NOT THE TITANIC !

A story by DESPINA PAPATHEMELIS

Now I am going to tell you a story about an accident which happened to me many years ago. I was travelling in the Atlantic Ocean. As I was reading a book, I could hear the gentle sound of the waves lapping against the hull.

After an hour or two the inevitable happened. The ship hit an iceberg and started sinking. Hordes of people assembled on the deck - it was panic station all over. There were not enough lifeboats for everyone, and huge waves were now being whipped up by the storm. I was forced to jump into the cold water of the sea. Fortunately I was a good swimmer and swam quickly away from the shipwreck. Then I fell asleep, and when I woke up I found myself on a beautiful beach.

I got up. I was starving, and went into the forest hoping that I would find something to eat. At once I was surrounded by cannibals who were looking at me as if they hadn't seen a human before. I bet they were taken aback. Afterwards I was taken to their chief. I was a bit worried at first in case I would be eaten by them, but thankfully that didn't happen.

When I had approached close enough, I took my necklace off and gave it to the chief, who accepted it and returned the compliment by giving me a hand-made ring.

I stayed there for a long time, but felt nostalgic about my family and home-land. I asked the chief if I could leave by boat and go to the nearest town. Although he seemed sad, he let me go under one condition : that I visit him now and then.

So every year I go there for my holidays, as I am always welcome there.

Despina Papathemelis is a sixteen-year-old student at the Third Lykeio. She is a keen swimmer and has won many gold medals, coming first overall in her class in the Northern Greek Swimming Championships. She started learning English with John Foss when she was six years old. She passed the Cambridge First Certificate Examination two weeks after her twelfth birthday, obtaining an A Grad, and went on to pass the Cambridge Proficiency in English with a B grade one year later, just after her thirteenth birthday.