English student work

Fog consumed the forest like a ravenous beast does its prey. As darkness began to engulf the land, the fog lifted to display a wonderful array of stars ; the moon glared down upon the winding road ,which twisted and turned through the dense forest, while riding a sea of clouds. The cold breeze drifted aimlessly in and out of the towering trees, making them appear as if they were battling each other for the moon’s spotlight. Crows darted through the night like bullets, displaying their stygian feathers which were jagged knives that cut through the dense air.

Covered in moss, rocks and ferns, the circuitous road twisted and turned through the thickset forest like a snake. Leaves from branches fell graciously onto the ragged road, being blown by the gentle breeze. The overused road was silent. No one roamed along it anymore, no one looked after it so it fell into despair.

The kingdom the forest surrounded was overflowing with mystery ; after the Great War, no one was seen entering or exiting the moss-covered gates leading to the rundown abyss.

During the day, the desolate kingdom doesn’t contain any signs of life- no noise, no people, nothing. During the days in the past, it came to life ; music was played through the night, lights glared into the hills around the magnificent kingdom like a spotlight on a stage, people could be seen dancing non stop. But then the sun rises and it’s the present day and the bustling kingdom is all a distant memory, planted in the back of your mind, itching to resurface but it’s too faint to remember.

The signs along the road were faded, most of them had fallen over due to the lack of care.

This road was a lost cause- it couldn’t be restored to its glory days when friendly human beings travelled along it in hopes to accomplish their dreams in the kingdom it led to, when tradespeople travelled along it to find a fresh destination to make a living, when the world was at peace. Nothing could bring back those enchanting days for all hope in humanity was lost. The Great War had drained the world of peace, nature and hope.

Description Richard Scholler The signpost slanted to the east in the middle of the slight clearing surrounded by several, undisturbed miles of tangled foliage. Its rusty, sickly yellow face displaying it’s ominously fitting message; made up of garish block capitals greatly withered with the cruel hand of age which simply read: Dead End. Perched on top of it was a single, jet black raven surveying it’s domain like an ancient spy for the Dark One, or a lone soldier staying at his post long after his fellow comrades had fallen in battle and their corpses had decayed into the earth. One of its wings was gnarled and chewed, the sweet scent of its slowly dripping blood was carried away with the soft wind.

A sharp rustle in the distance caught it’s watchful eye in an instant but was soon gone. It was most likely another bird or possibly - more worryingly- could have been one of those abnormal, two-legged creatures whose flesh was so tender in the beak. But, no. One of those strange beings had not been sighted for many years.

The bird was distracted yet again by a sharp burst of wind, that almost sent it tumbling of it’s perch. Said wind weaved through the thick overgrowth accompanied by it’s soft companion of damp, grey mist like two snakes entwined in the act of love. The combination seemed to create a weird atmosphere of strange beauty, in stark juxtaposition to the all too mangled surroundings.

Across the clearing a shoddily cobbled together gravel path disturbed the land and crunched and cracked under the meekest of footfalls. It’s jagged ends interfered with the vegetation, it was clear where plants had been callously torn out the ground. It seemed like little hard work had gone into creating an eyesore that was seldom ever seen; let alone trod on.

Damp moss mingled with flowers and wet tree trunks in the air to create a putrid stench of rotting wood that would have infiltrated any nose and induced disorientation and nausea. (If there had been anyone around to smell it, smell was a sense long since practically lost by the raven due to lack of use; the scent of prey was easily swept away with the wind.)

Thick blankets of ominous clouds were beginning to roll over the afternoon sky, swallowing the sun in the process. Soon the sky would be completely covered, the sun gone and the land quiet. But, the raven would always remain, never tiring, never sleeping. Always watching.

The old piano room had been relinquished when the war broke out since then it had never been touched. The high beams had collapsed after the impact of several bombings and the floorboards peered up, waiting for the day they would be repaired. The one lone chair still stood in the middle of the room. Its green exterior giving the room its only pop of colour. It was a miracle that all 4 legs still stood; the images this room witnessed would have been enough to bring any grown man to his feet. Rumours spread about that chair: it was haunted; an old man died in it and now awaits its next victim; and once you sat in that chair you never could escape. People wondered about its bright colouring and miracle legs all day long however they would never intrude on the lure of the room for the sole fear of past legends.

