I stood outside a lively theme park and waited for my girlfriend. I was there about twenty minutes earlier than the appointed time but that didn’t matter. I was really looking forward to tonight. A few minutes later, I saw her walking towards me and frowning. “Oh, come on! Let me be the early one for once,” she said jokingly before winking at me. She strolled over to my side and held my hand. “Shall we?” she said and I did a slight bow before leading her inside.

My girlfriend and I went for a date together. We strolled around the amusement park and talked jovially with each other. We sat on many rides together like the roller coasters and the thrill houses. I even won a doll for her. I wished that time would have just stopped then and there, having her smiling face right beside mine as we ate ice cream, sat down on a bench and looked at the night sky. As time passed and slowly edged into midnight, I suggested we go on the Ferris wheel for our last ride before calling it a night and going back.

We entered the gondola of the Ferris wheel in silence. We both knew what it meant when I said ‘our last ride’, for I was going overseas the next day to further my studies and I didn’t know how long it would be before I could see her again. She sat down beside me and gripped my hand tightly. She leaned her head on my shoulder and she started sobbing silently. I caressed her hair gently, wishing more than ever for time to freeze. “I wish we could always be together,” she mumbled. We sat in cold silence except for her occasional weep as the capsule started to move up slowly. We were alone in the gondola and I had a strong urge to just break down into tears myself.

Just as we were at the apex of the Ferris wheel there was a strong jerk and a loud snapping sound. The gondola stopped moving and swayed in place. I peeped outside and regretted doing so. We were falling down; rather, the whole Ferris wheel was falling down sideways. A sudden feeling of vertigo overtook me and I brought my gaze away from the outside. I hugged my companion tightly and braced for impact. Within seconds, we crashed into a nearby tower and we stopped falling for a while. It seemed like we were safe for the time being. We were afraid; both of us were shivering. The Ferris wheel could crash at any moment and it would take at least a few hours for help to reach us since we were at the highest point.

Suddenly I just felt very nostalgic. I started talking to her about how we met, about all the time we spent together, and about the small things we shared. I could feel a tear sliding down the side of my face. My voice quivered as I spoke. She listened to me as I talked for what seemed like hours. I needed to be strong, for she was already in tears herself. “Don’t say that,” she choked through her tears. “We’ll survive this together, right?”

I could only nod my head as there was another loud jerk again. There was simply no way for us to escape. Staying inside would lead us to our doom, jumping out would also lead us to our doom. I saw the lights from the fire and rescue team; they were nearby. The Ferris wheel shook violently again this time and for the last time I hugged her. We began to slowly accelerate downwards, aided by gravity and the weight of the ride. “Now we’ll always be together,” she said again suddenly. We were finally falling down.

“Hang on kids! We’re coming!” shouted one of the fire and rescue personnel. Suddenly my whole body sprang to life again. Within a second, I picked my girlfriend up in my arms, much to her surprise. She was as light as a feather to me. “I’m sorry,” I said. I kicked open the door with my leg and jumped out. At the furthest distance, I tossed her with all my strength to the man who was trying to rescue us. He managed to catch her. I saw her eyes widen as she screamed my name. The distance between us grew as I was plummeting downwards. I was free falling down a 14-storey high Ferris wheel and the chance of my survival from the fall was completely nil. I was quite at peace, as I could only look up to see the fire and rescue personnel holding her back from jumping down after me.

I started to shout, “I’m sorry. I really wish we could be together forever. I really do. Thank you for spending all those times with me. You really brought back colour and meaning to my life again. I love-“

My brain perceived me hitting the ground. My voice was cut off mid-sentence as I felt my whole body become limp; or rather I couldn’t feel my body at all. Red colour overtook my vision, and I couldn’t see anything anymore. The last thing I saw with my mind’s eye was the smiling face of my girlfriend. Then, everything went black.

-Terence

A house, many people could define this as a roof over your head and a comfortable environment to survive in. However, I believe that there is more to a house than just the physical things that make it up. I lived in a house for most of my childhood and looking back I can say I had good memories there, but I had to move when I was in my early teenage years. I had to move because my parents rented that house and the owners were selling it. Then we rented another house, where we only lived for a year, yet, again we had to move because the owners said they were selling that house too. So finally we moved into a trailer, where I have lived ever since then.

Living here has not been the best time. I mean for me, who has been so used to living in a house, it was quite an adjustment. So looking back at my childhood yes, I have moved a lot and now living in a trailer. However, it is not about what you live in, whether it be a townhouse, condo, a motel, a hotel, an igloo, or even a trailer. What matters is the love inside the house, which is what makes it a home. When people say,"I'm going to my house," they say,"I'm going to the structure that was built for me," but when people say,"I'm going to my home," that means they are going to a place where they are loved and know they are welcomed with open arms.

You see, having a house is one thing but without the people in it who love and care for one another, it is just a house with doors, windows, paints and a big roof over your heads. So, having this place called home rather than just a house, is a good opportunity for my family to grow and continue to be there for each other. It is an opportunity for my little brother and sisters to have a place they can call home. A place where they will remember and smile when they look back and being able to recall the fun and sweet memories they had. This meant so much to my family and to me, a house we can finally call home. I knew that when they move to somewhere else, their lives will never be the same again but it is not just them who will be affected. I am too, and I look forward to spending time in our home together and making many more memories to come. Now that is what a place I would like to call home !

