Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4 - 7 2018 | Page 231

“The country does not recognise this small and insignificant village and will not send enough aid.
Over five hundred locals will die, thousands will go missing, and the rest of the population will be in
turmoil. We, the gods, and Crown Village, rely on you to bring peace and safety to the villagers before the
terrible destruction. I wish you the best of luck.”
The statue returned to its original white ceramic state as the room reverted back to normal.
Even after the end of the god’s speech, broken cries for help seemed to fill the room and echo in
Xuan and Sun’s ears. The image of destruction seemed to be imprinted in their minds. Xuan and Sun sat in
silence for longer than a few moments, in shock.
Finally, Sun spoke up.
“We should really help them.”
“But how?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know yet. But we can, before they are destroyed.”
And so the duo left their house at the peak of the mountains and began their journey west, to the
village of Sichuan.
Hours later, they arrived at Crown Village. It was a century-old traditional Chinese village, busy
and full of life. Xuan and Sun could not believe that this place, bustling with activity, would be completely
diminished into ruin within a day.
“So what do we do now?” Xuan prompted.
“The fastest and essentially easiest way would be to scare them away from the village. Oh! I can
transform into a terrorist and threaten all the villagers to leave their homes,” Sun declared.
“No! That is immoral, Sun. Why would you lie and threaten them to get your way? I suggest
warning each villager, one by one, about the earthquake, and evacuating them immediately. We can do this
in a friendly way; we don’t have to be harsh.”
“That’s not how society works , my friend. I guarantee you, nobody will listen to you. They will
only ignore you, or even kick you out of their village, for interrupting their busy lives. Don't be so naive.
And even if they do listen, how long do you think it would take to evacuate the entire village? Two, three
days, for five thousand villagers? They'll all be dead by the time you finish!”
“And what good will threatening do? That will bring them so much unnecessary stress and terror.
Think about their feelings, Sun.”
Their argument lasted longer than it should have, and their time was running out. They only had
less than three hours before the earthquake started, and Sun was the first to point this out.
“We only have three hours, Xuan. Why are you so stubborn? Just do it my way.”
“No. I refuse to lie to the villagers. You can do it your way, but I will warn the villagers myself.”
This pointless debate between the two tenacious and headstrong personalities had no final solution.
They both rolled their eyes at the other and proceeded in their separate ways, to carry out their plans
individually.
Xuan, the peace advocate, quite literally started from the left side of the village and just walked
from door to door to tell each villager about the disaster bound to happen. At each door, he made his kindly
speech:
“Good evening. I am Xuan, the monk from the East Mountains. I am here to warn you about the
terrible earthquake about to happen in three hours. You must immediately evacuate your family and friends
from this fate!”
And at each door, he received a cold glare and a dismissive and sarcastic thanks before the door
slammed at his face. He couldn't understand why nobody listened to him; he was only trying to help.
He soon realised his efforts were futile. The more he continued his attempts at warning the
villagers, the more he started to doubt himself.
Maybe Sun was right… Nobody will believe an old man that their century-old village will fall
apart in a few hours.
After the 50th house, he left the village and sat down on the grass fields, defeated. He regretted
speaking so harshly to Sun hours ago.
How’s Sun doing?
Then Xuan checked the time.
Oh no. Five minutes left before the earthquake??