Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 3 2018 | Page 287

New Journey to the West
St. Margaret's Co-eduational English Secondary and Primary School, Yeung, Christine - 13
“M
aster, this way, let’s go in.” The monkey at the front, named Monkey King, lead a white
horse to a town gate. A bald man with a red cassock sat on the back of the horse. He had
a “Vairocana” on his head, which was shaped like a crown. It represented the powers of
Buddhism. The master and his four apprentices, the Monkey King, a pig-headed man named Pigsy, another
monk named Sandy and the prince of the deep seas which was turned into the horse, passed through the
red-painted gate. The gate was one of the many that were set into a great wall of bricks firmly built up
around the town inside.
The quietness of the town made all five creatures a little bit uneasy. No shadows could be found in the
streets. Stalls filled with food and toys but without people stood in the bazaar. Windows and doors were
tightly shut, along with sharp-looking crows standing on the window stills. Everything looked dark gray
under the cloudy sky.
“Where did everybody go? I wouldn't come to this place if it wasn’t on our way to the West. I'm
hungry.” Pigsy murmured.
“Keep your mouth shut Pigsy, we will find ways out of here.” Monkey King talked back. The monk
interrupted them and asked them to find a place to stay for one night. Monkey King flew off to a building
with letters “Sweet Inn” carved on the sign dangling from a stick above the building’s door. He tried to
open the door with its handle but failed; it was locked. Monkey King smashed open the wooden door and
jumped in, looked around, confirmed the space safe, then invited the monk and his group in. There were
still hot dishes and burning candles on the wooden dining tables, but not a person was to be found.
Pigsy could not hold his hunger, so he rushed to a table and stuffed his face into a bowl of soup. Monkey
King brought a plate of lettuce to his master and he himself found some peaches left on the table. The horse
was taken to the stable by Sandy and fed hay. Everybody decided to settle down in this creepy town for just
one night only.
The sun sank below the horizon, and everything turned dark. The creatures went upstairs, with Monkey
King staying in the same room with his master protecting him, and the rest in another room. Pigsy dozed off
immediately after he laid on the hay bed. Monkey King was affected by the days of long walks and small
fights too, so he jumped up and hung himself with his tail on the poles supporting the ceiling. His eyes
closed.
A doorbell rang which disrupted Sandy’s sleep. He leaped to the door, angry at his interfered sleep. An
old lady stood at the door, holding