0 months old.
There was a daughter born to two beautiful actors. They had a scary birth, but overall they thought they had borne a healthy child. But when she was born, the doctor told them that she was a child of ill luck. At first they were scared, but then they remembered that it was just an old myth from Chinese culture. And it made sense because their doctor was Chinese. But they decided to ignore the doctor and continue on with life.
The Childhood:
2 years old.
Julia's childhood wasn't difficult, but she was prone to accidents and had a lot of back luck. When she turned two, the accidents and bad luck were at their worst.
Accident 1: At home.
She tripped and fell while walking from one end of the house to the other and sliced her knee open. They rushed to the hospital.
Accident 2 (within 3 weeks of the first): At school.
She was sitting at her desk working on her own coloring project when another child ran by with scissors. He ran into a nearby desk and fell, accidentally stabbing Julia in the arm. They rushed to the hospital again.
Accident 3 (1 week later): Backyard.
Julia was in the backyard playing in her sandbox when a snake slithered by from their garden and bit her on the foot. Hospital again. Only this time, after blood tests were done, the doctor came back with other results.
Julia had cancer. A cancer classified as neuroblastoma, a common childhood cancer.
The two beautiful actors cried. They were scared and exhausted. They didn't understand how a two-year-old could be prone to so many accidents and then be diagnosed with cancer. That's when they decided to call their doctor who had delivered Julia.
The phone rang once. Then twice.
"Hello?" said the male voice. "This is Doctor Lee."
"Hi Doctor Lee. This is Shriva and Lucas Martin calling about our daughter, Julia, that you delivered about two years ago."
"Oh yes. I remember Julia. She is the child of ill luck. But, uh, what seems to be the problem?" Doctor Lee asked.
"Well, our daughter has gotten into three serious accidents in the past two months, and now, we just found out she has cancer," Shriva said, shrieking into the phone.
"Ah, I see. I'm sorry, but this is normal. What don't you understand about a child of ill luck? Julia is not set to have a normal life. She will have bad luck for eternity. Nothing can solve this issue," he said.
They both cried and hung up the phone. They both thought, "How could this be? How could this ancient Chinese myth be true?"
The Meeting:
30 years old.
Julia made it to her thirtieth birthday. Of course, bad luck was part of her everyday life, but somehow she managed to power through all the bad accidents and bad luck. She also lived thirty years with her cancer. Her parents believed it was a miracle — the only good miracle — that she lived to see her thirtieth birthday. Julie wasn’t in pain, but her strength weakened with every passing day.
One day, she was at the grocery store buying her weekly list of food. Julia bent down to grab a can of beans on the bottom shelf. She brushed against the cart, causing it to move slightly. All of a sudden she heard a low-rumbled “oomph,” from a brown-haired, good-looking man about thirty.
Julia stood up and immediately apologized.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were standing there,” she said.
The man with no name waved his hand, as if it were no big deal.
He said, “Oh, it’s not a problem. Really, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have been standing so close to a shopping cart. Those things are just waiting to cause accidents.”
Julia laughed.
She was laughing so hard that she dropped the can of beans on the attractive man’s foot. He winced in pain. Julia always knew how to make a good impression, especially with her bad luck.
The Cancer:
Accident 1: At home.
She tripped and fell while walking from one end of the house to the other and sliced her knee open. They rushed to the hospital.
Accident 2 (within 3 weeks of the first): At school.
She was sitting at her desk working on her own coloring project when another child ran by with scissors. He ran into a nearby desk and fell, accidentally stabbing Julia in the arm. They rushed to the hospital again.
Accident 3 (1 week later): Backyard.
Julia was in the backyard playing in her sandbox when a snake slithered by from their garden and bit her on the foot. Hospital again. Only this time, after blood tests were done, the doctor came back with other results.
Julia had cancer. A cancer classified as neuroblastoma, a common childhood cancer.
The two beautiful actors cried. They were scared and exhausted. They didn't understand how a two-year-old could be prone to so many accidents and then be diagnosed with cancer. That's when they decided to call their doctor who had delivered Julia.
The phone rang once. Then twice.
"Hello?" said the male voice. "This is Doctor Lee."
"Hi Doctor Lee. This is Shriva and Lucas Martin calling about our daughter, Julia, that you delivered about two years ago."
