Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 -1 2019 | Page 228

The lost diary entries of Captain Zheng He-1405
PLK Leung Chow Shun Kam PS, Pun, Hugo - 11
5 th February
I am the leader of the biggest voyage ever made. My Emperor has made me the commander. I will make
him proud. We have treasure to give to the new people we meet. We are on our way!
18th February
We have entered our first storm. My men have run to their cabins for cover. I’ve ordered the gongs to be
banged and lanterns to be flashed to communicate with the other ships. We can’t see anything. One of our
treasure ships has taken in too much water and sunk.
25th February
Our navigator has spotted land in the distance. I gave orders to load the cannons so if the people attack we
could suppress them with our firepower but a messenger told me the Emperor has objected to any attack.
He said we cannot show any sign of hostility. We have anchored the treasure ships away from the harbor for
safety.
26 th February
We will stop here for a week to buy and sell stuff. The people are friendly so I will give them some of our
treasure too. I will also trade silk with a merchant for some sails to replace the damaged sail on my ship.
This place they say is called India.
28th February
It’s been a very interesting few days. I have stopped the ships at another place - called Sri Lanka. The king
of Sri Lanka told me there is a problem and he cannot let us stay. I asked what the problem was and found
out there are Kraken in the waters near the port. Krakens are the scariest monsters of the sea. This Kraken
has been scaring all the people and sinking merchant ships. The king said if we can kill the kraken he will be
an ally with us forever. So, I have set sail with my crew to find the Kraken!
31 st February
This morning a Spanish galleon could be seen in the distance so I commanded we bang our gongs to signal
it. Then all of a sudden tentacles as tall as my ship came out of the water and onto the galleon. The crew of
the galleon was so shocked they jumped off the ship. My battle ships quickly fired cannons at it. But
another tentacle hit the troop transport next to me. The gunpowder in the cabin exploded and burst into
flames. We chased the Kraken and fired over a hundred cannonballs at it. By the afternoon we had only
one cannonball left. I commanded it to be fired. The last cannonball hit the kraken. It hit it right in its
eyeball and it sank to the bottom of the sea. The ships have gathered around and the crew is cheering
‘Zheng He forever!’