Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 -1 2019 | Page 219

My first mission lasted from 1405 to 1407; we travelled to a strange country called India. Additionally, we
sailed across the monsoon winds, passed India and went to Africa. we had passed some other villages and
traded some more gifts. My favorite mission was discovering a unicorn, a magical horse with a long neck.
The emperor would be amazed by the strange gifts I brought back from each trip, and his favourite was the
unicorn.
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We had to fight pirates stole ships. Each time, I thought I glimpsed the most feared pirate in the world, but
then, there was another who was more vicious. On the front of the ship, called the bow, there were five
younger pirates that were battling two of my men. I kicked one and waited for my men to follow me, soon
the young men were rolling around on the floor in pain.
In the beginning, I went to the islands of Java in Indonesia, and Malaysia, then further and further to Oman
and Arabia. I even attended Mecca, which is a place for a Muslim pilgrimage. My fleet and I were so
adventurous that we went even further to Mombasa and Zanzibar, in East Africa! On my sixth voyage, I
was nearly reaching 50,000 km.
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On my seventh voyage, I fell ill. As I lied in my bed, with death approaching, I thought of my adventures
and all the people I met along the way. My dream was that I had inspired these people to be curious about
life beyond the horizon of their seas, and go forth to explore like I did.
My emperor was a big supporter of my voyages, but the Middle Kingdom was full of people who did not
understand my journeys into the seas. So I made sure that all the friends I met along the way remembered
me. They built mosques and shrines with my name, and also wrote about me in their books.
I am now ready to leave this world… my eyes close, I, Great Admiral Zheng He of the Western Seas, feel
very happy to have seen so much!