by Ping Huang
Words Checked: 3328
Words in Oxford 3000: 93%
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About the author
Ping Huang, born in Los Angeles, America, living in Taiwan. Grew up like a normal Taiwanese girl with lots of love from the parents. She discovered her talent in language when she was 12. In junior high, she self-taught English by reading “Let’s talk in English” magazine and watching “Magic ABC” program on TV for three years.
At the age of 15, she went to Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages to major in English and minor in French. In the mean time, she continued developing her interest by attending various competitions e.g. English story telling, drama, speech contests and received several awards as well.
This novel is her first piece. She hopes true stories bring true reflections from the reader.
Further contact: [email protected]
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CONTENTS
ONE .............................................................6 TWO ...........................................................15 THREE .........................................................17 FOUR .........................................................35 FIVE ……………………………………….….38
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To Jo in the story and my dearest family.
Thanks for supporting mein all times with
a bunch a of love. At last, thank you, my
father in Heaven. You’re my inspiration and
my strength when I am weak. Without You,
this novel would not be true.
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ONE
I was standing far; I could see Jo
finished his second cigarette. He threw
the cigarette but on the ground and
stepped on it. He kept talking on his
mobile. It seemed that he wasn't very
happy.
No wonder he was unhappy,
he just had a big fight with his parents.
He rushed out with his father shouting
his name. I walked by, patched on Jo's
shoulder. He sighed, and hung up his
phone. "Glad to see you," he said with
a low tone. "What happened? Do you
want to talk about it?" I asked. "No,
maybe another time," he glanced at
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me, "sorry, I'm meeting Chris at the
Crown's cafe, I'll talk to you later."
He jumped off the scooter he was
sitting and walked toward to another
one. He put on the helmet and started
the engine with the key. I stood there
and watched him left into the dark
streets.
I stretched both my hands into my
pockets and left.
*
At Jo's home, Mr. and Mrs. Wang
were sitting across the dining table,
blank and speechless. The dishes
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were getting cold. No one touched any
of them. Ester was sitting beside the
table. She quickly finished he dinner
silently; crabbed her bowl and dish to
the kitchen sink. She slowly walked
upstairs and entered her room.
Downstairs, Mr. And Mrs. Wang
were still quiet. "What happened to
him? Is there an evil spirit inside of
him?" Mr. Wang murmured to himself.
"I don't know. You shouldn't mention
about the grades or anything that he
has done by the dinnertime. See,
quarrels again." Mrs. Wang argued.
"What do you mean I shouldn't
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have mentioned the grades or
anything? We're his parents, shouldn't
we care about him?" Mr. Wang began
to shout.
"I didn't say we shouldn't care
about him. Don't blur the point alright?
It's just we were supposed to have a
peaceful and nice dinner together but
look what happened after you asked
about all the stuff? He doesn't like to
talk about it! You knew it wasn't the
right time to talk but you still got into it.
You spoilt the whole dinner!" Mrs.
Wang fought back. "Listen what
you're talking, you mean it was all my
fault now?" "To be honest, yes. And
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look at Jo's attitude. He has become
more and more rude to us! I'm the one
suffering all these. You always work,
work and work! Can't you be at home
earlier to discipline your son?" Mrs.
Wang complained.
"I'm out there working for who? For
the whole family and now you're not
appreciated but blame me?" Mr. Wang
stood up and patted hard on the table
and walked out of the dining room.
Ester was in her room alone,
weeping silently. She heard what her
parents were fighting. "I don't want
them to fight like that! What can I do?
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God, help us. And where's Jo?" She
thought while drops of tears fell down
on her cheeks. She sat there for a
while, and then she dried her face and
began to read her Bible. Ester had
been a Christian since her childhood
and she was taught to rely on God
when she encounters any difficulties.
She read the Bible and wrote down
something on her notebook. “Dear
God, I don't know why this struggle
happened to my family. Is it because
we had been so blessed and had lived
smoothly all the time? Now you want
us to experience something that other
families are going through? I don't
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understand. Show me your will and
give us you great strength in order to
let us know how to handle the whole
thing with Jo. Give Mom and Dad
wisdom to know how to deal with Jo.
Pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
*
Jo was driving very fast on the
road, the wind swept over his face. He
could barely open his eyes. It was 2
am in the midnight.
Jo arrived the Crown's and parked
his scooter. Chris was already there.
