Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 1 | Page 82

A lifetime experience of the Ming Treasure Voyage St Stephen's College Preparatory School, Wong, Leah - 8 “Leah! Come and see this gorgeous painting of Zheng He!” My mum called out in the China Historical Museum. I quickly darted to her and caught sight of an enormous painting. It showed Zheng He and one of his giant, nine-mastered “treasure ships” on which he made seven voyages around the Indian Ocean. The painting was so vivid that I couldn't help myself by secretly touching that massive ship when no one was looking. Suddenly, a flash of lightning came out of it! I was so terrified that I shut my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I was on a stupendous ship with a pair of dragon eyes on it. Seconds later, someone shouted at me, “Dr. Wong! Please help! Someone is dying!!” “Huh? Are you calling me?” I questioned. “Yes! YOU! Dr. Wong!” he cried as he dragged me into a small room. I was still confused about everything as my eyes couldn’t believe what they were witnessing. I saw a sailor lying on the floor, he was very pale and weak, his teeth were bleeding and his body was shaking. The sick sailor said, “I can’t move my arms and legs, my body is in pain. I have tried all kings of herbs but they didn’t work. Unfortunately, most of my sailor friends are suffering from the same disease…” He explained and his eyes started shutting. I felt helpless and I didn't know how to respond. I quickly ran out to seek help. I was panicking and running around like a headless chicken. Suddenly, the air filled with a familiar smell. The smell led me to a tiny storage room filled with tributes from other countries. There were weird stones, species, furs and some plants. I surprisingly found a box of lemons labelled, “from Vietnam”. All of a sudden, I remembered that my science teacher had mentioned a type of disease called Scurvy. The best remedy to cure this disease were the lemons! I grabbed them and gave them to the sailors, I explained the benefits of eating lemons every day. I also suggested that they grow lemons on the ship. The sailors were so stunned by this discovery, but they decided to try it. After a few days, all of the sailors recovered completely. They were extremely thankful for me. However, I was in deep thoughts worrying about my return home and started to feel homesick. My sailor friend, Ping, approached me and said, “Dr. Wong! Admiral Zheng He wants to see you now!” I was overjoyed about finally meeting my hero, so I walked to his room immediately. Suddenly, a flash of lightning came out of the wall and I blacked out. Seconds later, I found myself on the couch of the museum and my mum dashing towards me. “Where have you been?” she exclaimed. “I guess…I was dreaming?” I replied. Before we left, I admired the painting once again, I saw Zheng He grinning at me, as if to say thank you Dr. Wong!