Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020 | Page 72

Fiction – Group 4
For Times that have Passed, and
For Times yet to Come
Island School, Teahan, Anakin – 14
I sit on the balcony of my longtime home in Macau, looking over this reformed city that
has now become a part of “The Greater Bay Area”.
My grandchildren, who are running frantically all around me, finally start settling down,
before asking an endless array of questions to their now too-old grandfather.
“We wanna know more things about you, Grandpa!!”
“Yeah, yeah!! Where did you grow up?”
“What was life before all this Grandpa?”
“Ooh, I wanna know!!! Tell me, Grandpa, tell me!!!”
I quietly hush them before ushering them to come to sit beside me.
“Now, now. Listen up you two, if you want to know, try not to interrupt too much
alright?”
They both nod eagerly and reply with an identical “Yes Grandpapa.”
“When I was a young adult like your elder cousins, life was very different from what it
is now.”
Indeed it was.
Life was changing - and it was changing fast. The Greater Bay Area, as the Chinese
government dubs it, was in the process of becoming a blissful and vibrant hub connecting
all types of Chinese culture, under one colourful roof. At a young age, I wasn’t the most
fortunate, and I sought for a job to work in the poor suburbs nearby Macau. There, I found
a janitor role, in the nearby vicinity of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan corridor, working as a
janitor, in Iao Hon. This area’s nearby surroundings were riddled with worn-down, clumped
buildings, with shop signs and road signs broken beyond compare. There was graffiti loitered
everywhere and trash left on the streets.
But from the worn-down streets that I worked in, I also saw the extravagant and flashy
buildings and railways that were being built for the Greater Bay Area.
Those buildings who were just like the stars - something I strived for but was too far out
of my reach. Those buildings always signified the absolute peak of civilisation in my eyes, with
how the buildings were so pristine and immaculate. Those buildings always gave me hope for
the future generations - hoping that they’d be living in a more fortunate place then I am.
I still remember the first day working there - I swept the streets with ever so much
enthusiasm. Even though the place was worn-down, there were still many people going about
their daily life. Grandmothers walking to their nearby wet markets, Grandfathers listening
to their caged birds chirp to their heart’s content, the constant arguments and just a bit too-
loud conversations that I overheard without meaning to, the fresh aroma of the local bakery’s
pineapple buns. Even among all the weariness, the sense of community felt intangible.
It was also another very important day in my life, as another event happened on the very
same day in the midst of this large lifestyle change.
“What was it Grandpapa?” the eldest curiously asked.
“Yeah, we wanna know!” the youngest gleefully replied.
133