My Wonderland Dream

“My Wonderland Dream” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Lee Nihuey, Sri KDU Primary School, Kota Damansara, Malaysia.

My Wonderland Dream

I had a trip with family to Xi’an, China during last school holiday. Before leaving for the trip, we were all getting ready with our winter clothing: jackets, gloves, winter hat, long johns and scarfs. On that day at 7.30a.m., we left house and heading to the airport. We had our breakfast before checked in. I had my favourite nasilemak and hot milo.

At 10.00a.m., our plane departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It took us about 4 hours to arrive at Hong Kong International Airport. We were all ready to go out to take the fresh and cooling air, it was a few days before Christmas so the weather was freezing cold.

We went out to have a walk along the hawker streets after we checked in to our hotel. There were many stalls selling food, drinks, games, Christmas gifts and souvenirs. Many tourists were there to do their shopping and trying out the local food. There were some young boys and girls singing and dancing along the streets too. It was very crowded and noisy, the streets and shops around were filled with Christmas decorations. The crowd was busy with the entertainment and bargaining price with the hawkers.

We walked passed a big crowd at the end of the street and there was a Santa Clause having quiz contest. Many people were trying to answer his questions but none of them got it correct. I tried my luck and shouted my answer and the Santa called me up to the stage. Santa Clause gave me a present and I feel a cold thing moving in my palm. It was a lizard on my palm and I started to shout and jump around the stage. The crowd was laughing at me. It was only a toy lizard taken out from a fridge. I felt so embarrassed and wanted to hide myself in a hole.

The next morning, we left our hotel and headed to Xi’an, China. The plane took us about 3 hours to reach our destination. My dad’s friend, Uncle Tom who dressed up as a clownfish was waiting for us at the airport. He drove a Nissan truck and sent us to the hotel in deep jungle by the seaside. Along the journey, I saw rhinoceros, tapir, eagle and many more. Looks like Uncle Tom has booked us a safari hotel. We had a welcome drink at the hotel lobby with the animals sitting around me. A flamingo came to me and had a sip of my drink.

Our room was facing the sea. I saw a few dolphins and whales leaping from the sea to welcome us. In the room, there was a huge toy koala on the bed. My mum had a shock in her life thought that it was a real koala. I went on the bed and hugged the koala. Suddenly, I felt pain at my back and it was the koala scratching my back with its sharp long claws. It was a real koala! At that moment, I felt the room was shaking and it was like earthquake coming next.….

“Excuse me girl, please fasten your safety belt now as we are landing Hong Kong International Airport in 15 minutes.” the air stewardess woke me up with a smiley face. Looks like I had a wonderland dream in the plane before my holiday started!