O
rganised by the Literary Arts faculty, the annual Primary 6 Creative Writing Competition encourages pupils from all backgrounds who have a passion for writing to showcase their creativity and imagination. This year, we received more than 1,300 submissions from all you promising young writers, and the top three winners were decided after much careful deliberation. Read on and be inspired by the 1st prize winning short story below!
The Banyan Tree & The Mynah
by RaeAnne Tse, Methodist Girls' Primary School
1st Prize Winner
The trees creaked, waving their branches in the balmy breeze. Squirrels scurried around the sturdy trunks, chittering animatedly. A banyan tree watched silently in solitude. He had no friends except for a mynah who would come and sit on his branches, telling him about the world.
One day, the mynah perched on the tree, fluffing out her jet-black feathers. “Tell me about the world again,” The banyan tree begged. “The world's huge,” the mynah bragged. “The vast open meadows, precipitous mountains, barren deserts so hot till you could practically melt...”
The banyan tree listened and lamented, “What would I give to be free and see the world like you!” The mynah chirped enthusiastically, “Your wish may just come true!”
“What do you mean?” The tree leaned in curiously.
“There was a tale about a seedling yearning to travel the world. His companion sparrow found a forest where the trees were alive and could walk. A golden owl living in the forest gave it a leaf full of soil. The elated sparrow planted the little seedling in the soil, and, voila! The seedling grew into a towering tree, picked up its roots and could walk!” The banyan tree beamed with hope, “We must find this magical forest!”
The mynah pondered, “Alright. I’ll go and find it.”
She flew across mountains, crossed savage seas and encountered much danger. Wherever the mynah went, she would ask animals where to find this forest.
After much struggle, the mynah finally found it; a dense forest with lofty trees, uninhabited and mysterious. As the forest was overgrown and too difficult to fly through, the small mynah began to make its way through the thick undergrowth. The large trees opened to reveal a big clearing. A hollow in an isolated tree revealed an owl, her head slick with golden feathers, and her eyes weary with age.
The old owl rasped. “We heard about you.” The golden owl narrowed her eyes. “In order for your friend to be free, you must give up your freedom and stay in this forest forever.” The mynah was lost for words. Images of her friend, sad and lonely, wishing for a more adventurous life permeated her mind. The mynah thought for a moment and relented.
The banyan tree sat in the forest, forlorn as his friend had been gone for weeks. At dusk, a sparrow flew onto his branches and left a leaf full of soil. The banyan tree knew instinctively what it was. Touched, tears began to well up. Slowly the tree’s roots began to loosen and move. That night, the banyan tree walked away, and nothing was the same ever again.