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THE RACE OF THE GALAXY

The interstellar race. I had been dreaming of this race for years, they say that the race hasn’t been done since the last Millenia. However, instead of just being a spectator in the audience, I was one of the main judges that had an infinite view of the whole race track implanted into my eyes.

The first three contestants were a species of humanoid aliens with the ability to teleport. No doubt they would be hard to beat. The next one was an older titan who had the capability of crossing between planets with a single step. He rose so high that his hair almost knocked aside an entire moon! Looks like the teleporters were in for some competition. The final contestant was what appeared to be a large canine with tentacles attached to his back that could stretch and fling it great distances. This Millenia’s contestants would be at each other’s throats by the end of this race. But what’s THIS! A fearsome competitor who won the previous 2 races has appeared and is calling himself. His The name stunned the whole crowd along with me and my fellow judges. “Introducing Da Biggest Bird?”

The judges just shrugged and the race was to commence. 3, 2, 1, GO! shouted the commentator through the universally amplified speakers. The teleporters were gone and could be seen approaching the first obstacle as the titan took a large step towards the teleporters and the canine shot itself forward disappearing in a blur. Da biggest bird remained still, staring into the void. The crowd however was unfazed as they watched the other contestants reach the first obstacle. The Dulled Grey Hole. They say that the dull grey hole had been nullified by a neutron star and planet core exploding at the same time cancelling out each other out and creating a weaker form of a black hole. Everyone suddenly realised why the competition had been banned. One teleporter hadn’t been fast enough and was sucked in with a bloodcurdling scream that brought a chill down everyone’s spine. The others got past fine but Da Biggest Bird still remained motionless.

Nonetheless the other competitors made it to the second trial after what should have been millions of years of travel. They were crossing the zombie planet Kcekdecbcesk 24. As they made their way through, they couldn’t help but stare into the beautiful scenery around them built up on the dead ashes of other planets. But suddenly the canine'scanines eyes burst into flames as it stared at the star that had exploded.

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2011, 2 July.

Dear diary,

Today my parents took me to see the Palio Di Siena and it’s an experience I’ll never forget. Me and my family were on our cruise when the captain announced that we had arrived in Siena, Italy just in time for the famous Palio Di Siena competition. All the people  flooded out, all 3,000 passengers on the ship piled piling into the streets heading towards the stadium. Upon reaching the massive archway, I was taken aback by the sheer size of the racetrack and the amount of people in the stadium. There was a sea of people with many of them dressed in peculiar outfits. Some people were waving white and red flags while others in green and red were shouting and cheering.

Me and my parents were lucky to steal spots near the racetrack which was small and narrow. It was at that moment that an announcement blared overhead announcing the beginning of the race. It was shocking to see over 60,000 people in utter silence waiting for a couple riders to start a 70 second race. But once the riders were zooming, the entire crowd burst into deafening cheers cheering on the frantic racers. Shockingly, we had witnessed a rider get knocked off their own horse in the middle of the race, sending him flying through the air and landing in the crowd with the horse still going and taking the lead. Everyone was taken aback as the horse draped in orange and white galloped past the other contestants and won the race. The entire audience burst into applause while many were disappointed; I even saw someone crying!

Apparently the winners were a contrada known as Giraffa and the horse and injured rider had been brought to a nearby church. Eventually, my parents and I were guided with the rest of the passengers back to the cruise ready to get back home. All I can say is that Palio Di Siena is incredible. It’s not everyday you see a horse win a race by kicking off their rider.😂

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Ms Lee, my teacher

Ms Lee is a Chinese lady who teaches my class maths and is also our roll marking teacher. She greets us every morning and tries to say hello to everyone and makes sure they’re feeling okay before starting class for the day.

Ms Lee had raven black hair that drapes to her shoulders which she regularly ties up whether it be in a bun or a single ponytail. She normally wears a black and white spotted dress and seems to know the school better than most of the other year 7 students. She has a cheery voice that is always soothing in the morning and gives me and my classmates high hopes for the day. She also has charcoal black eyes with a kind of warmth within them that soothes you. With a carefree smile, she’s always straight to the point and watches us carefully to make sure we don’t misbehave.

