New Journey to the West
Heep Yunn Primary School , Tan , Charlotte - 11
Q inglan opened her eyes , not to the usual tree-lined avenue of the French Concession in Shanghai that she had lived in all her life but an ever-ending expanse of sand , stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions . " Daddy , where is the West ?' Qinglan whispered into her father ' s ear , as he read that night chapter about the brave young Chinese monk , XuanZang to her . " Not long now and all will be clear !" He replied . " We leave Saturday and your curiosity will soon be fulfilled ."
Qinglan had a million images of the West in her mind . Would there be bandits along the way ? she wondered . Her father had assured her that there were no more bandits nowadays but Qinglan knew that XuanZang had been attacked on this very , same route . Continual questions filled her mind . " How will I do my studies ? " How will I know the time of day ?' and " who can come to our rescue if something goes wrong ?'
Her father had explained that during this voyage she would learn many new subjects , reading directions from the stars , telling the time from the sun and being guided by the moon . She must learn to trust others and have faith , after all XuanZang had no more than the bag on his back . His desire to broaden his mind and find out the truth had led him to be one of China ' s greatest monks in history .
Saturday morning arrived ; a normal Saturday morning but , instead of going to her regular classes , Qinglan was helping her father pack provisions and load them onto the jeep . Although they were following XuanZang ' s route , they were taking a far more modern approach in a 4-wheel drive jeep , and of course carrying their mobile phones . Both felt that even with modern technology their journey would mirror XuanZang ' s perfectly .
A few hours later , with the wind in her hair , as they drove along , Qinglan noticed a change in the countryside around her . The houses that she was so used to seeing had thinned out and now it was just the occasional village with the sounds of chickens echoing across the rice fields . Her excitement rose as she saw the beige sand dunes in the distance and the sun beginning to set behind them .
Before long Qinglan could see the light film of dust covering the front of the jeep . She knew this meant they had now reached the desert and XuanZang ' s story would soon begin for her . Her father suggested stopping for the night and began to lay out the mats and sleeping bags in the back of the jeep . He lowered the fabric sides and secured them but left the roof open .
As they lay on their backs Qinglan soon understood why the roof was open . " Qinglan , look up ." Her father said gently . " Those are the same stars that XuanZang followed . Can you see the scorpion formed by the stars ? It ’ s part of the Azure Dragon that has always guided travelers on their way and now it will lead us to our destination ." Qinglan gazed in awe at the magnificent sight above her ." Just to think Pa , we are actually doing what XuanZang did almost 1500 years ago ". Qinglan had never felt so relaxed . Her mind was calm as she breathed in the cool air and felt the stars cover her like a blanket . What could possibly go wrong ?
The next morning Qinglan and her father continued their journey . As the day progressed they drove deeper and deeper into the depths of the desert seeing nothing except the patterns where snakes had slithered by earlier . Night began to fall and Qinglan looked forward to another story from her father about XuanZang ' s journey .
That night as they slept Qinglan felt a movement and realized her father was securing the roof . She was too tired to take much notice despite the strange sounds outside the jeep . Struggling to open her eyes the following morning , Qinglan heard her father muttering . " Now , what are we going to do ?" She followed his gaze and saw the damage that the sand storm had done to the car whilst they had slept , the wheels were deeply embedded in the sand and it would be impossible for either of them to move this amount of sand and release the car . Her father tried the engine but no use . It just fizzled and died . To make matters worse there was no reception on either of the phones that they had packed .
Qinglan ' s father was close to tears . ‘ I have let you down daughter ,’ he said to her , his face filled with sorrow . Qinglan turned towards her father with a smile on her face and exclaimed , " No , Pa , not at all . In fact quite the opposite . This is just the beginning of our journey to the West . Fate is watching over us and as you taught me , the stars are guiding us .”
Qinglan and her father stepped out of their jeep wearing only a small backpack each . Their feet felt the sand beneath them , the sun was warm on their backs and their hearts were filled with the true understanding of XuanZang ' s JOURNEY TO THE WEST .