The Four Brothers

There is a family,

A bizarre one indeed.

Every day they're happy,

4 brothers it needs.

Forever running,

But never together.

And when they're coming,

They come one after the other.

One brings noise,

And one brings fun.

The third annoys,

The last, fiery like the sun.

The first loves colours,

As he drifts through time.

He is the peaceful brother,

And brings the smell of pine.

The second is radiant,

And floats from here to there.

Though rude, he's brilliant.

Always lovely and fair.

The third is a bit different,

Sweating as he runs.

A very ignorant person.

Really pesky when he comes.

The last is a blazing fire,

Like a comet, plunges deep.

Brings beauty to a gloomy pasture,

A strong one, who never weeps.

Being complete opposites,

They balance each other out.

Cruising over continents,

They live forever - no doubt.

One Small Thing: Milk

One morning, my mother watched me pour half a cup of milk.
"That's all your drinking?" she asked.
I nodded hesitantly.
"But that is not enough for a growing girl like you", my mother replied and poured me a full cup of milk.

Milk is an essential for the human body. It contains calcium and protein which helps bones develop and grow. However, now, milk may not be so healthy. There are many chemicals like pesticide in the milk to make it last longer and keep bacteria away. These chemicals are harmful to the body and can cause defections. Also, milk has 59 active hormones including allergens, fat, cholesterol and insulin. Insulin can easily cause cancer and it sometimes referred to "fuel cell" of cancer.

The industry feeds the cows high protein, soy-based feed to make them have enlarged pituitary glands which allows cows to produce milk more rapidly. Cows usually eat green grass so giving them the feed is very unhealthy for them. Since the cows became so unhealthy, the industry gives the cows many antibiotics which ends up in the milk.

In order to produce more milk, cows are fed genetically engineered synthetic growth hormones, they also are fed genetically modified organism (GMO) feed to reduce the cost. The cows might hold traces of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) a highly contagious and incurable form of prion, its origin is unknown. Milk might not be a safe food anymore.

Cow milk is specifically designed for calves and has many different substances. Calves are much bigger than human babies so cow milk has 3 times more protein than a human needs. Breast milk is designed for humans and is very nourishing for babies but it is also very different from cow's milk. Also, every mammal on earth except humans stop drinking milk once they are weaned so perhaps humans should stop drinking too much milk.

On the other hand, do we even need that much milk? The instinct to drink other animal's milk came from our ancestors when they could not find enough food and protein so they turned to other animals' milk. Now a days, we have more than enough food to feed the entire world and it is easy to come by vitamins and protein. We have a variety of foods and drinks can substitute milk and we can get our daily value of calcium by eating snacks like yogurt and cheese.

Looking at my milk, I told my mother that milk may not be as healthy as she thought. Not all of our heartless plans work as we intend; nor do all of our good intentions. Spoiled children, for example.

Torus: Chapter 3

Olivia slowly opened her heavy eyelids to the smell of her mother's cooking. Dreaming about breakfast, she stretched out her arms and legs and yawned. Slowly, she slid off the bed and put on a simple t-shirt and pants. Dragging her feet, she instantly spotted her sister, Inora crouched outside their father's study, her ear pressed against the door, holding her breath.

No longer heavy-lidded, Olivia walked over to Inora and opened her mouth to demand what she was doing. Inora's index finger instantly flew to her lips, signaling to be quiet.

"What are you doing!? You know you're not supp-", Olivia hissed through her teeth but Inora clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Listen", Inora mouthed and pointed at the door.

Reluctantly, Olivia put her ear to the door while looking around uncertainly. Her father's voice was strained and shaky and her talked in quiet hushes and once in a while, he would type something on the computer. Olivia managed to catch a few sentences.

"... But 6 years are not enough! ... I don't know what to do! ... No!" George's voice sounded tired, "... I know, I know ... Okay, I swear I wont tell anyone ... Bye and God save us", George hung up and sighed holding his head in his hands.

Olivia lifted her ear from the door.

"What was that about?" Olivia breathed, eyes wide.

