Hope

Essay Writing Competition 2021
Category: 8 - 11 years
- Runner-up -

Runner-up is "Hope" written by Prithvi Raj Dawar.

Hope

So, let’s get this straight, name’s Peter Woodstone. A few weeks ago, I moved in to my new villa, and I got to admit, it’s not bad. There’s a big fountain right in the middle of a green patch, and behind it is the garage, on its right is our mansion, and on its left is a door (for some reason, its locked, and it’s kind of creepy). In front of the fountain, is a road leading to the swimming pool and the garden. Everything seemed to be going fine. I had my whole family with me, including my big brother, Jack, and my little sister, Lily (who at times is annoying).

It’s the first day of summer break, and I rode my bicycle to Ronny’s (my friend’s) house. I finally arrived, and rang the bell. He opened it, and we both fist bumped. We had been friends since grade 2, and nothing came between us.

"What’s up Pete? Anything new?"

"Naw, just really wanna find out what’s behind the door. You know, the thing which is locked."

Ronny just stood there for a while, then said:"Well, let’s have a snack and watch TV for a while. Maybe we’ll get an idea then, what do you say?"

I shrugged. So we went to the kitchen to find something tasty. We found half a pack of cookies in one of the cabinets, and a jug of lemonade was in the fridge. I put them all in a tray while Ronny switched on the TV. I set the tray down on the glass table, and we started munching. We ate and drank until everything on the tray had disappeared.

The news guy on TV looked really upset. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am afraid to announce, many people are losing conscious because of the pollution on our planet. We are losing hope for the planet. For everyone’s safety, please stay indoors and do NOT breathe in the air outside. Curfew starts 6:30 PM."

We stared at the clock. "That’s in 30 min! Let’s go to your house, my windows are broken so I’m having a sleepover at yours." "All right! Let’s go!"

We ran to his mom’s room, and asked for his suitcase and started packing. A few hours later, Ronny’s whole family were settling in to the giant guest room.

The next day was Sunday, but we woke up early, excited.

Before supper yesterday, we had found a key under one of the books (which was weirdly ABOUT keys) and hid it in my room. We both ran outside. Quickly, Ronny tried the key. It worked! We dashed in and stared at the dirt garden. "Well, that was a waste of time!" I exclaimed.

"No wait! What’s that sparkly rock in the dirt?" He ran to pick it up. It was labelled: Hold me up to the sky!

So Ronny did just that, and the green in the air vanished! The pollution was not in the air anymore!

Then my sister ran into the garden. "Quick, come and see the news, something has happened!" We both grinned at each other and ran inside.

With the pollution gone, hope for a better planet was back.

In the Age category 8 - 11 years, Prithvi Raj's essay was chosen as one of the runners-up. The creative essay 'Hope' tells us a fast and furious fantasy story giving us glimpses into a future we all yearn for and want to achieve.

Well done, Prithvi Raj! Thank you for this lovely story! Your writing style compelled us to race through your lines, eagerly wanting to learn what happens next. Congratulations!

Prithvi Raj attends St Andrews International School in Bangkok/ Thailand. English is second language.