My Haiku

Haiku is one of the most important forms of Japanese poetry. Haiku is a 17-syllable verse form consisting of 3 metrical units consisting of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. 

The following Haiku is the one I made myself, which accurately depicts my clumsiness.

Oh, My, I Am So Clumsy!

I went to a shop
It sold fragile crockery
I broke one of it.

The Room

Literary Genre: Fantasy

David Graham had just moved into a new house. This was an ordinary house, except it was much bigger than neighbouring houses and had a balcony on the second floor.

Upon moving into this house, the balcony was the feature that interested him most. Therefore, he decided to take a look at it. But soon he discovered something strange. There was a main door to the balcony, and there was a smaller door a few inches away that was supposed to lead to the balcony too. However, the balcony had only one door leading into the house. So where did the door next to it lead? He decided to find out.

He went out to the balcony once more and took a look at the place where the strange door was supposed to lead. It was definitely not invisible, as he couldn't feel anything. Out of curiosity, he went back to the house and decided to enter that strange door.

David opened the door and was somehow magically transported inside (as he hadn't put his foot into the room yet), and a strange sight met his eyes. He saw a strange-looking playground on a dark-coloured mat (the playground was inside the room). His first impression was that the room was in another dimension, a dimension that couldn't be seen or felt from the outside but visible if one was inside it. He approached the playground, but as soon as his feet touched the mat, he was in a very long slide going downwards.

He landed in a strange infusion of witchcrafts, wizardry, and Ancient Greek mythology. It really puzzled him, as he knew that wizards and Greek mythology didn't go together.

Suddenly, a voice answered him, as if the person whose voice belonged to could read minds. The voice reverberated through the walls and said, "Your concept is correct, child. But let me tell you this - you are a wizard and the last descendant of the Sea god."

Overcome with shock, David had to hold the statue of Zeus to prevent himself from falling. Him? A wizard and a descendant of Poseidon? Surely there hasn't been a mistake?

Again, as though the person could read his mind, the voice spoke, "Yes child, you. Forces from both the Wizarding World and the Ancient Greeks have summoned you here, as we need you to recover the book that contains the secrets of both worlds - for you are related to both worlds. Once we find this book and unleash the deepest secrets, you yourself will be stronger and will almost achieve the level of being invulnerable and immortal. Both worlds will also gain power and there will be peace in the world. So, to get matters straight, do you agree to go on this quest?"

David stood there, transfixed, unbelievable as the story was, and before he knew it, he heard himself say yes. "So now we must acquire you with your own wand to be used in the Wizarding World, and your own sword  to be used in the Ancient Greek World. Here, take them. They are rightfully yours."

As the voice said it, a wand and a sword appeared on the table in front of David. He took them and the long metal sword magically shrank into a mechanical pencil. He noticed that both items had engravings on them - sparks in different colours to represent spells, and decorations of the sea to represent Poseidon. He pocketed both items and waited for the next instructions.

"Now you have both defences. I will transport you back to the room in your house that has the playground. The book is hidden somewhere in that playground. Before you leave, I must tell you this - once you are in a 3-inch radius of the book, monsters and creatures will appear to block your way. You have to battle them to get to the book. And also, since your paternal great-grandfather is the greatest wizard of all time, and you are a descendant of the Sea god from your mother's side, you will know how to use your wand and you have the power to control water. As for the sword, I trust you don't have any problems with it. Now good luck, and I'll see you soon."

All of a sudden, David was back inside the strange playground room. A pool of water was in the middle, perhaps to help him battle monsters. He took a big breath, braced himself, and circled the perimeter of the playground. Nothing happened. He stepped 3 inches closer and started circling the playground again. Again, nothing happened. He stepped another 3 inches closer and started circling the playground for another time. But this time, he hadn't made a full turn when suddenly an ugly woman blocked his path. The woman opened her mouth and an unearthly sound filled the room - the woman was a banshee. David conjured out earmuffs out of thin air and placed it onto his ears to block out the sound. After doing so, he shot a fatal curse straight at the banshee. She stopped wailing and fell to the floor, dead.

David felt almost relieved when the banshee was defeated and he took off his earmuffs - but apparently the fight hadn't ended. A gigantic bull with horns emerged this time, and David recognized it at once - it was a Minotaur. He battled it using his sword and shot curses at it using his wand. The battle was fast and furious, but he managed to defeat the Minotaur.

