Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 343

small boats lined up against it, the phoenix saw massive cruises and buses and trams. Instead of normally seeing
little farms and gardens huddled together, the phoenix saw shops and billboards covering every single patch of
green or water source.
Heartbroken, the phoenix glided to a small spot where she remembered she was saved from dying by a man.
A child started running up to the phoenix. “Hey. Aren’t you the birdy my ancestor helped?” the phoenix
nodded wisely, and plucked out a feather of her own. It merged into a note that said, “What was your ancestor’s
occupation after he saved me?” The child shrugged. “I think he was a boss of some important, dumb company. I
hear he was really strict. He fired people left right and centre. Because he was so focused on work, he ignored his
family and thought that money could give him happiness. I think it’s true. After all, I got this cool action figure
from my dad! Look!” The little boy beamed arrogantly and showed off his toy. After that, the phoenix turned
around and soared away without saying a word.
The phoenix sighed miserably. ‘Why can’t good-natured people act the same as they did in the past?’ she
speculated. The phoenix stayed in her cave and refused to discover the new Shanghai. Before she died, she casted a
curse on the little boy that made him bring bad luck where-ever he went, and had the bad luck be passed down
from generation to generation.