Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020 | Page 12

Fiction – Group 2
The next three days happened in a blur. I slept, ate, and studied the map.
Finally, on the third day, the speaker on the boat reported, “You have arrived at your
destination, Hong Kong. Once leased to England during the war, and returned to China on
July 1st 1997. Hong Kong is known for their tall skyscrapers and…” Click! I switched off the
speaker. I couldn’t bear more information. It was time for me to explore Hong Kong.
I stepped onto the concrete pavement, welcomed by the chirping birds and crickets.
We barely had any of those were we lived.
The first thing I saw was people. They were all flooding the entrance to some kind of tall
building. I read the label. IFC. I joined them, and soon enough, was in that miraculous mall.
I headed to a nearby coffee shop. Nice place to start, right? I found a row of sofas at the back
of the coffee shop, so I took a spot next to a girl with a stained shirt and jeans around my age.
“Hi, I’m Adira.” I said to the girl.
The girl turned around and smiled at me.“I’m Dennis.”
“Cute name. Um… Where do you live?” I asked, trying to start a conversation.
“Here in Hong Kong.” Dennis muttered.
“Yeah… but where in Hong Kong?”
Dennis’s smile faded. “McDonalds.” she forced the word through her lips.
McDonalds? We had a McDonalds in the Greater Bay Area! It stayed open for 24 hours,
so that means…
Dennis bit her lip, and I could see tears welling up in her eyes.
“Have you ever heard of the Greater Bay Area?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“Yes. Launched by my great-great-grandma, Chantelle Jane. Nobody has ever found
where it is on the map yet.” Dennis replied.
“Wait a minute, did you just say that your great great grandma is Chantelle Jane?” I asked.
“Yeah. Though for generations they claimed that Chantelle had two daughters. One was
called Robin, my great grandma, who was left in Hong Kong when Chantelle and Susan. The
other one, ran away to the Greater Bay Area.” Dennis chuckled softly.
I could feel my face go pale, as blood gushed from my cheeks.
“Oh my gosh, Dennis, Chantelle is my great great grandma!”
“What? But… hold on, you must be Susan’s great granddaughter! Then I’m technically
your… cousin!” Dennis stammered.
“Seems like it.”
Dennis covered her mouth with her hands.
“Don’t worry, Dennis, I’ll take you back, and you can live with me.”
I couldn’t believe it either. How could her life be so different from mine? We were cousins!
I flipped open the pages of the book. The book that had taught me a lifelong lesson.
Finally, just as I hoped for, a sentence written neatly in cursive appeared on the page:
Shine your own light, follow your own path, to those who need help.
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