The man writhing on the ground claws at my leg desperately. Disgusted, I kick savagely at his body.

"Save me..."

As the man formerly known as my accomplice gasps out this last request, I kneel down at his feet. Forcefully, I yank back his head, putting his face so close to mine he can smell my triumph and satisfication. I brandish the knife, dripping with blood, wiping it on his face, enjoying the look of fear and disgust on his face.

"Well, Brandon. I paid the debt for you, went to jail for twenty long years. I lost my freedom, I lost my dignity. When I came out, friends turned their backs on me, and my own family refused to acknowledge me." I laughed mirthlessly, clenching my fist together as the memories brought back wave upon wave of fresh pain. "Yellow ribbon project? I went to find a job, and yet, everyone refused to hire me! They thought I was a serial killer, they thought that once they turned their backs, I would stab them, both metaphorically and literally!" My voice cracked open with raw emotion.

"I'm sorry..." These two words seemed a great deal of torture to Brandon, as blood spurted out of the wide gash on his chest. "I didn't mean to..."

"But you did! You didn't mean to, but you did!" I rounded on him, knelt before him and held the blade to his chest again, cutting the wound open, watching with satisfication as Brandon let out a scream. "You weren't supposed to kill them, we were just suppose to rob them to satisfy the triad leaders. You were the one who killed them, while I was the one who begged for their mercy. And yet, I was the one who paid for your sins in jail, while you got off scot-free!" I clenched my fists, trying to control the wave after wave of anger and cascading down on me.

And then, my mind flew back to her. Although she wasnt the prettiest in the strictest sense, she had a personality that anyone could fall in love with, warm, caring and open. We loved each other, in fact, we engaged and she was in the midst of all the wedding preparations. Although she had objected to the fact that I was part of a triad, she was merely worried for my safety. And then, I had been accused of murder, a sin so great that she had been unable to withstand it. I watched my relationship with her break down and tear apart, I vowed, then, that I would have my revenge.

"Goodbye." I watched in satisfication as Brandon heaved his last, rattling breaths, as his eyes closed, and his hand fell, limp and lifeless.

Strangely, I did not feel any remorse.

The story is about the a grey 'duck' that is very differnent in terms of apperance compared to his siblings. A mother duck hatches her eggs and, while most of her ducklings are normal, one is grey, too large, and too clumsy to fit in among the others. The mother duck tried to accept him but the entire farm does not accept him, after a period of ill-treatment, he decided to leave.
'The ugly duckling' is then being taken care of by an old woman in her poor cottage, but her cat and her hen will not accept him and he is forced to set off once again on his own. He wanders for the entire winter, for no one will take him in. He nearly freezed to death on several occasions, but was saved by a hunter. After a while, he eventually wandered to the wild again.

By the end of winter, he is miraculously still alive. He comes to a pond in a park, where white swans are swimming. He is drawn to their beauty, he then approach them. To his surprise, the beautiful swans accept him. Gazing at his own reflection, he sees that he too is a swan. The children declare that he is the most beautiful swan of them all, yet he is not proud.

I learnt that it would be tough for an 'outsider' to find him/her place in the society, so we must learnt to accept everyone, even if he/she is the minority. I have also leant that we must not look down on someone if he is weak in some areas, as he might turn out to be the next 'ugly duckling', turining into a gorgeous swan in the future. I leant that we must not be proud, even if we are beautiful, handsome etc, just like the ugly duckling. Because of all that the ugly duckling suffered, he now appreciates his happiness so much more. From that i also leant that we must cherish what we have now at the present.