Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 543

“Just walking around, exploring this place a little,” I replied back - inching closer to the perch she was
standing on. “What about you?”
“Same reason here. I wanted to get away from home.” She muttered, “Then, would you like to have a
chat?”
“That’s no problem for me.” I answer back, “Don’t mind me asking but, why is someone like you visiting a
place like here? There’re not many good things at a glance for people here.”
“Ah. I was just visiting here. Not sure for how long, but I’m here with my family. However, I could say the
same about you. What are you doing here?” She responded back.
“I didn’t have much choice but to move here for a job - but I’m liking it so far. The community and
everything, they’re wonderful, if you’re up for it, I’d love to explore the place with someone around here.”
I told her.
“That would be lovely. Would you mind explore now?” she asked me, taking her hand out to shake my
hand.
“By the way, I’m Ka Ming.” I replied, taking her hand.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Siu Mei.”
And so started our little adventures together.
Things started off slowly - we only did just start to get to know each other. What started off as simple walks
around the Iao Hon Market - talking about everything from small talk to delving into our pasts - our
conversations were always fruitful and full of life. The small little lunches we had at the local cafe, where we
had small bits of each others food, the fun times we had strolling through the busy night markets, always
looking at stuff we wanted, but never buying them. Unknowingly, these days spent together would cultivate
a strong connection between us. We started sharing more personal information with each other - but it
never felt forced, it always felt natural and right that we both were able to trust each other wholly. We went
from strangers to friends, and then friends to something special.
The time we spent together blossomed into something indescribable and unforgettable.
It was in a worn-down park nearby, in the darkness and sereneness of the night, where we both lay on the
too-dark grass, gazing into the stars - except barely visible due to the light pollution - but nonetheless, did
not ruin the moment. It was there where we drifted off to another place in time - it was a moment in time
that was shared by no one else but us - and a moment where we first said our “I love yous” and finally
admitted what we felt to each other. The feeling that night was so sublime - while our spirits were flying
freely in pure joy.
However, what I thought was going to be everlasting, disappeared into thin air.
Out of the blue, Siu Mei left without a trace.
With no explanation and no clue on what happened - I spiralled into a pit of lethargicness and sorrow.
But, I had to go back to cleaning on the streets, except that now, I was less whole than before. Every trip to
the market now felt emptier, as if the earth lost its moon. Every time I went to the park, I couldn’t help but
wonder - what went wrong?
To help fill the void in my life, I worked tirelessly day after day - not giving up on finding her.
However, I found solace in the community where I worked, during a time where I felt gloomy and
dejected.
I still vividly recall chatting with community members - on days where there wasn’t much cleaning to do.
“Life’s moving too fast for an old man like me, isn’t it? You younglings still have a whole life ahead of you,
especially the one with all this ‘greater bay’ whatever going on.” The old man by the wet market always told
me. He would go rambling on tangents about his past generations social issues and his too-high expectations
of this generation - trying his best to not sound too harsh to me about how “I never studied hard enough