Boys of O’ Level were asked to gather vocabulary related with a snowy day, and then develop a story in which they would be incorporating all that vocabulary. Let’s see how very successful Muhammad Abubakar Mian’s attempt is. I believe a compelling quality opening; vocabulary capable of representing the situations and feelings; variety in the sentence structure, variety in vocabulary, variety in situations, description of feeling and emotions and situations; use of descriptive verbs + all this coupled with an engaging content; engaging content means the author has the ability to keep dragging his/her readers along till end by keeping their minds hooked up. That’s all what makes a story a truly interesting stuff . See for yourself, Muhammad Abubakar Mian does deserve applause for a job well done --- quite effortlessly. A big kudos, Abubakar

....I called the number back but to no avail…

What I woke up to would have been called a frozen wonderland if it wasn’t for the howling wind still raging outside. A violent and unrelenting blizzard had overtaken the small town of Dearborn, Michigan. This storm of deathly white was unlike anything Dearborn had seen before. Virtually everything in the town was under a blanket of snow, and not a soul stirred in any of its streets. Businesses and most public services were closed, as people trapped themselves in their homes while seeking refuge from the Siberian environment. How much longer will this blizzard last? I wondered, while slowly creeping out of bed and making my way to the kitchen.

Perhaps a nice, warm cup of coffee will fight off the frigid cold that still holds a tight grip over my body, I thought. As I was sipping on the coffee, however, my cellphone rang - but only for a few seconds. It stopped ringing as soon as I took it out of my pocket. The missed call was from an old lady that lived about a block away. Perplexed as to why she was calling so early in the morning, I called the number back but to no avail. Suddenly, the freezing cold came rushing over my body once more. Maybe she’s in trouble and needs my assistance? Being her only friend and contact in the entire town, she didn’t have anyone else to turn to.

A part of me wanted to quickly gulp down the coffee and just as quickly crawl back under the comfy bed sheets. While the warmth of the bed sheets might have shielded me from the blizzard’s arctic grasp, it would not have provided closure as to why Ms. Lee had just left a missed call. As this internal conflict of emotions played out in my head, I unconsciously got myself dressed - ready to face the icy tempest.

With one last deep breath, I swung the door open and trudged out into the snow. Hugging my coat like a joey clinging to its mother’s pouch, I turned in the direction of Ms. Lee’s house and made my way towards it. Every few steps a debilitating gust of sleet and snow hurled itself against me. Bracing myself for more of these aggressions being carried by the blizzard, I thought of my relationship with Ms. Lee. Unfortunately, I didn’t know much about her and neither did she of me. What I was certain of however, was that I was the closest thing to a friend she had anywhere in this town. It was my responsibility, then, to make sure she was okay. ‘Maybe she has fallen somewhere in her house and is unable to get up,” I feared.

After a few more minutes of walking, I finally made it to the house. I rang the bell and then heard a shout from deep within the house. The exclamation put my body into overdrive as I turned the door knob and sprinted inside.

“Ah! Abubakar, it’s so nice to see you. I just finished baking some cookies. Why don’t you sit down and eat?” (…describe your reaction as well --- in a sentence or two. How did you feel like? Shocked? Sad? Bored? Happy or what? Besides, whatever you revealed in the end could have been something more forceful, more enthralling one. That blast surprise I was waiting for turned out to be rather weak here.)

Muhammad Abubakar Mian
O' Level Final Year
PakTurk International School & College
Islamabad