Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 -1 2019 | Page 105

New Tales of the Ming Treasure Voyages
Dulwich College Beijing, Wang, Catherine - 11
Three weeks ago… As Captain Zheng He told his diligent crew to gather around immediately, his talking,
magic and helpful hook began to remind him impatiently again, “2 days left! 2 short days left! Get moving
or else it shall be death for all!” No one else knew about the danger except the anxious captain.
He was on a mission. A mission to save mankind. “Okay. Listen up everyone. Here is our plan…”
It was the third day when I finally regained consciousness. There I was, body all scrunched up in a dusty,
crammed shoe box as weak as prey being hunted. The smell of ash got to me, I coughed a million times.
Although it was only the third day, it felt like years. The only thing I could hear was the sound of my heart
beating as loud as a drum. As I thought of my sickly grandmother, tears rolled down my rough, dry cheeks.
Yes, I was fleeing away from my life. I was in desperate need for a break. Before this summer, my
grandfather left my grammy due to her sickness. She had brain cancer, but we had no money to do anything
about it. We also had no proper home and had to live in a ragged train. No home.
No food.
No parents.
My mother and father died because they saved my life since there was a volcano eruption happening. “Leave
this place sweetheart, do a good deed for the world.” My mummy and daddy whispered to me. Guiltiness
filled my heart. Everything was all my fault.
My stomach growled at me when I realized I had not eaten for almost two days. Hunger. A cloud of
unanswered questions rained into head due to the noises I could now hear. Would they find me now? Was I
going to get in trouble? What was going on? I had no idea until…
The voice screeched, “We need to get there now! The pirates are going to take the bounty! We would all
die!” It was probably the captain shouting the bad news making everyone frightened by the sound of his
demandingness. I peeked out from my little world and saw terror in everyone’s eyes. Some cried, some
panicked and some fainted. A floor of what looked like completely dead people horrified me. “Water,
water!” some shouted. I’d never seen anything like that before. But I mean, I would see why he would do
that, he needed the precious gold to save us.
“Ay mate! Stop right there!” another voice screamed. What I saw shocked me. A lot. Even more than
before. Then, I really didn’t know what this adventure held.
“It was the pirate!” I had thought I shrieked that inside my brain, but I was wrong. Completely wrong.
“Wait a minute, who are you and why are you on my boat?” The captain bellowed. Uh-oh. I was busted.
Standing right behind him, I was completely busted. Panic was starting to flood inside my mind. What could
I do? What should I do? I had no idea…
“You do not need to worry nor think about that. What you do need to worry about is the gold. The
treasure belongs to you! Everything here belongs to you!” I screeched. It was the truth, and the truth helped
me survive, well, maybe a little bit longer only. I wasn’t sure. And I didn’t want to find out. I needed to
show them that I was here for two particular reasons; to get away from home, and to be a part of the crew.
When I was three years old, mum would always tell me that I ran as fast as lightening. It was time to use that
as a talent. I sprinted as fast as I could to take the bounty away from the (adjective) pirate. “Hey! Who do
you think you are and what are you doing?” the pirate roared. I knew I had no time answering him. After
about five hours of arguing but pointless results, I finally made it come to an end. And it only took seven
words.
(inspired by the grinch who stole Christmas)
Nearly 2000 years ago, there was something called Christmas. I never experienced it, but it was passed down
to say that it was full of love, joy and peace. But then, a pirate took the fun away from everyone. He didn’t
like people having fun, all the pirate wanted was… Misery on everyone’s faces. That’s all. So, he erased the
Christmas memory; no-one knows how, and was never heard of again. The myths of the pirate carried on
due to the fact that he was no longer to be seen.
“Hey! You’re the pirate who stole Christmas!” I hollered. The now looking guilty pirate had make-up start
to sweat of his pale face. He took off his dark brown wig and the pirate fled away. It was assumed that he
didn’t want to be found and had a disguise. After that, the madness was gone. I had succeeded.
“Even though you weren’t supposed to be here, you did a good job. But still, you weren’t supposed to be
here,” The captain told me. “I can’t believe me saying this but, would you like to be our new captain?” I
was in shock. It didn’t take it long for me to answer. So, I started nodding like a dog wanting to snack on
bones. looked like an idiot. “Well then, crew, we have a new captain! Start listening to his instructions, or
else, well you know what happens.” The captain mentioned. It was official. Until, something horrible
happened.