A Tragedy In Sungei Buloh

       “Mom, please let me go!” I begged my mother. My class was going for an excursion to Sungei Buloh. We had to have our parent’s approval before doing so. I kept on begging my mother and she reluctantly agreed. I was in seventh heaven as I went to school with the signed letter. I was looking forward to this excursion.

       Finally, the day arrived. I opened my heavy eye-lids as the morning sun shone through the window waking me up. I dressed up and had a hasty breakfast before leaving. My close friends, Jenny and Serene, had already arrived in school. We set off towards our destination when all the pupils turned up.

       “A perfect day for an excursion!” I thought. The magnolia clouds drifted across the horizon as the sun displayed its beauty after a shower of rain early in the morning. Soon after, we were at Sungei Buloh. It was nine o’clock. Ms Seng, our teacher, told us to go in groups to explore the area. We had to gather back at eleven thirty.

       Without having to be told twice, Serene, Jenny and I started exploring. Puddles were all around the area and we were careful not to step on one. It was surprising how many interesting things there were. We continued walking, our eyes wide every time we spotted something strange. After some time, we came to a beautiful scenery of trees, flower and insects surrounding a lake. The water was still and fishes were swimming to their hearts’ content. We were mesmerised by its beauty and settled down for a rest. When it was about ten fifteen, we started walking back to meet Ms Seng.

       After walking for some distance, Serene cried out “Where is this place? We did not walk past here just now!” Jenny and I took a look at our surroundings and realized that we were lost. We did not know how to get back to the entrance. Fear and panic overcame us as we paced about in quickened footsteps. Even our heartbeats were quickened. Not knowing what to do, we sat under a tree thinking of a solution. Serene picked up some stones and started throwing them in all directions hoping to get some inspiration.

Of all things, the stone hit a beehive. We did not know it, but as we heard a buzzing sound, we looked up and to our horror, a swarm of bees emerged out of the hive. They came towards our direction. We reacted fast and took to our heels. Our hearts were thumping against the walls of our chest as we ran, hoping to find a route to escape.

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       We started searching for a place to hide but nothing came in sight. We knew that we were in hot water as we began to slow down. We were very tired but we did not dare to stop. We could feel the cold sweat breaking out as the bees came nearer and nearer. Fear shot down my spine like a rocket as a bee was going to sting me. We were going at a slower and slower pace and the bees embedded their stings into our skin. As the stings were thrust deep into our flesh, we agonized in pain. The pain was excruciating. The stinging was unbearable. Hundreds and maybe thousands of bees came stinging at us making us feel weak. We started crying out cries of pain as more and more stings were embedded into our flesh. As Jenny was a slower runner, she got even more stings than the rest of us.

       All of sudden, I saw a lake out of the corner of my eye. I shouted , “There’s a lake over there! Jump in! Quick!” We ran towards it and jumped in. The water became still as we stayed in the water. We were saved from more venomous stings from the bees. As the bees saw no movement in the lake, they flew off. We quickly scrambled out of the lake covered with stings.

       Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard. “Tricia, Jenny, Serene! Where are you?” Ms Seng’s voice boomed. We replied hastily, “Ms Seng, we are at the lake.” Ms Seng came and was horrified to find us covered with stings. She immediately called for an ambulance which took us to the hospital.

       The doctors at the hospital treated us immediately. Serene and I had lesser stings as we ran faster and we only needed to be hospitalised, but Jenny was not as fortunate. She was killed by the bees. The whole class was grieving in the hospital as the news broke out. Serene blamed herself for throwing the stone at the bee hive. Our eye were all red with tears as we watched Jenny being pushed into the mortuary.

       Serene and I were in pain for a few days and our body was swollen because of the stings. The doctors scraped away the stings and we were in so much pain that I moaned loudly. When my mother knew about this, she said, “I should not have let you go in the first place.” I gave her a weak grin and went to sleep.

       Jenny’s death left a deep scar in Serene and I. This is a tragedy that neither Serene nor I will ever forget.

Written by Tricia Lin
Pri 6/1, 2002
Zhangde PS