She is always kind towards me and my classmates and has that personality that you can’t help but feel cheery around. I admire her work and her personality and wish I could be like her when it comes to her natural lovability and hard working attitude.

Mrs Lee is fairly strict and will tell us to be quiet from time to time whenever we get too loud and/or don’t listen to her. She has a ‘never give up’ attitude and always  tells us to break our limits and to aspire to be greater than we already are. She’s very optimistic and will do her best to try and help me and my classmates in places where we struggle and will explain all of our questions as clearly as possible. She also allows us to play short maths games where she can learn more about us and normally tries to make class as fun as possible. Sometimes me and my classmates will slack off but Ms Lee is always there to snap us back to attention whether it be telling to our faces or scaring us from behind. She is very funny and is approachable, caring and listening intently to any questions you might ask her. She almost never shouts and is normally very calm and straight forward when it comes to punishments.

I haven’t known Ms Lee for very long but as a maths and roll call teacher her life is for sure, never dull. Every weekday morning, she is greeted by the cheery atmosphere of a year 7 class who can’t wait to start the morning. Every single maths lesson, she teaches us something new or revises previous problems that we struggled with and will try her best to help us understand. She’s always here and there teaching other year levels too from year 7 to year 12. It’s incredible that she can get through an entire day without collapsing from stress or tiredness after having to remember all of the subjects of the different year levels. I wish I could multitask as much as her, maybe then I’d be able to finish and remember all my homework, subjects and classes. Most teachers in my school are a lot like her in personality but Ms Lee is definitely one of my favourites. Everyone in my class adores her and

Perhaps Ms Lee is more capable than any of the students thought. Being able to multitask and teach multiple classes is no easy task. It is a wonder to see people in your everyday life accomplish so much if you look closer into their lives.

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Description of an old woman from the Zanskar Valley

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This old woman from Zanskar valley seems to be an elder from this particular valley. Evidence of this is the sheer amount of deep wrinkles spread all across her face and skin. She seemed like a very fit and healthy woman who I believe obtained such health from a large amount of time in the sun. Her time in the harsh sun also must have darkened her skin making it look more aged and worn. Despite her ageing skin, her cheekbones are still obvious and she looks fairly well muscled.

Her eyes are like dark pools that are quite mysterious but make me want to learn more about her history. Her pupils looked aged and ancient, no doubt having seen the history of her home. She wears a kind strong smile that can make anyone feel cheery and safe like there’s no evil in the world.  Despite her kind physique, she is as mystifying as an owl in the morning.

Below her heavily creased forehead lies her eyebrows which have been slowly disappearing over time. All that remains is a thin layer of hair over a pair of peaceful eyes.

Her hair comes down in a lock starting from a neat patch of grey hair descending into a knot of oily black hair. Her body seems healthy and strong, no doubt because of her time in the gleaming sun. Nonetheless, she seems very much capable of tasks presented to her.

The woman wears a crisp white wool sweater that suits her very well and probably protects her from cold winds. Underneath her sweater is an olive green jacket and pinkish white shirt all made of wool. She dons a beautiful pair of golden earrings that seem almost as old as her which were probably passed down from her family. But strangely, she has put on a blue and red patterned beanie in which the words BNBA are stitched into. This is peculiar due to how old she looks and how modern the beanie seems but I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks sometimes.

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The grueling times when the rain pours hard and doesn’t stop for 4 weeks, with dryness and warmth being found as easily as a needle in a haystack. These difficult times were during the Great Floods of Sydney. It happened in the middle of the day, with everyone thinking it would be normal with kids going to school and parents

working away. That was when the downpour came. It was gentle at first but it wouldn’t stop; it didn't stop.

It flooded the streets turning the place into the world’s largest bathtub. This continued for weeks with the civilians wondering when the floods would recede back to their watery depths. For weeks the residents have seen nothing but dark stormy clouds over the skies and many have been sent to safety bunkers because of their homes being flooded. They wait in longing and fear for the floods to end their tyrannical rule. The citizens were constantly mocked by the continuous sound of rain banging against the roof and the smell of dampness slowly seeping through the walls and floor.

But one Monday morning, the locals woke  up and were all surprised to see the shining sun in a clear sky, a beacon of hope. The people all rejoiced with a hope in their hearts that the floods may never destroy their homes again for a long, long time.

