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: pinghc@yahoo.com.tw

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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.

5

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

6

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.

14

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?