Group+2

Group 2: Jeriel, Shao Hong, Su Zhen, Christopher Chia

The topic for your process writing is: **Finding Courage** Type out your process writing below. Have fun!


 * Mr Lim's Comments

Ah... Now with the paragraphing it reads much better! Gentlemen you are reminded that you need to write in your comments everytime you post an edit. ** Mr Lim**
 * Cheers,

__**//THE STORY OF RICHARD KINGSTON//**__ Diary of a 13 year old boy who found courage to live on, despite his difficulties.

The smell of smoke filled the air as cries of pain and moans were heard in the dark. Smoke billowed high over the city, cloaking it in darkness. I witnessed it, standing there, alone, one of the few survivors. Through all this choas, can Richard survive and find courage to find his "MISSING" father?
 * //__PROLOGUE__//**

//Bishopgate Bombing//
Chapter 1

It was a bright and sunny day and I was walking with parents down to the nearby church to pray. The church stood tall and proud, outlined clearly against the sky. Its polished walls gleamed and the sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows, creating beautiful patterns on the floor. We entered, and we knelt before the polished wooden cross. After saying our prayers, we walked out of the church. As I gazed back at the wonderful structure of the church, I never knew that was my last look of that dear old church.

We had gone to eat lunch as it was almost noon. The tall clock tower of the church still within sight. Munching on my delicious burger, I paused to take a deep draught of coke. I had ordered a whopper. The melted cheese was dribbling down the sides of the freshly baked bread, still crispy and warm. Crisp green lettuce sandwiched with bright red tomatoes went into my mouth. But what I LOVED best was the beef patties. The beef was tender and soft, with plenty of taste in it. I let the delicious savoury taste spread all across my tongue, into every corner of my mouth before I swallowed. But this enjoyment was to be cut short when...BOOM!

My eardrums almost burst. I dropped my delicious burger, but I didn't care. Smoke was rushing into the street like gray horses in a race, all vying for the first place. I stumbled about, half deaf by the noise of the explosion. I had read about other terrorist attacks, but I certainly had not been caught in one. I was overwhelmed with panic and suddenly realised that I was alone. The smoke was getting thicker and thicker and could barely see my hand that was right in front of me.

The smoke stung my eyes which made me squint. But now, my eyes were more than useless. I could not see anything at all. I groped around, but tripped and stumbled over something that was unseen. Reaching out with my arms, I caught myself before I fell on what it felt like a handle bar. Safe for the moment. I started to worry for my parents. The parents that took care of me, loved me and educated me. I wanted my parents badly."Mum! Dad! Where are-!" I was unable to complete the sentence as the thick smoke choked. I teared as it entered my mouth and stung my throat. In a second attempt, I yelled again at the top of my voice, "MUM! DAD! WHERE ARE YOU?". There was no answer. All that came back to me was the howling wind. I wanted to shout once more but as I opened my mouth, something hard struck me on the on the head. Stars whirled around my head as I collapsed to the floor and the world seemed pass out into darkness.

When I came to, I looked around and saw that the smoke had cleared quite a bit. Fire fighters were still trying to put out some fires. Ambulance sirens wailed, adding more noise onto the atmosphere. I struggled to my feet. A large lump had grown on my head and I felt dizzy. Holding onto the handle bar, I steadied myself. I looked up at the sky where the Church had been. There was nothing. The once proud Bishopgate Church was gone. Just then, I remembered about my parents. I yelled, Mum!...Dad!...Are you there? There was no reply. Dead bodies littered the area. It was a gruesome sight.

On the remaining structures, were streaks of burnt patches. Some parts of the wall were dropping off structures. I started to become scared. "Dad, Mum?" I shouted. I started to move. But everytime I moved, the bumb on my head throbbed. Gritting my teeth, I put another foot in front of the other. Sweat poured down my face, my head was hurting terribly. "I must have gotten a concussion" I thought. Well I hoped not. Finally, I dropped to the floor once more. The pain was too much for me to endure. I started to crawl among the rubble, searching for my parents. Whether they were hurt or wherever they were was my only concern. "Dad? Mum?" I shouted.

I started to panic. All sorts of thoughts rushed through my head. Did they die? Who would take care after me? Will I be able to find them? If not, how would I spend the rest of my days? How would I be able get a job? Pushing the thoughts aside. I crawled on. "I must find them, dead or alive." I told myself. Suddenly, I saw a familiar object. I crawled over. It was mum's favourite handbag. It was streaked with dirt and ash. But where was Mum? I looked around. If her handbag was here, where was she? "Mum!" I screamed. I caught sight of Mum face lying down on the dirt.

