Stories

Chapter One Peter's Dream

              Peter waited restlessly as his science teacher, Ms. Sullivan looked through his science report.
              It was about the segmentation of cells. Peter thought his report was perfect. He couldn’t wait to hear the words of praise from his favorite teacher.
              “This is very nice,” Ms. Sullivan said, slowly. She looked through the paper over and over again.
              What Peter liked about Ms. Sullivan was how she looked through the students’ work thoroughly. Some teachers only glanced at them and graded them without really thinking.
              “Do you think I can win a Nobel Prize or something?” Peter asked, his eyes shining.
              Ms. Sullivan looked into Peter’s overly excited eyes. “Peter,” she said gently, “You should never be too satisfied with your work, no matter how great you think it is. Someday, you will probably think up something even better and maybe get rewarded. Until then, you must work hard.”
              Peter looked a little disappointed. “You don’t like my report?”
              “It’s fine,” Ms. Sullivan replied. “Just don’t be satisfied and try harder to surpass yourself.”
              Peter looked thoughtful. “When someday, I exceed my records and get awarded a Nobel Prize, will you be there to watch me?”
              Ms. Sullivan smiled. “Yes, I will.”

That night, Peter looked over his science report, but couldn’t find anything wrong with it. It’s probably because I don’t have enough knowledge in science, he realized. He had to study and learn more.
Peter was willing to study for two hours or even more every day to reach his goal. To impress Ms. Sullivan.

               A woman was lying on the hospital bed. She was going to die any minute. Peter didn’t know what to do to stop her from dying.
             Nurses and doctors were running about in panic.
              Peter wondered, Why do people have to die? Why? Why?
              Peter woke up in his bed. He stared at the ceiling for a long time, shocked by his dream.
              Peter glanced out the window. It was morning. The sky was baby blue and the trees outside were swaying softly. He listened to the rustling of leaves, and felt his heartbeat slow down. It’s just another stupid dream, he told himself. Still, Peter couldn’t help feeling a terrible premonition that… someone important would disappear from his life. Forever.