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WHY I LIKE VALORANT

Valorant is a free to play 5v5 tactical shooting game that you can play with your friends or other players. It is a really well designed game in my opinion and I believe it is one of the best games made in a while. I believe it is one of the best free to play games on pc and I highly recommend it to gamers who enjoy shooting games.

Valorant is a really interesting game because of its wide variety of maps and agents (characters) that allow you to experience the entire game with a variety of areas to explore and agents to acquire. Each agent has a set of 4 unique abilities which I believe is a really interesting feature that the game designers must have worked hard on. It is really impressive how well the game was designed and just shocking that such code is possible. One time I even got jumpscared when a Yoru agent popped in front of me out of nowhere making my heart stop.

However there are some negative things when it comes to Valorant. In Valorant it is home to try-hards, hackers and toxic people that just ruin the gaming experience. They always try to make the game miserable for others while they win the game through cheats or just being really tough to beat and like to annoy others. Also, in my opinion there are too many spots where people can hide and ambush others.

Nonetheless, Valorant is still an amazing game for all users. Although there might be some annoying players, I think Valorant is still one of the best games out there. It has everything you might need for you or your friends to enjoy yourselves playing with each other or against others.

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WHY I LIKE FOOTBALL

Hello everyone, my name is Wei Jun. Today I will be talking about why I like football. Football is an entertaining sport that billions of fans enjoy watching/playing all around the world and I personally enjoy it very much too. Football was invented about 100 years ago in England where the sport began to rise in popularity.

This game is a team game with 11 players on each team. The aim of football is to score more goals than your opponent in a 90-minute playing time frame. The match is split up into two halves of 45 minutes. After the first 45 minutes, players will take a 15 minute rest period called half-time. The second 45 minutes will resume and any time deemed fit to be added on by the referee (injury time) will be added accordingly. All players must use their feet, head, or chest to play the ball. Only the goalkeeper can use their hands, and only within their designated goal area. The aim of the game is to score a goal while defending your own which is achieved by kicking or heading the ball into the opposing team's goal.

Football is very interesting because it is fun challenging and exciting. The action-packed games, intense rivalries, and family-friendly fun are what give this unique sport its charm. Adaptations such as being able to be played indoors and outdoors makes it practically able to be played anywhere. Although Football can be really fun to play, it is easy to get injured playing football. With the sharp studs on the football boots, the fact that you are allowed to push enemies and that you can slide tackle makes it a fun yet dangerous sport.

I personally play a lot of Football, I used to play for a small club and now I play once per week for the school team. I will tell you about my experience. A few weeks ago when I was playing for the school Under 13’s team, we had an away game against one of the nearby schools in Penang. We went into the game as the underdogs as we were facing one of the strongest Under 13’s football teams in Penang. We started the game well but after a few mistakes, the enemy started to dominate. They would take shots after shot but they couldn’t manage to get a goal. After about 30mins into the game, we were still being bullied by the enemy. Suddenly our goalkeeper had a strike at gold, he managed to send a long ball into one of our midfielders who manages to chip the ball to our striker who managed to send the ball gliding into the net. For the last 15 minutes, we tried our best to hold our defense and we did it! We Won. That is why I like playing Football. Everything is unexpected and anything can happen.

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A very good afternoon to Mr Yoshua and my fellow friends. My name is Ray Dernn and today I am going to give a talk about something I like very much. Let me give you a hint: It’s a sport. Can you guess it? *pauses* If you got it right, I am going to talk about my favourite sport: badminton.

Badminton is a sport enjoyed by people of all ages. The sport has been played by a whopping 220 million people worldwide. This is because badminton is easy to learn and play, does not require much effort and can be played almost anywhere. However, why does this sport intrigue me so much, some disadvantages of the sport and why I like the sport despite the advantages.

Ever since my PE coach in school introduced me to badminton, the game has captivated me and brought me wonders since year 1. From playing badminton once a week for a month, I’ve discovered that I’ve lost almost 0.5 kilograms / one pound in weight! From that day on, I made a vow to play badminton once a week. In addition to building up physical muscles, badminton is one of the simplest sports I have ever known. The aim of the game is to hit the shuttlecock (the ball with feathers) to the opponent’s side with your racket and try to hit it so that the opponent would miss the shuttlecock. It is usually played as a 1v1 or 2v2 . For example, a 1v1 is 1 player versus another player.

