Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 66

So different…so same
Beacon Hill School, Hirawat, Ria - 10 years 9 months
O
n the busy street of West Nanjing Road happily walked Alice and her best friend Gina. The air smelt heavy
and strong as they were off to Jing’an temple, the Great Temple of Buddha. The temple stood there for
centuries and is still one of the most honored places in the city. It was built in 247 AD which gave it a unique
importance.
The girls were visiting the temple like they always did on a Saturday. From generations, their family have been
visiting the temple weekly. Alice and Gina were best friends since childhood and always stayed together no matter
what. They were the best of friends the little village had ever known. Alice was a pretty and brave girl with long
red wavy hair which was always braided into a neat pony tail. She wore a long red dress with pink flowers. Alice
loved getting dressed nicely whenever they went to a temple. However, the other friend had short brown hair,
straight, smooth and silky as a pillow. Gina couldn’t tie her hair. Instead, she wore a pink hairband which pulled
her hair back. Gina was the most admired village girl. In other words, Alice and Gina were just the definitions of
an outstanding Princess. They never hurt anybody with their words or body, they believed in God and stayed
happy with what they had, even though they were very poor. The walk to the temple was very long but the
besties were very religious just like their Grandfathers. They both had unfortunately lost their Grandfathers when
they were 6. Ever so since Alice and Gina never left each other's side.
It was a hot and sunny day. The sun was burning the girls’ skin. They walked quickly so they could go into the
cool and blissful air of the Temple. When they finally reached the grand golden gates of the temple, they both
stopped for a moment to admire the amazing beauty. The Temple had seven pointed hut roofs, topped up with
jewels and golden carvings. “ Even though we come here every week, the beauty is still breathtaking” exclaimed
Gina. Alice nodded approvingly. They both took off their shoes and headed inside, gracefully clutching their
dresses as they walked up the stairs, making sure they don’t trip over.
The Temple was large from inside with an enormous statue of Buddha made out of pure silver, with the outline
made of metal. The Temple’s ceiling had carvings from the ancient times of Shanghai and a 1,000 year old
timeline. The atmosphere was quiet as everybody was deep in their praying. The girls knelt down and started
praying. Unknowingly , they both prayed for each other but never shared their wishes. When they were both
done, they gave each other a silent nod which meant “let’s go”. They got up carefully, making sure they didn’t
disturb anyone. They made their way out through the golden gates and put on their shoes. On their way home,
Gina decided to have ice-cream. They had just enough pocket money for an ice-cream each. “ Alice, let’s go get
some ice-cream to cool ourselves down a bit.” suggested Gina.
“ Sure, I know of an ice-cream stand just down the road. We can get ice-creams there and make our way back
home” Alice said excitedly. Gina was so happy that she went running down the street not even turning back to
check whether Alice was catching up. Alice started running and call ing out “Wait Gina, wait for me!” Gina
seemed not to hear and continued running until she reached the ice-cream stand. Shortly after, Alice caught up,
giving Gina a “dirty” but happy look. Gina took chocolate flavored ice-cream with Choco-chips and Alice took
strawberry with marshmallows. They both sat under a banyan tree shade, a revered tree, eating their ice-cream.
They were enjoying the ice-cream so much that they didn’t even look at each other. They enjoyed every bit of
the milky substance as it churned in their mouth. They had rare opportunities to have ice-cream or candy and
today was one of those rare days. Gina’s grandma was visiting and they were both very excited. Alice’s grandma
had died before she was born so she liked being with Gina’s grandma. Being with her kept Alice away from
thinking that she had never seen her Grandma. Just then, Alice broke the silence by remembering “ Gina,
Grandma must be waiting for us at home. She should have come by now. Let’s hurry!” “ Oh Yes! I totally forgot!