"Oh yes. I remember Julia. She is the child of ill luck. But, uh, what seems to be the problem?" Doctor Lee asked.
"Well, our daughter has gotten into three serious accidents in the past two months, and now, we just found out she has cancer," Shriva said, shrieking into the phone.
"Ah, I see. I'm sorry, but this is normal. What don't you understand about a child of ill luck? Julia is not set to have a normal life. She will have bad luck for eternity. Nothing can solve this issue," he said.
They both cried and hung up the phone. They both thought, "How could this be? How could this ancient Chinese myth be true?"
The Meeting:
30 years old.
Julia made it to her thirtieth birthday. Of course, bad luck was part of her everyday life, but somehow she managed to power through all the bad accidents and bad luck. She also lived thirty years with her cancer. Her parents believed it was a miracle — the only good miracle — that she lived to see her thirtieth birthday. Julie wasn’t in pain, but her strength weakened with every passing day.
One day, she was at the grocery store buying her weekly list of food. Julia bent down to grab a can of beans on the bottom shelf. She brushed against the cart, causing it to move slightly. All of a sudden she heard a low-rumbled “oomph,” from a brown-haired, good-looking man about thirty.
Julia stood up and immediately apologized.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were standing there,” she said.
The man with no name waved his hand, as if it were no big deal.
He said, “Oh, it’s not a problem. Really, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have been standing so close to a shopping cart. Those things are just waiting to cause accidents.”
Julia laughed.
She was laughing so hard that she dropped the can of beans on the attractive man’s foot. He winced in pain. Julia always knew how to make a good impression, especially with her bad luck.
The Cancer:
32 years old.
Julia and the man with no name married shortly after meeting in the grocery store that day.
Before you continue reading, beware, this isn’t going to be a happy ending.
OK. So you’ve decided to continue reading.
Back to the end of the story then: Julia got sick a few months after they were married. The doctor told them that the cancer was finally taking over, but that she probably had another ten years to live, if she was lucky. But she knew with her luck, it wouldn’t be good.
Her husband with no name couldn’t stand to watch Julia in this pain, especially for ten years. So he took it upon himself to go and find a cure for this cancer. He kissed Julia on the forehead and left for five years. He told himself that he wouldn’t return unless he had found the cure to the cancer. He had to.
The Death:
36 years old.
The husband with no name came back six years later. Don’t worry, Julia had her parents and other family members watching over her while he was gone.
He had finally found the cure. He immediately sent Julia to the hospital to be treated for the cure. She was cured within one week. But one must remember, she is a child of ill luck. As her mom drove her back from the hospital, a semi-truck hit the car head on, and both Julia and her mother were pronounced dead at the scene.
OK. So you’ve decided to continue reading.
Back to the end of the story then: Julia got sick a few months after they were married. The doctor told them that the cancer was finally taking over, but that she probably had another ten years to live, if she was lucky. But she knew with her luck, it wouldn’t be good.
Her husband with no name couldn’t stand to watch Julia in this pain, especially for ten years. So he took it upon himself to go and find a cure for this cancer. He kissed Julia on the forehead and left for five years. He told himself that he wouldn’t return unless he had found the cure to the cancer. He had to.
The Death:
36 years old.
The husband with no name came back six years later. Don’t worry, Julia had her parents and other family members watching over her while he was gone.
He had finally found the cure. He immediately sent Julia to the hospital to be treated for the cure. She was cured within one week. But one must remember, she is a child of ill luck. As her mom drove her back from the hospital, a semi-truck hit the car head on, and both Julia and her mother were pronounced dead at the scene.
Author's Note: This story is based loosely off The Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck, which is part of the Chinese Fairy Tales unit. The original story describes a young girl who was born as a child of ill luck. One day she meets a beggar and tells her father that she's going to marry him, and maybe he will bring good fortune. Her father thinks this is a bad idea. She marries the beggar, and he decides he must go seek his fortune. He says he will be gone for 18 years and to remain faithful to him. She does. He returns and has become the emperor. When they move to the imperial palace, though, with the woman being a child of ill luck, she gets sicks and dies.
I have changed my characters to be in present day and not of Chinese origin. But as one can see, Julia is born a child of ill luck and the finds out she has cancer. Then her husband tries to find the cure to it. He does, and returns after six years of searching. But when she is cured, she gets into a fatal car accident because of her ill luck.
