Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 191

Adventure to Southeast Asia
St. Joseph's College, Au, Yi Lok Elliott - 16
Seeing the sunset on the ship in the middle of the sea, the seawater reflects the sunshine, changing from dark
blue to golden yellow. The view is magnificant and I have a different feeling when I am watching it. It is
totally different from the sunset I have seen on land.
I am Shing Chan, a sailor of the Chenggong ship, the largest ship in the Treasure Fleet, led by Captain
Zheng He. I have been living in a small village in the Fujian Province. My home is near the sea. My
brothers and I always went to the seashore to play when we were young. We love sea very much, and want
to know the end of the sea. However, due to the order of the Emperor, we cannot sail in order to prevent
traitor from bringing pirates to mug the city. Until the Ming government allows our Captain Zheng He to
organise a fleet to explore the world outside our familiar homeland, I have got a chance to become one of
the sailors of the Treasure Fleet.
I don’t know how long the journey will be, but I am so euphoric as I can travel to other countries and I am
sure that I can come up with different interesting stuff and people. However, before exploring the world, it
is a hard time to be a sailor on board. It is the first time for me to leave the land and live in the sea for so
long. I have vomited for several times since I have aboarded the ship. There is no fresh food to eat. We have
to wait until we have arrived our first destination and trade with the local merchants there. A lot of my
colleagues passed away due to a lack of nutrition. Every day, we have to wake up early in the morning
before sunrise and start to work. We adjust the flag to ensure the ship can move forward with the help of
the wind. We have to measure how far we have travelled. We have to sail with the help of the existing map
in the correct direction. We have to draw a new map with the location of new places we have found. I am
so exhausted after working from til to night on the ship. In the first week on board, I find that being a crew
of the ship is fun and is a honour, exploring the unknown world with courage and determination. But soon,
we cannot see any islands in the sea, and we haven’t seen anything in the sea but only some marine animals
and birds on the sky. Every day is the same day to me, doing the same work at the same time. I start to find
that my job is quite monotonous and I regret. I start to miss home. I miss my parents and my
brothers.However, it is too late for me to give up and it is impossible to leave the ship in the sea right now.
I only hope we can arrive our destination as soon as possible.
By the end of the night, we have come up with a big disaster. A typhoon is coming straight to our fleet.
The sea is not calm as before. The water changes into a dragon and keeps attacking our fleet, to destroy us
and eat us into the deepest of the sea. Rain and wind is all hitting our ships. Everyone, include Captain, was
in a panic. But soon Captain Zheng has calmed down and gives order to us in order to get out from this
dilemma. We are trying to lower the lost as possible. Most of the crew vomit as they feel headache in this
roaring sea. Some are not managed to get their balance when they are working and fall into the sea. Luckily,
Captain sends me to check whether there is water getting inside the ship so I stay inside the ship in most of
the time.
In the next morning, the sea is calm again. However, one ship was sunk in last night. There are only six
remaining ships. Everyone on the ship was sad as we have lost a lot of our crew members. After 3 days later,
we have arrived our destination, the Indonesia. It is a sunny day. I have not seen any land for a couple of
months. It is better to stay on land than in the sea. After we have got off the ship, the first thing we do is to
meet the King of this country. I follow Captain Zheng and his guards to an enormous, magnificant palace.
“ Wow, this place is so big.” I say. “Haha, the area of this palace is only one- tenth compared to the
forbidden city in Beijing.”Captain answers. Soon, with the guide of the servants, we have met the King.
With the help of translator, Captain can talk with the King without barrier. Captain has given the King
some gold, in exchange, we have got stuff which can be only found in Indonesia. Later, we have traded
with local merchants for food and clean water for the remaining journey. After staying on land for a week,
we have to sail towards the next destination again .
After a few hours, we have found out another fleet following us, about four ships. I use the microscope to
observe the fleet. The fleet is hanging with a black flag with skull on it. It’s the pirates! I inform Captain