Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020 | Page 22

Fiction – Group 2
I nod my head and say, “I have no choice. I hate what’s happened to this place!”
“It’s not a good idea.” He says, shaking his head and chuckling softly.
“What would you know?” I ask, unable to control my temper. All my anger and sense of
hopelessness came rushing back to me, the rubber bullet, and the way this city has changed.
“You see what is going here too”, I almost shout. “How could I possibly want to stay?”
He looks at me, unmoved by my sudden outburst. “I know how you feel,” he says,
eventually. “I once lived in a country I loved, Myanmar. But then things changed. Finally,
I had to run away because I was being persecuted. How I wish I could go back there someday.
Home is home, however much it may change.”
Hearing these words, my anger strangely disappears. I start to realise that this old man
has seen much worse, yet still clings to the hope of returning to his home someday. Running
away no longer seemed like the brave thing to do - rather, I see that it is the coward’s way
out. I begin to feel ashamed.
After a while, the old man asks, “Shall I take you home now?”.
“Yes”, I say, eventually. “Yes, please take me home!”
Things change. Sure, there is no going back, but it’s all about finding the right path
forward and never giving up.
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