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Written by Yi-Wen Chen E4B

Instructor: Kenneth M. Smith Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages

Kaohsiung, Taiwan June 2010

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Number of Words﹕2619

Words checked﹕2536

Words in Oxford 3000﹕90%

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About the Author

Yi-Wen Chen was born in Tainan, Taiwan in

1991. Today she is a fourth year student at

Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages in

Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Though she has written

many paragraphs, she is an absolute

beginner when it comes to novel writing.

Bella has never thought that she had talent

in writing, especially to write in English.

However, she now h

Maybe it is time for her to realize that she

has been wrong, otherwise Miss could be

not only her first but also her last work.

as her own novel.

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Contents

Prologue ----------------------------- p 6

Chapter 1 An Unexpected Visit ----- p 8

Chapter 2 Ease --------------------- p 14

Chapter 3 The One Person -------- p 20

Chapter 4 Lost --------------------- p 26

Chapter 5 For Good ---------------- p 34

References ------------------------- p 37

Acknowledgement ----------------- p 39

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Prologue

Sarah Vance, a 53-year-old free writer, led

a peaceful life over a long span. One day

she was given her old diary from an

unexpected visitor. The diary brought her

back to the times she thought were left

behind. She missed those good old days.

However, she skipped some pages while

reading. Sarah knew clearly that trying to

forget something went against human

nature, but that was exactly what she has

been doing for so long. With a coming letter,

all she has been trying to forget gushed out

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toward her in a way that she could hardly

bear. Sarah went back to her diary and

faced something she has missed in the past.

This time, she was about to miss it for

ever…...

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Chapter 1 An unexpected visit

It was the first beautifully shining day of

spring. Sarah Vance, a 53-year-old free

writer, woke up and went for a morning jog.

After that, she took a shower and had a cup

of coffee. Sarah thought that everything

seemed to be as usual, but there was

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someone knocking at the door. She

answered the door and wondered

confusedly, who is this? They stared at

each other for a few minutes and then the

woman said, “Hello, Sarah. It’s me, Becky!

Rebecca Brown. Don’t you remember me? ”

The unexpected guest was Rebecca

Brown, Sarah’s best friend. They’ve known

each other for more than ten years. This

was their first meeting since graduating

from college.

“Oh! Hi,” Sarah said passionately and

gave Becky a hug and signaled her to get

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in.

“I haven’t seen you for… how many years?

Thirty or something?”

“I don’t know. It really has been a long

time,” said Becky, “anyway, I miss you.

How have you been?”

“Quite good!”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“How about you? How are your little girl

and your husband?”

“Well, we are fine. Thank you,” Becky

said. “Actually, we are going to move to

Lyons. My mother-in-law died and there is

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a house for Maunier to inherit. ”

“Really?” said Sarah surprisingly.

“Sure. We’re leaving next week,” said

Becky, “I’ll probably reside in France

thereafter so I want to give you

something.”

Becky handed over an old book which

has

“Isn’t it my diary? I thought it was gone.”

Sarah kept still on the sofa gazing at the

diary in her hands.

yellowed all over, and said, “I found it

while we were packing.”

“I guess you’d left it at my house. And I

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thought you might want to have it.”

“Yes, I do. Thank you.”

“No big deal,” Becky said. She grabbed

her bag and stood up.

“Are you leaving? Why don’t you have

lunch with me?”

“I’d love to but I got to go to my

daughter’s school. Clemence is going to

transfer to another school in Lyons. There

are some procedures to deal with.”

They walked to the door and said

good-bye. “Thank you for coming here,”

said Sarah. She held Becky’s hands and

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looked at her sadly.

Becky kissed her forehead and said, “It’s

very nice to see you. I’ll miss you, my old

friend. Come to visit me sometime.”

“I surely will. Good luck to you.

Goodbye!”

“Goodbye, Sarah!”

With the old diary in her

hands, Sarah

watched Becky driving away. The car

seemed to get smaller and smaller. She

kept looking at it until it disappeared at the

end of the road.

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Chapter 2 Ease

Sarah awakened late in the morning to

start her day. Looking at herself in the

mirror, with the bright morning sunlight

pouring in from the window, she thought; I

have always looked ahead, and it is

probably about time to look back to see

what I have experienced. Instead of her

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daily routine, she brought out the diary and

took a long walk. With the breeze gently

blowing against her face, Sarah felt relaxed.