Even though badminton is interesting, there are a few downsides to it. For one, badminton rackets are very expensive. Cheap badminton rackets start at rm50/ 10USD. The most expensive could go up to RM 500 (100USD)! This is because  badminton rackets are usually light. The lighter it is, the more expensive it is as light metals used to the frame of the rackets are hard to find. Another downside of badminton is that it requires a large amount of space to play badminton. A badminton court requires at least 2m in length and at least 1.5 in width. A badminton net must be at least 1.5 m in height, therefore players would need to find a big place to play badminton together. The more players, the bigger the court will be.

To conclude, despite the downsides, badminton is nevertheless a wonderful sport that deserves its extreme popularity. In my opinion, badminton is a sport that deserves to live to see another day.

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DREADFUL EVENT IN POMPEII!

Pompeii buried alive?
by Khoo Wei Ning

Yesterday evening on 25th August of 79CE 6:45 am nearby cities of Pompeii reported that an enormous eruption from Mt Vesuvius had covered the whole of Pompeii in debris, ashes and pumice. It was said that there were three surges of eruption and the third had ended it all.

On August 24th many people noticed ‘a cloud of unusual size and shape is appearing’ in the sky on top of M.t Vesuvius after the seventh hour of sunrise. At 2pm, Pompeii started to experience ashes and white pumice fall with 10-15 cm per hour. Within a few hours the first surges of eruption came, then the second and the last one which was the biggest completely buried Pompeii.

One of the eyewitness explained, ‘I could hear women shrieking, children crying and men shouting. Some were calling for their parents, their children, or their wives, and trying to recognize them by their voices,’said the eyewitness in a letter he wrote to his friend. ‘After a while, the darkness paled into smoke or cloud, and the real daylight returned, but the Sun shone as wanly as during an eclipse. We were amazed by what we saw, because everything had changed and was buried deep in ash like snow.’. The eyewitness is now safe in another place near Pompeii.

Why Did it happen?

Many people believe that it was said to have had earthquakes underneath Mt vesuvius many times and pressure built up one by one and it had too much pressure to hold it anymore so a volcanic eruption appeared. It  killed hundreds of people, maybe even thousands!

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The lake of wonders

Shimmering and shining bright

While in the moonlight

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Water brings Earth life

Living things drink it all day

Hydrating us now

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Fantastic patterns burst across the inky black sky

Intricate sparks after intricate sparks

Roaring loudly, thundering with all its might

Erupting before me, a charred smoky smell

Whisking throughout the twinkling night

Overhead through the air, like an acrobat, they soar

Roaring once more, colliding with a BOOM

KABOOM! KABOOM! Exploding into nothingness and

Sending brilliant golden sparks spinning

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POMPEII GETS BURIED IN ASHES!
Many villagers die during sudden eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

by Ethan Lau

Yesterday evening, Mount Vesuvius, a seemingly dead volcano, just suddenly erupted out of the blue, most of the villagers were killed during the eruption. All the villagers were covered in ashes, and it was a very horrifying sight to see! As of now, archaeologists are trying their best to discover more about this city that was very tragic.

One of the eye witnesses, Pliny the Younger was a very lucky survivor of this horrible incident. An hour earlier from the event, he had observed clouds on top of the enormous Mt. Vesuvius. At 1 pm, ashes started to fall from the mountain, something did not look right. Of course, something actually went wrong. A few hours after, the temperature was rising, then came the lava.

Everyone was running for their lives, shouting for help. “We could hear women shrieking, children crying and men shouting. Some were calling for their parents, their children, or their wives, and trying to recognize them by their voices. Some people were so frightened of dying that they actually prayed for death. Many begged for the help of the gods, but even more imagined that there were no gods left and that the last eternal night had fallen on the world,” said Pliny the Younger. With his explanation, the situation must have been really bad.

Our eye witness managed to escape, but lived in horror seeing so many people die. This was a tragic situation, and us humans just have to hope this does not happen again.

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It raged, it was irritated , it wanted to destroy everything in its path and I was stuck in it. I could hear the roars of the fire, screams of terrified people while trying to get out of this gruesome mess. It came closer and closer the closer I had ever been with fire. How did I get into this mess?

