Struck by Lightning
St . Margaret ' s Co-Educational English Secondary and Primary School ( Secondary Section ), Boragay , Laura - 15
B
ANG BANG BANG ! My dad banged on my bedroom door and forcefully opened it . In sudden shock I closed my laptop and stared at him . The anger I saw in his eyes frightened me .
“ Why didn ' t you finish your food ??” he yelled . “ And why are you on your laptop again ?? You ' re supposed to be doing your homework !! Do I have to keep on reminding you ??”
“ I was doing my homework on my laptop , dad !” I said , trying to come up with a good excuse . Then he yelled back , “ Show me then !” I opened my laptop and he saw that I was on Facebook . “ You liar !!!” he screamed even louder . “ You ' re grounded !!!”
He grabbed my laptop from me and slammed the door behind him as he left . I was filled with so much anger and hatred . I couldn ' t stop myself from crying . Dad has always treated me like this and it ' s not fair at all , I thought to myself . I got so mad and couldn ’ t take it anymore so I grabbed my jacket and ran out of the house . I kept running and running until I was several blocks away . As I was walking through Hollywood Boulevard , it suddenly started to rain heavily and all I had was my jacket . The Chinese Theatre was right around the corner so I quickly ran up to it to find a way in . There was a side door that had been jammed shut with some boxes , but I was able to squeeze inside . It was dark , but dry and warm , and I could hear thunder and lightning from inside . I moved into a room with large , fake pillars and a golden statue , but I couldn ’ t see very clearly . As I tried to find my way around in the dark , all of a sudden , lightning struck the theatre and I screamed in shock . I was so scared that I fainted .
After a few hours , I woke up and the rain had stopped . I must have slept inside the theatre the whole night . When I opened the door , I felt a cool , light breeze . It was surprisingly snowing and everything looked completely different . A wave of confusion hit me as I walked through the streets . The people , the houses and the whole atmosphere were different . There seemed to be a lot of people wearing the traditional Chinese clothes like the ones from my parent ' s photo album . It felt so weird . The houses looked so old and ancient like the ones from the old Chinese movies I ' d seen . I tried asking people where I was but no one seemed to understand me . I looked around and saw some signs and boards that all had words in Chinese . I couldn ' t understand what they meant . Then I finally came to the realization that I was in China .
Frightened , confused , hungry and cold , I was so desperate to find out where exactly I was and why I was here . Looking around and feeling lost , I suddenly bumped into someone who fortunately apologized in English . I felt so relieved .
“ Can you help me ?” I asked . He looked at me in amazement . “ Wow ! I no hear somebody speak English in long time . Are you lost ?” he said . “ Yes I am . Where am I ? What day is it ? Why am I here ?” I asked in confusion . “ Shanghai !” He blurted out . “ You in Shanghai !”
“ Shanghai ??” I said in astonishment . “ How did I get here ?” I blurted out a series of other questions , but he just smiled . He was so eager to help out .
He was kind enough to take me to a restaurant where we ate and had hot tea . I told him that I was from America and that my father also grew up here . Then I explained to him about what happened the previous night . He was stunned and surprised . He then told me that he used to work in a military camp for the Americans and that ' s how he learned to speak English . His father was a soldier but was killed during the war . So since he was ten years old , he was taking care of his mother and sister . After we had our meal , we walked out of the restaurant and he told me that he would help me get to the embassy so they could help me get back home .
As we were walking along the street , we passed by a shoe store and he told me that he works as a shoe shine boy to earn some money . Sometimes , he said , he would also sell products in the market and serve as a waiter in a restaurant in order for him to make a living . He also dreamed of travelling to America to live there someday . On the far end of the street was a worn out building that he said used to be a school . As I was about to ask him what