continued from part 2.

My mother lived in an apartment building, which probably had around five floors. Chinese buildings are usually made of solid concrete to make them stable and strong, but also very heavy. If the building collapses, hiding under a table is no use. The building will squash it flat.

My grandmother therefore had to do like all the other families who were living in apartments: go and live in the field. Hundreds of families lived in the big exercising field. My grandmother retrieved a large cloth and a few poles and made a tent.

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I read this story just yesterday and I loved it. I know I haven’t written like this in a long time, but I decided it was time to bump up the stories.

This one is real, and just like always, not an inch of written work was copied; I’ve written it all. (It’s a break from my Two Earthquakes series.)

A long time ago, there was a family of a few kids. They were very happy and lived very well. They had a big bank account in the city, Mama had told the kids, where there was some money saved. However, they shouldn’t try to move the money in the bank. It was for very important things.

They were all very proud of their bank account. Nobody else’s family in their classes had bank accounts. They were the only one. Bank accounts had minimum amounts, and they all slept better knowing they had money tucked away.

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continued from Part 1.

In the university where he lived in, thousands of college students gathered in the field area, setting up tents and living the night. But not my grandfather. The moment he realized it was 500 miles away, he went straight back to his home.

“What’s the worst thing that can happen?” he asked. “Another shake. Even if, the chances of it being bigger than the first are extremely small. I’m living inside.”

Indeed, that night, there was a small tremor, much smaller than the first. The college students and younger people who had the courage to go back to their homes woke up. It only took one person in each building awake to set the whole building’s people running. Apartments were close to each other, and a shout was quickly heard by the neighbors.

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Monday last week, a level 7.8 earthquake shook Chengdu, China. Thousands of buildings and homes collapsed. Around 25,000 people are estimated dead. It’s considered a major disaster.

Around 500 miles away, the floor shakes in Xi’an. The earthquake has affected areas as far as that. Both my grandfathers both live there. My mother’s father, the more frail of the two, had to climb down 16 flights of stairs.

Once at the bottom, he was extremely dizzy. Since my 80+ year old grandfather’s daily schedule only involved waking up, sitting in a park, going to sleep, and meals, it was extremely hard on his body to not be able to take the elevator.

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(This is a poem I wrote in school, modified to be better.)

Soar.

One day I was flying through the high blue sky,

With wings that shook as the wind blew by.

I think I’ll land on a cloud today,

And look down below at the boating bay.

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My mom has a good friend who is a doctor. During one of her checkups, he told her a story. It happened when he was still in China, when he was young.

A few people had been riding in the back of a truck because they couldn’t afford taking a bus to go to the city, and the young-Doctor was one of them.

The truck driver, trying to be nice, gave them a ride. They sat in the back of the truck, and soon all of the other friends going with the doctor fell asleep. Only the doctor was awake.

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My mom’s friend was a very kind person. She helped many people, and really tried her best to do her part for the world.

She had a neighbor, who was a mother of a teenager. That teenager, a few months ago, had gotten into a bit of trouble. He had been caught drunk and in a car with a bunch of other drunk-friends.

He was sentenced to jail, but there was a large amount of money to pay. He could have bailed.

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A party by my uncle’s friend was being held, and I was stuck there. It lasted around an hour, and I was told there was going to be other kids.

The meaning of “kids”? A bunch of toddlers, and one five year old. Big woop. So much for playing with them.

Thankfully, I had brought along my laptop. I eagerly took out my games and began to play.

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It was the big day: we were taking the science TAKS test, and my teacher reminded us about the competition with a big wink. “Do well,” she said, and then let us start taking the test.

During the test, I worked hard. I finished it in a little bit less than an hour. The slowest of our class took around two hours. We read books when we were finished, not really minding the fact that we couldn’t do anything else.

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