Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020 | Page 92

Fiction – Group 4
Future Tales of the Greater
Bay Area
West Island School, Mak, Clovis – 15
I wake up as the human leader pulls the cloth off my cage. Ruffling my feathers and
straightening them out, I peer out through the thin metal bars surrounding me, and see the
human leader smiling at me. He is wearing a crisp black suit, and is accompanied by two
servants, each holding various cleaning tools. He delivers a command to them and gives me one
last glance before turning around and striding out of the room. One of the servants carefully
opens the cage door, and washes me in warm water, while the other cleans my pristine prison
and sets up dishes of food and water. Ten minutes later, they put me back in the cage, and left.
Two weeks ago, on a cold winter night, I was flying over Shenzhen, minding my own
business, and enjoying the spectacular night view. Beneath me were countless skyscrapers, lit
up with brilliant, colourful lights, stretching up towards the sky. The streets far below me were
filled with streaks of bright yellow as various vehicles zipped past. I tucked my wings, and spun
into a vertical dive, feeling the exhilarating whoosh of air as I hurtled closer and closer to the
ground. Twenty metres above the ground, I turned out of my dive and slowly descended, until I
perched on top of a lamp post. Joined by a young pigeon, I watched as people hurriedly rushed
about their busy lives. As I watched, I searched my memories. I have lived for a very long time,
and I still remember around 30 years ago, when Shenzhen was just a fishing village, small, and
filled with farmland. Now, the city has grown to be a sprawling metropolis, with a population
of over 12 million people. A wing tapping on my feathers brought me back to reality, as the
pigeon pointed down to a nearby street, where two men were holding mysterious contraptions
in their arms, both pointing at us. The pigeon looked at me and whispered: “I think they are
aiming at us…”. Sensing danger, we both frantically flapped our wings and flew off the lamp
post, but then I felt a stabbing pain in my chest, and everything turned to darkness.
That is how I ended up here. Not long after I regained consciousness, I met the human in
charge. He looked very happy to see me, although I did not know why. He would sometimes
come over to my cage, and talk to me, but often it was just his servants that would feed and
clean me. Nonetheless, I was not happy with being imprisoned. Two weeks after my capture,
I had finally decided I would escape. I would have gone ahead with my plan this morning, but
I thought it would be easier if the human leader was not here: less humans, easier escape. So,
I merely waited, and as night fell, I decided to sleep earlier, to give me more energy tomorrow.
I am feeling lucky right now. The man is not here, and the two servants are coming over
to my cage now. I stare at them and get ready. The first servant opens the cage door, and I
suddenly flash out of the cage, wings flapping furiously as I brush past the second servant’s
arm, and rush towards the massive balcony doors. I quickly realise my mistake - the glass
doors are closed. With a screech of frustration, I turn back in a stunning spiral, twisting and
turning through the servants, who are now yelling for help. I accelerate down a corridor,
and as I pass the third room, I finally see an open window, albeit just about open, and am
thankfully agile enough to slow down and fly into the room. Hearing many loud voices
behind now, I heighten my focus, and zoom out the room through the narrow opening, into
the magnificent morning sky.
153