She had not felt this way for so long

because she had been under pressure to

finish her series of children’s book. For

Sarah, devoting herself to writing children’s

stories is the best thing she has ever done

but it was never a good idea to be chased

by an aggressive editor who never stopped

pushing you to get your work done. Finally,

she worked it out just by the end of the last

month and she now could have some time

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to her self.

After a long walk, Sarah went into Azure

Café, ordered a large coffee and two

croissants and took a seat in the corner.

Sarah looked at the diary which she put on

the table and her fingers began roving

through it. She smiled and thought; always

believe that the things I lost have a way of

coming back to me in the end and it has

now happened.

Sarah kept the diary in 1980 while she

was a senior. During that very year, she

wrote down dribs and drabs about life. She

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thought it was lost, but it was eventually

returned to its rightful owner.

She started reading the diary. Page by

page, it reminded her of the past. She

remembered her favorite professor, Mr.

Huegel, who specialized in literature. He

was an attractive man in his early forties.

Sarah liked him so much that she never

skipped his class and worked hard to get

good grades in literature. Obviously, she

had a crush on Prof. Huegel.

The sound of her happy laughter was all

around Azure Café. “How silly was I! I can’t

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believe that I was such a stupid girl,” she

thought and felt a bit embarrassed, not

only because of her laughter but her

obsession with her teacher.

Also, she remembered the library where

there was a special seat where she always

sat. It was like a little wonderland for Sarah.

She spent a lot of time there reading,

studying and doing research, and she was

happy even when she was just sitting there

and doing nothing. Everything that

happened during her college years came to

mind.

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“That is so called happiness,” she

mumbled.

Time passed swiftly in Azure Café.

Without knowing that it was already

afternoon and it was time to go home. The

golden sunset with its glittery beam

accompanied Sarah walking back to her

California bungalow.

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Chapter 3 The One Person

“There is the chance that the one person

you can count on for a lifetime… the one

person who knows you sometimes better

than you know yourself… is the same

person who has been standing beside you

all along.” By reading these lines, Sarah

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thought of her one person, Becky.

Sarah looked through the window and

the sun shone bright and warm. What a

beautiful day, she thought. She carried the

diary and went out to enjoy the cozy

weather. There was no plan in mind, she

just kept on walking and finally it was

Daffodil Park in front of her.

“All right,” she said to herself and walked

in. Daffodil Park covered 3.7 square

kilometers which was very big. Sarah

walked and was like a boat that flowed

aimlessly on vast ocean. Then the slim line

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of trees came into view, so straight and

free. I could go any where I liked, to the

edge of the world if I pleased, and came

back when I wanted to, totally soaking in

her own fantasy.

She settled under a tree and shadows

were pleasantly cool after the hot sun on

the path. Now she sat down on a bench and

opened her diary.

When Sarah was a freshman in college,

she met Regina Hans with whom Sarah had

a lot in common. Sarah thought that she

was so lucky to have such a good friend;

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however, it was her own wishful thinking.

On the surface they got along with each

other, but Regina did not really like Sarah.

The malice toward Sarah accumulated day

after day. Instead of telling Sarah how she

felt, Regina stabbed her in the back.

Meanwhile, Sarah’s boyfriend, who had

been dating Sarah since they were in high

school, was seeing another girl. Rumors

were spreading so wildly on campus that

eventually Sarah learned everything. The

truth was like the cold wind striking a chill

into her bones and her heart was torn apart.

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It turned out that she started to conceal

herself because she was so insecure that

there was nothing she believed. At moment

like this, Becky was with Sarah and did her

best to comfort her. Fortunately, it worked

though it took a long time to heal her

broken heart.

After the unforgettable heartbreak and

unfaithfulness, Sarah grew stronger but

not by herself.

On the same way back home, her brain

was swirling. She realized something she

had forgotten a long time ago. Sometimes

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in life there really were bonds formed that

could never be broken. Sometimes you

really could find that one person who would

stand by you any time. For her, Becky was

that one person, the one in a million.

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Chapter 4 Lost

Now it was 11:36, late at night. Sarah was

sitting on the sofa with her arms tucked

around her legs. Through the window, the

full moon washed her in a creamy glow.

She kept still and stared deeply into the

candle light. For many years, she had never

stayed up late like this.

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It was a desolately silent night of summer,

a time of year which always brought Sarah

to aching memories of her adolescence.

That was why she always went to bed early

no matter what, but today, she just sat

there firm and calmly as like a stiff statue.

