Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 510

January 2, 2052. 8:00 pm. The Grand Hotel, Macau, Greater Bay Area, P.R.C.
There is a knock on the door. A 6-year-old girl runs to get it. She opens the door to see a man wheeling a
large platter of food.
“Room service!” the man bellows.
“Mommy, Daddy, dinner is here!” the little girl shouts as her mother, a tall blonde woman goes to
the door.
“Thank you,” she says to the waiter as he leaves.
On the platter lays an assortment of burgers, pasta and salads. More than enough for a family of 4.
The family tucks into the food as the woman sits by and thinks about the day she and her family have
shared.
At first, she questioned the decision to bring her family to Macau for a holiday. She was working in
the United States Foreign Office and she did not know what to think of the country she had been sent to.
Of course, this was not a business trip but she suspected the primary reason for her colleagues to suggest
Macau was to observe how the territory was run.
She and her office were on the front line in the deal that was about to be made between China and
the United States.
Then there was also the fact that she needed a break from the turmoil of her home and she had
heard great things about this particular tourist destination.
They visited the amusement park yesterday. Anna and Toby enjoyed it.
Today they didn’t leave the hotel. They swam in the swimming pool and went to the circus soon
after. She and her husband went to the casino this evening.
It was a holiday to remember.
2:00 am the next morning.
“Wake up. Wake up!” She hears her husband shake her as she slowly adjusts to the darkness around
her.
Her mind immediately starts whirring with questions.
Why is he waking her up so early? Is something wrong? Is Anna alright? Is Toby alright?
She only has the energy to ask one question, “What’s wrong?”
Her husband’s face falls, “There’s been an explosion in Huizhou. The nuclear power plant had a
malfunction.”
Her face distorts in shock. “We need to leave. Now!”
This is what she and her husband had feared. Their parents had both been stationed in the USSR
just after Chernobyl and they had grown up with firsthand accounts of the devastation a nuclear power plant
explosion could bring. They both had the same thought: we must get out! The nuclear waste and the
radioactivity will harm Anna and Toby for life if it reaches them.
Their children were the first priority. They were not going to put them at risk.
Her husband nods.
They wake up the children. Her husband books the flights.
In the next couple of hours, they arrive at the airport and see a large sign: “ALL FLIGHTS
DELAYED. PLEASE CONSULT YOUR AIRLINE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. WE
APOLOGISE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE CAUSED.”
So she and her family sit down. They wait. It feels like days until they are finally able to board their
plane.
Then they are rumbling down the runway and as the towering skyscrapers and bright lights disappear
outside her window, she takes a minute to look at her family and she smiles. A smile of relief.
It was truly a holiday to remember.
January 3, 2052. 1:45 am. International Finance Centre, Hong Kong, Greater Bay Area, P.R.C.
It was supposed to be an easy week. Almost all of my managers have left for the Christmas holiday.
The few that stayed are home in bed. Asleep.
The markets looked stable so the rest of the office was not given any additional instructions except
for what we do on a day to day basis: buy and sell stocks.
It’s too late to be in the office. I never understood the unwritten rule that a young person working
in finance would have to stay later than their seniors. In fact, I believe the contrary. Those who have much
more experience in their field would be more equipped in handling emergency situations such as these.
In the past 20 minutes, that peaceful outlook has taken a complete turn. The Greater Bay Area is
suffering from a major disaster. Chinese stocks trading in the US are in freefall.