Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 87

“It’s that dirty rat you brought in today! He must have stolen it while you weren’t looking!” she yelled. Angrily,
she pointed her finger at Zach. “You better not let that moldy boy in here again! Stay away from him!”
“But he’s—” Zach started to say.
“No! It’s not allowed!” Zach’s mom interrupted.
A river of tears poured down his face.
“He’s my only friend,” Zach said.
The next day, Zach looked out of his window at the gate. Suddenly, he saw Chin. Chin saw him too. Zach
immediately jumped back and rammed the curtains closed. Chin wondered what was wrong. He had seen Zach
and Zach had seen him crystal clear with his eyes. Over the next three days, anger and guilt erupted inside Zach
like a volcano. His eyes shot powerful lasers at his parents.
“Stop it,” Zach’s father boomed. His voice shook the ground.
Zach stomped like a dinosaur down the stairs and into the garden. The spicy scent of hot pepper filled the air. The
smell was so powerful, it seemed to wash away the anger, sadness, and guilt he had been storing. A new joy moved
in. He thought of his new friend and how to get him back. As his grandmother used to say, “Whoever finds a
friend finds a treasure.” There has to be a way , thought Zach. Suddenly, something shiny on the ground caught
his eye. It was his mother’s gold watch! There it sat glittering in the sun! She must have left it on the window sill
and it fell out.
Fireworks went off inside Zach.
I knew he was innocent! , Zach thought. He ran all the way upstairs to find his mother.
“I found it!” he yelled. “I found it!”
“Found what?” his mother asked.
“Your gold watch!” he said, tossing it at her. “It was in the garden. I told you Chin didn’t steal it!”
Guilt flooded inside Zach’s mother.
“I’m so sorry,” she admitted. “I was wrong to blame him. I just had a long day and got a temper. Now go on and
tell that boy you are sorry.”
Zach was overjoyed. He raced out the door and over to the gate. But Chin was not there. He waited and waited
by the big steel gate. An hour passed. Then another hour.
Zach’s face fell into his hands.
Just when he thought all hope was lost, Chin ran up to him.
Zach’s eyes lit up when he saw Chin.
“I was worried you weren’t going to come back,” Zach said.
“Me too. I was also worried,” Chin’s voice trailed off. Then he looked up at Zach and he smiled. “But I knew
you were going to come back!”
Carefully, Zach reached through the gate and the two boys shook hands.