Auroras
Auroras, lights in the sky, as they described. They are know as
Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis. "Aurora Borealis", the latin
name of the aurora of the northern hemisphere, means "northern dawn".
Originating in the atmosphere high above the surface of the earth, the northern
lights can be seen during dark hours in the Polar Regions of the Northern
Hemisphere.
The Southern lights are known as Australis lights, from its name, it’s
obvious that it can be seen around Southern Australia in the Southern
Hemisphere.
The light is emitted when charged particles from the Sun are guided by the
earth's magnetic field into the atmosphere near the magnetic poles. When these
particles collides with atmospheric molecules, primarily oxygen and nitrogen, at
100-300 kilometres altitude, some of the energy in these collisions transforms
to visible light.
Note: this is extracted from www.northern-lights.no/
Thanks for the information! Please visit it to find out more about Auroras¡K
This Story is told around Kodiak Island in Alaska. Although now, it’s
a state of America, but many original natives still inhabit the place. One
village of *Gera people lived at the mid-slope of the *Aurore Mountain. Aurore
means daybreak or dawn in French because the mountain is facing the rising sun.
This village people used to thought that Auroras were lights of the Star fairies
who are the Moon goddess’s daughters coming down to earth. They
still believe this although scientists told them how Aurora is really formed.
They say that it’ll offend the gods if they believe the scientific
explanation, but they still respect the scientist.
(* means made up.)
The story is about a native girl living in the Gera village. A group of
scientists and photographers changed her life forever when they came the Gera
village. The girl, after falling in love with one of them, decided to go back
with him to his country, his city. But a girl who had never seen traffic lights
or elevators, how will she adapts? Read to find out. In between,
there’re more interesting things happening.
THE CAST
Vicki Zhao(22)- A native Gera Village girl
Alec Su(23)- Father is a scientist, he is a photographer. Determined to win the
Global Photography Competition organized every two years, so he went to Kodiak
Island.
Joey Yung(21)- An University Student. Alec’s girlfriend. Went to
Kodiak Island with Alec because she had nothing better to do during her long
holidays.
Jimmy Lin(23)- A part time Aurora photographer. Alec’s best friend.
Wanted to help him win the competition.
Nicky Wu(28)- Vicki’s foster brother. Very protective over her when
Alec and company came as he has a crush on her. Thought that natives should
never marry a city person.
Kelly Chan(27)- A scientist researching on Auroras who has been living there for
her whole life as her father is a scientist. Popular with the Gera village
people. She also teaches in the village school.
The age are based on the year 1999. Please don’t blame me if I wrote
them as too ¡§old”¡Kfº
Others in the story¡K
Mr and Mrs Wu- Vicki’s foster parents and parents of Nicky.
Zhao Wen- Vicki’s real father (died)
Yang Zi Qing- Joey’s mother. (she’s also a ¡§¡K..”
of ¡§¡K..” Not gonna you who she is of who. =P)=D
Mr Yung- Joey’s father (obvious)
Fuyi- the village head. By the way, it’s a male, although the name
sounds female.
Granny Song- the oldest and most respected person in the village. Also the
medicine person in the village.
Now you know most of the things, let’s get started!!!
Prologue
1977, February 3, Sea Hawk, Gulf of Alaska, 8.20pm
"All right,
gather!" Captain Harvard shouted and waved his hand up so that the crew
will crowd around him. Beside him was a Chinese man. "All right! Like I
said before dinner, I have something to tell you." People began to muffle
and gossip among themselves about what their captain is going to tell them.
"Quiet down men!" Captain Harvard rose his hands up again. "Just
a word of caution, winter is just over. The ice around the Arctic Ocean has just
melt, causing the rise in temperature in the sea, so the water will stir more
during this period. There'll be strong waves around, so please be always ready
for the lifeboats. I know that this ship isn't big but please, someone check and
inflate the lifeboats. In case the wave hit us, we can escape." The
crew began to muffle again, most probably discussing who is going to do the job.
"All right! That's all for today, have a good night's sleep." He
turned back and went away. The Chinese man followed behind until they reached
the Captains and Assistant Captain rooms (2 different rooms). "Good night
Captain." The Chinese man said. "Good Night Mr. Zhao." Hee smiled
and went into the Captains Room. Zhao Wen went into the Assistant Captain's
room. Inside, a woman was sitting beside a baby basket and was rocking it.
"Ah Wen. You're back." She rose from her chair and said, Wei Wei is
very good today. She didn't cry and slept less then a minute when I rocked her.
