Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020 | Page 42

Fiction – Group 3
A Whole Different World
King George V School, Wong, Adelaide – 11
Soaring mountains pierced the sky as the sun rose from its slumber. A gentle breeze filled
the air, rustling the leaves of nearby trees. The sky gradually changed color, from ultramarine
to soft yellows to bright blues. A lone figure, resting her head on the windowsill, gazed up at
the floating clouds flitting through the sky. “Nessa, time for school!” came a muffled voice
from behind the clatter of pots and pans. Sighing softly, she slipped downstairs and out the
front yard. Nessa ambled through the ankle-high green grass, humming a soft tune to herself
all the way to school.
“Alright, class! Today we will recap some information on the GBA!” chirped the teacher.
All the students leaned forward eagerly on the rickety desks as their teacher began the lesson.
“The GBA, also known as the Greater Bay Area, is one of the world’s biggest regions and
is made out of Hong Kong, Macau and parts of Southern China. In the region, we have
more land than Switzerland, more people than Canada and lots more job opportunities than
Australia. This keeps the region well-kept, wealthy and it’s people employed.” Their teacher
added. Nessa flipped the pages of the textbook and stared at weathered pictures of towering
skyscrapers lit against a twilight sky, soaring planes leaving trails through the sky as they cut
through clouds, and dozens and dozens of buildings packed together. There were pictures of
a massive amount of people cramming into a wide street, luminous neon signs dotted along
highways, and dozens of sleek, shiny cars zooming down spiraling highways. “Wow,” she
breathed softly. “I’d give anything to go there myself.” As she whispered to herself, a spiral
of black streamed out of the book and enveloped Nessa in it, then sucking her briskly into a
vortex of nothingness.
Thud! Nessa groaned and opened her eyes and sat up, her back cracking from the impact.
Her head swiveled around, trying to focus on the fuzzy purple and black and yellow colors
spinning around her. Trying to stand up, she tottered around like a baby foal taking its first
steps. She collapsed again as the world spun around and around like a speeding carousel.
“Little girl, are you lost?” came a soft, soothing, kind voice next to her.
“Huh? Where am I?” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Trying to look at the speaker, she
only glimpsed a curve of a leg and a brown shoe tip.
“Are you alright? But if you really want to know, this is Central, on Hong Kong Island.
Hong Kong is part of the GBA, but you must already know that. It’s 12th February 2030,”
the voice explained.
“What? This is the GBA?” Nessa yelped, pushing the hair out of her face, and whirling
in shock. Whoever was speaking was in fact, right. Soaring skyscrapers climbed into the
moonlit sky while gleaming planes zoomed in and out of them, gliding through the sky like
cheetahs with wings. Streetlamps and building lights glowed from afar like twinkling fireflies
flitting through the night sky. Neon signs beamed out at the lustrous cars zipping down the
twisting highways. Dozens of little people rambled down the streets below, but her vantage
point was from so high they seemed like tiny ants. Thousands of buildings stood opposite of
the azure ocean, lit against the night sky like fireworks at midnight. The sapphire sea lapped
at the shore slowly and calmly, like a cat licking at a bowl of water. “Wow…” Nessa trailed…
“It’s even more beautiful than I ever thought it was.”
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