Composition contributed by Ivan (unedited) - A Secret

A cool breeze brushed lightly on my face. I knew that the weather was perfect. As I drank in the majestic scene, my brother nudged at me. He pulled my shirt and tried to haul me towards the registration counter to enter the both of us in the Annual Kite-flying Competition.

With great reluctance, I tore myself away from the scene and wrote my name and contact number in bold letters on the entry form. My trusty kite, whom I named Titan, was being constructed at the competition when something cropped up. The strings were worn out and that worried me. So, I got my father to help me reattach a brand new string to it.

Meantime, the young girls apprehensively approached me.

“Ca…Can you help us?” one of them stuttered unintelligibly.

“Um… with what?” I inquired with suspicion building up.

“Our kite….snagged on a tree,” the other whispered. At this line, my suspicion melted away. They did not say anything else but pointed to a big, tall tree. My mouth fell open. Since young, I always had a phobia of heights, so this tree seemed like a huge obstacle.

Not wanting to disappoint the girls, I gulped down a ball of air, put my fears aside and grabbed a branch to help me get a headstart on the tree. The smooth surface of the tree did not make it easier. “If only….some rough bark to help me climb,” I muttered.
I hugged the tree tightly and began to clamber up the tree with my arms wrapped around it. I must have looked like a fool with my back arched like a caterpillar.

“Don’t look down!” the girls cried. Of course, I looked down in spite of their cries. Sure enough, my legs turned into jelly and my arms turned into licorice. I was hanging onto the tree for my dear life!
With the girls’ encouragement however, I continued with the slow, agonizing climb. Without even realizing it, I had reached the top with new adrenline pumping in me, I grabbed the kite and threw it at one of their arms.

I slide down the tree and was laughing victoriously. I had overcome my fear of heights! By this time, my father and brother were already beckoning me to go to them. The girls whispered a thank you before skipping away.

It was then that I realized a lens in the bushes. I walked over to it and split the bushes apart. There was a camera there! It suddenly dawned on me that they were filming a new series called “Go Fish for Samaritans!”. The kites, girls and slippery tree were all just an act!

Turning beetroot red, I turned away in a show of affected indifference, knowing that I was pranked on and they scored an upper hand on me. I trudged to my father and took over the reins of Titan, which had been struggling on to go free.

Although I had won the gold medal in the competition, I was still embarrassed by the cruel fact that I made a fool of myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the innocent-looking girls playing the prank again obese man. I laughed once. I could not believe that I was so shallow!

Many other people had been pranked and they did not even know about it! The moment I got back home, I picked up the television remote control and turned the programmed to Channel 5 and waited for eight o’clock to come. I might even see myself on the programme! A secret was revealed!