New Journeys to the West
International College Hong Kong , Wan , Ciara - 12
Trot . Trot . Trot . Rosa and her father were riding their horses across from Mexico to Alaska to make a deal with Arigo . Rosa ' s dad , Juaan was in debt . Arigo threatened Juaan that if he didn ' t come to Alaska and discuss the deal with him , he would take Rosa away from him and use her as another slave of his many slaves . Juaan , of course didn ' t want to lose his now only daughter , right after his oldest son , Dreco , who got shot to death a week before his nineteenth birthday by a local that tried to mug him , and Rosa ' s mother , Sierra , who died at thirty while giving birth to Rosa . All that was left of the Gonzalez family was Rosa and Juaan . As the Gonzalez ' s trotted across a dessert , they saw snakes , lizards , all kinds of creatures , Rosa had never seen before in her fourteen years of life , though her father told her all about these creatures as a child , though she thought they were make belief , and would never see them in her life . They looked so fascinating ! Never before had she seen a creature without fur , feathers or hair . Well except for those icky bugs that would sometimes appear in the Gonzalez ' s crops . Nor with scaly skin , or yellow eyes , or with frills and no legs . This all seemed like a dream to Rosa . Sometimes , Rosa thought about her mum , she always thought it was her fault for her mother ' s death . But Juaan always told her to keep her chin up , and that nothing was ever her fault . Anyways how could it be her fault if she wasn ' t even born yet ? Every time he recited that speech to Rosa , he would always end it with " I love you , and never let anything drag you down ." Whenever he would say that it warmed Rosa ' s heart . Like she was sitting next to a flame , eating heated quesadillas with her father . The sun was setting . Juaan always told her : " move when its light , freeze when it ' s night ." That is just what they did . They set down their possessions , all she brought was the blanket her mother bought for her before she was born , a shovel , and that one thousand pesos note that the local was trying to mug off Dreco which could have made the Gonzalez family wealthier , but both Gonzalez ' s decided against that . They should keep it in memory of Dreco . Juaan had all the food , so Rosa didn ' t need to carry as much . They calmed the horses and started a small campfire . The fire made Rosa ' s jet-black hair stand out against her dark skin and her violet tunic . This was their fifth night away from home . Every night , Rosa ' s father would tell her a story by the fire , then they would grab their sleeping bags and snuggle up to sleep . They did the exact same routine again , today . Juaan started to softly tell Rosa a traditional Chinese tale . " Once upon a time ..." Started Juaan . Rosa got pulled into the story . She felt as if she was really with the talking pig and the monkey king . They felt so real . But yet it was just a story . " The end ." Whispered Juaan , his deep brown eyes glistening with the fire . Rosa heard her father start to softly snore . Only then , her eyes grew heavy , making it hard to keep them open . She slowly drifted into oblivion . Slowly , she started to see her mother , yelling in pain . Rosa was looking into a room . Her mother , laying on a bed , blood pouring out of her . She heard baby wails , but no baby . As her mother screamed the last of her screams , she knew she was on the edge of death . Suddenly a sound that didn ' t belong in this room . The sound of a dagger coming out of a scabbard . Rosa ' s eyes began to drift open . She saw the sun , rising above the mountains in the horizon . A silhouette of a man , holding a dagger , was hovering right over her father . The man sheathed the dagger and slowly backed away , to the mountains . Of course , she thought . It must be the after effect that usually happens after scary dreams . As she turned to tell Juaan her scary dream , he was still sleeping . But Rosa could no longer hear his snoring . Nor his breath . She examined him . Only then she realized there was a gaping hole , pouring with dark blood , on her father ' s chest . She let out a small yelp , tears welling in her eyes , her heart burning . She began to search him for life forms , but found none . That man must have been real . She used her shovel to dig a hole . It took almost all day , but she didn ' t mind anything if it was for her dad . As she laid Juaan ' s body into the hole , her eyes seeping with tears , heart burning with sadness and anger , she made silent prayers . For the afterlife to take care of him . For God to keep him safe . She wanted justice . To seek her father ' s murderer . As she was thinking anger and sadness of how to track him down , she saw footprints . As her brain started to function , she grabbed her horse and belongings , but left the shovel as an offering to God to keep Juaan safe , she galloped towards the footprints , heading for the sun . Midday was hot . The sun was shining hatred onto Rosa . Even the sun didn ' t like her . But she still carried on . She would keep her promise to herself . Track Juaan ' s murderer down and slaughter him , or die with her father .