"Somebody said that babies can sense disaster." He joked and took out
his coat. "Touch wood!" His wife said. "When are we reaching
Canada, Assistant Captain?" She pretended to be serious. He walked over to
her and cling his hand round her neck from behind. "Maybe 2 more
weeks." He kissed her cheek. She pushed him away jokingly and whispered.
"Don't do it now. The baby is here." "Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. I
have a pendent for Wei Wei." He took out a jade pendant with a size of a
bottle cap. There was a Chinese word, "Zhao" carved on it. "It's
my family treasure. It's to be passed down to every generation as long as they
have the surname Zhao." Zhao Wen explained. "Oh." She nodded and
also took out something. My mother had this made when Wei Wei was born. She say
it's a tradition to have the name made on a gold pendant. So she made it but I
keep on forgetting to show you. Now since you brought up the subject, I took it
out." She showed it to Zhao Wen. It had the Chinese Character of Wei carved
on the pendent. Zhao Wen took out a string and bunch the two pendants together
and put in beside the sleeping baby.
1977, Feb 5, Sea Hawk, Gulf of Alaska, 11pm
The sea was exceptionally rocky that night. There was thunder and lighting and
heavy rain. Everyone was asleep except those who had night shifts. Suddenly, the
door of the Assistant Captain's room was banged with force. "Wake up! Wake
up! The waves are getting too strong!" A crew shouted. The Captain came out
and asked what happened. "The sea was exceptionally rocky tonight. Th wave
even reached 5 meters!" The Captain quickly rushed to the deck. The crew
member continued to knock on Zhao Wen's door. Finally, Zhao Wen came out. He
explained everything to Zhao Wen and he rushed in to wake his wife. She woke up
and listened to her husband's advice to stay in the cabin with the baby.
When Zhao Wen rushed out, everywhere was chaos. People were running all over the
place, and some were busy taking buckets to bucket the water on the ship out.
"Captain! The wave is getting stronger now!" The Captain stood firm on
the deck and looked around. Get ready the lifeboats." He said. The man
nodded and ran into the storeroom. "Captain! The lifeboats are not inflated
yet!" He shouted from the storeroom. "What? Damn!" He swore and
stormed to the storeroom. "What did I said two days ago? Inflate the
lifeboats! What have you all done? If no one wants to take the initiative to
inflate the lifeboats, you don't fit to be a seaman!" He shouted across the
deck. "Inflate them now!" "Captain, the inflating machine is not
working!" A sailor shouted to overcome the sound of thunder and waves.
"Then blow it MANUALLY! Stupid!" He commanded. At once, sailors crowd
round the lifeboats to inflate it. Zhao Wen helped to take away the water that
the sea is pouring in. After a while, the captain went to check on the
lifeboats. Not one of them were inflated fully. Only one was about to full.
"At this pace, you can continue your inflating in heaven!" He pushed
away a sailor and blew for him. Finally, one was done but others were not. One
lifeboat can only take 10 people but there were 40 over people on board.
"Captain! We're losing the ship! The wave is too big ! It can cover half
the ship!" Zhao Wen shouted from the front deck.
Upon hearing that, a frightened sailor panicked. "I don't want to die! I
don't want to die!" "Shut up! I wonder how you passed your
examination! You're not brave at all!" Captain Harvard criticizes.
"No!" The frightened Sailor panicked even more and took one lifeboat
and jumped off the ship with it! "Hey! Come back!" The Captain shouted
as he rowed the lifeboat off with only himself on the boat. "Come back!
There're still 40 people who need the lifeboat!" He shouted but with no
avail. The Sailor rowed away already. Zhao Wen suddenly remembered his wife and
rushed to his cabin. "Zi Qing!" He shouted her name. "I'm
here!" She went out with the baby basket. "Is Wei Wei ok?"
"She's fine." He can tell that his wife was very scared as her hands
were cold. "Don't worry. We'll get to go on the lifeboat. Come with me to
the deck." He pulled her up the stairs and to the deck. The ship is
sinking. We cannot stay here anymore. Take Wei Wei and leave ok?" He pushed
her to the place where sailors were inflating lifeboats. "This is my wife.
Make sure she gets to a lifeboat ok?" "Sure, Mr. Zhao. Woman and Child
first." The Captain reassured him. "Wait, Ah Wen!" She called as
he turned around to go. "Aren't you leaving with us?" "Sorry, I
cannot. I have things to do. You leave first. I'll find you on land ok?"
