Our story - part IV (by Tomas)

The naive girl didn't notice that the man looked very ghastly. There was an ugly scar on his face and one of his eyes was blood red. His teeth were very dark and looked like they'd never seen a toothpaste. She also started paying more attention to his dirty, covered in sores and tattoos hands. He looked very scary. At that moment Alejandra understood that she was in big trouble, so when the car started slowing down, she opened the door and jumped out. And then she started to run like she'd never run before, flying through the fields in the dark, dark night. But after a few moments, she was lighted from behind by the car that was driven by the remorseless monster. Alejandra felt a stabbing pain in her leg, injured when she'd jumped out of the car, and she was terrified, but she didn't think about the injury because the surviving instinct told her, "Run, Alejandra! Run faster!!!"

Our story - part III (by Noelia)

The car was very old, dirty and very dark. It had tinted windows and only two uncomfortable and squeaky seats. It felt strange and cold inside. And the odour was disgusting. Alejandra tried to open the window, but the man took her hand back, looked at her with cold eyes, and said, "This is impossible, lady. The windows are always closed. I don't like when the sun comes in."

Alejandra then realised she had made a wrong decision, that she shouldn't be there. She thought that perhaps a bus would be safer, so she decided to ask the man to stop at the nearest bus stop. But he refused to do it and instead started to drive faster and take sharper turns. He didn't stop, but said, "Don't worry! You are with me, you are very safe. I'm going to the city centre and I can let you off there." Then it started to rain and she felt alone and scared. She didn't trust the man.

Our story - part II (by Alberto)

But I wish she had learnt some English, a tiny bit at least, before taking that plane. Maybe now we wouldn´t be in this situation. Maybe when she arrived at Dublin Airport she would have known where to go without having to ask strangers. Because when she arrived at the airport, that was the last time people saw Alejandra before she disappeared without a trace.

The last images that we have of her are the ones which were recorded by the airport´s security cameras. She picked up her suitcase, and when she went to the exit, she stopped in order to speak with some man. One eyewitness could hear how she tried to ask where the taxis were. The man took her hand, told her, "Sure, come with me," took her outside the airport terminal, and that was when she vanished.

Our story - part I

Please find below the first part of the story which we're going to write together over the next couple of weeks. Each student in the lower intermediate group will write one short part (the word limit is 120-200 words). Let me begin...

It was her first intercontinental flight, but Alejandra didn’t have the slightest bit of worry. Maybe apart from the fact that all she could say in English was one single word: water. Difficult to believe, yes, but that’s what she told me. Why hadn’t she taken a short course before coming over? I don’t know, I never asked. She might have thought she was moving to Dublin in order to learn English, so why would she study at home before coming here to study?

story - part VI (last part by the whole group)

- I’ve just talked to Chris. He’s on his way here. Now, when you’re sick, we need to tell him the truth.

- Yes, you’re right – we need to tell him everything. But, Joe, there’s something else you need to know...

- What’s that? Joe asked worryingly.

- I’m pregnant. And... this child is yours! she cried out loud.

Joe was shocked. But so was Paloma when she saw Chris standing in the door. He’d heard everything. He was fuming and jumped straight on Joe punching him violently. He would have beaten him to death if it hadn’t been for Paloma’s scream. There was water all over her bed. She went into labour.

Joe got up from the floor and run in search for the doctor: “She’s in labour!!!”

- Chris, I’m sorry. I love you so much, but the night when you had to stay at work longer, I got too drunk, and Joe was there with me. I knew it was a mistake. I never felt anything for him. As a result, I was so down that I decided to kill myself. I took some drugs, but it wasn’t enough to kill me – it just destroyed my immune system. That’s why I’m dying now...

- And what about the child? asked Chris.

- She’s just fine. Don’t worry about her.

When she said that, Joe arrived with the doctor and nurses. It didn’t take long for Paloma to have the child – a beautiful baby girl. But she died immediately afterwards from exhaustion.

Joe and Chris were extremely saddened, confused, but also happy to see the healthy child. They hugged each other tightly and without saying a word knew that they had to bring the child up together in the loving memory of Paloma.

story - part V (by Kasia)

After that Paloma collapsed and lost consciousness.  Joe called the ambulance. They took her to the hospital.
After a few hours of waiting Joe could talk with her again, but when she saw him, she started crying. Paloma said that she was very sick and she only had a few months, or maybe one year of life left.
Joe couldn’t believe it. What would he tell Chris?
She begged him to keep this in secret. She didn’t want to destroy Chris’s  life.
After a long conversation Joe went back to the hotel.
He was confused and didn't know what to do. Later on he made his decision and called Chris.
Chris was so happy that Joe found Paloma, but at the same time he was shocked that he could lose her so easily. He felt that he must see her as soon as possible, so he went to the airport, bought a flight ticket and soon he was sitting on the plane.