He had ordered a cup of Latte. When
he saw Jo, he made a sign and Jo
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noticed it. Jo came to sit down beside
Chris and said nothing.
"Hey, do you want something
to drink? Espresso?" Chris asked.
"Maybe a beer!" Jo answered.
"Sure," Chris turned his head to the
bartender, "a beer, please." "Right
away, sir." The bar tender gave them a
big smile.
Chris turned back and looked at Jo,
"wow, you look like shit. What's
wrong?"
Jo shrugged, "nothing, my dad
was pieced off. And I don't want to stay
in that damn house."
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Chris lit a cigarette and gave Jo
one, "say, you know Fred is preparing
a pizza shop and he needs some help.
Want to come?"
Jo blew some smoke out of his
nose. "Yeah? When?"
"This Sunday, I'm going' to buy
something. You can come with me. We
can give him a gift, you know." Chris
sipped his latte and put the cup down.
"Really, sure." Jo said.
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TWO
I went home and sat in front of my
desk for a while, recalling Jo's story.
It was two years ago. Jo was
14 and studied in a private school. He
was a cute boy, whoever met him
would say so, but he has changed
quite a lot.
"Hey, Jo, come here!" one of
Jo's classmates said to Jo. Jo went to
them without doubts. "What's new?" Jo
asked. "Well, just wondering if you
have tried some cigarettes yet." Kung,
a big guy who always fooling around.
"No, I don't think I should try that.
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It's not healthy." Jo insisted. "Wow,
we have a saint here. Jo's too saint to
smoke" Other people chuckled.
Someone added, "yeah, he's such a
saint little boy who should never try
smoking like us. Let's give a break.
Hahah…"
They started to talk about where to
go that night. Jo was embarrassed so
he said, "Give me one. I'll show you
guys I can smoke." "Well, you're the
man, give him one." Kung commanded
to another boy. When Jo tried the first
smoke, he coughed. Others laughed
and gave him some applause. "Shit,
this smells like shit," thought Jo.
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THREE
"Ester, Mom and I are going to
China for a week. Do you think it's ok
to leave both of you at home?" Mr.
Wang asked. “Dad, I'm already
eighteen. I can take care of myself."
Ester grinned and said to her father.
"But we have never left you guys
for such a long time you know." Mrs.
Wang added. “Mom, I can handle it.
But I think you should talk to Jo, he's
the one always fooling around. He
might burn the house while you are
out." Ester teased.
"Ester!" said Mr. Ester. “Just
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kidding, dad." Ester spited her tongue.
"Anyway, I asked May and Anna and
some ladies at church to come over
night so don't fool around." Mrs. Wang
added.
"Sure, mom, I'll be very good."
Ester answered and went into her
room.
Mr. and Mrs. Wang looked at each
other and had a bitter smile. Mr. Wang
began, "do you think it will work? I'm a
little worried."
"Yeah, you're right. I think
something might happen to Jo." Mrs.
Wang said. “Well, anyway, we keep
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praying for them. God will discipline
the children he loves." Mr. Wang
confirmed. Mrs. Wang still had the
strange feeling inside of her heart.
*
Saturday night, Jo and Chris are in
the supermarket.
"We need some chalks and poster
paper. I'll go for the chalks and you go
take some black papers, Jo." Chris
commanded.
After ten minutes, they met in front
of the main gate.
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"See, there's no chalk here. It
sucks." Chris said. "Well, maybe we
can try somewhere else. I remember
that there are lots of chalks all over the
public schools. Do you think we can
take some?" Jo suggested. People
kept passing them so they moved to
outside the supermarket.
"Right, there's a school in a block.
Let's go." Chris said with excitement.
Then they went to the school. It
was ten o'clock already. It was all dark
in the school campus. They sneak into
the school building.
"Damn, they're all locked." Chris
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murmured. "What? That's too bad."
Jo said. "Hey look, there are chalks
on the table." Chris couldn't hold his
voice. "That's right. It's so close.
What are we going to do?" Jo asked.
"Mm…all the windows are locked but
maybe we can knock it out and take
some gorgeous chalks." Chris said.
"Yeah, I'll get the stick." Jo offered.
At this moment, the school's
security guard already noticed Jo and
Chris from the monitor. "Maybe they
just want to find a toilet, that's all. Gee,
why they come just before I'm
leaving…" thought the guard.