The broken piano was ubiquitously spread across the room in shattered pieces. An old family heirloom, that every child had learned to play on, was now impossible to amend. The old mahogany colour was now replaced with heavy dust like the crevasses of an old cabinet.

The room was swarmed with nonchalant graffiti replacing the exquisite artwork that once graced the walls. Its eerie feeling engulfed the room, setting the tone for any being who entered.

The room was as desolate as a tomb except for the figures that plastered the back walls. No matter how much of the room was exposed to light, they were still etched. The room really was a ghost town, rumoured to belong to the devil himself.

Speech Good morning my wonderful, favourite classmates and thank you for taking your valuable time to listen to my thoughts as I do believe it will benefit us all.

I will talk to you about the troubles the virus has caused and how to overcome them together, as a team. After the virus reached us, it seemed like everything was slowly escaping our hands :our jobs, our family, our friends and our freedom. We are all aware of the coronavirus that has taken control of the world and we have been left in disaster, worry and dread. But, we must take control again.

We know it’s possible as there is evidence that the death rates are decreasing in several countries that have taken immediate action. China ,after quarantining everyone, has death rates lower than ours so we can learn from them. This strategy is clearly working and if we use initiative and quick-thinking we can easily be back on the correct path. We must stay indoors, we must keep clean and above all, we must stay safe. If you will not follow the rules for yourself then do it for the innocent children and elderly who have weak immune systems unlike yourself. Do you want to be responsible for the screams of hundreds of thousands of families all over the world?

To get rid of the virus we must isolate. To isolate we must stay away from loved ones. And to stay away from loved ones during a chaotic event like this will be the most torturing part of your life. But, we can do it because we have perseverance, strength and courage. I believe in you. Moreover, we can easily communicate with others due to mobile phones and even facetime so we can still see each other.

In reality the circumstances aren’t too bad as long as you act correctly and responsibly. The faster we act, the faster we can kill the virus. However, to do this we have to trust the prime minister and the NHS to protect us. They are already providing money for businesses and helping families who are in need. They are qualified for their jobs and numerous people have been cured of the virus so I think they’re trustworthy, don’t you? Have faith. Take Captain Tom for example, he raised more than 9 million pounds for the NHS to help them on their tiring journey and the millions of children around the world creating rainbows to add a bit of colour into the lives of the NHS workers. We are all standing proud together so you can join us too.

‘In this fight...each and every one of us is now obliged to join together’ said Boris Johnson to our country. We are responsible for one another and can save thousands if we put the effort in. The saying not all superheros wear capes stands out to me especially in this situation. Last week, I read in an article about a boy who saw a helpless old lady looking for some pasta and it so happened that he actually had taken the last one. Without hesitation, he carefully placed the pasta into her trolley and insisted that she should take it. This show of kindness is the exact attitude we need right now. How can we protect you if you won’t protect the people around you?

I challenge you to perform a kind act like this boy did but preferably whilst social distancing, of course.

Looking on the positive side, we can let this be an opportunity to try new hobbies and change our lifestyle for the better. To maintain your working abilities, create a

weekly timetable which will follow everything you usually do like school work. Of course, you don’t need to be too strict on yourself and can spend your time doing things you love. Furthermore, it’s extremely important you do workouts to be continuously healthy as you can’t go out to the gym now. I have seen some interesting workouts on the internet which you can try too. I may sound like a mum saying this but eat your fruits and vegetables too. They will make sure you can fight off any viruses that happen to be around. I honestly can’t stress how much you have to make sure you can stay healthy to stop the spread and for your personal benefit.

Don’t let this pandemic be the thing that ruins your life ; make it something that you can look back to and have no regrets about . I know you can make the right choice and now it’s all up to you. How are you going to help us take back control?