Again, he had hardly time to marvel at what he just did when another creature whose body seemed to burn with flames blocked his path. David was horror-struck. He knew he had to act fast or he would be grilled alive. And a sudden thought hit him - he could control water. Remembering this, he summoned the water from the pool and hurled it towards the creature. It worked. The flames died down and the creature exploded, leaving nothing but dust.

He had barely taken another step when two more creatures blocked his path, a hellhound and a Laistrygonian. He tried to battle both of them as hard as he could, but still they stayed unharmed. Out of ideas, David panicked, and he accidentally shot another curse at the hellhound and, like the banshee, it fell to the floor, dead.

Seeing the dead hellhound on the floor, David's spirit rose, and all thoughts of panic was gone. His brain was only concentrating on one thought - defeat that Laistrygonian.

He combined all powers he had - magical powers, sword fighting, and the ability to control water. He tried to get the Laistrygonian out of consciousness, but it didn't work. Finally, he managed to hit the Laistrygonian in the face with water while slashing his sword and shooting curses at the same time. At long last, the Laistrygonian was defeated.

David expected to have more monsters charging at him, but a book surfaced just 3 inches from where he was standing. He picked it up and felt a jolt of pride. He had done it. He had found the book containing the secrets, and he had proven himself worthy.

He was transported back to the place where the Wizarding World and the Ancient Greek World unite. He placed the book on the table, and the voice said, "Well done, David. As I promised, I will reward you. But first, I think I should introduce myself."

A bright light suddenly appeared in front of David, and there stood a man holding a trident - Poseidon, the Sea god.

"Now, child, I must put you to sleep first. Your defences aren't usable in the normal world, but they are yours. And for now," Poseidon clicked his fingers, "goodnight."

David woke up with a jolt. He was back in his old house. He started thinking about the dream he had. Was it real, or was it just a dream? Did the mysterious room actually exist?

Looking up, he saw his wand and his mechanical pencil-sword lying on the bedside table. Both items still had the same engravings. He smiled and thought to himself, "A wizard and a descendant of the Sea god."


P.S: The creatures in this story are taken from the Harry Potter series and the Percy Jackson series. Nevertheless, the idea was wholly mine. Thanks.

The Sharks and the Seagulls

Literary Genre: Fable

A long time ago, sharks didn't eat seagulls. But because of a pair of sharks and another pair of seagulls, nowadays sharks eat seagulls.

Once, there were two sharks named Sharky and Sharko. They were brothers, and they lived in the Pacific Ocean. Sharky was a curious shark - he always wanted to know new things. Sharko, on the other hand, was very impatient. Despite the differences, the two sharks shared a couple of similarities: both were adventurous and had especially hot tempers. Also, being sharks, they were always in search of food. They were particularly infamous to other species, and the creatures of the deep blue sea knew better than to get on the wrong side of them.

As a result of them being adventurous, Sharky and Sharko had been to many, many places. Them staying in Pacific Ocean meant that they could use smaller rivers and seas to get from one place to another. They have been to the Atlantic Ocean, an ocean slightly smaller than their hometown; the Indian Ocean, an ocean located near the equator; and even the Arctic Ocean, where it was so cold it had nearly frozen their fins off. They were so experienced in going on adventures down underwater, but they haven't been to the surface before. Their kind had never given a thought about it before, as nobody would bother going to the surface because there were many sea creatures living not too near the surface of the water.

One day, after returning from a particularly tiring adventure from the Mississippi River, Sharky asked his brother, "Are we going to go to another place again?"

Tired out from the journey, Sharko said, "No, not now, I'm far too tired. And the food supply in the Mississippi River wasn't too good. I might as well need a hearty meal before we go on."

However, Sharko forgot to lower his voice as he spoke. The surrounding creatures heard their conversation and swam away to hide. The ocean became instantly deserted.

"You and your big mouth! Now what?" Sharky scolded, as he had wanted to get a good meal as well. He scanned the area, and in doing so, he accidentally saw the surface of the water, with some creatures on it. "Hey," he said enthusiastically, forgetting to be angry, "let's try going to the surface!"

Sharko just goggled at him. "Are you mad? None of our kind has ever been to the surface. That's like another adventure! I know we love travelling, but as I have told you before, I'm tired, worn out, and ravenous."

"Well, it's your own fault in the first place that there aren't any fish left," Sharky retorted. "Besides, I think I saw something on the surface. They could be edible! And it's only a little swim upwards, unlike the journey from here to Mississippi River."

