Shortlisted
A Trip to Heaven
Victoria Sin,
he Great Wall of China is one of the seven wonders of the world. It is located mostly on deserts,
mountains and grasslands, and is 5,500 miles long from Hushan in Liaoning to Jiayuguan Pass in
Gansu. My parents, by best friend and I climbed it starting from Beijing. Our adventure gave me a lot
of thoughts…
“
Victoria!
Group 2: Fiction, Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School
Just a few more steps!” my parents chanted from above. I looked over my shoulder, seeing my
best friend Agna huffing and puffing, out of breath. “Come on!” I called to her. “Five steps, four steps, three,
two, one, you’re there!” my parents said at the top of their voices. Agna grabbed my arm as she climbed the
final step. We were here, the highest spot of the Great Wall which ten-year olds could possibly climb! We
spread our arms, relaxing in the warm sunshine as soft wind made our hair brush on our cheeks. Giggling, we
settled on a hard stone bench and started sipping hot cocoa from our Thermoses. This joy and success made me
feel like I had a trip to heaven. In fact, it almost was. I was so, so, so close to the sky…
T
A lot of years ago, Chinese soldiers were in the spot where we were now, fighting enemies. They
would be looking for success to their city, and we were looking for success to climb high, high up in the sky
…
And some soldiers would be getting a trip to heaven, resting their souls in peace while we were resting our
tired bodies. We were so glad now, yet there were such sad stories behind the the Great Wall of China!
Take this sad story as an example. A man and his wife lived happily until war came, and every man in
the country was ordered to help build the Great Wall. The man wasn’t an exception. A few days later, the
woman decided to go visit her husband. She found a dead body at the grounds, and that was her beloved
husband’s body. She watched it as it disappeared in heaven…
There are sad stories behind the Great Wall, but nowadays, we have a lot of happy memories taking
place. And now, we climb down the last step, and start to run as if we were birds just released from a cage. A
trip to the Great Wall is so joyful and successful! Just like life, it covers sad stories. So let’s push out our
worries by relaxing on the Great Wall!
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