Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 - 2 | Page 139

On the Sea
St Stephen's College Prep School, Tam, Manson - 11
“Silly, come here right now.” I rushed to the voice with the mop.
Captain Zheng,the most experienced captain in Ming emperor who was yelled to me. “Did you see
beer on the ground? Clean it off right now!”
I am Li Sze, 14 years old, handsome and smart but everyone calls me Sze Li, Silly. I am sure that even
might be calling me silly, I am the most hard working crew on the board. I am one of the three hundred
crews on the Ming’s ship and I am also the youngest one. Therefore I have to do all the cleaning work
including kitchen, cabin, bedroom and definitely toilet.
I stayed on the Ming’s ship around two years. I missed my mom, my family. However I want to live
my dream as a helmsman for Captain Zheng who was the greatest captain of the world. We were heading to
India for trading the treasure to their King.
Let me show you how important I was. We all know that crews are always drunk. Everytime they
drink, everything went messy. Everyday it was repeated. I was not sure when my dream would come true..
Chan Chan my best friend was the cook and we shared a room. His snore was like earthquake. So I
build up a habit that I would go to the deck to sleep secretly. I went to the deck as usual but there was
something different that night. The water was extremely quiet. Suddenly a lot of fish jumped towards our
ship. I looked up the sky and saw a huge water tornado like a dragon flew the sky. Behind the tornado there
was the largest thunderstorm that I ever seen. I would remember this scene forever. Death god was coming.
“ Wake up Chan, wake up, Call Captain Zheng Hurry, Help! Help!”
All the crews woke up and light up the fire immediately. When they saw the weather,everyone was
overwhelmed. All the ship started to shake like a toy on the water. Captain Zheng instructed helmsman to
change the voyage to escape. However the luck was not on our side. Helmsman fell down and broke his
arm badly. The rudder lost control and the ship hit the huge wave. I ran to grab the rudder without
hesitation and kept turning to ride on the wave. Captain Zheng taught me how to control the ship and
made it stable. He organized the other crews to control the sail, some holding the rope, some holding the
paddles. Finally we got away from the Tornado under the great teamwork.
“ We are alive!” All of us burst out loud.
We celebrated whole night. Captain Zheng came towards me and tapped on my shoulder.
“ Come with me.” Captain said.
I followed him to the captain’s room.
“ What brought you on board?” He spoke to me drinking his wine.
“ I love ocean. I love the sea. It makes me feel comfortable” I replied nervously.
“ Even after what just we have been through? He asked curiously.
“ I think so because it shows the power of nature” I said.
“ Who do you learn from the control of the rudder?” Captain Zheng asked.
“ My father. He was a fisherman. He taught me how to see the wave, feel the wind. He always
emphasized we should respect the mother nature. He died two years ago. That’s why I started my journey
by following you, Captain.” I said
“ I need a new helmsman. Can I count on you?” He asked
“ Sure, sure, sure! It is my dream. Although I am not smart, I am hardworking.” I replied excitedly
“ Good, start it tomorrow. I will assign Helmsman Tim to teach you. Are you ready?”
“ Yes, thanks captain” I said gratefully.
Tim taught me patiently. Every time i made the mistake, Tim used his finger to knock my head and
said, ‘ Hey dude, don’t be silly’. I practiced very hard every day and night. More I learnt about being a
helmsman, more I missed my father. He was like always with me.