Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 1-2 | Page 230

Where the Sky Was Still Blue
Dulwich College Beijing, Jiang, Tiger - 10
L
ife is like a camera...
Just focus on what is important and capture the good times...
Develop from the negatives and if things do not work out...
Just take another shot...
-Zias.K.Abdelnour
Prologue
I always thought the world was a gentle place, that nothing I do could repay the extraordinary life it gave
me. I was given a loving family, a stubborn tribe and a beautiful country. But it only takes one day to
change it temporally; a journey to change it all. Both happened to me in one day, on a journey to the west.
"Chibuzo, get up! I've made some delicious Tapalapa bread for you!" I heard my mother calling
me one morning," And— Abayomi! Leave some for your brother!"
"Well, if he still wants some, he'll have to get it now or I have to barf it up for him." My big
sister Abayomi teased. Without hesitating, I bolted out of my mattress and snatched a piece of bread from my
sister, mimicking her voice as I shouted" What a big baby! Come get this back Baby! Ha!"
"Chibuzo! You stay right there!" My sister bellowed with her black cheeks burning bright red.
Laughing uncontrollably, I scuttled out of my hut with Abayomi on my heels.
As I whizzed past the blur of different but familiar huts, my bare foot navigated themselves like the
incredible speed my fathers hand could move on the loom. Staring across the borders of my tribe, the dry
grass danced in the refreshing summer breeze to the will of their hearts, occasionally ducking from
the animals that were passing by.
But nothing could beat the beauty of the bright blue sky. It was a heavenly playground to birds, a changing
graph given by Mother Nature that showed the mood of god. To me, it was a symbol of life on Africa. It
was truly beautiful.
I never forgot those wonderful memories. Never. One day, men were seen on the borders of our
tribe. White men. So white they could not be made by Mother Nature. Most importantly, they came from
the west. That was where the sun went down each day. My family believes that it leaded to hell. That day,
my fate was taken away, rewritten at the will of the devil. From the second the white demons attacked, my
dreadful fate hanged on to me, not letting go...
The world seemed to be falling apart around me, like god himself was crushing the earth. All I saw was the
burning inferno that roared menacingly like a Tiger ready to pounce. As I crashed into another burning
hut, the world around me slowed down. With a light head, I fell down.
"Chibuzo! Don't tell me you've already left me!" My eyelids flickered open to see my sister’s bloodied face,
holding me in her burnt arms," Oh my brother!" She sighed with relief, putting me down then hugged me
tight. Her arms were burnt and blood with dripping from her back; huge metal chains hung on her lowered
neck, as if her has a heavier burden than the titan Atlas has. Scanning my surroundings, I saw many of my
friends and relatives, all connected with thick ropes. On all the faces of familiar people, I only saw one thing:
hopelessness. "Where's our parents?" I asked weakly, coughing out blood.
"They're..." Abayomi forced back a tear,"...Dead." My mind ran in circles, unable to take in the truth. But
deep inside me, my childhood began to slip out of me, exchanged by the severe pain injected into my heart.
I felt like I was left in a dark void with light in the distance. No matter how hard I tried, I was left in there,
groping in the dark. "For all I know, we are going west to the whites' land." My sister whispered.
“Going west means going to hell," I replied my sister, no longer believing in living," I'll to die soon."
However, I was shocked to see her outrages expression, covered with a layer of terror. “Don’t say that! You
must hold on to life. Believe in it. Live it even without me. When I'm gone, remember what I said: Carry
on believing." Despite the stinging chains on my neck, I hugged her tight, for helping me at hard times like
this and for being here for me.