Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 173

After that, all the sailors got onto the deck and those precious boxes were carefully carried onto the ships. When I
was walking to the fleet, the chief executive waved to me. I then walked to him.
“ From the Emperor : You should only open this bag only when you are in emergency.” The chief executive
whispered to me and put a small leather bag into my palm which had already been wetted in sweat.
“Wish you all the best!” He added.
Now, when I look closely at the bag, it is an embellished one. On the bag there is a Chinese character
‘Ming’ sewn on it and the bag is sealed with a golden thread. Out of curiosity, I had the urge to open it immediately
to see what was inside the bag. However, I should listen to what the Emperor said. I have to toe every line he has
dictated to me.
Bon Voyage ! I have to give myself a pat on the back.
28 th October 1408
Sunny
Urgh… The voyage is sickening. I have thrown up several times a day. Now I am knackered. I have been sucked
out of all the nutrients that could have otherwise propped me up.
Anyway, today, our ship has sailed to the land after 15 days in the ocean, with everyone reeling from seasickness.
When a sailor observed what was ahead of us with a telescope, he was suddenly on cloud nine. “Yes! At long last,
we are saved from non-stop puke! I have seen land!”
At around noon, we set foot on the soil. All of us were excited about that. The place where we landed was a barren
rock with sand covering everywhere. Vegetation was few and far between. We were all b e m u s e d by the new
environment. Some of them were hopping like a grasshopper until they carelessly tripped by pebbles while
some of them were touching the fine sand on the land surface.
After we had explored the coastal areas, we headed for some inner areas, when we started to walk deep
inwards, we saw many striking creatures, such as a crawling thing like a crayfish but with a curved, pointed tail.
We were all enjoying nature there for the whole afternoon.
At night time, we decided to make a tent at places with shrubs where there will be fodder for the campfire. When we
started to eat the food we brought from China, we saw red, glittering eyes from the bushes. They were some kind of
dogs, but with sharp fangs. They were likely to attack us as they looked as if we were enemies. They first growled at
us and then they started to approach us so we quickly grabbed our knives. The horde of ‘large dogs’ then dashed to
us and some of the sailor were being bitten and injured at their ankles. As some of the sailors were athletic, they
were able to protect us while keeping the ‘dogs’ away. At last, no serious injuries were reported.
I then had come to terms with the grave risks in this voyage: It was very likely for your fingers to be burned, literally.