"Mum?" I crawled over. I turned Mum around. "Mum?" I whispered. She opened her eyes. "Oh...It's you." Thank god Mum is alive, I thought. " Are you okay?" I queried. "I'm fine." Mum answered. I could see that she wasn't, but she obviously did not want to worry me. Just then I noticed her blouse was stained with blood. "Mum!" I cried. "What happened?" Mum winced. Blood was still flowing out of the wound. Mum was pale, she was shivering. I shifted into a knelting position and started to cradle Mum in my arms. She was getting cold. Just then, the thought hit me hard. Immediately I started to scream, "No Mum! Just hang in there!" "Richard, we all sometime have to leave this world. Now God is calling me up to be with him." Mum whispered. "Medics! Help! My Mum's going!" I screamed.

A few paramedics heard me and started to rush over. Mum started, "Its too late Richard, I...." Cutting her short, I pleaded, "Just hang in there. The medics will be here soon. Who will take care of me if you leave? No, Mum...just stay..." I choked. Tears ran down my cheek. "Your Dad is somewhere. I know he's alive. Go look for him." Mum whispered. She was taking a big effort to talk. Her breath was turning into short ragged gasps. "I just want you to know Richard, whatever happens, you will never be alone." Mum whispered. "Hold on Mum. Just hang...." I let my sentence trail off when my Mum's head was tilting back. "Nooooooooooooo! Mum you can't leave me here. Wake up! Please! Mum...." I cried in anguish shaking my mother. I tried to rouse her, although I knew that there was no way I could bring her back. Tears cascaded down my cheeks in torrents. I had failed to save her. Mum had died...

"Mum is gone. Mum is gone." This thought repeated through my mind. But then, what about dad? I looked up, my eyes scanning the carnage once again. Taking one last look at mum I struggled on. "Dad! Where are you?" I cried. I searched and searched but to no avail. My head was again beginning to throb because of my exertions. I was on the verge of giving up. I could not find my dad and my head hurt painfully. I broke into tears and shouted," Dad!...Where are you?" Willing my aching limbs and mind, I continued to struggle though the rubble. "DAD!" I sobbed uncontrollably. "Answer me!" The sun was beginning to set, the moon was rising. But I still had not found Dad. My stomach growled, my lips were cracking. I finally collasped into the dust and my eyes snapped shut. Exhausted, I let the welcoming darkness envelope me.

A sharp flash startled me. It was already morning, I felt sore all over. I slowly stood up, massaging my cramped legs. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I noticed a crowd milling around something. As curious as a cat, I limped forward, trying to favour my sore legs. They were gathered around a noticeboard. It read, "MISSING". My eyes trailed down the lists of names of those who were missing. "Gregory Tan, Theodred Toh, Frederick Kingston...what!" Frederick was my father's name. I coudn't believe my eyes. I stumbled away from the noticeboard in unbelief. "How could this happen?" I said to myself. Turning away from the crowd I answered my question. "It's not possible, Dad's not missing." Looking up at the horizon, I made a solemn promise, I would find Dad. No matter what happened.

Chapter 2????

The monotonous sound of my feet thudding on the hard and uneven ground constantly filled my ears. My vision was blurred and I felt as if I was in a dream. I had no knowing of how many hours I had spent walking through the labyrinth of streets, searching for Dad. My stomach released a constant rumble. My feet were sore, my back was aching and my face was covered with filth. Just then, I thought I saw a familiar figure turning round the corner of the street. “Could it be Dad? It must be him!” Moving with renewed vigor, I ran towards the corner, wanting to see whether the figure was Dad. But when I got there, I couldn’t see him anywhere. I looked around, bewildered. How could he just disappear? “Maybe it wasn’t Dad.Maybe I was hallucinating.” I thought to myself. I immediately crushed up that thought. “No! It had to be him.” I insisted. Just then, my stomach growled for the thousandth time. I felt the hunger boring a hole in my stomach getting worse and worse every minute. Part of me cried out for food, but another part screamed at me to find Dad or I would never see him again. Better to go for food than collapse in the street looking for Dad, I told myself. Maybe there would be a food camp nearby which I could go to for food. I thought that I had seen one in my search for Dad. I tried to go back the way I had come, hoping to find the food camp or bump into someone who could lead me to one. I started to imagine the food I would get there. Maybe I would get a whopper with a milkshake or a grilled chicken leg glazed with honey with creamy milky mushroom soup to go with. I pushed these images out from my mind to avoid causing the aching, empty feeling in my stomach to become worse. Then, I kept my mind off food by trying to figure all the turns I had taken, to reach the camp. And if luck was with me, I might just find my Dad there. That was it! The thought perked me up just a little and on I went. Trying to cheer myself up, I began to whistle a sweet and merry irish tune that I had heard on Youtube and continued on my way.