Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 498

A ball of fire materialized in my hands, and I tossed it at the oncoming guards. They scrambled back, immediately
afraid. Then one chuckled darkly.
“Step aside, little girl.” He was sneering, and that made me even angrier.
“Don’t hurt something that doesn’t do any harm to the citizens. You already broke that law, and now what, are
you going to kill me too?” I said, seeing the guards were annoyed and enjoying it.
“Move out of the way, you little brat,” another guard yelled.
I didn’t move. But I did launch another fireball at them. As they were distracted, I looked at the big creature,
who had arisen from the ground.
“Can you get us out of here?” I asked quietly.
The creature nodded, and a great pair of wings sprouted from its back. It lowered its head and seemed to gesture
for me to get on. I quickly scrambled onto its back. Then it flapped its enormous wings and we were soaring
through the air.
When we finally landed, I was tired and cold. The creature took me into a cave where we both could keep
warm. I gathered some wood and lit a fire. In the firelight, the creature’s eyes seemed to dance. It seemed happy.
The morning came too quickly. The fire had gone out sometime during the night. I was shivering, but then a
warm blanket of fur enveloped me, and I settled into the sensation, vaguely aware that the creature had put its tail
over me to act as a blanket.
“We need to go back.” I said to the creature.
It looked at me with a mixture of surprise and sadness. Slowly, it nodded.
Again, we were soaring through the air over the tops of mountains, and the sun shone bright in the beautiful
dawn.
We landed directly in the middle of the Greater Bay Area Square. There were people in the square, and as soon
as they saw us, they all gathered around to look.
“People of the Greater Bay Area,” I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “I have met the one we call the
monster of the mountains. But as I see it, we were all blinded by fear. This creature is not what we call it. It is
gentle, kind, friendly, and caring. It does not want to hurt us, and deep down we know that. But we are too
scared to believe it. I think it’s time to change what we think of this species, and learn to embrace it.”
Some people in the audience stared, wide-eyed and open mouthed; not at all bothering to hide their surprise.
Some people started clapping, despite what they used to think.
Then a voice shouted, “Let it go free!” Many people shouted in agreement. I smiled, thinking of the trouble the
guards would be in when the government heard they had shot a kind creature.
When the president made his way through the crowd and onto the stage, I stared in pure astonishment. The
president smiled kindly as he spoke. “Even though I first thought this kid was talking nonsense, I came to believe
her. The Greater Bay Area needs change. We should stop hunting this species, and instead start understanding
their kind and doing things to help them survive in the wilderness.”
Everyone was clapping now. I broke into one of my rare smiles, happy for this special moment.
The creature seemed to sense my mood, and its mouth appeared to pull into a grin that matched my own. Lots
of people in the audience laughed and applauded again.
When the square was cleared, only the president, the creature, and I were left.
“What’s your name?” I whispered, knowing only the creature could hear me.