Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 573

Shades of pink and orange filled my eyes. The sun - a perfect circle of radiating white light - slowly setting
in the distance. I gazed down at the current version of myself. I walked around and watched it follow me. A
black silhouette that came with me everywhere I went. Early in the morning, I appeared tall and thin. As
the sun took its place in the middle of the sky, making us plead for a shield from its burning rays, I was
small, sometimes absent. As the final rays of light shone at the perfect angle, I was as tall as ever. I smiled at
this version of my myself and pondered over the mysterious presence of this entity. If I moved my hand, it
would move it’s hand. If I took a step backwards, it would take a step backwards. But if I smiled, it wouldn’t
smile back. If I blinked, it wouldn’t blink back. It was like a plan, a first step towards creating a full flesh and
bone being. Only its shape could be seen; it’s exterior. There were no inner features or details, no depth or
feeling. Without the interior, the exterior was nothing. Just a plain shell without any real characteristics. A
careless attempt at creating something - neglecting the subtleties, and the existing problems that appeared
invisible on the surface.
~~
I don’t hate optimism, but I never found a reason to like it either. People called me many names. Pessimist,
doubter, killjoy… you name it. But I would always refer to myself as a realist. Someone who saw the
sometimes obvious but more often subtle faults in all the ambitious dreams we humans created. It was my
gift.. Or weakness. There were times when I wished I could just see the beauty and goodness in everything.
However, every time, I would try only to realise, that there was never not a blemish; nothing is perfect.
Even the highest beings in our universe have a flaw. Something minute, that only some will ever notice.
Personally, I thought that the plan was heavy on ideas but light on implementation. The ones who had
created it had imagined a utopian world where everything went our way. I begged to differ.
~~
I unfolded the blueprint and caressed the creases that divided the area into many parts. Each section with its
own identity and features. I was told that it had been drawn with attention to the finest details. But all I
could see was an outline, eleven slabs to be fitted together. This would be the perfect plan, I was told, one
which would bring us the greatest benefit. Each slab looked the same on the outside. But in reality, the
insides were far from similar. Each slab was made up of various smaller blocks, each different from the next.
How would we know how these smaller blocks would behave if they were merged with others? The
blueprint only focused on the big picture, the one we could see from the outside. But how could we be sure
that putting these slabs together wouldn't break the insides? Like two elements… when alone, each element
has their own unique properties. But when bonded together, the properties of the new compound could be
entirely different from its individual elements. Except here, there was no way for us to test this ignored
possibility. I stared at the blueprint for a while, the clock ticking in the background. A short, blunt pencil
found its way into my sweaty palm. I fiddled with it, moving it from one palm to the other, turning it,
feeling all its sides and edges. As I sharpened it, I noticed how with a little effort, something useless could be
turned into something very useful. Holding my pencil tightly, I placed in the centre of the page. Then my
hand took over. Lines, circles, squares… filling each slab with its smaller counterparts. I uncovered all the
secrets that had been contained in each of the slabs, which swift and smooth strokes.
I had been sitting in my seat for over two hours and I was starting to get cramps. I longed for a tall glass of
cold water, but I couldn’t stop, not now. My mind raced as my hand furiously moved from one side of the
paper to the other, then back again, and again, until the entire paper for filled with words. It is really quite
amazing, what we can do when we put our mind to it. I was finally finished. My hand ached as I lifted my
heavy copper water bottle off my desk, and allowed the last few drops of water to quench my thirst. I sat
back in my chair and stared at what I had written. It was only after a few moments, with a pen in my hand,
I started to read, and dwell deep into the dystopian world.
~~
Rivalry. Competition. Superiority. We all feel it, against another person, another team, another family,
another city… another world even. There are not many places where rivalry isn’t present. Paradise perhaps,
but even there, even in the most perfect place we can imagine, someone or something is fighting for
something against someone else. It could be many things: a smile from someone, the ability to climb a tree,
a piece of gold… we often find ourselves feeling rivalry over strange and absurd objectives, but in the