The way it works
By Mohua Mouli
It's simple. You take a gun, you point it in any direction. You point it at my face, or at the mirror. All you need is a noise that's loud enough; loud enough to blow away all the dust. The dust that has been keeping you messed up. Don't let it rest for too long. If it gets thick enough, just a loud bang might not be what would do the trick.
Don't think it's all over just then. Go to the showers. Rinse yourself for as long as it takes. For as long as it takes to clear off the haziness. Get the picture fogged off. You need to see the picture; the really big picture. You need to get back far enough to see it. You know what they say; “The sum is greater than its parts.” That's how this works you see. You have got to see the whole of it; not just the colors, not just its horizons. Please, don't just reflect on it. Don't give me your ideas on it. I don't care to know, and you shouldn't care to share. Until you know what to do, just keep looking over and over again. No, not over to me, not over to anyone, because no one's there. Can't you see that by now? You are all alone. You have always been so and always will. What do you keep looking for? Don't you see it's all a desert with nothing but the sand, where each grain is a memory? There is a storm coming, there is a sand storm whirling ever so fast, it will carry you away. It will bruise you, blind you. Its destiny is to destroy you. You have to keep fighting back. Keep a pair of goggles to protect your eyes; you need to see it all. Always keep a first aid kit with you; you don't know when you'll need it. Don't forget to take a bottle of sparkling water, in case you start getting exhausted.
When you reach the eye of the beast, be very careful. Be very, very careful not to lose your head. It's viciously silent inside that circle. This is when you're most vulnerable. You are hurt, you're confused. The storm will have taken everything from you by then. Don't let the quietness deafen you. Your instincts will play tricks on you. You will begin to hallucinate. Don't try and jump off when you see an oasis. It does not exist. One wrong step and you're done for. What's that I hear you saying? It's not fair? Well, I'm sorry you're disappointed, but as you can see there is no one here who cares. Stop crying, you need that salt enriched water you're losing to keep you alive. If you can't tough it out now, it's all over for you. Is that what you want?
It'll start to slow down by now. You can see the blue sky again. It's done with you, it'll drop you off. Don't land on your feet, roll over, it's physics. Be careful not to roll too far, you might fall off the cliff.
It's alright; don't be afraid, it's gone now.
Take my hand.
There you go, now get up.
Oh, you're dizzy, okay; take a seat under that tree.
Want an apple?
The grass is real soft isn't it?
Let's take a walk.
Come on now, don't be so depressed. You can start over. It's easy. Look! Look over that hill, do you see it?
It's an oasis! No you're not crazy, I see it too.
Slow down! Wait for me will you? Hey!
Oh well. Goodbye, don't forget to forget me.
The Spelling Bee buzz this week:
The Daily Star Spelling Bee in on. Kids all over are scrambling to make it to the top. Considering we have computers correcting our spelling mistakes, working it using our brains is that much more difficult. So here's our top tip this week on how to work the letters.
Take Small Bites: Our mind is like a teenager's wardrobe. A teenager generally tries to shove all the clothes into the wardrobe all at once. Newton's Third law states all clothes pushed in at once will react in an opposite manner. They will all spill out. So put things in a little at a time. Same with the spelling sessions. For spelling tests that are long, break it up into a few words at a time. For example, if there are 15 words then practice 3 each day until the test. Try to learn too much at once will only jumble it up or push some information out. Or, learn one word well before adding the next word. Each day, add a new word to the repertoire.