It all started when my friends were playing with a lighter in their house. The small fire that they made  caught on to a piece of fabric lying around the house and like it was full of fuel, it advanced on the table, the chairs, the counter top, the curtain– basically everything it could catch on. It flickered and crackled while trying to take over the whole room. I could hear the scream of my friends trying to run away. Shattered glass was heard as the fire shot past them.

I soon realised I was stuck. I was surrounded by a terrifying fire. Everywhere I went had already been consumed by the fire, left with nothing but ruins. The heat danced around as if celebrating its victory for its destruction. The heat was starting to be unbearable by now as I felt as if I was going to pass out but the fire had no mercy. It came closer, slowly but steadily. The smells of gasoline and smoke started to get to me, it would not surrender.

The fire burned through the building. “BOOM!” a loud crashing sound was heard. It was getting too close. I could not keep it away anymore. The flames moved slowly and crackled loudly as the sparks flew towards me. The pain was like someone had cut through my arm. It was impossible to avoid. I felt dizzy, I felt as if the world was spinning round and round. Then I passed out.

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MAN U BEATS SPURS 2-0!
by Ethan Lau

The game between two tigers, United and Spurs began at what time? yesterday. The starting lineup for United were De Gea, Dalot, Martinez, Varane, Shaw, Casemiro, Fred, Fernandes, Antony, Rashford and Sancho.

United started the round energetically, as their captain, Fernandez set the tone in a midfield battle with Spurs (what kind of a midfield battle was it? Did Fernandez win the battle?). Spurs not only had difficulties to keep up with the ball, but their goalkeeper, Lloris, was also struggling to stop United from scoring. On the other hand, United had made an incredible record of 14 shots in the span of 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the shots lacked precision and let Lloris managed to block all of defend them. At the end of the first half, the opposing team, Spurs tried to score a goal, but the fantastic goalkeeper of United, De Gea, saved it. With that, the first half came had come to an end, with both teams at scores of 0-0.

During The second half, United started to bring their biggest power into the match. This time, they performed even better than before. With a great pass from Sancho, Fred, the defender had scored a goal at 47 minutes.  Fred shot a low ball that was very fast and , the Spurs goalkeeper could not react to it. The goalkeeper stood still, being confused on how Fred scored that quick and precise goal. That was not all., At the 69th minute, as Bruno Fernandes from United had scored again with a curved shot at the time of 69 minutes. His magnificent lobby headed straight to He shot in the box, landing on the upper part of the goal. Lloris tried his best to save it, but failed to do so as the curve was too deceiving.

For the preceding 68 minutes, Harry Kane, an English player from Spurs, had attacked relentlessly greatly from the right on the right side, but luckily De Gea denied the Spurs’ attacks  and blocked each ball.

With the pressure of 2 goals, Spurs started to play more offensively, but they still lost to United in terms of offence. They did not have a chance to counter attack, and they could only defend in order to prevent more goals lost.

At 90 minutes, United came out as the victorious tiger, with a perfect 2-0 win. The crowd went wild after that. Although this time United won, both teams shook each other’s hands, full of sportsmanship. Spurs and United are no doubt one of the best rivalries in the football industry.

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UNBELIEVABLE Performance! 🤩 | Man Utd 2-0 Tottenham | Highlights

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HUGE WIN FOR LIVERPOOL
by Khoo Wei Jun

Liverpool overcame Man City last Sunday in a thrilling match at Anfield. Liverpool came in as the underdog and left as the victor.

Man City had dominated in the first half although each team had good chances at goal. In the 32nd minute, Man City’s star striker Haaland gets a counter-attack starting on the left side sprinting straight through and getting a powerful shot in with Allison- the Liverpool keeper barely getting the tips of his finger onto the ball but managing to clear the danger away.

Right after half time, in the 49th minute, Mohamad Salah controlled a long pass into the opponent’s half - it was a one versus one against the goalkeeper- Salah took the shot and the ball glided towards the bottom left corner! Suddenly disaster struck as the goalkeeper’s hand managed to grasp onto the ball and pushed it just out of the goal boundary.

