Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 105

Beyond the Mist
Holy Family Canossian College, Yew, Elizabeth - 15
“Dad, what’s this?” young Emlyn asked, holding up an old leather covered book she found in the basement. The young
girl stared at her dad curiously, she had never seen a book like that before.
The spine of the book was barely hanging onto the pages themselves. The pages were yellow but there weren’t any
creases, as if the owner handled it with extreme care. This book was nothing like her own books. A faint musky smell
of the ocean lingered around it.
“Is this a storybook?” Emlyn asked impatiently. Her dad chuckled, “Something like that, my child. Do you want to
listen to it?” The little girl cheered as she squeezed herself into her dad’s armchair, getting ready to listen to the stories
written in that old, leather covered book.
‘January 14 th . It’s been 4 weeks since the Yongle Emperor threatened to tear us down. We’re nearly out of food and
water. The crew is getting weaker and weaker by the second. I –’
“Commander Zhang! The Yongle Emperor –”
Silencing the rest of his sentence, I rushed toward the ajared door while hastily draping a damp coat across my shoulders
to shield myself from the harsh weather.
The walk to the deck was dreadful. Glancing at the pained emotions visible on the faces of the crew lining up beside the
edge of the ship, my shoulders hunched since that was never a good sign.
Standing in the center of the deck, I suddenly found my boots extremely interesting.
“Commander ZhangJun of The Ming Elite, since you and The Ming Elite crew are guilty for not being able to fulfill
the Emperor’s task of discovering the treasure, you are all charged with treason.” The officer announced, voice void of
emotion.
My face shot up, furious eyes burning holes through the fragile piece of parchment. My heart dropped immediately.
No, no no! All these people have wives and children to go back to, they cannot die!
Sharp wails and booming complaints pierced the freezing winter night.
“No! You can’t do this! Take me only but do not lay a finger on these innocent people!” my voice trembled with fear
and anger.
I stared at the officer with all the courage I could muster at the moment and clenched my fist, waiting for my ultimate
doom.
The officer chuckled darkly when an executor strided around me for a few seconds before slashing my back with the tip
of his sword, the pain made me plummet down onto the wooden floor.
There were faint gasps when the executor lifted the sword, tiny droplets of fresh blood dripped silently onto the wet
wood beside me.
My heart raced and my life flashed before my eyes.
How did I end up here? Only a few months ago, we were all happily celebrating the defeat of some stray, vicious
pirates.
Halfway across the Indian Ocean, The Ming Elite encountered another group of pirates and before I could react, the
other ship’s captain jumped onto The Ming Elite with a sword in his hand once he realized The Ming Elite carried
cargoes of gold and silk.