New Journey to the West
Carmel Pak U Secondary School , Choi , Kit - 13
S
ally stood in front of this enormous house as her white and black fluffy Papillon sniffed around excitedly next to her feet . How many times have she moved ? She couldn ’ t remember . Sally ’ s parents were the bosses of a famous jewelry company , therefore , they were always busy and they are used to move from country to country . The only thing that kept here company is her beloved Papillon , Marshmallow . ( She named him Marshmallow because of his fluffy fur and soft tummy .) This time , Sally ’ s family have moved to the west , from China to India- another unfamiliar country . Sally sighed as she entered her new home , Marshmallow followed her through the entrance . Her maids have already helped her with her luggage , all she have to do now is wait for dinner . Sally looked out at the window . The house is located away from the town , and all she could see were trees and a cave near her house . ‘ Another boring place ,’ she thought . Sally walked into her cloakroom and picked a grey hoodie from her rainbow collection . She had already gotten used to her parents spoiling her with clothes and accessories , for they thought this would make up for not being a part of her life . Her maid knocked on her door , reminding her that dinner is ready . She got down stairs by using the elevator . Marshmallow was clearly hungry , as he ran right into the dining room right away when they arrived . Sally walked past her parents ’ room and saw something shining , but she thought it was one of those boring jewelries so she didn ’ t pay attention to it . Sally sat down . Tonight ’ s dinner was seafood chowder , roasted beef , and lemon pie . Her parents were absent as usual . They must have been busy at work . She wasn ’ t hungry at all . She took a sip of the chowder , a few bites of the roasted beef , and half a slice of the pie . Sally didn ’ t have any appetite , so she asked the maids to clean up as she left the room . After dinner , it was time for bed . She buried herself in the big cozy bed , and Marshmallow lay beside her , asleep already . Sally stared at the cave outside the window , unable to sleep . Sometimes , in these insomniac nights , she felt lonely . The bed was too big for her alone , her room was too big for her , the bathroom was too fancy for her , her life was too lonely for her . Sometimes , she just want to live a normal life with her parents , a father that would make stupid dad jokes , a mother that would cook Sally her favorite dish , and someone to talk to when she felt sad . Sometimes she just wanted a hug . As a tear slid down her cheek , she curled herself into a ball . When she was about to fall asleep , she saw something shining in the cave . She rubbed her eyes and looked again . She wasn ’ t dreaming ! There was really something shining ! She got up excitedly , and put on her hoodie , ‘ Well , sometimes , life needs adventures too ,’ she thought . She took a torch and sneaked out of the house . She was too concentrated on not letting other notice her that she didn ’ t saw Marshmallow following her out of the house until her barked . She looked around in shock and glanced down before sighing in relief , ‘ Shush ! Marshmallow , you ’ re gonna get me in trouble !’ When she got out of the house , she turned on her torch and walked to the cave . ‘ You know what , I don ’ t even need this torch . Whatever shining in there is already bright enough . I wonder why others didn ’ t see this ,’ she said to herself . She approached the cave and peeked inside . There was something shining at the end of it . She walked into it bravely as Marshmallow quietly followed . The squeaky sound made by Sally ’ s shoes and the wet ground made the atmosphere much creepier . The sound of water dripping onto the ground wasn ’ t making it better either . After a couple minutes of walking , Sally had gotten to the end of the cave . She found four coffins which nearly scared the life out of her . She froze in front of them , her legs trembling in fear . She wanted to leave quickly so she turned around and tried to walk away , but then she heard a male voice , ‘ Please … Please help us …’ That ’ s when she collapsed on the ground , she was too afraid to turn around , she begged in a shaking voice , ‘ I ’ m … I ’ m so sorry I didn ’ t mean to disturb you … I ’ m terribly sorry , please … let me go ’ Marshmallow stared at Sally as he tried to comfort her with his tiny paws . Then she felt something warm touched her back and she felt calmer . She looked back and saw a monk smiling at her . She wiped her tears , and asked curiously , ‘ Who are you ?’ The monk answered , ‘ My name is Xuanzang , I ’ m a monk who was supposed to die five centuries ago but …’ ‘ Wait , WHAT ?’ Sally interrupted rudely , remembering the story , “ Journey to the west ” told by her teacher when she still lived in China . Xuanzang comforted her by putting his hand on her shoulder and said , ‘ Don ’ t worry . I ’ m not here to hurt you , but I need help from you instead . You probably have already noticed that others can ’ t see the light shining from here . It ’ s because only the one who have the sutras can see it . People thought me and my protectors have already obtained the sutras successfully , but we were defeated and chained with these coffins instead . It ’ s been 500 years , we still can ’ t rest in peace because of the missing sutras . You must help us with