Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 301

Victoria's Legs
Victoria Shanghai Academy, Lee, Erin - 9
Victoria felt her damaged legs with nothing but bitter sadness. Never would she be able to go
abroad again. She thought with immense jealousy where her friends would be now: it was the holidays and
the students in Victoria’s class were, according to the large amount of gossip about it, going on vacation,
most of them to the newly created, high-tech region of China: The Greater Bay Area. Always neglected in
everything because of her wheelchair, Victoria yearned to go there, to be able to talk, debate and discuss
about it with her classmates, to be included.
Included… included… included… The word echoed in her mind, like a voice she half
remembered. Immersed in her reverie, a beam of white light surrounded her, and slowly and gradually, she
wasn’t at home anymore…
The sound of a car made Victoria sit up. She looked around, and with a pang she realized. She
wasn’t at home, and-she could walk! She also noticed her wheelchair had disappeared. Victoria stood up,
clutching a lamppost. Delighted, Victoria gazed around. She saw a sign, and hobbled over to read it.
Welcome to the greater bay area
Victoria’s jaw hit the floor, unable to believe her eyes. She looked around, and saw cars without
wheels whizzing about, hovering off the ground. She saw robots in shops, their visors flashing. Wow,
thought Victoria. No wonder everyone wants to come here! Well, since I’m here, I’ll make the most of it!
And with this in mind, Victoria spent some time exploring the Chinese, Hongkongese and
Macanese food and souvenirs. Soon night fell, and Victoria felt her bulging pockets, thinking about the toy
she had bought for her sister, when suddenly she realized-
“How will I get home?” Suddenly panic-stricken, Victoria looked around wildly, as if hoping for
some solution. She knew the only way for her to get home was to take a plane, and she obviously couldn’t
take a plane by herself. “My parents don’t know I’m here, so they can’t come and take me home. Wait. If I
can’t go home by plane, then how did I get here without taking one? I must’ve gotten here by magic.” As
sudden as the thought had struck her, a piece of paper fell to the ground.
“If you wish to leave the Greater Bay Area, then you must find three objects.” read Victoria. “The
first object is related to Hong Kong, while the second object and the third object are related to Macau and
China. When you find all of them, you can go home.”
“First I’ll travel to the Hong Kong part of the Greater Bay Area to find the first object, that makes
sense.” thought Victoria. So, she consulted her map, then realized she needed to take a ferry- the Star
Ferry.
Glancing around, she saw a large building- on water! “A ferry pier!” thought Victoria, rushing
towards it. She looked around, then saw a white and green ferry at the pier. Dashing on, she heard the ferry
honk, and then start off into the river.
She leaned out of the window, wanting to get a look at the view. Then she felt her shoe slip and
with a SPLASH! she tumbled into the water.
Victoria paddled her arms desperately, but she felt herself sinking. Soon her legs hit the bottom of
the river, and she cut her leg on something. Her hand clasped the object, and she saw-
“A model Star Ferry?” gurgled Victoria, “That’s the first Hong Kong object!”