Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 1-2 | Page 131

New Journeys to the West
Chinese International School, Wu, Eric - 11
I
t was a cold, winter afternoon in the Xi’an forest on the year 635. Monkey King and Brother Pig were
trudging across one of the many paths going through it. They were picking fruits along the way but
they were also searching for dangers. They needed to report back to their master. Monkey King led the
way, using a staff to push aside bushes and clear spider webs. Brother Pig followed.
As they continued to walk along the path, Monkey King and Brother Pig passed a wall of grey fog.
It was so thick, they could not see a single speck on the other side. As they went through the fog, the duo
felt a sense of nausea. They could hardly breathe.
Suddenly, the forest transformed into a huge mausoleum. A young boy ran out and greeted the
two great heroes.
"Wow! Monkey King and Brother Pig! Welcome to Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site
Museum." Monkey King and Brother Pig looked at each over as if they thought they were dreaming.
"Who are you?” Monkey King asked.
The boy smiled and replied, “My name’s Eric, and what are you two doing here?”
Monkey King shrugged, “ We’re not sure.”
This talking went on for a while until Monkey King went back to the subject. “Can you try to
help us get back to our time?”
“I’ll try my best,” answered Eric with a sigh. “I could lead you towards where you were going?
Maybe that might help?”
So, Eric led Monkey King and Brother Pig towards the west, hopelessly trying to find a way them
back to the forest that they came from.
After a while, the small group came across a flat-land with strange looking poles. On top of each of
the poles were three rotating blades.
“What are those monsters!” screamed Brother Pig.
Eric smirked, “Those aren't monsters, Brother Pig. Those are wind turbines . They use wind to
push the blades to generate electricity .
“Electricity???”
“Yes. Electricity is used for providing power to buildings and electronic devices to make our life
more convenient.”
Monkey King and Brother Pig gasped, both fascinated by the wind turbines.
Suddenly, the staff that Monkey King was holding flew out of his hands and went over the
horizon.
“There goes my staff, it’ll take weeks to find it again.” said a disgruntled Monkey King.
Eric thought for a moment and lit up with realization. “Wait! I got an idea!” He took out an odd
rectangular shaped object. “This is a laptop . It is a device that uses electricity and is capable of searching
information on the internet . You can also access live cameras installed all around. So I could find your staff
online by sitting here. Just give me a few minutes!”
Monkey King waited anxiously as Eric searched for his staff. Eric jumped up and shouted, “I found
the location of your staff, Monkey King! Let’s go!”
So Monkey King, Eric, and Brother Pig went off in a strange vehicle with four wheels. Brother Pig
and Monkey King looked around, fascinated by the vehicle that they were riding in.
Eric looked at them and saw the curiosity on their faces. “This vehicle is called a car . There are
two different type of cars; one uses fuel, the other uses electricity. This car we’re riding is an electric car.
Using electricity generated from those wind turbines helps protect the earth. If we use fuel, it pollutes the air
and caused the temperature on earth to rise. This is called global warming, which is also melting the ice caps,
leading to higher sea levels and drowning cities. That is why we use natural energy now.”
As the group sat in the electric car, they passed a bunch of dark blue rectangles with stripes.
Eric explained, “Those are solar panels. They use sunlight to generate electricity instead of the
wind.” Monkey King and Brother Pig shook their head in awe at the current world. After the group
recovered Monkey King’s staff, they continued driving towards the west, blindly trying to get Monkey King
and Brother Pig back to their time.
Suddenly, they saw a wall of grey fog appearing out of nowhere. Monkey King exclaimed, “Ah!
That fog was what brought us here in the first place! Maybe we can go back walking through the fog!” Eric
agreed with this logic and let them go.