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He got up, moaning, and took a
torch. He started to follow Jo and Chris
to check if they were finished.
"Okay, I got it. Do you want to do it
or me?" Jo asked. "I'll do it." Chris
took the cane.
Jo and Chris didn't realize the
guard was in a few feet away. Chris
raised the cane and knocked the
window glass. The glass broken but
they heard a whistle blowing.
"You nasty boys; how dare you!"
shouted the guard angrily. Jo and
Chris looked at each other, said
nothing and began to run. The guard
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chased them immediately and shouted,
"Stop, don't think you can run away, I'll
get you."
They ran for about the whole
campus in different directions. Jo
finally stopped to look back. He saw no
one in the dark. He gasped hard. His
legs were shaking. "Damn, I'm toasted.
How come the guard was behind us
and we didn't know? And where's
Chris?"
At the same time, Jo's mobile
rang. He picked up and hear Chris'
voice. He suddenly knew he was
totally in trouble. Chris got CAUGHT.
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*
It was the fourth day since Mr.
and Mrs. Wang were out. Ester was
quite happy because she was going to
swimming with some friends
In the afternoon, Jack, a tall
guy arrived at Ester's and Ester asked
him to come into the house. While
Jack was watching the family photos
hung on the wall, he asked,
"Where's Jo? I haven't seen him
for ages."
"Oh, he's been out for the whole
day. Actually I have no idea where he
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could be. He's always like that. Never
tell us where he goes." Ester sighed
and took her swimming bag. "Shall we
go?" "Yeah, the scooter’s in front of
the lobby." Jack said when he was
putting on his shoes.
When they arrived the swimming
pool. Another friend, May, was already
there waiting. She waved to Ester and
Jack. ”Hey Jack, I didn’t know you
were coming together.” May said. “Oh,
I didn’t want to ride my scooter so I
asked him to pick me up.” Ester said.
They all went into the swimming
pool.
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*
Mr. and Mrs. Wang were in China
and they had a good time working with
the people there. At night, they took
turns to take a bath. After Mrs. Wang
came out of the bathroom, she said,
"Isn’t it wonderful, dear? I didn't
believe we could work so well with
them."
"True, though we have
different nationalities but we could still
work well by God's love." Mr. Wang
lifted his head from the book he was
reading.
"By the way, why don't we call
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Ester and Jo to check if they're doing
ok." "Okay, I'll get it." Mrs. Wang
agreed. She took her notebook from
her bag and began to dial. "Weird, it's
the answering machine. It's almost ten
o'clock. How come they're not at home
yet?"
Mr. Wang frowned and said,
"Really? It IS weird. Is it Saturday?"
"No, it's Sunday and they have school
tomorrow." Mrs. Wang answered and
left a message. "Hello, Ester and Jo,
this is Mom and Dad to check if you're
doing okay but you're not home yet.
Behave well. Bye." Mrs. Wang hung up
the phone and frowned. "I have the
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strange feeling again. I think
something happened." Mrs. Wang said
to Mr. Wang. "Don't worry, God will
protect them. Come on, let's go to
bed." Mr. Wang pretended to be calm.
He secretly prayed before he went on
sleeping.
*
Jo and Chris were taken to the
police station next to the school. An
officer asked, "You guys have any IDs?
I need to inform your parents."
Chris took out his driver’s license.
Jo also tried to find his wallet but he
didn't find it.
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"Damn, I must lost it when I was
running on the campus." He thought.
However, he stayed calm and said to
the officer, "Sir, may I borrow your
phone to call my family?" "Yeah, sure.
It's over there on the table. Don't talk
too long."
*
Ester had a good time
swimming with her friends. After she
got out of the bathroom and was
drying her hair with a towel. Jack
patched her shoulder and said, "Jo
called May and I think there's
something wrong. You'd better check
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with May."
Ester ran to May, "What did Jo
say?" "Well, he said he was in the
police station and he needs you to go
there right away." May said seriously
with her big eyes. "What? In the
police station?" Ester suddenly felt a
stream of cold water pouring down.
She calmed down immediately and
said, "May, lend me your mobile and
call him now. I need to know the whole
thing."
May dialed the number and
passed the mobile to Ester. After a few
seconds, Jo answered, “hello?”
