Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 - 2 | Page 81

two metres with eyes bigger than my stomach. Its mouth opened wide and I saw what seemed like hundreds
of teeth, as sharp as blades and each as long as my arms. I tried to run, but my feet were blocks of ice. With a
deafening murmur, its entire head lurched forward and its jaws closed around me. I saw giant tonsils, felt
slimy flesh and that was when I knew my life was over.
I squeezed my eyelids tight and prepared myself for the deathly journey into a cauldron of acid.
I waited.
But I didn’t move.
Then the entire creature moved forwards in the water, gracefully. I could see only darkness but
could feel steady movement. Why wasn’t this monster swallowing me whole? What was happening?
What seemed hours later, the jaws opened again and the tongue on which I sat lowered me gently
and softly onto a patch of sand. I turned to say goodbye, but she had gone already. My saviour. Not a beast
at all but a gentle giant of the night.
On that island I remain today. I have been here for 365 sunrises and sunsets. I live alone, with no
other human life, but I thank the gentle giant every day for allowing me the chance to live at all. The island
is lush and fertile. It has life, which is all I need, having trodden a path so close to death. Every day I look
out of the window and the clouds wave at me, the gentle breeze calls my name and the trees rustle to the
beat of my heart.
If you find this note, please come and find me.