Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 580

Future Tales of the Greater Bay Area
West Island School, Mak, Clovis - 15
I wake up as the human leader pulls the cloth off my cage. Ruffling my feathers and straightening them out,
I peer out through the thin metal bars surrounding me, and see the human leader smiling at me. He is
wearing a crisp black suit, and is accompanied by two servants, each holding various cleaning tools. He
delivers a command to them and gives me one last glance before turning around and striding out of the
room. One of the servants carefully opens the cage door, and washes me in warm water, while the other
cleans my pristine prison and sets up dishes of food and water. Ten minutes later, they put me back in the
cage, and left.
Two weeks ago, on a cold winter night, I was flying over Shenzhen, minding my own business, and
enjoying the spectacular night view. Beneath me were countless skyscrapers, lit up with brilliant, colourful
lights, stretching up towards the sky. The streets far below me were filled with streaks of bright yellow as
various vehicles zipped past. I tucked my wings, and spun into a vertical dive, feeling the exhilarating
whoosh of air as I hurtled closer and closer to the ground. Twenty metres above the ground, I turned out of
my dive and slowly descended, until I perched on top of a lamp post. Joined by a young pigeon, I watched
as people hurriedly rushed about their busy lives. As I watched, I searched my memories. I have lived for a
very long time, and I still remember around 30 years ago, when Shenzhen was just a fishing village, small,
and filled with farmland. Now, the city has grown to be a sprawling metropolis, with a population of over
12 million people. A wing tapping on my feathers brought me back to reality, as the pigeon pointed down
to a nearby street, where two men were holding mysterious contraptions in their arms, both pointing at us.
The pigeon looked at me and whispered: “I think they are aiming at us…”. Sensing danger, we both
frantically flapped our wings and flew off the lamp post, but then I felt a stabbing pain in my chest, and
everything turned to darkness.
That is how I ended up here. Not long after I regained consciousness, I met the human in charge. He
looked very happy to see me, although I did not know why. He would sometimes come over to my cage,
and talk to me, but often it was just his servants that would feed and clean me. Nonetheless, I was not happy
with being imprisoned. Two weeks after my capture, I had finally decided I would escape. I would have
gone ahead with my plan this morning, but I thought it would be easier if the human leader was not here:
less humans, easier escape. So, I merely waited, and as night fell, I decided to sleep earlier, to give me more
energy tomorrow.
I am feeling lucky right now. The man is not here, and the two servants are coming over to my cage now. I
stare at them and get ready. The first servant opens the cage door, and I suddenly flash out of the cage,
wings flapping furiously as I brush past the second servant’s arm, and rush towards the massive balcony
doors. I quickly realise my mistake - the glass doors are closed. With a screech of frustration, I turn back in
a stunning spiral, twisting and turning through the servants, who are now yelling for help. I accelerate down
a corridor, and as I pass the third room, I finally see an open window, albeit just about open, and am
thankfully agile enough to slow down and fly into the room. Hearing many loud voices behind now, I
heighten my focus, and zoom out the room through the narrow opening, into the magnificent morning sky.
I am glad to be free, and take a deep breath, savouring the outside air. I look back and see that I have
escaped from a grand residential building with a modern, unique design, located near the centre of the city. I
circle around it, and with sudden alarm, I see over a dozen humans pouring out of the entrance, shouting
unknown words, and pointing everywhere. I fly upwards, towards a sheet of white clouds, hoping to get far
away from those people. As the beating of my wings becomes a consistent rhythmic pattern, I wonder when
I can head back without being hunted. I decide that it is better to be safe than sorry; I will live somewhere
else for now until I think it is safe to return. I glide down from the clouds, and see that I am already far, far
away from my previous prison. Hundreds of metres below me, I spot a train, moving at a high speed,
heading out of Shenzhen. I recognise it as one travelling the Guangzhou - Shenzhen - Hong Kong Express
Rail Link. I have decided. I will follow this train, and I will see where this brings me.
The train travels very quickly, and I have to fly quickly to keep up with it. Thankfully, the journey was not
that long, and less than half an hour later, the train has reached the West Kowloon terminus in Hong Kong.
I have heard a lot about this city, but I have never been here. I am in awe. This city has a shocking