Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 610

Finally, at the brisk of dawn, the old man and the tourists rode a ferry west towards the city of
Macau. He heard sounds he had never heard before. Although this was indeed a rather small-scale city, it is
one that was jam-packed with joy. There were so many joyous sounds coming from all directions: The
roaring crowds across the streets, the non-stop clicking and clinging of slot machines, the crunch of people
biting into every delicious fresh-made egg tart… Wow, no doubt, Macau was really the perfect city for the
old man to spend his last night in! The old man laughed and drank with the teens, wandering across the
streets, spending his last few hours in the Greater Bay Area, until it was time to go.
At last, after visiting 4 extraordinary, futuristic cities, their tour had come to an end. From their
one-day journey from Guangdong to Hong Kong to Macau, the old man finally realized, for the first time
in his life, that the GBA actually be a highly peaceful, enjoyable place! As the tourists waved goodbye to
Wong, making their way into the departure hall, the faint voice of a young little kid in the airport broke the
silence. “Mommy”, he said, “perhaps one day when I’m old enough, I’ll leave America and come retire
here in the GBA. Although these cities are so different from our carefree, rural way of life in Brazil, the
GBA is so cheerful, and so modern! It’s just so much more convenient in here than in Brazil: the toilets, the
malls, the restaurants, the phones, the clean water – I’d never even have dreamed of this before we came
here! I love this place, mom! I don’t wanna go…”
The old man playfully smirked, with a smile on his face. Maybe the outside world wasn’t as bad as
he thought after all. Now with a smile on his face, he looked back at the streets of Macau. He joyfully
whistled and made his way into the departure hall. He was ready to change: to start a brand-new life in
America. “It’s been a fun 60-years growing up with you, GBA”, he told himself. “But now the time has
come, it’s time for me to pass this on to the next generation. Farewell, my friends! I’m gonna miss you!”