CXC CSEC English A exam Model answer 1, past paper short story essay question 1 [2011]
CXC CSEC English A exam Model answer 1, past paper short story essay question 1 [2011]
Question: A cold hand grasped his wrist as he slumped to his knees. Write a story which includes this sentence.
Model answer 1 Grade 2
Chad visit is wife Deedra at the Dixon Memorial Hospital. She had been there for some days now. Both her parents and elder brother die from the deadly disease cancer. She thinks it might be a family trait and she too might have the disease.
A few years back she found out that she couldn’t have children, she curse the disease; she convinces that the disease had deprived her of God’s gift to man to reproduce and bless this wonderful place call earth.
“How are you holding up?” he asked, sitting at her bedside, with her black Asian hair against the white pillow.
“I’m doing fine” Deedra doesn’t mention the pain. She doesn’t want to upset her husband.
“Did you tell the doctor about the belly cramps you had been feeling when you were at home?”
She nodded. “He said, it might have been side effects from the pills I had been taking”
Chad tries to comfort her.
He slips his hand into hers. He looks down at her; her face looked a bit puffy and pale with black pouches under her eyes. He lifted his hand and wipes her cheek with his finger and said, “You’re going to be absolutely fine.”
Chad fears that he might be wrong, but he doesn’t want his wife to worry.
He thinks back-he doesn’t want to-he can’t help it, at times, good times, when he would chase her around, in the house, and she would sprint off like an Olympian, squealing in excitement. He sat musing on past memories not knowing that his world was seconds away from crumbling.
An alarming beep echoed in the room, breaking his meditation, it was the heart monitor, which was close her head, at her bedside. Each second, the sound became louder, stronger and faster beep, beep, beep….What happen next took him by surprise.
Her hands began to tremble violently and her body twisted and turned uncontrollably. Her palm suddenly felt cold, and that sent him in panic. He gave her hand a tight squeeze and began shouting her name. Deedra! Deedra!
A cold hand grasped his wrist as he slumped to his knees; it was Doctor Fredrick. “Sir please get outside,” the doctor said.
GET OUTSIDE, two simply words, but by God, it told him everything.
He felt a sudden emptiness deep within his heart. He felt as if someone penetrated a knife inside him and kept twisting his trips. He felt as if his whole world was crumbling and he was left to pick up the pieces. His red eyes burnt. He felt tears of sorrow, rushing, ready to burst and fill his tear ducks.
He took long hasty steps, looking for a safe place to release the pain. He turns to the first door he embarks upon, pushed it open; inside, and on the shelves, was fill with white bottles, of medical items.
“I bet any of these items can get the job done. I bet one of these items can give me a quick and easy death."
He reaches for one of the small bottle item, opens the lid, turns the bottle to his head and gulped in a few pills-not sure how much he took, but he was sure it could get the job done.
No sooner, in a few seconds, he felt dizzy and in a few minutes his blur was now in complete darkness.
A voice, he heard a voice, a voice he recognizes; it was Doc Fredrick.
“Am I finally DEAD?” “I’m in heaven rite? But, what are you doing here?” He asked.
The Doctor gave a booming laugh. “You crazy man, no you’re not dead. The pills you took were just some sleeping pills and you’re going to be absolutely fine. And your wife, Deedra, she doesn’t have cancer. Turns out that the cramp she was feeling is the confirmation of her pregnancy; and you two should be expecting twins.”
Number of words: 652