"No! Ah Wen!" "Leave! Just leave!" Just then, another
lifeboat was done and Zi Qing was pushed in, followed by the Captain's wife and
some other sailors. One sailor rowed the boat away, into the stormy sea. She
looked at Zhao Wen, who was still on the ship, waving at her. Tears came out.
"Ah Wen!" She shouted. Just then, she heard a very loud shout from the
ship. "Captain! The gas is leaking! If it ever reaches the fireplace, it'll
explode!" She was terrified. "Row back and fetch my husband! The ship
is going to explode soon!" Mrs Harvard also wanted to go back. "Sorry,
Ma'am, wee cannot go back. What if it explodes just as we got near? We'll
die!" The Sailor explained. Suddenly, the whole ship exploded into flames,
causing it to sink even faster. "No!" She screamed with tears
constantly sprouting out. The explosion caused the sea around it to jerk so
violently that the baby basket from Zi Qing's slipped to the sea. "My baby!
My baby!" She cried helplessly for it. But the wave brought it to another
direction, furthering her from the baby basket. She wanted to jump down, but
luckily, other sailors pulled her back. "Mrs Zhao. Don't!" Mrs Harvard
held her back. "It's what the Chinese says, fate. The baby may not be dead,
it may float to a better place for her?" She comforted her but Zi Qing
cried bitterly. Losing both her husband and child in the same night, same hour
is unbearable and is hard to imagine to pain she had been going through. "Wei
Wei! Ah Wen! Come back!" She moaned and cried together with Mrs Harvard,
who had also lose her husband. "What else do I have? I have no money, no
place to live. Now I even lost my husband and child." "Don't worry.
You're still in your twenties. You can always remarry. But look at me, I'm
already in my forties. Will someone still want me?" Mrs Harvard patted her
shoulder but she cried as well. "I have a house and money in Canada. Let's
go to Canada and live there together. So that if someday I missed my husband,
I'll have someone to cry with me." She cried. Zi Qing agreed, in her tears.
Other Sailors looked at them pitifully and shook their heads. The whole night
was quiet. The rain stopped at the sea calmed. Is it because they had also seen
the tragedy? Only soft sniffing and moaning sounds were heard for the rest of
the journey to land.
21 years later..
1999, March 24, Gera Village, Kodiak Island, Alaska
Vicki skipped out and carried a
basket of sun dried wheat into the house. "Yi Mu(foster mother), that's all
I can find." She told her foster mother. "Are you sure? I remember
putting out 2 baskets to dry!" She looked at the wheat in confusion.
"Ma, here is it." Nicky came in, carrying another basket. "Oh!
Here is it." She took the basket from Nicky. "Wei Wei, Blur queen. The
other one is on the window still. Sun dry doesn't mean have to be on the roof
right?" He joked. Vicki smiled childishly and said, "I'm going to Dr
Kelly's hut." She skipped out. "This child, is already 22 and yet
she's still so childish." Mrs Wu commented while she pounded the wheat.
"Well, because you said she's a child." Nicky smiled and thought of
how cheerful she is. "Nicky, are you thinking about her again?" Nicky
smiled and She straight away knew he was. "Don't worry. I'll talk her into
marrying you." "Ma." She smiled and carried the wheat to the
kitchen.
In Kelly's hut.
Kelly is a scientist whose father is also a scientist. Her father came to Gera
Village to study on Auroras. But he died when she was 16. The new machines that
he bought cannot adapt with the cold and dry climate and broke down. While he's
fixing it, it exploded. The Villagers pity Kelly and let her stay in Gera. Her
father had taught Kelly many things. So she has spent a few years in an
university in Canada and even got herself a degree. She became the
"teacher" of the village. The villagers all like her.
Vicki came in and scanned around. Kelly was concentrating on her computer. Vicki
slowly crept up and, "Boom!" Vicki scared behind her. Kelly jumped up
and turned around. "Vicki, you scared me!" "Sorry, Dr
Kelly." She smiled. Kelly took off her glasses and said, "What's up,
my dear?" "Nothing, just bored. So I came over." Kelly smiled and
sat on the sofa with her, chatting..
On the other side of the world in Hong Kong
Joey cling her arms on Alec's shoulder from behind and looked at his computer
screen. "What're you doing?" Joey asked. "Getting some
information for GPC (Global Photography Competition)." Alec answered.
"Oh. What are you going to take?" "I'm not so sure. I'm looking
at some past winner's photographs." "Why not ask Jimmy?" Joey
suggested. "Ok." He said and typed something in his computer.
