Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 353

“I used to live in Alaska but we need moved to Donwa for my mommy’s job,” I said.
“Donwa?” he said, confused.
“Yeah.”
“Its Dongguan,” he giggled.
“Oh,” I said and I started giggling too. “Do you like playgrounds?”
“Yeah!”
“Me too! Do you want to come to my house after school? I’ll show you a fun playground that I found.”
When I got home, I told Mommy and Daddy all about my new friend. Mommy said that she already
new Michael’s daddy because they worked together so I asked if he can come to our house today. 15 minutes
later, we were all at the playground. Michael and I made up new games with the obstacles. It was the best day in
Dongguan.
We went back to where the grown-ups were sitting; we heard them whispering. We pretended to
swing but really we were listening.
“So how is the project going?” Daddy asked.
“Not well,” replied Michael’s daddy.
“Factories are opening rather than shutting down to make way for high-tech manufacturing bases,” said
Mommy.
“But isn't that dismissing the whole point of the project?" Olivia asked.
“It is. But the government keeps rejecting our ideas. They say it’s too expensive.”
“That’s not really the problem though. They’re too focused on enforcing China’s laws in Hong Kong
and Macau to bother with this project,” says Michael’s daddy. “They’re trying to be discreet but the FR’s
retaliating.”
“Who are the FR?” asks Olivia.
“It stands for Freedom Resistance. They’re an anarchist group”
“So what…” started Daddy but he stops as Michael and I came over.
Every weekend, while Mommy and Daddy were running errands, Olivia takes me to the playground. I
play games on the different obstacles but I also think about Mommy and Daddy’s conversation with Michael’s
parents. The government is rejecting Mommy’s ideas? Does this mean she’s going to be fired and we’ll move
back to Alaska? But I’ve just started to understand Cantonese! These questions haunt me whenever I’m left alone
to my thoughts and I’m not sure whether I’m happy or sad about this turn of events.
* * *
In the end, we didn’t move back to Alaska. Life continued as usual; that is, until it didn’t.
A deafening boom sounded. I dropped my toys and ran to the living-room. Nobody spoke; Mommy
clicked on the news.
“...debris was scattered dirtily: splinters covered the ground, bits of plastic and broken poles and chains
lay in smithereens on the solid-rubber floor. It is suspected the FR is behind this terrible act of violence,” said
the TV. An image popped up on the screen. It looked like… but it couldn’t be. I looked at everyone only to
find that everyone was looking at me.
I ran to my room and lay in bed until Olivia came in.
“Olivia,” I start, looking her right in the eyes, because I couldn’t believe it, I wouldn't believe it, until I
heard the words come out of her mouth. “Did they bomb my playground?” She stares at me dead-eyed, serious
and nods. The tears spill out of my eyes. I had finally found a place that reminded me of home and now it had
been taken away from me. I wish I was a pirate or a fireman or a secret agent instead; they would’ve been able to
prevent the bombing.
That night, I heard whispers from the living-room.
“But why bomb a children’s playground?” came Mommy’s voice.
“Because it creates anarchy and that’s exactly what they want. They think that when the government
sees that everything is getting destroyed because of the GBA, they’ll decide it’s not worth all the casualties and
call it off.”
“But why does the GBA bother them so much?”
“China is trying to push their laws onto Hong Kong and Macau. So now people are angry at the
government. I think most of the FR is made up of people from Hong Kong and Macau but they might have
rallied people from the southern province of Guangdong.”
After the bomb Mommy and Daddy decided that Dongguan was no longer safe; within months we
were back in Alaska. Many things changed after the move; I started to play in playgrounds other than David-
Green Park because every playground sparks a different flame of imagination. But despite all the changes, the
moon has been with me this whole time, except now I’m not the only one leading our little adventures. But no
matter where we end up, I’ll always have someone to follow and someone to follow me.