Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 3 2018 | Page 366

edge of the lake and leapt in, returning with an armful of iridescent shells. After opening all of the shells, a
little mountain of pearls had formed in front of them. Zoey took a string and a needle. She made holes in
the pearls, and strung them into a shimmering necklace.
“Are you ready to go to the desert?” The old monk asked. He drew another shimmering golden
circle on the floor, and they stepped in. The scenery changed. The lake disappeared from view, and was
replaced by grassy land, which gradually became sparser, until all they saw was rolling waves of golden
yellow sand next to them.
The circle disappeared. Mollie asked “Where is the scorpion?” The old monk pointed at the tallest
sand dune. “In there,” he explained. As they neared the giant sand dune, they heard sounds of singing. “I
am pulchritudinous, I am beautiful!” The scorpion’s voice wasn’t really the best-sounding, but she knew
how to sing.
Zoey saw a tiny scorpion. She asked “Do you know the giant scorpion with the key necklace?”
With a surprisingly loud voice, the tiny scorpion said “She’s my owner. Why do you need to find her?”
Mollie said “We have a pearl necklace to show her.” The tiny scorpion said “Wait here.” It climbed into
the sand dune.
Inside the sand dune, the giant scorpion was looking at her reflection in a mirror. She had used
liters of lipstick to make herself pink lips (scorpions didn’t already have pink lips), and was admiring herself.
The key was on a ribbon on her neck, glistening.
The tiny scorpion knocked gently on a sandy wall, and the giant scorpion said “Come in, Spiky.”
The tiny scorpion went in. The giant scorpion asked “Who is outside?” Spiky replied “Three girls and an
elderly man. They have come with a pearl necklace.” The giant scorpion’s eyes twinkled. “I have never seen
a pearl before!” She invited them in.
The group was shocked to see a scorpion the size of a horse. The scorpion asked “Can I see the
pearl necklace?” Mollie took it out, but before she gave it, she told the giant scorpion “We have one
condition though. Can we exchange the key for it while you keep the necklace?” The scorpion answered
shocked “The key? But I’ve worn it for many years since I found it!” Zoey explained “We really need the
key to open a box with important things inside. Can we please exchange the key for the pearl necklace?”
The scorpion thought for a moment, and replied “You can borrow the key to open the box, while I wear
the pearl necklace, and we can switch back afterwards.”
Mollie smiled as she handed the scorpion the pearl necklace. It glimmered. The scorpion gave her
the key, and they waved bye to the scorpion as they stepped into the old monk’s glittering circle.
With a whoosh, they were back at the monkey island. The old monk wheeled out a locked box.
Mollie pushed the key into the keyhole and turned it. The box opened into a lotus shape, revealing the
books within.
A book fell out from the box. It was titled Journey to the West in gold, and it dropped open on a
page of words. The girls felt like they were falling in again. They landed in Mollie’s room in a heap. The
book lay open on the floor, with a picture of them and the old monk, as well as the scorpion wearing two
necklaces. On the other side, the words THE END were written.