"Jimmy, wad r u taking 4 GPC?" He pressed send. Later, a message
popped out and said, "I'm thinking of Auroras. But since it's so far away,
I don't know if I can afford or not. PS: I dun even have enough money to update
my equipment. They are all so outdated already." Joey read it and said,
"Hey! You can take Auroras!" "No. This is his idea." Alec
shook his head. "No, Alec. Jimmy doesn't even afford to update his
equipment. Of course he cannot afford to go to somewhere where he can see
Auroras. But, in your case, you have a rich father who agrees with whatever you
do." Joey suggested. Alec turned to Joey and held her hands. "He's my
good friend. I can't do that." Joey frowned a little and walked out.
"Alec! I going to buy ice-cream." She trailed and went out.
Joey and Alec lived together for a year already. It's Joey's last year in
University and she's going to have her holiday soon. Just then, Alec's father
called. "Hello?" Alec greeted. "Alec, what are you going to shoot
for GPC?" "I. don't know." "Do you want to shoot something
in other countries?" "Why, dad?" "Because I'll have to go to
Alaska to do some research and to bring some latest equipment to the scientists
down there." "Is it? Great! Jimmy is going to take Auroras for GPC.
Maybe I'll also take some pictures there! Can Jimmy come along?" Alec
asked, very excitedly. "Yes, of course. Why not? Joey is having a holiday
soon right? Drag her along." Alec muttered a bug thanks and quickly message
Jimmy to tell him the good news. Jimmy was very excited but later he told Alec ,
"I don't think I'll win anyway. But, can I help you? I don't want to
compete against you." Alec suddenly realized that his ambition caused his
best friend to withdraw from the competition. He said, "But, isn't this
your dream?" "Not anymore. Now I just want to settle down or travel
the world." Alec sighed. Just then, Joey came back. "Alec, Wanna have
some ice-cream? It's cookies and cream!" Alec went out and hugged Joey.
"Why?" She was puzzled. "We're going to Alaska."
"Really?" Joey screamed and jumped about excitedly. "I've never
been to any further than Canada!" She hugged Alec and said,
"When?" "Next week." "Just in time for my
holidays!" She cried and continue to hug Alec.
Gera Village.
Kelly and Vicki were chatting when Kelly's computer had a sound. Kelly rushed to
her computer and click. A message appeared. "Dr. Chan, I'll be over in a
week's time. Please get ready more rooms because I'm coming along with 3 other
people. From Professor Su." Vicki looked at the screen and asked.
"What's that?" "That's called an instant message. People can type
in messages and send it to other people in other places." "Oh. And who
is coming over?" Vicki asked again, pointing at the word Professor.
"Professor Su. Professor means a person who had attained the highest level
of studying. Usually he or she is a very wise person. But that'll take more than
30 years of studying to make a professor." "Oh." Vicki nodded.
"Pro. Su is a very wise man. He is coming over with some new equipment for
me." "So how long is he staying here?" "I'm not sure. But
since he's here for research, it'll take more than a month. Oh ya, let's go to
the Village house to tell Fuyi." She suggested and both of them strolled to
the Village house.
"Since that's the case, we'll let them sleep in the guest huts. Is that
fine?" Fuyi usually will answer and agree to every request of Kelly because
she and her father had great contributions to the Village. "Yes. Thank
you." After doing a traditional Gera greeting (can also mean good bye)
gesture, she and Vicki left the Village house. It is done using the right hand.
Both hands will "clap" sideways and will touch the right ear (not dig
inside.that'll be disgusting) after that.
Vicki asked Kelly along the way back to Kelly's hut. "So when are they
here? I'm so excited! I've never seen visitors from outside before! The most is,
the district chairman came for just routine visit." "They'll be here
next week. Relax, they are not going to eat you or what." "But it's
like. the guest huts are just next to our hut. I have to clean it up! It hasn't
been used for more than 5 years already." "Ok. Let's clean them up
together." Kelly and Vicki went to the guest huts and cleaned them. Nicky
came in and asked, "Kelly, Vicki, what are you doing?" "Hi
Nicky." Kelly greeted. "Hi." Nicky replied. "We're cleaning
the guest huts. We're having visitors from outside! Isn't it exciting?"
"Why are they here for?" Nicky asked. "They came to do research
on Auroras." "Oh." Nicky nodded and offered to help them.
Together, they cleaned the guest huts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Footnotes: What will happen when Alec and other come to Gera village? What will
others think of the visitors? Catch the next chapter! ~gala
