Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4 - 7 2018 | Page 74

“Sure, what is it?” I asked. “If you are okay, could you become a human with a camera rather than a human
with a fishing rod? I wish you would treat us as friends, not as food even when you become older.” The
silvery salmon proposed and swam back into its group.
I remember I was interested in photography since that day. My dream was to become a photographer.
When I told my father about my encounter with the salmon, he didn’t believe it, but he did encourage my
dream. I was proud of my dream and my encounter with the silvery salmon. However, my mind changed
after I got enrolled into school. Whenever I told my story and dream to my friends, they claimed I was a liar
and treated me like a weird guy.
To avoid further embarrassment, I had to keep my story inside my head. After I entered middle school, my
life became worse. My father lost his job, so the atmosphere of our family was terrible. My mom forced me
to study and made me give up my dreams. I was tried to beg my father, but after he lost his job, he wasn’t
the same dad I once knew. I was forced to study since the world only accepts knowledge and not any other
skills. The world just wanted students that have good grades. If my life was the color blue before, then the
world painted it grey. I gave up my dream and became a student who wasn’t different from others. I
graduated high school and got accepted into a good university. After that I got a job in a company and got
married to my wife. Since I might have a successful life, am I happy now? I’m not.
After looking back at my past, I felt emptiness and regret about my life. Those feelings collided with what
my friends advised me to do, suddenly I did something that I never thought I would do again. I searched up
how to be a photographer.
After that night, I met with my entire family and told them I will be resigning from my
company. My family members were against my opinion, but they couldn’t break my
obstinacy. The next day, I went into Mr. Lee’s office and threw my resignation form at
his face. Words haven’t been made yet to explain how good I felt seeing Mr. Lee’s face
turn red due to embarrassment. After I came out of the company, it stopped raining. In
front of me was a beautiful rainbow.
I became a photographer who specializes in taking pictures of salmons. I earn less money
now, but I can assure you that I am happy. Now, I am able to spend more time with my
family. Now I bring my son to the riverside like my father used to do with me. Every
time we go there, I remind him of my encounter with the silver salmon. He enjoys my
story and has questions for me every time. I decided to write a book about my life to
inspire those who were not able to follow their dreams. It might be because I was really
committed to my book, but I was able to quickly finish it. I was done with everything and
now all I need is a title. So,
I asked my son, “son, what are your suggestions for the title of my book?” “How about
‘A Salmon’s Journey’? I really like that title!” He replied. “A Salmon’s Journey”? I like the
sound of that!”