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"Jo, what happened? Why are you
in the police station?" Ester asked with
anxious.
"Chris and I tried to stole some
chalks from the school and we got
caught.”
“What? Steal some chalks? Are
you nuts or what, why didn’t you buy
some from the shop?” Ester yelled
angrily.
“Anyway, can you come here?" Jo
answered emotionlessly tried to avoid
that question.
"I’ll be right there." Ester hung up
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the phone. May and Jack looked at her
and asked, “So? What is it?” “Jo tried
to steal some chalks from a school and
he’s got caught. Stupid. What the hell
was he thinking?” May asked, “So
are you going to the police station?”
“Yeah, Jack, sorry, could you take me
there?” Ester turned to Jack. Jack
nodded and took the keys out of the
pocket, “Let’s go.”
*
In the police station, Jo sat
beside with Chris, silently. There was a
sigh on the wall said, "No smoking" but
all the officers were smoking in front of
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the sign.
Suddenly, Ester rushed with a
very nervous face, followed by Jack.
One officer stood up and said, "Are
you Jo Wang's family?" "Yes, I’m his
sister." Ester answered immediately,
"Now what should I do? I'm his sister."
"Well, he's lost his IDs but we need
some certifications to identify him.
These two boys broke into the
classroom and swore to the school
guard. Lady, this is very serious crime
for teenagers. They might have to stay
here until tomorrow then."
Ester paled and turned to Jo said,
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"Jo, what were you thinking? Why
didn't you buy chalks in the shops?"
Jo answered firmly, "We did look in
the shops but there wasn't any." Ester
sighed and turned to Jack. "Jack, is
that possible that let your parents to
handle this?" Jack looked at Ester and
pick up his mobile, dialed.
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FOUR
At Wang's, Ester sat in her
room again, tears pouring down. She
was writing her diary.
"Dear Diary,
They just fought few minutes ago.
I'm feeling so bad. My stomach is
hurting. The relationship between
Mom and Dad and Jo is becoming
worse. Every time they talk about
disciplines and manners, they fight.
Every time when Jo asks for allowance,
they fight. I can't stand the attitude
which Jo's having, but Mom and Dad's
limitations are different as well. There
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are so many problems we're facing.
When does it end? When is Jo coming
back home with a smile? Since when
"home" becomes a battlefield for us? I
don't want them to fight anymore. Why
is God hiding his face of us? Why
doesn't He do some thing? I'm tired of
listening their quarrels, their
arguments, and their different ideas.
Why can't Mom and Dad have the
same rules? Why is the world so unfair?
Dear Diary, would you tell me what to
do?"
Ester dried her face and closed
her diary. Suddenly, a thought ran into
her mind. She opened her diary again
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and wrote,
"No matter what happens, God is
by my side. God is by my family's side.
God never hides his face of us. He has
his timing and I shall be His servant.
God, I know Jo will be back and a right
perspective again. He's coming back
by your timing. May your will be done. I
shall be still and know that you're God.
It' time for us to let him go because
Jo's your precious child and I know
that you'll always protect him from evil.
We sometimes feel sad and angry but
we know that You are by our side."
Ester finished writing and closed her
diary. She smiled.
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FIVE
Mrs. Wang just called me. She
asked me what I would do to Jo if I
were she. I sighed. I couldn't do
anything to help her family but pray.
She told me everything in her family.
I've been very close to Wangs. It is
very sad to see Jo has become a
trauma in her family.
Fortunately, they are Christians.
They never give up on Jo. They keep
praying for him because we know that
some day, it must be some day, he
would be a very good testimony of
God. He has been through all dirty life
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and made lots of mistakes. Wangs
love Jo even Jo is very rude to them,
that is because of God's love.
They are so faithful to God. They
did doubt that why God has put the
trouble in their family. However, they
never give up. They cried, they have
sorrows, they complaint and they even
tell God they rather kick Jo out of the
family but they still believe, one day, Jo
will be a the right track. They never
give up because they know that God
never gives up.
I, as a story teller, I can hardly
believe that the strength from God can
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make people feel better but now I start
to wonder how faith is like.
THE END
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SUMMARY
This is a story about love,
insistence and perseverance. Jo went
into a wrong track in his life. His family
tried hard to lead him back. Difficulties,
tough times can be met. What may
happen in the future? How does the
Wangs confront their problems? Who
may help this struggling family?