A Journey to Bountiful
Singapore International School ( Hong Kong ), Yeung , Bernadette Ingrid - 11
I ’ m a scavenger . I have been since , I don ’ t know , five years ago ? Right now I ’ m not sure how old I am . Last time I checked , I was ten , but a lot has changed since then . I have a fox now , and I love him . I know someday some sort of animal ’ s going to kill him , because that ’ s what happens too often . My fox Malkin , hopefully , won ’ t for a while yet . He helps me find food with his sharp nose , so lately I ’ ve been eating a little better . Now he ’ s sniffing away in the dustbin . I should probably go help now , but … what ’ s this ? Malkin ’ s come up empty-handed . I frown as I peer in and find the bin empty .
“ Malkin , why isn ’ t there anything ?” He whines and nuzzles my leg . For a minute , I welcome the warmth , but then push him away . “ Malkin ! Fine , come on . We ’ ll have to go to some other village . It ’ s the third time this dustbin ’ s been fruitless . Literally .” I scowl . Somebody once said that if I frowned too much , my face would become the picture of ugliness . I don ’ t remember whom , just like I don ’ t remember anything from before I was five . Just vague flashes of memory like the one just now . Well , nobody to stop me now , is there ? I scowl even harder and walk back to an unpaved rabbit path , trying not to wince as sharp rocks cut the soles of my feet , already tender after too much pampering on smooth gravel roads . We ’ ll have to head through the woods to get to some other village . Malkin follows me faithfully , not stopping even to attempt chasing a passing rabbit as he tries to keep up with my annoyed stomping . Occupied with my thoughts , I don ’ t notice when my feet begin to drift off the path , and I don ’ t hear Malkin ’ s urgent barks . When I realize , I look around and find nothing but trees surrounding me , barely a scrap of light filtering through . Malkin gives me an “ I told you so ” look . Suddenly I realize : It ’ s dark . When I ’ m in the forest , I usually find a safe place to stay before dark , like a hollow tree or a cave , both of which are in abundance here , but now I just bundle a pile of dead leaves down for a bed . Malkin snuggles down beside me , and with his comforting warmth , I eventually drift off .
I awake to high-pitched , birdlike voices chattering all around me , but they ’ re calling out real human words . Startled , I listen , unmoving . “ Oi , Keavie , you fool ! That ’ s her arm , stupid !” “ Connor , get that foot off of me !” “ Sorry , sorry ! I was trying to …” Then I glance down and find that I appear to be floating a few inches above the ground . Astonished ,
I begin to struggle , and immediately the voices stop . I gulp . “ Who are you , and what do you want ?” I demand , trying to inject authority into my voice . The voices start up again . “ She ’ s asking who we are !” “ Can we just …” And then a voice pipes up , louder than the rest . “ Well obviously , girl , we ’ re faeries ! We ’ re invisible to you humans , you know ! As for what we want , we ’ re simply rescuing you from the fox . It was biting your face ! Now you really ought to be grateful . We may just have saved your like from the fox ! We ’ re heading far , far away from it now !” Panic grips my heart . Do the faeries , whatever they are , mean Malkin ? “ What fox ? Was it tan , with red ears ?” “ Why yes ! You ’ ve hit the nail on the head ! Are you familiar with it ? Has it been chasing you for a long time ?” The voice proclaims . Malkin was licking my face , which he does every morning , not biting it ! An ache of worry fills my heart . I hurriedly summarize my and Malkin ’ s relationship , and explain that he is perfectly harmless and I have to find him . I find myself being lowered to the ground slowly . I still can ’ t see the faeries , but the one who was talking earlier speaks .
“ We have to apologize first . We ’ ve made a terrible mistake , because now we are miles and miles away from where we last saw the fox . Perhaps it continued to follow us , but perhaps not . You ’ ll have to go to look for it . Sorry , girlie ! Here ’ s some bracken . Just make a bed of bracken for tonight !” And with that , I can hear their shrill voices chattering away and fading into the distance . I lie down , looking up at the stars that have , by now , begun to appear in the sky . I can ’ t search for Malkin in this half-light , so I find some bracken to lie on and fall asleep .
“ Girl .” A voice says . “ Your name is Eliza .” I smile dreamily . Eliza . A beautiful name … “ Eliza . Find your fox . Your village needs you . Bountiful needs you .”