New Journeys to the West
St Margaret ' s Co-educational English Secondary & Primary School , Del Mundo , Giuliana - 10
“
HUA ZHANG !” my mom shouted . “ WE NEED TO GO NOW ! HURRY UP !” I stuffed my camera in my bag and rushed downstairs to my family ’ s green van , plopping a mint in my mouth as we drove off to the Fantasy Zhang Zoo . We went to that zoo every July . It was like a family tradition . My father was a veterinarian and encouraged a love of animals from an early age . “ Hua Zhang !” My sister squealed . “ It ’ s Princess Monkey !” I walked over to where she was standing and smiled as I looked at the monkey in the cage . “ Hi , Princess Monkey !” I waved over to the little monkey sitting on the tree . Princess Monkey was the name my sister and I gave to the smallest and brightest-colored monkey in the cage . She was considered one of the zoo ’ s main attractions , as she wore an old-looking gold crown . How that crown appeared on top of her head still remains a mystery to this day . I took a banana from my bag and waved it around , in hopes for her to come closer . She started to approach me . I peeled the banana and squeezed my hand between the cage bars . “ Here you go !” I said softly . The monkey stared at the banana for what was only a few seconds , but seemed like an eternity . Suddenly , she placed her tiny hand on the banana and the world went dark . I woke up , finding myself in a canyon . I stood up , feeling numb , as I picked up my bag from the ground . I looked below and saw a monk wearing a golden robe and crown , riding a horse . He slashed the mountain of stone in front of them and pulled a monkey out of the mountain . “ Wait …. tha- ” I was speechless . The monk gave the monkey a crown that looked exactly like the one I saw in the zoo . They looked up and saw me , noticing how scared I looked . “ Are you okay ?” The monkey walked over to me with concern . I was panicking , and I blinked hard . This couldn ’ t be Princess Monkey , right ? She couldn ’ t talk ! And more importantly … She wouldn ’ t have such a deep voice ! Don ’ t tell me … she is actually … a he ? “ Y-you ’ re …” I tried to speak , but my throat felt dry . “ Not p-princess …” The monkey shook his head . “ That ’ s right . I ’ m not a princess ! I ’ m a prince ! A prince , I tell you ! I look nothing like a girl , am I right , monk ?!” The monk shrugged and laughed as the monkey sulked behind him . Before I could speak any further , a giant , horrid-looking spider sprang out of nowhere and held the monk to the ground . I backed away in terror . “ A spider demon !” The monkey shouted , and quickly plunged his heavy staff into the demon ’ s head . I stumbled backwards and found myself falling into the steep hills . I screamed , knowing that my life could end . Suddenly , I saw Prince Monkey gliding towards me as he sat on a cloud . He caught me only a few seconds before I was going to hit the ground . “ Are you okay ?” Prince Monkey asked as he dug through my backpack to hand over my water bottle . I almost wept , but I was too dumbfounded from what just happened . “ We have to go somewhere safe ,” the monk said . “ It ’ s too dangerous for us to be out at this time .” We all decided to rest for the night . I gathered more firewood as the monk and the monkey lit the campfire . “ Didn ’ t Buddha say that we were supposed to get the scriptures from the Temple of the West ?” the monkey asked . “ Indeed , but we ’ re supposed to get help from the Earth God as well ,” the monk replied and sighed . “ We still have a long way to go .” I didn ’ t really understand their conversation , so I decided to sleep , hoping I would wake up with my mother and sister at the zoo . Sadly , when I woke up , I found the monkey staring at me . So , it wasn ’ t a dream after all . “ LET ’ S GET GOING !” he shouted . I reluctantly got up to pack my bags and comb my hair . We hiked up a steep mountain . The monkey was the first to arrive at the top , jumping and screeching at us to hurry . I rolled my eyes and drank some water , which I immediately spat out as I saw a gigantic , golden man sitting on the top of the mountain . He looked irritated . “ Why thee not boweth before the Great Buddha ?” he roared . The monkey squinted and roared : “ You are not the Great Buddha ! You ’ re a hoax !” Then , poof ! The Great Buddha disappeared and left behind was … The Bull Demon King ! “ Alas , my sworn brother . I haven ’ t seen you in a long time .” the monkey said , as he dashed rapidly towards the demon and smacked him with his dreadfully heavy weapon .