled to the brim with water. As they walked, the water would splash against the pot, spilling droplets of water onto the ground. The village was buzzing with activity, groups of women sat together chattering about their usual happenings. Nearby, children were playing with their ball that was almost worn out. This is a peaceful village in Batticaloa, where everyone is free from worries.
The atmosphere was dry and two young girls, who were perspiring profusely, were walking down an unfinished path towards school. Genga, a girl whose hair was tied into pigtails, looked over to her friend Divya.
She told her, “It has always been my dream to go to university to study medicine. I want to be a doctor in the future, to heal the wounded ones.”
“You know you have to study extremely hard to get what you want.” Divya reminded Genga.
Genga stomped her foot and cried,” It’s so unfair! Why can’t we be treated fairly? I want to voice out my thoughts to the government!”
It was this time of the year where the much feared Tamil Tigers would come to the village to recruit young boys and girls into their group. The Tigers went to all huts except one. This hut was simple like everyone else, but the door had marks that looked like it was being carved out by children. There was hope. One of the Tamil Tigers pounded hard onto the door. Genga answered it.
Six months later, the village became chaotic. Crates filled with vegetables and fruits were overturned, inviting unwanted pests. Villagers were fleeing in all directions, often dropping their belongings. They did not bother picking it up as turning back could only mean precious time wasted to escape. The Tamil Tigers were on lorries heading off to the lower part of Sri Lanka, where majority of the Sinhalese lived. Ever since the Sinhalese government rejected our peaceful demands, the Tamil Tigers would not stop terrorising the Sinhalese. Divya ran home immediately from the market after seeing the lorries. She was worried that the Sinhalese army would retaliate and take action against their village. When she reached home, she found her family packing. Without hesitation, she joined in. Whilst packing, her eyes caught a glimpse of a shiny object reflecting the sun’s rays. It was a marble. Her friendship marble she had with Genga. After much thought on how Genga did not tell her anything and not say goodbye, Divya took it with her to remind her of the hate.
A few days later, Genga was on a lorry towards the south-western part of Sri Lanka. The same place where Divya was heading to. Genga was opted to be a suicide bomber. “This is the right thing to do. Justice shall be served. Even though I can’t get into university, at least the rest can. They will benefit from this, generations and generations to come.” Genga thought to herself. She was blinded by success that she did not realise that detonating a bomb would not help much but to create more havoc.
Time crawled pass slowly. The clouds were drifting by care-free, as the cows in the fields were soaking in the sun. Genga and Divya crossed paths. For a moment there, time stopped for the both of them. Starring right into each other’s teary eyes, Genga took the first move and tried to catch up with her to apologise and explain why she had left without a word. Though Divya tried to run away, Genga caught up.
“I’m sorry, for all the things that I’ve done wrong, especially not telling you that I was joining the Tamil Tigers. I’m sorry, really sorry.” Genga apologised tearfully.
Divya wiped Genga’s tears off her rough face and reasoned, “Why? Why didn’t you at least say goodbye?”
“I couldn’t help it. They ordered me to leave,” Genga paused to take a deep breath. ”they didn’t want the whole village to find out. If I was given a chance to turn back time, I wouldn’t even think about joining the Tamil Tigers.”
“Why?”questioned Divya confusingly.
“Because..., I’m a suicide bomber Divya. I’ve got a mission, to blow up this building. There’s no turning back now. I just realised how foolish I was. So selfless. I’m sorry. May we meet in our next lives.” Genga choked herself with her tears and mucus that seemed to be flowing down endlessly.
After hearing what she had to say, Divya decided to forgive her and patch things up. It was too late, Genga had only one more minute to live. She was being controlled by the Tigers. “ Save yourself! Don’t bother about me! Go!” shouted Genga. Divya could not bear to part with her friend, but she did. Then, she left Genga to her fate. Leaving the only memory of her with a tear glistening on her face.
Today, the Tamil Tigers’ leader has been killed and the terrorist group has been disbanded forcefully by the Sinhalese Army. One thing is for sure, the war between the two races has taken many innocent lives.
877 words
Hafiz's Comments:
- Punctuation error "The clouds were drifting by care-free as the cows in the fields were soaking in the sun."
- Not detailed enough.
- Not enough show, not tell.
- Dialouge not supposed to be in the same paragraph