"Uh, huh," Sharko said, thinking about it. "Okay, but woe betide you if there isn't anything good." And he followed his brother up to the surface.

The surface was much better than they had expected. It was already dusk, and for the first time, the brothers saw the sky, the waves, and the beautiful setting sun. The view was breathtaking.

"Wow," Sharko breathed, "it's amazing!"

"Told you," Sharky said, in a tone of maddening superiority although he had never seen them before either, and was also looking around in amazement.

Just then, Sharko saw two creatures sitting on the surface of the water. "Hey Sharky, what kind of animals do you think are over there?" He beckoned to the dark silhouettes of the strange creatures." I do hope they taste good."

"Be polite! We've got to talk to them first. I wonder... how do they manage to sit on the water like that? I'm going to ask them. And no rude words!" Sharky warned as Sharko opened his mouth to say something that was possibly impolite.

Up close, Sharky noticed that the creatures were animals with white feathers, two huge wings, and a big orange beak. Sharko whispered excitedly, "They look delicious. Oh, let's eat them now!" But Sharky merely shook his his head and splashed water on Sharko to shut him up.

"Hello," Sharky greeted, "who are you?"

The creatures turned to see who had spoken, and saw Sharky and Sharko. "Hi," one of them said, "we're seagulls. I'm Sean and he's Shane. Who are you?"

"We're sharks. I'm Sharky, and he's my brother Sharko. We saw you sitting on the water, and we came to ask you how you manage to sit on the water like that." Sharky replied. To his surprise, the seagulls laughed.

"Excuse me, but what was funny?" Sharky said, trying to keep his voice calm, although his temper was rising. He was not used to being laughed at.

"Well," Shane said, "we don't sit, we float."

Sharko, growing impatient, whispered, "This is wasting our time."

Sharky said, "Be quiet, idiot," under his breath, hoping that the seagulls wouldn't notice. Then, in a much louder voice, he said, "Oh. Right. Could you tell us what are you floating for?"

"Well, we eat fish. Floating on the water makes it easier to catch them," Sean answered. "Say, what do you do, under the surface of the water down there?"

"We're predators. We eat any smaller sea creatures, and sometimes, we even eat bigger ones," Sharky replied.

"Oh, so you only swim then?" Sean said, while Shane smirked. "We seagulls are different. We follow a regulation to fly in the sky and to float on the water. This regulation was made by our elders in the past."

While Sean was talking, out of the corner of his mouth, Sharky said, "They're starting to get on my nerves."

"Told you," Sharko whispered back, his face looking incredibly smug. "Let's get them when we have a chance."

"Lie low for a couple of minutes. I know what to do. I'll call you when it's time," Sharky answered in a whisper.

Meanwhile, Sean was promoting his life as a seagull. Shane didn't talk much but was smirking worse than ever. "We use this big beak here to scoop up fishes from the water," Sean said, clearly under the impression that he was fascinating the sharks with his life. "These wings are very precious to us, for we use them to fly. I notice that you don't have wings. By the way, where's your brother gone to?"

Sharky forced a very painful smile. "He's gone underwater to find some food," he lied, hoping to lure the two seagulls into the wrong track.

"OK then," Sean said simply, buying the story. "As I was saying, I notice that you don't have wings. Maybe because you, unlike us, don't fly."

It was enough for Sharky. He raised his voice and said, "You, unlike us, are gits!"

And without hesitation, Sharky yelled, "Now!"

The word 'now' was obviously the signal. Sharko came shooting like a bullet out of nowhere, opened a big mouth, and swallowed the still smirking Shane whole. Sean, who was confused at first, at last managed to understand. He tried to fly away - but he was too late. Sharky caught up with him just as he was going to take off, and ate him up as well.

"Well, what do you know, they taste good." Sharko said. "I'm officially catching more of them for dinner next time."

"I don't know how they came to be so boastful about their lives. I mean, we're on top of the food chain, they aren't. It's so aggravating to listen to that Sean blowing his trumpet and that Shane smirking like crazy," Sharky said, looking thoughtful. "But they do taste delicious," he added brightly.

"They were so boastful, they deserved what they got. Come on, let's tell the others about them!" Sharko said. He was as good to his word. The both of them went back home and told their friends and family about the seagulls, and how they tasted delicious. They all swam up to the surface, tried the seagulls, and agreed that they were indeed delicious. Soon, seagulls became a popular meal for sharks, and even newborn sharks are taught to eat seagulls.

And that is why sharks still eat seagulls until this very day.