Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 260

details. Its scales reflected the sun and were as bright as the moon. He put the fish in a bucket. When he
looked at his reflection on the water’s surface, he was relieved that he had finished his job, but as he looked
closer, he noticed a bow floating closer and closer to him. It sort of looked like the bow his daughter was
wearing. His daughter…
Jin Lin dropped everything and ran as fast as a cheetah back home. He kicked the door open and
ran up to his room to find his wife not there. He ran back down into his daughter’s room to find his
daughter also missing, he stopped moving, his eyes turned to ice, he was frozen with fear. He dropped to his
knees and wailed, “Maria, Maria, daughter, where are you?” Jin Lin sobbed upon the realisation that the
myths might after all be true, and his family had disappeared. He had the choice to go ask for help, but no
one would bother and would find him delusional, especially his boss. He positioned himself in bed hugging
a pillow, crying himself to sleep, praying and hoping that his family could come back, but nothing
happened.
Splash!
*****
“He shouldn’t have taken the river’s possessions, he shouldn’t have,” most of the villagers cried as
they replied to the questions the police officers and investigators asked. Many were so focused, too focused
on the disappearance that they all forgot how it was caused: was it magic, murder, or just a misfortune?
Chief police officer Sir Min was perceiving the acts of the villagers who seemed somewhat
suspicious. “So far the police department are doing their best in solving this unfortunate case,” he said to a
reporter as a recent update on what was happening, “at the moment, we have only found a fishing rod, a
bucket floating on the river and a bow that seems to belong to a child. However, we don’t know whether
the bow is very useful. Now I am not the one to believe in myths and definitely not for such a case, but this
one is a hard one to crack. Thank you.”
Chief left and continued walking around again when he saw a man in raggedy clothes. Sir Min
came closer as the man leaned towards the water.
“PAP hands up!” all the police officers armed their guns onto the man’s body, “what is your
name?” Chief Min asked.
The man replied as he slowly faced the officers, “I don’t have one but, some call me by the name
‘Father’”. He turned around, and everyone gasped in awe seeing a scar on his chin.