It all started when my friends and I decided to organize a get-together at a hill resort during the school holidays. We met up at the state’s bus station and got on the bus that we chartered to take us to our destination early in the morning. The journey there, which took about 3 hours or so, was uneventful as nothing particularly interesting happened. When we arrived, the first thing we did was check into a hotel and dropped off our luggage there. My friends, being the thrill seekers that they were, immediately ran to the outdoor theme park and sat on some of the rides there. As for me, I sat out of most of the attractions as I wasn’t too fond of such things. I opted to sit near the roller coasters that my friends sat on instead and followed them around. They were not very happy about this, or maybe they just felt bad because I wasn’t joining them in their fun. So, they asked me to at least join them in a, supposedly, kiddy ride, a very mild ride that they assured I would enjoy. Since I too felt bad for not indulging in their wants for the whole trip so far, I hesitantly agreed and they quickly pulled me over to where the ride was. They brought me into a dimly lit tunnel where I could barely make out the last half of the words on a signboard which read, “… Mine Train”.

The queue for that particular ride was longer than any I’ve seen before. While waiting for our turn, my friends and I talked amongst ourselves about anything that came to our minds. It’s really easy, being friends and all. The words just come naturally. However, this time, I felt as if the conversation was artificial and I was further convinced of this when I noticed that my friends were exchanging glances from time to time and refused to meet my gaze. My attention was drawn away from them when I heard some screams in the distance. I expressed my concern about the screams to my friends but they only said it was a normal thing, that “everyone screams in a roller coaster ride”. At that particular moment, I just felt like walking away from them because I caught on to what they were planning, yet I couldn’t make my escape because we were surrounded by a lot of people and I couldn’t push through them.

About 10 minutes later, it was almost our turn to get on the ride. All the screaming made the waiting so much worse. In fact, I had already become a nervous wreck long before I could see the carriages of the roller coaster. I had the urge to make a beeline to the exit gate since it was only a railing away and I could easily jump over it but my friends knew me all too well; they had long since grabbed both my arms and prevented me from running away. I struggled in vain as they continued to maintain a vice-like grip on my arms and dragged me, against my will, to the ride. They forced me down on a seat and made sure I stayed there by strapping me in tightly. As a second line of defence, one of my friends even sat down beside me to make sure I didn’t escape… or maybe they were just afraid I might do something crazy. Whatever the reason, it made me feel slightly safer, to have someone I know sitting beside me.

The sound of metal gears clinking against each other indicated that the ride was going to move. We ascended right out of the tunnel, and only then did I realize just how high up we were. Did I mention I was acrophobic? By the time we reached the apex of the roller coaster, I was already white-faced and shaking all over. Ironically, I cursed myself for trusting my friends earlier and for not running away while I still could. As if to emphasize my despair, the ride stopped for a moment so I could only helplessly stare downwards from where I was.

Some people say that, just before dying, we are able to see our most cherished memories again. As time seemed to stop at the turning point of the roller coaster, I could practically see all the images of me in the past. I saw myself, aged four, playing a computer for the first time. Then, there was me again, eating a chicken chop all on my own. Finally, I saw myself with my friends, all of us wearing coats with ties in another country, smiling from ear to ear. Sadly, I was not able to fully enjoy those recollections of myself as we plunged, almost vertically downwards, at very alarming speeds.

The very first thing I did was close my eyes and grip the bar in front of my seat with all my might. However, I felt dizzy with my eyes closed and was forced to open them within a few seconds of their closing. Then, I saw the most amazing sight. My friends in front of me raised their arms in the air and were laughing like jackals and were facing me, as if they were not even on a roller coaster. Heck, they were even talking like normal to each other while I was holding on to my dear life. I was pretty sure they were trying to tell me something, but I just couldn’t stand it anymore. I started to scream at the top of my lungs. Even I was surprised that I could shout so loudly. I screamed, I bawled, I yelled, I screeched, I shrieked, I yodeled, and I did anything else that the English language had that was a synonym of ‘shout’. I was taken for the ride of my life, in every literal manner.

I wasn’t sure what really happened on the roller coaster. I closed my eyes sometimes, and when they weren’t closed, I was screaming my lungs out till they were. In fact, I was probably the only person screaming as everyone else was too shocked to scream themselves. The ride brought me up, down, left, right, circles, loops, and more. All this while, my friends in front of me had their hands raised and were laughing their hearts out, probably because of me. Their bodies swayed according to the motion of the carriage, left, right, left, right, but they didn’t seem to care.

It felt as if an eon had passed, but the ride finally ended when it slowed down and I couldn’t scream any longer. Although it only took a few minutes, maybe even less, I believed that the sound energy I produced within that time frame was bigger in magnitude than what I had released in the past few months. When the ride finally stopped, everyone got out except for me. My hands, cold and clammy, were glued to the safety bar in front of me and refused to listen to my brain. My friend who sat beside me had to pry my hand off the bar finger-by-finger and even so, I still couldn’t get out properly. My legs were shaking and I had trouble standing up. I was sure that, after seeing how shaken I was, I saw a few other would-be passengers simply walking away to the exit gate instead of sitting on the ride that they queued up for for more than 10 minutes. I didn’t go on anymore thrill rides after that one. I merely sat nearby and enjoyed the weather.

After it was all said and done, however, I think that that was a good experience overall. Some of my friends repeatedly apologized to me, while some of them continued to poke fun at me even until now. In all actuality, even I can just laugh it off. Maybe, just maybe, I could muster the confidence to sit that kind of ride another time when we plan another get-together. Regardless, I am glad that I did do something interesting there and I’m sure that that memory will stick with us for a long time to come.

-Terence