In the 52nd minute, a ball was sent into Liverpool’s box with a ferocious striker chasing after it Although Allison managed to get a glove onto the ball Haaland stomped through the pitch tripping but yet passing the ball to Foden who sent it gliding straight into the wide-open net. The stadium went wild, some calling for an offside foul and some cheering for their lives.

Under immense pressure, the Referee called for VAR checking for a foul, and the  goal didn’t stand! | In the 74th minute, Allison sent the ball straight down the pitch right into the feet of Mohamad Salah, with one slick turn he swiped off the defender and calmly tapped the ball into the net, with no mistakes this time. With a quarter of the time to go, Liverpool was now in the lead.

Juergen Klopp the Liverpool manager was sent off the pitch after confronting the referee denied a free kick for a foul on Mohamad Salah.

After a hundred minutes of game time and two thrilling chances for Liverpool the whistle blew. The game ended with Liverpool denying an on form Manchester City a precious three points.

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HIGHLIGHTS: Liverpool 1-0 Manchester City | Salah's solo strike wins it!

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POMPEII MEETS ITS DOOM
by Hayley Goh, Junior Correspondent
25 Aug AD 79

Yesterday evening, the active volcano Mount Vesuvius in Italy erupted, emitting tons of ash, smoke and a pile of destruction upon Pompeii. This event has been one of the most tragic and devastating by far. We believe that there have been at least over 2,000 deaths.

Earlier, in the days leading up to the event, the town had been showered with ‘fake-snow’. This was not out of character in the area, so many people went about their daily business. Unbeknownst to them, this ‘fake-snow’ was actually the first layers of ash beginning to fall upon Pompeii. As the first few waves of disaster arrived, many hurried to Pomeii’s harbour, looking for a quick way to escape. But when they realised, it was too late.

Search parties are still ongoing but chances of finding more survivors are slim.

Dhanya,  (32), one of the survivors in the emergency shelter, was asked how she felt about the event. She answered sorrowfully, “I’m very depressed because I had to abandon my home- my everything. All that I’ve ever known all my life! Thank goodness, our whole family is safe, though,.” she added while hugging her little ones.

Another one of the survivors, Lucas, the local butcher, (25) stammered as he tried to fight back his tears, “I lost my entire family. I just couldn’t do anything…It.. It happened in a blink of an eye!”

However disastrous and destructive this event may have been, it has taught us all a valuable lesson. Next time, we MUST be more prepared. An emergency system, to alert everyone to evacuate in a timely manner, will save lives.

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Sweat trickled down my face rapidly as the intense heat seemed to engulf the whole of me. The thick smoke filled my nostrils making me gasp for air. The once peaceful paradise of nature, where the creatures lived together in great harmony, was now painted in deep shades of orange and red.

A merciless force tore through the place, wrecking down trees and greenery to shreds. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me as if the vigorous force was chasing me, just like a lion hunting its prey. The screeches and cries of helpless creatures could be heard, the desperate voices of those who have fallen victim to the inescapable force.

The sky was pitch-black, succumbing to the darkness of the fumes that were released. To my horror, this monster soon caught up to me. I was surrounded in a circle of blazing flames that will destroy anything in its path. It was hell on Earth.

Quickly, the burning flurry moved in closer and closer, leaving me no choice but to try and do the impossible. It was a do or die situation. Trying not to breathe in the thick smog, I rushed through the huge wall of fire, my clothes igniting in flames.

Excruciating pain filled my body as the sweltering heat started to burn my skin, my hair raging in flames as I ran. Suddenly, I saw a spark of light. I hurried towards it, forcefully tearing through the branches.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Whether I could believe it or not, I had just made it out of the depths of hell. Stepping back, I took one more look at the raging inferno that stood before me, wondering how I was still alive.

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Everything around me was burning. My clothes were singed, other campers were injured from cabins falling in and the forest was in flames. It was too hot to even sweat because it would dry instantly. This is all my fault if only I had paid attention.

The raging inferno engulfed everything in its way. A never satisfied monster ready to do anything to satiate its unquenchable thirst for destruction. I could feel its intense heat even though I was as far from the fire as possible. I could hear all the screaming people rushing out of cabins in shock and fear. Wails of pain echoed throughout the camp but I paid no attention, as if I was trapped in my own little bubble ready to pop. I can’t believe I had brought this upon everyone. I saw multiple people lying on the floor, patches of their skin burned from the flames as they fell unconscious from breathing in the smoke. I suddenly noticed a burnt body, charred to the point that it was nothing but withered skin and black bone.

