A Television Drama- By: Jane Rule

“Sometimes a place that looks really safe turns out to be the most dangerous place” This story is about a woman named Carolee Mitchell who on a normal day was cleaning her house. Suddenly, some noises that were coming from outside caused her to look through the window of her living room to see what was going on. Carolee was a type of person who never imagined that something terrible would happen in her neighbourhood. She always thought that her neighbourhood was safe. So when she saw that a couple of police cars were parked in front of her house, she was afraid. With the police and their dogs standing in her neighbourhood and her neighbours standing outside looking at them, she was very curious about what happened that these police had to come here. Confused Carolee ,was starting to make predictions of what just happened. She first thought that someone probably murdered someone but then she thought how they would do it in the middle of the day. Looking outside for a while, she thought that she’d better do something else since nothing was going on out there, and if something was going on out there she would not know what was happening anyway.

Suddenly something caught her eye that was in her garden, it was man who was wounded. He was hurt in the right hand, and then trying as hard as he could he tried to get up and started to moved, he stumbled and fell beside a tree. Carolee saw a couple of reporters coming towards him and saying that he was the suspect. While Carolee listened to what they were saying, she was questioning herself about what did that man do? After a couple of minutes she found out that the man who was wounded by the right arm had a robbed a bank and shot a police officer. Suddenly the ambulance came and took the wounded suspect to the hospital.

Carolee turned on the radio at two o’clock to listen to the local news. At three o’clock they reported that the police officer was in the operating room. The suspect found to be in an okay condition at four o’ clock and at five o’ clock her husband Pete came home. Her husband asked her about whether she was okay or not, or was she scared to see the wounded man in her front garden. They turned on the television and the same details were said as on the radio. Pete was glad that Carolee didn’t go outside. Now Carolee had forgotten that she was in her safe house in a safe neighbourhood and was afraid.

A Handful of Dates - By :Tayeb Salih

“Sometimes a single moment can change your thoughts towards others” This story is about a little Muslim boy who loves his grandfather and compares him to God and the river that is so pure to him. He described his grandfather as a very tall person that has a white, soft as cotton beard. He loved his grandfather because he was the only person who understood him and also the little boy was his favourite grandson. One day he asked something to his grandfather about Masood their neighbour. His grandfather replied and said that the fields or “feddans” that he sees once belonged to none other than Masood. The little boy never knew that his grandfather who currently owns more than hundred feddans, once didn’t even own a single one because he always thought that his grandfather owned these feddans for a very long time. He was also surprised in knowing that every time Masood would marry a woman he would sell some piece of land to the little boy’s grandfather. The sound of the words that were said by his grandfather made him wish that his grandfather never said that.

While looking straight ahead he saw Masood coming toward them to ask whether they wanted to join the harvesting. His grandfather agreed and went off to harvest. Crowded with other people whom the little boy (narrator) knew, his attention suddenly came to Masood. While looking at him he remembered that Masood once told a little boy to not cut the heart of a palm tree as it is also a living thing like a human. He also told this to the boy (the narrator) that the palm trees also have feelings like happiness or sadness.

The little boy saw some people weighing the dates , while other people were taking five to six of them and started munching, he even was munching on a few of the dates. Suddenly his attention came to his grandfather and Masood that were talking to each about the fifty pounds that Masood was still owing to his grandfather. Looking at Masood the little boy had some strange pain in chest. Then without knowing why, the little boy ran to the river bank. While he was running he started to feel some hatred towards his grandfather. Finally, at the river bank he threw up the dates that he ate, in the river that was once so pure for him.

In your opinion do you think that the little boy will forgive is grandfather or will he still hate him ?