Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 146

Why didn’t he tell me? Did he think it would distract me? That I would use it as an excuse to stay? I had no intention
of following his footsteps as captain. I was going to stay.
Mrs Li
At dawn, clutching a rice sack stuffed with my belongings I stood at the dock, below the monstrous ship. A line of new
employees stood at the dock, reporting to a crew member. Soldiers stormed the deck, roping in the anchor and loading
crates of supplies in preparation.
My stay at the village didn’t last for long, as I’d anticipated. After my escape from the Wokou two years ago, I have
constantly been leaping from one village to another, away from their men. But this time I was leaving out of my own
will.
Was my husband still part of the fleet? Or my son even alive? Was I behaving to rashly? Nevertheless, at that moment, I
took a leap of faith and hoped for the best, knowing I would regret otherwise.
Syaoran
Knowing my long-lost mother was close by I had to stay. Additionally, I had other pursuits, which wouldn’t be
possible as part of the crew.
I rushed towards the lodge, past the oblivious guards, into my room that I shared with two other members of the crew.
The room was now spotless after the others had packed in preparation to leave. I changed into the clothes I’d grabbed at
the local market. Then, clutching my pack and my spare stash of money, in the break of daylight, I fled to the streets.
The coarse fabric bristled against my skin creating rashes. While rocks splintered through my thin, yarn sandals, creating
blisters on the soles of my feet. As I ventured farther away from the city, past the village boundary, the screams of
vendors and murmurs of daily chatter faded to the sound of my feet shuffling against gravel. Amidst the towering hills in
the valley, my voice echoed as I vowed to return with my mother, with only the shrieking birds and animals as witness.