Skipping Rocks
Canadian International School of Hong Kong , Bhatia , Samara – 14
“ M
eili ! Help Ba !” The giggling girl ran towards her father , who ’ s back was hunched on top of a ladder . His thick fingers tried to loop the fishing wire through the lantern - but slipped each time . Ba gave up when Meili arrived - he helped her onto the ladder , supporting her from the ground . He watched as her delicate pale fingers wrapped the thin fishing wire through the final lantern . Ma turned on a switch - the lanterns started to glow and twinkle in the black night sky surrounding the town . Ba looked down at his daughter ; her round face looked up at him , with eyes that shone brighter than the full moon . Her two black braids as well as her fringe couldn ’ t be seen in this light ; but something that stood out against her cream skin was the smile she wore on her face . One girl , one smile . And that was all it took to light up the whole town .
Being part of a small town , Meili was known amongst all the villagers , as well as the other children , of course . The village town was quite small , everyone was treated like family . Word spread fast , so Meili was always told to not talk to anyone her parents didn ’ t know . But Meili , being the curious child she was , didn ’ t listen . Indeed , she was a very disciplined child . But she was friendly - a bit too friendly , her parents would argue - so she didn ’ t want to not be able to talk to some people . And that ’ s how she met Samantha , the girl who changed Meili ’ s vision forever .
“ Table 7 .” I grabbed the black plastic tray that Ma handed to me . Two perfect Shui Mai , still sizzling sat in a bamboo steamer , their bright yellow skins bursting with the orange shrimp filling inside . I walked slowly . I didn ’ t want to rush , even though Ma always told me I wasn ’ t serving fast enough , and that the food was getting cold , as it should be served hot . But it was better for someone to have warm food than no food at all . I crossed ‘ Shui Mai ’ off of the order list , to mark that the customer received their dish . I kept working my shift until 5:00 , which was when Ma finally let me off . But then , I was attacked with questions from Dongmei , my little sister . Homework questions . That took an hour off of my day , since Dongmei kept goofing off . Finally , I had my time to myself . I made sure to finish off any school work - so I wouldn ’ t be scolded for it . And then , as I did every single day , sat on the stone rock that was right outside of our small village . It was only a 5 minute walk , and it was my favorite place to be . Ma always told me about stories of Ba and how every afternoon , while he wasn ’ t working , we would come to this stone rock and he would teach me how to skip stones in the small pond nearby . Now , I could skip stones with my eyes closed . And so I did . Ma always made me believe in an old Chinese fable , saying that each stone that is skipped represents a wish ; and that every time is lands in the water , it is bounced into our reflection - which means it will come true to our lives . And so , because of this , I wished for the exact same wish every time I skipped a rock . It didn ’ t matter that it still hadn ’ t come true . It didn ’ t matter that it might be impossible . But the wish mattered to me . So I wished for Ba to return home .
Working for the Chinese army , I hadn ’ t seen Ba for 2 years now . I remembered him , more than Dongmei does . It crushed my heart trying to tell her that he might not return home . Anyways , we as a family preferred not to talk - or even think about it . I sat on the rock for a little while longer . My hands spread over the smooth black stone that curved in different directions . It was a soothing feeling on my palms . My hands stopped moving when I saw something - or someone to be more precise - come closer to the stone rock . It was a girl . A girl who looked a bit older than me . And I think I almost fainted when I saw her . I had never seen anyone like her . The word foreigner passed through my mind . As she stepped into the sunlight and close enough for me to see , I realised how beautiful she was . Her oval shaped face was surrounded with golden light curls . Her skin , as white as ivory , with sharp features carved into her face . And what shocked me the most was her eyes - they were green - green as in the color of jade . I had never seen anyone like her before . She was with her mother - they had just arrived out of a taxi . Taxis were very expensive , and I had never been in one before . They grabbed their luggage - 2 big suitcases , and headed past the stone rock . I was curious . They would be staying in the same village ? Such wealthy people in our village ? Questions swarmed my mind . All I could think of doing was following them . It was a short walk . My feet were aching from the stones in the uneven floor . They , however , walked completely confidently , in wide strides across the ground . They were also wearing shoes , unlike me . They stopped in front of a small village house , and their guide led them inside .