Miss Jane submitted two of her O Level English compositions on the topic of guilt. They are so well written we decided they had to go up on the blog. The first is by Wu En Zi, Sabrina.
Guilt
Jerry Tan lounged in his limousine heading towards Mount Elizabeth Hospital, the best private hospital in Singapore. It was Monday morning and Jerry was on the way to work after arriving back from a holiday. Yes, he had taken a relaxing break, since he successfully completed an operation on a patient who had contracted a rare illness. As a surgeon, he was famous both at home and abroad and was chained to his work every day.
Dr Tan was a charming, single man in his early-forties. His expensively coiffured dark hair framed a face that was strong and intelligent. He had piercing brown eyes which shone like twin diamonds, a firm jaw which tapered into a determined pointed chin. He was extremely talented in medicine, which his university tutor knew when Jerry was in school. However, due to his gift, he was also arrogant and was blind to his fellow doctors’ suggestions.
When he stepped into the hallway of the hospital, everyone greeted him. Nevertheless, he never acknowledged them or even gave a glance. He just carried his document bag, heading towards his spacious office decorated with many lavish and delicate pieces of furniture.
“Hello Dr Tan, these are two cases accepted during your holiday. One of the patients had a heart attack, however it was accompanied with some symptoms of bloating. The other doctors could not find out the cause, but they thought it was different from other illnesses with had the same symptom,” said his assistant, Tom, who was also an excellent senior doctor.
Dr Tan took a casual glance at the document. After a few moments, Dr Tan conceitedly smiled and said, “It is nothing special, just a common case of bloating.”
Tom was a bit anxious and said, “I think you should go and see him, then you can make the final decision.” Dr Tan fidgeted and said, “I’ve helped plenty of patients recover from more nasty illnesses. Don’t you trust my judgement? Fine! I will go with you.”
When they arrived at the ward, Dr Tan saw that the patient lay in the hospital bed, frail and gaunt. He asked the patient some questions and mustered more information about his illness. After Dr Tan and Tom walked out of the ward and back to his office, Tom said, “Although this case has common symptoms, I still think it is strange, so the best solution is…” Abruptly Dr Tan barked, “Are you mocking my capability?”
“No, I am definitely not. I just wanted to err on the side of caution. After all, it is a life.” Tom answered. “You are merely my assistant, you must follow my directions!” Dr Tan shouted angrily, “Now, you will carry out my instructions or be fired.”
“Fine, I will resign!” Tom retorted, “If you are so arrogant and unwilling to accept my suggestions, you will regret your careless behaviour.” Then Tom slammed the door and strode off indignantly, leaving Dr Tan alone in his grandiose office.
Two months later, the police charged Dr Tan with misuse of medicine. He was fined, lost his licence to practice and was sentenced to 2 years in prison. As tears ran down his cheeks, Dr Tan let out a big sigh; he was completely ruined and full of self-pity. Nonetheless, he felt no guilt for his mistake.
Nicely done! The second is by Fu Na.
Guilt
It was the summer of 2011; the future never looked brighter. Anna had enrolled successfully in a famous university. Her years of hard work had finally paid off. Today she received a letter of admission and was over the moon.
Anna was an outstanding student. She had piercing blue eyes that seemed to see into your soul. Her forehead was high and broad. She ran out of the doorway, letter in hand. She saw the tree planted in her front yard and stopped. She remembered it was only five years ago when she planted the sapling with Linda. They had made a pact to go to the same secondary school and then to the same university. Anna’s smile had disappeared and all was silent.
Linda was Anna’s best friend from childhood. She had dreamy blue eyes which were just like limpid pools. She was a soft-spoken, demure girl.
It was the fall of 2006, a sunny morning. Linda and Anna went to school to collect the grades for their final exams. On the way, they walked hand in hand like a pair of twins. When they arrived at school, their classmates saw them and immediately broke the news. Anna got full marks on all her papers, but Linda got the lowest in class, both of them at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Anna was so happy about her results that Linda’s poor grades did not register with her. Anna was so steeped in her happiness that she forgot about Linda’s sadness. She went out with her classmates to celebrate and Linda just tagged along looking downcast. While they were celebrating, Linda went to a corner to cry, but Anna never noticed it. In the meantime Linda was teased, “Guess you helped your best friend so much you forgot to study yourself.” Linda just forced out a smile.
In the afternoon, when Linda reached home, she knew what she feared most would come true. Her parents had found out about her results. Their face turned black and they stared at her. Her father lost his temper and shouted at her, “How could you do this to us? How can we face our friends now? Do you know how much you have embarrassed us?” Linda was numb to everything and just wanted to get out of this cruel world. That evening Anna received a message on her phone, “I’m so happy that you did well. Live our dream for the both of us. Goodnight and goodbye.”
“I’ve done it Linda,” Anna thought to herself. “I’ve finally done it. You’ll always be with me.” Anna heard a voice from behind her “Anna, what are you doing standing there? It’s time for lunch.” Anna’s mother called. Anna sighed and turned around, walking back to the house. The letter drifted from her hand and fell by the tree.
Good job to both of you.
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