Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 280

were told by the men who had been there. I once walked into the cook doing the dishes, and realized that
he would tell me to leave even when there was work, because he wanted me to see what the sea and the
other adventurers had to offer.
It was during one of these breaks one day, that one of the crew members excitedly announced that
he could see land ahead. The ship shook as everyone rushed to the top to see for themselves. It was a
magical scene to behold. There were people on the endless beach going about their daily activities, and as
we approached, I realized they were unlike anyone I had ever met before. They had dark and strong looking
skin, and their teeth were brilliant white, in contrast to their bodies. As we docked on this mysterious place,
the exotic looking people came to great us with a warmness I thought I’d never feel again. The ladies sang
beautifully as children came and inspected these strangers who came from the sea. We were led away from
the beach into a beautifully green country, with wonders in every direction I looked. My eyes ached for
more, the more I saw. I had never thought my eyes would ever want to be that wide open.
There were animals I had never seen or heard of before in my life. Some had stripes and others had
spots. Some had manes, and others had beautiful horns. There were some tall animals, which I later came to
know were called twiga, the local name for giraffe. We got into the king’s compound with the crowd
escorting us, as some zebra and gazelles scattered out of our way. Everything seemed like a magical dream.
The generous king had ordered a feast for us, and there was the familiar smell or roasting meat,
accompanied by strange, sweet smelling spices that made my stomach ache to be fed. The food tasted even
sweeter than it smelled, and the soft meat could not get into my mouth fast enough. We went to sleep that
night with our minds going haywire over the sights of all we had seen that day. As I lay on the ground
looking up at the beautiful stars, Zheng He walked over to me and asked, ‘How do you find this place?” “It
is amazing.” I replied. Where are we?” I asked, “Malindi.” Zheng replied. “Welcome to Africa.”