Secrets in the Drawer - Selected Winning Works of the 3rd National Middle School Student Online Essay Competition

Author: None
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: One day, two middle-aged women passed by the window. One whispered, "Look at that old woman. She's waited her whole life and still doesn't believe they've forgotten her." The other chimed in, "Stubborn old bird." They looked just like the parrots I hate, with sharp, long tongues. I glared at them angrily. Little Green flew over from the branch opposite me, and as it passed the two women, it suddenly dropped a pile of poop, landing squarely on one of their foreheads. The two women screamed and ran away. I, however, laughed so hard my leaves trembled. Little Green also cooed and swayed back and forth. For a while, I was moved a bit inside the house because Grandma said the sun was too strong and would burn me. But on that day, when I returned to the window and looked up, I was suddenly amazed and speechless. I saw the rose, by the wall outside the window, and it saw me too. It smiled, warm as the moment snow melted and the spring breeze brushed by. It gently said, "Hi, good morning." My tears flowed instantly. After that, my greatest hope was to open the window when the morning light came, and hear it smile and say, "Hi, good morning." When I tearfully finished telling Grandma's story, he lowered his head in silence and then looked up at me, saying, "You know, sometimes, partings are unavoidable. No one can do anything about it." I froze, waves of sadness washing over me. "But you have to keep going, okay?" He suddenly smiled. "What?" "Bloom, you know. Grandma will be so happy." Oh, Grandma said, the orchids bloomed like dawn light, like curtains, like a fairyland, like a dream. I could let Grandma relive that dream. She had suffered too much. I smiled at him with relief. He said he would also try his best and would send you the most beautiful flowers. In the following days, I felt as if I carried a great mission and grew day by day with determination. When I finally gathered a plump flower bud, Grandma looked at me, her eyes shining brightly. I saw the light in her eyes—the light of a girl who never aged. I saw him smile at me and also saw the full flower buds on his branches. On the morning my flowers bloomed, the door suddenly opened, and a stranger entered, blending into the sunlight. I couldn’t see his face clearly. Grandma came out of the inner room, and as the two of them met, I felt time seemed to freeze. Grandma's tears suddenly fell "rhythmically." The white-haired old man was also moved to tears. In that moment, I finally understood what happiness was. He took a gentle breath outside and then smiled broadly. I looked at him, my heart full of warmth. One night, thunder and lightning raged, and the wind and rain were as if countless demons were tearing at the darkness. I stood on the coffee table, looking out the window. In that instant, a flash of lightning ripped through the darkness, casting everything in a stark white light. I seemed to hear the sinister laughter of demons passing by. I trembled like a tiny seed just poking out of the ground, because I remembered him. He was suffering in the storm, and the wind was strong enough to uproot him. He must be struggling as if dying. But what could I do? I was just an orchid, unable to move, let alone help him. My tears fell "drip-drip." Suddenly, a deafening explosion seemed to shake the earth, and I fainted. In a dazed state, I heard...