Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4567 | Page 251

One day I awoke to find my Mom sitting and looking over me, instead of getting ready to go search for my
father, it was then that she told me of what was being said. People were saying that the Elites had realised that
there simply weren’t enough resources to support the population, and their solution was to kill us, the
Non-Elites. However, as we significantly outnumbered them, they devised a plan to deceive the adult men into
going to a single place where they could be easily rounded up and disposed of, like an unwanted rat infestation.
My mother was sobbing uncontrollably when she finished telling me.I snuggled close to her, wrapping my arms
around her small frame. As we held each other, I became aware of a subtle shift, where in the past it would be
my mother comforting and reassuring me, it was now the opposite.
My mother got weaker and weaker with each passing day, and I was on the borderline of becoming like her.
Food and water was becoming scarcer; I was surviving on a few mouth fulls of food and of water a day. Everyday
was a struggle. The divide between the Elites and us was larger than before; it was as if we were immiscible.
I hadn’t eaten for several days and I had just given my mother the last drop of water we had. I felt fatigued, the
smallest task left me feeling as if I had run a marathon. My mother was near death, and I knew that, but I had to
do something to ease her pain. As soon as I heard that at the Jing’An temple the monks, who were treated well
by the Elites as they didn’t want to anger the gods, were discreetly handing out food to those in need, I decided
to go there and get some water for my mother, as the Elites stopped handing out supplies to us.
As I rounded the corner to the back of the temple, I saw no one there except my old friend, Angela. I called out
to her and she turned, her eyes widening as she saw me. I had a tiny glimmer of hope that she would help, but
she just turned around and started walking away. I ran to catch up with her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, I
tried to explain the situation I was in. I kept mentioning that I just needed something to soothe my mother, to
ease the pain of death. Then, she shoved my hand off her shoulder and told me to go away, that she didn’t know
who I was.
I feel my hands curl up into fists as anger started to engulf my thoughts. She had everything; food, clothes,
medicine, all of which I didn’t have. All because she was an Elite. It wasn’t fair. Whenever she had needed help
in the past, I helped. Now that the tables had turned, she wouldn’t lift a finger to help me. A sudden wave of
energy spiked by rage coursed through me. I chased after her and pinned her to the ground. I grabbed the
nearest object, which was brick, and started pounding her with it. I didn’t stop despite her pleas, it was as if I was
possessed by a demon. When my fury had dissipated enough for me to realize what I was doing, I dropped the
brick and ran home, too scared to look back.
I opened the door and ran inside, straight to my mother’s room, where I sat down, panting heavily. My mother
kept asking me what was wrong, but I thought it was better not to tell her, not to cause her extra worry in her
last hours of life.
Night fell and I caressed my mother’s hair, soothing her with the lullaby that Grandma used to sing. Soon, I fell
asleep. When I woke up, my mother lay there on the bed, unmoving. Unable to bear the loss, I wept. I wept for
my father, who left me months ago, who promised that he would be there for me no matter what. I wept for my
mother, who was the only person I had left in this world. I cried for Angela and the senseless pain I had inflicted
on her. Finally, I wept for myself, for the innocence I had lost in those few minutes of insanity. When I was
done crying, I wiped my tears and picked up my pen.
The girl that I was before is gone. I can’t even recognise myself anymore. I’m scared, no, horrified by the outside
world. The Elites’ plan had worked, getting rid of the adult male population had left the rest of us, the women,
children, elderly and sick, too weak and broken to fight. We have become savages, turning on one another for
the smallest crumb of food or the minutest drop of water. We have lost the only thing that separated us from
animals; our humanity. It seems like yesterday when I was going to school, my biggest problem being a pimple
on my face. Now, I have to find a way to contend with the knowledge that I have crossed the thin line that
divides right from wrong, good from evil, man from animal.