IF you could walk into a time tunnel and come out the other side in another era, where would you go? SOPHIE WARD - SHENTON of year eight at Kesgrave High School choose Amsterdam in the 1942 and back again in 1944.

IF you could walk into a time tunnel and come out the other side in another era, where would you go?

SOPHIE WARD - SHENTON of year eight at Kesgrave High School choose Amsterdam in the 1942 and back again in 1944.

I'M sitting in silence, not a word from anyone.

The damp, putrid smell fills the tiny room. The room seems to be blacker than the night sky at its deepest hour, but this is probably a delusion.

As soon as I enter this room I know where I am - Anne Frank's hide out. I must be in grave danger, but there is nothing I can do about it.

I can hear weeping in the corner; obviously something is wrong so I get up to help. I have a kind heart you see, so I overcome my fear to see if I can help.

As soon as I stand up I am grabbed back down, but ever so carefully though, so as not to make a noise. I do not know what or who did it but they are obviously familiar with me as a man whispers my name, I know it is a man as the voice is deep and gruff, with a slight softness that suggests affection.

After a struggle I give up. What's the point, after all? I am surprisingly tired and woozy for the daytime, in any case. I rack my brains to try and figure out who is with me, and then it comes to me in a flash; it is Otto! All this thinking tires me out, so I soon drop off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I wake up to the noise of a constant scratching; I think it is from a pen. I find the noise dreadfully annoying, but a little annoyance never hurt anyone so I decide to investigate the noise. There in the corner is the girl herself - Anne.

She has dimples in her cheeks and chin, and delicate white skin, giving off the impression she is very friendly but yet intelligent. Her short hair curls are a hazel-nutty brown in colour. I just can't help myself; I just have to talk to her, in person. She is scribbling away in her diary. It is magnificent, bound with white and red plaid cloth, with a small lock on the front. I walk timidly up to her, careful not to disturb her writing. I look over her shoulder seeing the date - July 1942.

She suddenly looks up startled, but then shakes her head and gives a look of animosity.

Still I go on; I sit down beside her and read. She is writing a story about Eve.

1944

Bang, bang, bang, boots are stamping up the stairs and panic fills the room so strongly it is almost a living entity.

We try to slip in to the shadows and disappear.

Nobody dares to breathe or move as the door crashes inwards and the slaves of Satan taint the air with the scent of evil. Their noisy clumsiness is at odds with the silent fear of the Frank family, but these monsters do not notice.

They scream orders and drag them from their naïve hiding places. Screams fill the air; I close my eyes, but my senses are on fire and, amidst the mixed noises of panic and power, I think I hear a bone shattering. I put my hands over my ears and hope and pray. Silence invades the room, ominous and oppressive; it speaks of a loss of hope, a loss of struggle, a loss of life. Slowly, fearfully, I open my eyes. There is nothing left here - they are gone. I had the chance to do something here but, like so many others, I did nothing.

I look up on to the desk and there, isolated and pathetic, lies a diary.

The diary of Anne Frank.

Which period in history would you like to go back to, and why?

Perhaps you'd like to change the course of history - and what would happen if you did?

To star in Time Tunnel, just get your imagination in gear and tell us your thoughts. Send a story of about 700 words to tracey.sparling@eveningstar.co.uk or post to Features, The Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN.

Famous faces:

Princess Elizabeth registers for war service.

Humphrey Bogart appears in Casablanca

In the news:

Attack on Sydney Harbour: Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle are shelled by Japanese submarines. The eastern suburbs of both cities are damaged and the east coast is blacked-out.

Battle of El Alamein

Inventions:

Chicago Pile-1, the first nuclear reactor, goes critical under the squash court of the University of Chicago.

The Democratic Party was formed in support of free enterprise and limiting excessive individual incomes.

The party stood in the 1945 general election but without any success. Shortly after they renamed themselves the Independent Democratic Party and were active through to the early 1960s.

Toys and games:

Model planes made from plastic

Toy tanks and military vehicles.

Dolls