Inora's eyebrows furrowed, "I don't really know, but it sounded bad. Olivia glanced back at her father's door. He was doing something on the computer, once in a while cursing. Olivia gulped. She and her sister occasionally eavesdrop on their father's conversation about astronomy and new found galaxies, planets etc. but their father was always excited about the discoveries and neither one of the sisters ever heard him talk in that tone.

"So what did you hear?" Olivia asked, knowing she'll regret it later.

"Well, something 'huge' is coming towards us. S.P.A.C.E. is trying to avoid it, I think", Inora, bit her lip, "And if we are unable to avoid it, it will be the end of life on this planet".

Maxina eyes grew large and immediately went rigid. She looked as if she had been slapped.

"What!?", Maxina shrieked.

George whipped around and opened his door, not surprised to see his two nosy daughters crouched outside. Usually, he would chuckle in amusement and recite, in full detail what had happened. Today, he truly hoped that his daughters did not hear his conversation.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked with a you-better-tell-me-the-truth-look.

"Well", Inora said with a false smile while giving a glare that Olivia knew well and meant that she was going to be dead.

"We, I, um... We were going to ask you a question", Inora finished.

"Um... Yeah, about the universe", Olivia agreed, hoping that will be enough to survive her sister's wrath.

Inora gave Olivia a slight nod and Olivia knew that she was forgiven.

"How was the universe made?" Inora asked, while pulling out a notebook and pencil.

George looked at both of his daughters, catching their almost unnoticeable signs. He knew that they had heard his conversation but how much? After a moment of considering, he decided to let the girls go, hoping that whatever they had heard would scare them and keep them away from his study.

"Well, the universe began in a loud bang which we call the 'Big Bang'", George began.

"The Big Bang?" Olivia wondered out loud.
"Yes", George said and began his tale.



Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

The Ocean Air

(For the Tree, For the Sea, For the Wind) 

Water slaps on the rocks,

In a churning, white foam.

And seagulls swoop down on the docks,

Or in the sky, they loam.

The dark, green water rolls,

Steadily eroding large gray stones,

As driftwood on the sand molds,

And away the wind moans.

Under the sparkling, calm waters,

The currents cycle forever.

Residents and tourists, the ocean lures,

Who wish for nothing better.

Back then I was a sapling,

Looking at the horizon,

But taller I kept growing,

As tourists arrived again.

Torus: Chapter 2

On a very quiet street named Elk Avenue, stood a tall majestic mansion. It was three stories high and was made of big slabs of stone. Around the house were rose bushes, evergreens, maple trees and a tall oak tree. There was always smoke in the chimney and a warm yellow light always spilled out of the window. In all, the building was very grand and welcoming. The family of four who lived in the mansion was no less welcoming.

Wendy Wong was 36 and a hard working mother who owned the worldwide known “Wendy the Greek”. She was a short woman with black hair just touching her shoulders. She wore rectangular glasses and loved cooking.

Wendy’s husband, George Wong was a 39 year old accomplished scientist who worked at S.P.A.C.E (Stars, Planets, Astronomy, Cosmology and Eccentricity). He was a tall man with black, short cropped hair. Although he was usually quiet, he loved to brag about his accomplishments, especially to his family. He had two adoring daughters named Inora and Olivia Wong.

Inora was older, at 13 years old. She loved astronomy and was always very exited whenever her father had problems in S.P.A.C.E. She had a pale complexion and was quite slim in build. Her hair was just past her shoulders and was usually pulled back into a ponytail. She was quiet and loved taking notes which she and her sister always reviewed in the shade of their oak tree.

Olivia, 9, was almost exactly like her sister, except shorter. She had the same complexion and build and her mid-waist hair was also always pulled into a ponytail. She wore black rectangular glasses and, like her sister, was never really dans la mode or très chic. However, even though the two sisters looked very much alike, their personalities were completely different. Olivia also loved astronomy and always asked questions. She was more of a chatterbox and kept blurting things out.

The two girls also spy on their father from time to time to overhear his S.P.A.C.E conversations, much to the amusement of George. However, one day, they overheard shocking news.



Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5