Yet this morning, Sarah got a letter from

Aunt Julie. It was not the greeting or

something that people who have not seen

you for ages would write. Sarah was quite

surprised to find the letter in a pile of bills

and mail from her publisher. Just before

opening the letter, she had a nasty feeling

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that there was something wrong, probably

bad news. At last it turned out that she was

right.

“Dead,” she mumbled, still staring darkly

into the candle light. Sarah released her

hands which she grasped together tight

and reached out to take her diary. She

turned to the pages that she skipped

intentionally. Everything happened

between Sarah and her mother replayed so

clearly that she felt like she was back to

those earlier days.

“Students at school called me a bastard

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because I was without a father. And that is

your fault. If you didn’t cheat on dad, he

wouldn’t have left us,” Sarah spoke angrily

as if she was talking to her feud;

nevertheless, that was her mother to

whom she was talking.

“No! NO! Sarah, don’t…..,” Sarah’s

mother said and her voice was hoarse.

“I hate you! You pissed Dad off and made

us live in such poverty and distress. You

ruined my life,” Sarah said and ran out from

home. The whole neighborhood could hear

the doors slamming, but they did not see

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the desperate mother standing at the door

as if she was stone dead. There was

nothing she could do but watched her

daughter, her loved one running away.

They have had innumerable quarrels, but

that first fight came to mind at once. Day

by day, Sarah learned more and more

about what was going on with her parents

and she suffered from the truth. She could

not understand what her mother was doing

nor forgive her. The hatred for her mother

grew deeper and deeper as Sarah was

getting older. She was not the little, naïve

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girl anymore. After the first rebellion, she

secretly decided that she would leave this

dump one day and she did. Months later,

she graduated from high school, and went

to college in another state. She studied

hard and worked in order to afford the

tuition and her own living. Since then she

has never returned to visit her mother

again, not even one time.

Page by page, all that she has been

trying to forget gushed out toward her in a

way that she could hardly bear as she was

reading. Pieces which were left behind

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suddenly fell together. For all these years,

she has been pretending that the details

were seared from her memory, but, in fact,

she remembered how her mom was hurt

because of her cruelty, even though she

didn’t really mean that. She remembered

the weeping from her mom in those

countless nights.

Time passed lazily tonight. With

sorrowful tears and infinite grief, a deadly

languor took possession over Sarah and

she fell into a heavy sleep. But the

nightmare never stopped once it began.

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The memory of her mother haunted her for

these passed years and haunted her still

even in her

dreams.

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Chapter 5 For Good

Sometimes people feel like there in no way

back to the happy beginning after making

mistakes, so they decide to run as far away

as they can. That was exactly what Sarah

did for so long. She had so much regrets

but only a little courage to do something. “I

can’t go back. How am I going to face her,

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to face everything? No, it’s too much for

me.” Instead of attending the funeral, she

bought a plane ticket and went to Italy the

next day.

In Venice, Sarah was sitting in a square

and watching the pigeons swirling away

from children chasing them. She could not

stop thinking about her mother. She knew

how her mom loved her and how hard it

was to bring up a child all by herself. Yes,

she made a mistake, but who did not.

“Things could be different, if I…,” she

sighed.

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“I once had a chance to be a good

daughter who stood by mom while she was

having a hard time, but I missed that

chance back then. Now I’m about to miss it

for good,” she thought.

With tears rolling in her eyes, Sarah

wrote down something new in her dairy.

Mom, I miss you…..

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References

References of the pictures:

cover & back cover -

http://www.poster.de/Raya/Raya-Memory-Moment-I

X-2403219.html

p.7 -

http://uv.stes.tc.edu.tw:8080/yunol/0703/MSNBC/

p.13 -

http://www.minigallery.co.uk/Rachel_McNaughton/a

rt9121/

p. 19 -

http://www.redbubble.com/people/braidy/art/994025-

8-regret

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p.25 -

http://www.allposters.co.uk/-sp/Autumn-Scroll-I-Pos

ters_i2074333_.htm

p.33 -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vessimages/438259637

4/

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Acknowledgement

Dear Mr Smith,

Thank you for being such a supportive

teacher. You have no idea how I am

encouraged because of your remarks. At

first writing a novel was just a huge and

difficult assignment for me, but now it is

much more than that. The potential and

the confidence in me are inspired during

the process. I have spent a lot of time

working on Miss and enjoyed it very much!

Best wishes,

Bella Chen

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miss [mIs] v.

1. be too late 2. feel sad without SB/STH

Is there someone who you miss?