Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4 - 7 2018 | Page 17

James rage turned to ice, he heard the voice from behind and slowly turned back.
James’ breath was taken away when he saw what he saw: there she was, Mia, standing in her favourite outfit,
looking fine than ever yet transparent.
‘Mia? Mia!’ James blurted out. He rushed to hug her but his hands sw ooped through Mia’s body, causing him
to stumble.
‘Dad, be careful!’ Mia spoke.
‘Mia, I missed you so much.’ James choked with tears.
‘Dad, thank you for everything.’ Mia started to cry a bit but then gently smiled at James.
‘Thank you for bring me to Greece and here, now I can go aboard the ship to my next journey with all my
wishes coming true. Don’t worry, Dad, Mom will take care of me.’
Yet James shook his head , ‘No, don’t go away, Mia, my life is meaningless without you.’
Mia spoke. ‘Don’t worry, Dad, I am always here,’ she then pointed at James’ heart. ‘I’ll be right here waiting
for you, always. Be happy for me, as I can explore my brand new journey, don’t be sad.’
‘Dad, I have to go and board the ship, will you let me go?’ Mia asked gently, her fiery temper was nowhere to
be seen.
James carefully examined the transparent Mia’s face, it was undoubtedly Mia, not some holograms. He was
holding Mia’s hand and not letting her go but his mind recalled the last sentence said by Mia the day she left.
His biggest guilt and regret was not letting her go on the trip. After a while, he released Mia’s hand and she
faded away along the wind.
For a very long time, James didn’t move. It was too much for him to meet his daughter again. However, the
heavy weight of sadness and guilt on his shoulders started to lift up. He was sad but he knew it was the right
thing to do.
James came out of the temple. ‘So you are feeling OK?’ the woman who volunteered first to lead James to
the temple asked gently.
‘Yes,’ James replied.
‘Good, let’s get you back,’ she smiled.
After following her a while, James couldn’t resist but to ask her. ‘Was the Mia I met in the temple real? Was
she a ghost?’
The woman stopped walking and answered. ‘If you think she was real, she is real. If you don’t, it’s up to you.’
and started walking again.
‘What’s your name?’ James asked.
‘Chérznik, the one you met before was Pratikaarodevata, my evil twin sister.’ she replied.
They arrived at the city centre and Chèrznik spoke, ‘Well, I am going to leave you on you own from here.’
she then smiled happily and said, ‘James, love knows no boundaries. It goes beyond gender, ethnicity and the
line between life and death. Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.’
She then turned around and disappeared into the crowds.