Bibliography: The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).
Photo caption: Woman walking down the grocery aisle with a shopping list. Photo source: esan.edu.pe
Hey Mia, I think you did a good job retelling the original story of bad luck. I liked how you formatted your story, using age as different sections in your story. It was almost like a timeline! The use of dialogue made the story more personal and highlighted the phone conversation as a critical point in your story. I would suggest re-reading through your story one more time because I noticed a few minor grammatical errors. Otherwise, great job!
ReplyDeleteIt was almost funny how these things kept happening but obviously it was a horrible thing to happen to someone. So many things happened to her in her lifetime. She even managed to survive cancer and she ended up dying from a car accident. Of all the things she could have died from.
ReplyDeleteHey Mia! Your story was very well written and organized! I enjoyed how you split up the stories into events which made the information so much easier to understand. The story was honestly sad to read with all this bad luck! I enjoyed how strong Julia was and the fact that you used names with your characters and made small dialogue made me feel more engaged and wanting to know what happens. When she got married I was happy for her until she got cancer but was cured, I was honestly happy! But then she died in a car crash with her mother :( Good job!
ReplyDeleteMia,
ReplyDeleteWow I really enjoyed reading your story. The format that you chose was very organized and I was able to follow along very well. I didn't want to stop reading your story! I thought it was funny when you added your own personal lines as the story was coming from your perspective. The dialogue was also added in a very nice manor. Although I was sad at the end of your story, it was well written and the different sections were split up well.
Oh my gosh Mia! How could you do that to my poor heart! It was breaking the entire time I read it! I loved the format; I may have to copy that for a future story if you do not mind;) I really was rooting for her and then I thought oh its over with the cancer, but a car crash?! Talk about a plot twist! Well done!
ReplyDeleteHey Mia! As much as I loved the story and the writing, I found that my heart was breaking the entire time I read the story. When she was 30 years old, I found that my heart was finally happy for her, especially when she found the love of her life. While this story was difficult to read it was very well written. I found that you had the story well-thought out and my assumption is that you drew some inspiration from Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events." It is one of my favorite books of all time! I find even the Netflix series to be wonderful! Have you been able to see it? Anyways, great job! I can't wait to read more of your stories!
ReplyDeleteHi Mia! I really enjoyed reading your story! I also read this story and I wondered immediately if this is what it was based on. You did a really good job adapting it to present time, blending current problems with an ancient story. I liked how you separated it into periods of time, it not only made it easier to read (this type of story had the potential to be very confusing) but allowed you tell the entirety of the story without going over the word limit. You have a good wow factor both at the beginning and the end, too. The beginning grabs your attention and the end has a major shock value, so over all it makes your story very entertaining to read. I don’t really have any critiques, because like I said, I really like the way your story is set up, and I didn’t see any typos, either, so good job!
ReplyDeleteYour story was straight to the point. It also had an oral-story style to the story which was interesting, but entertaining and interactive with the reader. I wondered why it was a scary birth; did the birth have complications for the mother and the newborn or just the newborn? Also, I wondered how the parents would know about an old Chinese myth unless they were Chinese as well (but the story suggests they are not) since they are actors and not scholars. Lastly, what marked her as an ill-fated child? Is there a mark or a physical factor that categorizes her as an unlucky individual?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the lines where the narrator communicated with the reader warning them the end of the story was an unhappy one. This style decision gives the story an old myth feeling for it.
I like how you did not give the husband a name because it ties in with the original husband being a beggar, and the illusion to that is a nice touch. I also liked the structure of your story. The different sections give the reader a bit of forewarning about what to expect at the end of each one. I think you did well!
I really liked the format of your story. I liked how you show us different stages of Julia’s life and how her bad luck traveled with her all that time. I thought that the ending was really sad, but of course that’s what the ending was trying to be. It was nice that she lived a pretty long life, considering she had cancer and bad luck. You would have thought that she would have died a long time ago. I am glad that she was able to get married, and be married for a few days before things got worse. It is so sad that her husband was able to save her and then she gets into a car accident, and her mother dies with her. That is just so terrible! I am sure that she wasn’t able to drive at all though because of her bad luck. I wonder if she ever lived alone during her 30 years or did her parents look after her the whole time to make sure nothing bad happened to her.
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