Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 551

the alight flat. Fiery light still danced in the flat, consuming all the clothing and furniture in the flat. But
under the watery snakes, the destructive dragon slowly died down, reduced into just a weak fire, living off
some soaked wooden chairs.
Soon, the red fire trucks sped into the plaza as firemen jumped off the truck, grabbing hoses and
shooting a new column into the flat. Nearly instantly, the weak flame met its end, leaving a crisp black on
the walls and floors of the flat. Immediately, the family of the flat rushed in the flat, the mother kneeling
down crying while the father held their two children tight, forcing the silent tears back. The leader of the
village, an old man of about seventy, walked towards the father and patted his back. “Do you want to stay at
the guest bedroom over at my house tonight? We can deal with this tomorrow, yeah?” The father choked
back his tears and nodded slowly. Helping the mother to stand up, the family followed the elder back under
the last shavings of light, as the crowd outside the house slowly returned back home to sleep.
Gradually, the town returned to its serenity, only the light snoring and the muted chatter behind
the brick walls remained.