It had all happened so fast. I was sitting by the campfire nodding off until the guide had said that it was time to head in for the night and she said something. I didn’t pay attention but by then I was already half asleep and barely able to walk so I lazily threw myself towards my cabin and onto my bed face first but was still able to fall fast asleep. That was when that traumatizing sound– the one I’ll never forget– the horrified screams and alarm going off blasted into my ears shaking me awake. I ran outside to discover the camp in flames and apparently the firemen had said that someone had left a campfire going and that someone was me..

The fire shot through the forest and not a minute later my entire cabin was surrounded in flames. I stared and tried to lift one of the bodies up but it was just too heavy for me to lift. I tried to breathe but it was getting more difficult by the second. I headed over to the deceased bodies and touched one of their heads but suddenly my hand passed through it and the head crumbled to dust. My hand was now coated in a dead person's dust. I couldn’t hold it in and threw up. As I looked at the body with its now cracked skull withering away in the wind I couldn’t help but cry knowing this was all my fault. I was taken home and left to myself traumatised from what just happened.

After that day I swore that if I ever saw a patch of fire no matter how small it was I would stamp it out in any way possible.

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It was all my fault...

It was a quiet, peaceful day as I sat in front of my crackling campfire, roasting marshmallows to my heart’s content. The moon hung heavy in the sky, the stars twinkling in the midnight black sky. I went inside my wooden cabin and lay back in bed, getting comfortable and it wasn’t long until I drifted off to sleep.

I suddenly woke up, sweating profusely. That was weird… I could’ve sworn it was a cool summer’s night. I opened my eyes and shrieked, sounding like a death rattle. Half the wooden cabin had gone up in smoke and a massive inferno was blazing before me - a scorching wall of pure destruction. Searing hot flames licked at my skin and ash covered my face. Smoke wafted through my nostrils as the ashy taste of soot filled my mouth. Eyes wide and mouth agape in terror, I leapt out of bed and sprinted away.

The fiery red monster danced recklessly across the once serene forest as it erupted into chaos. CRASH! In its enraged fury, it tore the trees from their roots and sent them plunging to the ground. They slammed into the earth with endless booms. The heat of this hideous beast burned the greenery into nothing more than sticks of charcoal. This giant was a menace, a terror and it didn’t seem to come to a halt for even a second. Animals weaved in and out of the burning greenery, dashing away from the fire. Ear-splitting howls rang out across the fields. I could hear people running in all directions, stampeding around in a panic.

The monster was hot on my heels, licking at them like an over-energetic pup. This beast was no puppy though. It was the definition of bedlam. No one was safe - not from this barbarian. Lost in my thoughts, I tripped over a stone and was sent flying head over heels. I landed on the ground with a THUMP and I sat there petrified. The fire loomed above me, now over 20 metres tall. Fire flooded my world like an endless stream. Nothing made sense. Up was down and left was right. I squeezed my eyes shut in terror, praying for the best.  Then… A miracle  arrived. I heard a distinct yell but I couldn’t concentrate hard enough to listen. A surge of water washed over me and I felt a burly pair of arms lift me up. I slowly lost consciousness as the world faded to black.

I woke up with a start in a small tent, lying on a make-shift bed of patched together wool. I stared out through the small entrance of the tent, out at the mass of destruction. Fire-fighters worked hard to extinguish the still brightly blazing fire. The army had been called in, dropping waves of water onto the flames. The rest of us sat in the crowded tents of the shelter, able to do nothing but pray. I sat dejectedly in my tent and couldn’t help but think… This was all my fault - If only I hadn’t forgotten to snuff out that campfire…

# data[].attributes.body
Peaceful green meadow

A lonely flower sits there

Enjoying the breeze

Trees dance happily

Owlets start to fall asleep

As the sun rises

# data[].attributes.body
Freezing cold water

Rushing down the rocky wall

The Niagara Falls

# data[].attributes.body
WATERFALLS
Shining in the sun,

Water trickling over stones,

Refreshing coolness.

Birds tweeting with happiness,

Definition of beauty.