Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4567 | Page 87

Everyone stared in astonishment . Boots stared at me with eyes full of awe and sadness . His mouth stuttered , “ You crossed a line , man . If they get you now , you ’ re dead .” Suddenly the moment ends . The guards stampede towards us , their yells whipping up into a frenzy in the wind . Amid the chaos , Boots points frantically to an empty edge . Beyond it , a yawning chasm . Boots ’ auntie is down there somewhere , an ant facing the rising sun . And beyond that , lies a single hope . Boots looks at me . Half his face is tired , tired beyond tired . but the other half explodes with sunlight . The crane sways in the wind . “ We have one chance .” For the first time , he implores me . His auntie ' s question returns again as guards close around us . " Is it worth taking ?"