Imagine you're dying. Right now. You've only got, what, 20 minutes left.You might be alone or surrounded by people.

It might be hard to imagine... but... what are you thinking about?Have you ever had an experience where you thought, "Oh, I might be screwed,"?In that moment, do you want to live? Are you scared? Or do you gladly accept your fate?Who do you think about?Are you thinking about the things you regret doing?Or the things you regret not doing?Is your life flashing through your eyes? What are the key moments?

It doesn't have to be a true story.First place will be awarded 70% of the bounty, second place 20%, third, 10% - chosen by me.It's a bit of a depressing prompt, so I'm not expecting too many entries, but I'm curious of what everyone will come up with.

I'm looking for a heartfelt narrative that comes off as honest and raw.Like Ai's final words from Oshi no Ko~I might participate for fun, but will not consider myself as a competitor.

Choose a character from either a book or your own story and I want you to write a short snippet of them suddenly being aware that they are in a story. Go crazy with how you do!

RULES:

-If you choose your own story others need to be able to read it on this site

-Keep it PG

-No sexual themes

- Light gore and violence allowed

- Try to keep swearing to a minimum

-Entries must be under 1000 words

-At the start of your piece please just give a short introduction for your character,

Example: I've chosen (character) from (story)

Have fun!

Also if any contestant leaves rude or mean comments on another entry they shall be disqualified.

Dear Aspirating Writers and Readers,

Long time no chat! Happy Christmas! You may have noticed that recently we Penana have launched our platform currency “Pena Coin” to English and ASEAN language users around the globe!

So, what is Pena Coin?

Pena Coin is Penana's platform currency, which can be purchased and used for sponsoring stories or writing contests, buy e-publications, or activate premium web and app features on Penana!

As users,you can purchase Pena Coins in the link below:https://www.penana.com/buy_coins

As writers,if you receive any Pena Coin sponsorship, it will be recorded as your revenue and stored in the following link:https://www.penana.com/myrevenue

Click here you can be sponsored / sponsor people:

Note: You can withdraw your revenue (using PayPal) once you hit the HKD 600 threshold (which is approximately equivalent to USD 77).

Pena Coin Conversion Rate:100 Pena Coins = HKD 1 ≈ USD 0.13

Contest Rules:

This festive contest will run from Thanksgiving Day (Nov 24) until Christmas (Dec 25).All you need to do is leave a comment saying “Hi Penana”, and you will receive 100 Pena Coins!

If you want to earn more Pena Coins, you can also submit an entry to this contest to tell us about what you think about Penana. You will receive an extra 200 Pena Coins as reward for your participation!

Remember, you can only comment or post an entry ONCE. Repeated comments and entries won’t count.

Hope you guys will enjoy this festive contest and start to use Pena Coins to reward quality content.

Thank you, and as always, “Keep Writing Good Stories!”

Best,

Penana

IMAGE SOURCE,ORLA GUERIN/BBC

Image caption,

Residents of Irpin are fleeing the Russian assault on their city, which is half an hour's drive from Kyiv

They came on foot, in an endless stream - trying to outpace the Russian shells laying waste to their hometown. There were families with children in strollers clutching stuffed toys, young mothers with babes in arms, and the elderly moving as fast as their years would allow. Most were silent. Some were weeping. At the edge of Irpin there was urgency, panic, and anguish. It felt like we were witnessing the death of a city.

"Everything is bombed," said Valentina, as she rushed past us, fleeing her home and her life with just a single bag over her shoulder. "There are no lights," she said, "there's been no electricity, no gas, and no internet for two to three days. People are sitting in the basements and kids are sick there."

Russian forces are already inside the city.

"Part of Irpin was captured by Russian invaders but part of the city is fighting and not surrendering," said the mayor, Oleksandr Markushyn, in a video he posted on social media.

Those trying to flee are still being targeted, as the mayor himself saw yesterday. "The Russian invaders fired on our local civilians," he said. "A family died. This shell, this mine hit, and in front of my eyes two children and two adults died."

It seems clear that the Russian strategy is to terrorise the residents of Irpin into submission and empty the city - a tactic Moscow has used elsewhere from Grozny to Aleppo. The residents who remain have endured days and nights of relentless bombardment. We could hear the assault during an earlier visit on Saturday. The soundtrack was the same today, except maybe louder. And this time we could also hear grad rocket fire, and occasional gunshots.

Media caption,

Jeremy Bowen was on the frontline in Irpin, as residents came under Russian fire while trying to flee.

"Tell everyone to close the skies, urgently, we need it," said Andrei as he dashed past - with his pet poodle - pleading for a no-fly zone. "Close the skies - please. It's hell, it's really hell. The Russian soldiers are bombing civilian houses. The Russians are not fighting the army. They are fighting anyone."

He knew it was time to go when the Russians arrived on his street. "We saw the armoured vehicles near our house. They passed by. Then the tank stopped and blew up a house near me. So, I think we are lucky, we are all really lucky that we are here."

IMAGE SOURCE,ORLA GUERIN/BBC

Image caption,

Andrei says Russian tanks blew up a house close to his

The 36-year-old is - or was - an events manager. 'I make the people laugh, with shows, concerts. But I think I have no work now in Ukraine," he said. Then he joined the crowds heading for minibuses that are screeching to and from the edge of the city, ferrying people, and pets, to the railway station in Kyiv - a lifeline for those trying to escape to western Ukraine.

Getting out of Irpin means picking your way over a mass of rubble, and jagged boulders and metal bars that now litter the bed of the Irpin river. This is the remains of a bridge blown up by Ukrainian forces to block - or at least slow - Russian armour reaching the capital. Planks of wood are balanced precariously on the wreckage. One elderly man almost tumbled from a plank into the water. Then he summoned his courage and shuffled forward. Nearby a woman lay flat on the ground on the riverbank - conscious but immobile. We were told she had fallen. No one knew how to try to move her.

IMAGE SOURCE,ORLA GUERIN/BBC

Image caption,

Ukrainian forces blew up the bridge themselves, hoping to slow the Russian advance

As we filmed a gunshot rang out. A Ukrainian soldier took a screaming young boy by the hand and ran with him to cover. Two others grabbed a buggy. Another helped a woman on a crutch, who was breathless with exertion.

A blackened building was still smouldering, neatly framed by the golden onion domes of the church directly behind (which appeared to be intact). This was an image of Ukraine, past and present, of war and peace.

IMAGE SOURCE,ORLA GUERIN/BBC

Image caption,

The golden domes of a church rise just behind a damaged building

The country's future is painful to imagine, but it's already being sketched out in cities under bombardment from Kharkiv to Mariupol, where cold, frightened civilians cower in basements, or try to run for their lives.

And what we witnessed in Irpin could be a chronicle of the capital foretold. Kyiv lies straight down the road, about half an hour's drive away - a distance of 26km or 16 miles. That's why Irpin matters so much to both sides.

There's no doubting the fighting spirit here, and the determination to resist. But military experts say a broken bridge won't be enough to stop the Russians, and there is no doubt that they have Kyiv in their sights.

Dear Readers/Contestants,

I would like you to write anything that you have dreamt last night. I hope you could still remember those. There is no prize money in here but I do hope you enjoy joining on this one.