Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 232

“First…I’m called Rui Qing…and I’m no spy, if that’s what you are asking. I was fed up with my life,
and I wanted to change it. I ran away, on a whim, and ended up here. I wanted to be free, and so I found
you lot…a place to belong, a home. But at the end of the day, I am just a girl, I’m nobody… Do what you
will, I am already satisfied.”
The table was silent.
Yi Ping started, “I sympathize, but I will have to–”
“I’ll personally fight you if you report her,” Lei Ning stood up with a clatter.
Yi Ping made a hysterical noise. “Then what am I going to do?! We all might get executed for
condoning this– ”
“This is not the matter of a stowaway, but whether you would hand out a crew member to the court, for
the sake of rules. She is one of us, you cannot deny that. I remember being just like her: running from my
past, and I found you, while roaming the seas. How glad I felt then, when I realized there was indeed a
place for me…Are we going to betray her… like this?” Anger seeped into his tone.
“But she deceived us, betrayed us first,” Yi Ping replied, bitter.
There was silence again.
“I sold your coat that time,” Ye Nan started. “You didn’t report me.”
“Minor issue.”
“You took the blame when I lost that trunk from South-East,” Yu Fen added.
“You are my responsibility.”
“And she is yours too,” Lei Ning continued. “She is a part of us.”
Yi Ping slumped in his chair. “Tian Jie, I now can only depend on you to be sensible and-”
“No, you can’t.”
“What?”
Tian Jie looked firmly into Yi Ping’s eyes, “Because I was too, a stowaway before. Remember? You
vouched for me...”
Yi Ping looked away. “Thought you forgot about it.”
“How can I forget? I would not forget such a thing: you changed my life. You saved me... I was foolish
for not speaking up first, but don’t do it, Ping. She will definitely die if you report her. As Lei Ning said,”
Tian Jie turned to look at her, eyes reminiscing.
“She is our responsibility. We cannot turn her away. You’ve broken the rules before, does it matter if
you break it again?”
Yi Ping looked devastated. Silence descended upon them again.
Rui Qing’s dread was now replaced by a small flickering hope.
Considering, Yi Ping started again, “I’ll report the storm and injuries; I’ll leave out the stowaway part.
But how…?”
“Say you picked ‘him’ up, thinking ‘he’ would be good help,” Yu Fen suggested.
“Or you miscalculated the numbers,” You Peng grinned. “Twins.”
“You have the power to do it, you know?” Tian Jie squeezed Yi Ping’s hand. “You are captain, after all.
You could also pull favours from your good friend.”
Yi Ping scrunched his face up.
“I’ll do what I can.” He finally said, “I’ll write to Zi Yan about it. He’ll get over it; he has a few years to
stomach that. We’ll all be fine.” He announced firmly. “Rui Qing, you’ll be fine too.”
Tian Jie grinned. The twins whooped. Lei Ning joined them, jumping around the room. Yu Fen smiled
at her. Heng Qi pat her shoulder. Guo Yang apologized about his disrespect; blushing, Rui Qing waved it
off with an awkward smile. Yi Ping groaned about the extra paperwork, only to be shoved by various crew
members.
Mirth returned to the dining room, filling the room once more. Amidst the loud joy, surrounded by a
family to call hers, her heart was warmed. Joy was not in the freedom she sought.
Outside, the gentle wind hummed a happy note.