Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 455

The Boy and the Dragon
St Stephen's College Preparatory School, Ng, Bernard – 10
T
here once was a boy lived in Old Shanghai. He was the son of a famous dragon rider, who had died before the
boy was born. He was an extraordinary boy with amazing powers but they weren't fully developed. His dream
was to become a general and see the view behind the six massive land gates of the city. The boy's name was Mijo,
which was because his dad loved a drink called "mijo". Old Shanghai was often attacked by Japanese pirates. They
hadn’t won once since Mijo’s dad had died. Their soldiers were dying day by day but China didn’t give them
reinforcements.
Years passed by, but Mijo didn’t show any improvement in his powers. His mother was really nervous
about his powers, so when he finished college, she told him about his father’s secret. ‘Your Dad was a really
powerful dragon rider, but he died before you were born.’Mijo was shocked by the news but he remained calm.
The next day, he packed his stuff and said goodbye to his mother, and went to volunteer for the army. He felt sad
but he had no choice.
“Well” the general said,” I was your father’s best friend and it is a tragedy that he died, maybe you can help
us beat the Japanese, so lad, you are accepted!” Mijo was really happy but when he saw the camp, the smile drained
from his face. Their barracks were really small and there was just enough room to fit his body. The general said,”
When your rank is higher, your room improves. You will get better food, better clothes and more power within
the army.” Mijo took out his things on his bed and wrote in his diary. The first few days were just brutal training
and fitness tests.
A few weeks later, the general came to the camp with a grave look. He said,” The Japanese pirates are
having more and more reinforcements day by day and to make things worse, they developed a new technology guns.
The Chinese army was brutally killed within minutes but we outnumbered them one to three.” “Maybe we could
surround them, we could send troops around the hill and kill them at dawn.” Another general said.
So the decision was made, the other general whose name was Cheung Fei would bring an army across the
hill which included Mijo, while the general guarded their strong hold, Old Shanghai. Cheung Fei was really strong
but had a really bad temper. They walked for twenty hours a day and it was tiring. A few weeks pasted and the
weather was worst than ever. The wind was raging and it was raining nonstop. There even were snowstorms
hurling towards them frequently. Many soldiers died because it was too cold and some starved to death.
One day, a raging storm crashed towards the army on the hill. Everyone fled but the storm was too strong.
Soldiers were sucked into the wind and many were blown away. Mijo scrambled away and found a horse. While
he was climbing on the saddle, Cheung Fei saw him. As he wanted to survive, he pushed Mijo off the horse and
burst away. Mijo crashed onto the floor but as everyone was scrambling, Mijo was swept down the cliff.
When he woke up, he found himself in a really large cave. He wandered around and found some bones
inside. Suddenly a loud shout burst out from behind him and on a dragon’s back sat a man just like him. Mijo said,”
Who are you, and what do you want?” The man jumped down the dragon’s back and said,” As a matter of fact, I am
just a spirit, but when I was alive, I was your dad and now, I am going to teach you how to ride a dragon.” Mijo was
possessed by shock, he couldn’t process this and it was as though his mind had shut down. His dad said, “Chop,
chop, there isn’t much time.” Mijo’s dad told him to stare into the dragon’s eyes to make a bond first, and then try
to climb on his back and control him. The tips were not to shake as dragons took to that offense. Mijo leant
quickly and soon started teaching the dragon ( who Mijo named Spike) some very tricky skills. For example,
putting armour onto its body, breathing fire controllably, sweeping enemies with his tails and in weeks, they were