Composition Test: Question 2.

Last Saturday evening, the sky was a deep shade of azure and the sun was quickly fading as sunset red, orange and pink streaked across the darkening sky. My family had decided on an evening out and we set off for our favourite seafood restaurant. It was a mere stone’s throw away from our home and before long; we had arrived at our destination.

“Good Evening, Sir. You have a reservation, I trust?” The head waiter addressed my father in clipped, polite tones.

“Of course, under “Mr Tan”,” My father replied back.

The head waiter scanned the reservation list neatly attached to his clipboard before scribbling something in a flourish and leading us to our table. He handed us our elegantly-lettered menus before sweeping off to serve another customer.

I flipped through my menu when suddenly a bone-chilling scream filled the air and it continued to ring in my ears seconds later. The high, anguished scream abruptly came to an end and the only sound in the entire restaurant was the screeching of pushed chairs against the linoleum. Everyone stood up and horrified whispers were exchanged.

For a few minutes, no one moved a muscle; everyone was just looking around in shock. I was rooted to the ground by invisible chains of fear; my eyes were wide open in shock and my jaw hung open in astonishment. I quickly shook my head to clear my muddle thoughts and realised that the sound had come from the kitchen.

I sprinted towards the kitchen doors, smashed head-first into them and was stunned by the ghastly sight that lay before my eyes. A slight, young woman still wearing her chef uniform was lying on the polished kitchen linoleum with a pool of blood spreading around her. Her eyes were full of terror but already glassy and lifeless. Her skin was an ashen grey and the blood was seeping through her stark-white uniform. I took a few baby steps closer to her and discovered a stainless steel kitchen knife which glinted in the harsh, fluorescent kitchen lights which dangled from the ceiling.

It was murder, without a question. I regained my senses and spun around looking for the murderer. A crowd had gathered in the kitchen but none of them looked like they had recently taken an innocent life, instead they looked shocked and terrified.

As I searched the crowd for an evil, smiling face, I heard the deep thuds and clanging noises making its way up the old-fashioned fire escape. I was breathless but the white lightning of adrenaline was spreading through my nervous system and I started dashing up the cold, metal steps.

The fire escape was not a skyscraper and I reached the top after what seemed like an eternity but in reality, was actually only five minutes. I caught a fleeting glimpse of someone in a chef uniform that matched the one the victim was wearing with the apron whipping around the figure in the breeze.

“I’m not going to hurt you, just tell me what happened,” I steadily walked across the tarmac flooring with my hands raised in the universal gesture of surrender.

“No! Get back! You don’t understand! I…I didn’t mean to…to kill her, I just wanted to scare her, that’s all,” The high-pitched voice broke and its owner gasped violently.

“I understand, but the police are here and they just need to get some explanations from you,” I prayed that my desperate lie was true. The murderer was a lot heftier and infinitely stronger than me, in an all out fight, I would lose.

“You…you’re lying! The police aren’t here! Why should I be scared of you?” The suspect jeered and taunted, “It should be quite the opposite in fact.”

Before she could finish, the blasting sirens rang and speeding police cars swerved wildly onto the kerb.

“Both of you put your hands up where I can see them!” The policeman cocked his gun at us. The murderer shuddered violently and muttered under his breath in distress.

Soon, after I had related all that had happened, the police trussed up the suspect and tossed her into the police car for the long drive to the police station.

After a lengthy explanation from the murderer, the police formed a statement which they released to the media a week later. The victim was apparently in debt of a large undisclosed sum of money to the murderer. The murder had planned to get the victim into paying the debt by threatening her to death but instead, in the spur of the moment, had stabbed the victim to death.