Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4 - 7 2018 | Page 5

Xuanzang followed Li Meiwen to a sitting area where a voice announced when “flights” were boarding. He
did not understand what they meant by flight, as only birds flew, certainly not humans. When they finally
stood up and followed the people in his sitting area, he understood.
They entered what looked like a huge, metal bird. It was referred to as an airplane by other passengers. He
took his seat next to Li Meiwen and stared at the other airplanes through the window.
With a jolt, the airplane began to move down the runway. It accelerated and pushed him further into his
seat as it lifted into the sky. He gripped the armrests and let his mind wander.
Many hours later, the plane made a quick descent through another smog filled sky. After rushing through
the airport, he was ushered into yet another car. They drove through a crowded city that she called Delhi.
They finally arrived in an even more crowded part of the city, and they exited the car to walk around. The
people in this area were less finely dressed, and the houses were closer together and shoddily crafted. Trashed
lined the streets, so unlike the cleaner streets near the airport.
They were greeted by a face that was familiar to him. A lumbering figure waved to Xuanzang, then walked
forward to introduce himself to Li Meiwen.
“You must be Li Meiwen. I am Sandy.” His formal speech was tempered by a shy but genuine smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sandy,” she replied, smiling.
“Why is it so much dirtier here?” Xuanzang asked Sandy, who looked on with sad eyes.
“You were in New Delhi, but this is what the rest of the city is like. Waste management here is out of
hand. Only N ew Delhi’s waste management is really working.”
“Why are they so much better off?”
“The New Delhi Municipal Council takes care of them, but the other 96% of the city is divided up by three
other councils. They claim that New Delhi is better managed because it is more developed than the rest of
Delhi.” He let out an angry breath. “While that may be partially the case, the bodies in charge of the rest of
Delhi do not ensure that the rest of Delhi receives regular trash collection, so they are forced to dump their
trash anywhere they can.”
“What is being done about this?” he wondered, worry coloring his voice.
“They are trying to implement better technology to improve waste management, but many officials do not
acknowledge the issue at all.”
“Why are you here?”
Before Sandy could reply, he ran right into a fencepost. When Xuanzang had finished laughing, Sandy shot
him a dirty look and said, “Do you remember why I was exiled into the mortal world?”
“Of course. You dropped that crystal goblet, and clearly you’re still klutzy,” he softened the words with a
kind smile.
“I’m not quite so uncoordinated anymore. Anyways, we will have to part ways sooner than I would like.
You’ll stay here tonight, but your flight to Paris is in the morning.”
Xuanzang nodded and let himself be led into the hotel, despite not knowing what Paris was. Like yesterday,
he woke up in the morning with little recollection of when he fell asleep. The day was another rush of
airports and airplanes, and he managed only a brief farewell to Sandy. He pondered what awaited him next
as he stared out of the airplane window.