Childhood memories
Author: Audrey Ho Peiying
It was a bitter Christmas morning, and there was a strong wind blowing from the North.Margaret, a North American girl, was walking around her porch with her thickest coat and layers and layers of clothes on. She was a poor girl, who lived in an Orphanage, nicknamed "The Bare Cell", as it wasn't really an orphanage as parents who had to go away for business left their children there. They picked them up when they came back and so during the Christmas holidays, "The Bare Cell" was filled with emptiness and a child. Margaret was a well-liked child among the people who took care of her. She was a polite child and very almost contented with her life. When people smiled at her, she smiled back. But when they spoke, she made signs with her hands. As you can see, she was deaf. She never did have any friends, just enough to eat and drink and sufficient clothes to wear. She was grateful to the number of children who gave up their old toys and gave them to the orphanages. Sometimes she spent her days watching young children like her go to school, and that was one thing she envied. How she longed to go to school, make friends and have fun. She just wanted to try it out for one day, just for a day. But no, her inability of hearing and other people not understanding her just would not go away. During summer, it was bearable because there were at least some children other than her in the "Bare Cell". When she tried to befriend them, they would not understand and turn their backs to her .She tried to console herself that they were just in a bad mood, and then walked away. She would walk to the playground, swing on the swings, and then come back home just in time for dinner. During the day, she went to the Deaf school when she felt like it. The Orphanage had not enough money to send her there. That all happened for the last 7 years in her life. Her parents died in a car crash when she was one and her aunts and uncles couldn't stand her. So they just sent her to an Orphanage.
On Christmas night, just as Margaret was staring out of her bedroom window, she heard many bells ringing merrily and a fat man wearing red and white was sitting on a sledge in the air, and was pulled by a few reindeer led by one with a bright red nose. It couldn't be true, she told herself. She rubbed her eyes and looked out again. She thought the people at the Orphanage were the ones giving her presents every Christmas. Now she knew the secret. She fell asleep to the sounds of the ringing bells, with a smile on her face, knowing that there was at least someone who cared about her.
It was a bitter Christmas morning, and there was a strong wind blowing from the North.Margaret, a North American girl, was walking around her porch with her thickest coat and layers and layers of clothes on. She was a poor girl, who lived in an Orphanage, nicknamed "The Bare Cell", as it wasn't really an orphanage as parents who had to go away for business left their children there. They picked them up when they came back and so during the Christmas holidays, "The Bare Cell" was filled with emptiness and a child. Margaret was a well-liked child among the people who took care of her. She was a polite child and very almost contented with her life. When people smiled at her, she smiled back. But when they spoke, she made signs with her hands. As you can see, she was deaf. She never did have any friends, just enough to eat and drink and sufficient clothes to wear. She was grateful to the number of children who gave up their old toys and gave them to the orphanages. Sometimes she spent her days watching young children like her go to school, and that was one thing she envied. How she longed to go to school, make friends and have fun. She just wanted to try it out for one day, just for a day. But no, her inability of hearing and other people not understanding her just would not go away. During summer, it was bearable because there were at least some children other than her in the "Bare Cell". When she tried to befriend them, they would not understand and turn their backs to her .She tried to console herself that they were just in a bad mood, and then walked away. She would walk to the playground, swing on the swings, and then come back home just in time for dinner. During the day, she went to the Deaf school when she felt like it. The Orphanage had not enough money to send her there. That all happened for the last 7 years in her life. Her parents died in a car crash when she was one and her aunts and uncles couldn't stand her. So they just sent her to an Orphanage.
On Christmas night, just as Margaret was staring out of her bedroom window, she heard many bells ringing merrily and a fat man wearing red and white was sitting on a sledge in the air, and was pulled by a few reindeer led by one with a bright red nose. It couldn't be true, she told herself. She rubbed her eyes and looked out again. She thought the people at the Orphanage were the ones giving her presents every Christmas. Now she knew the secret. She fell asleep to the sounds of the ringing bells, with a smile on her face, knowing that there was at least someone who cared about her.