Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 - 2017 | Page 346

“Well, if you insist, although I am but a mundane thing,” Guang Hong’s brows furrowed. “I’m currently seventeen years young,
but was raised in an orphanage for a good portion of my life,” he tucked a stray tuft of hair behind his ear, “and to be blunt, it was
awful. Hell, I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy. Every day we were all reminded of how useless we were – that’s why our
parents gave up on us, they said – that we were lost causes. I,” Guang Hong swallowed thickly, “I remember once there was a girl
around my age that was made to pol ish the massive stained glass windows with rags submerged in freezing water every weekend,
and her hands were calloused and scrubbed raw, always an angry shade of red. They weren’t hands of an eight-year-old so much
as they were those of a middle-aged worker. If you ever voiced your opinion or were disgruntled about something, there was
always punishment. Especially if you’re a monster like me,” a slight hysterical chuckle bubbled from Guang Hong’s throat, “you
would get punishment fitting for a beast. ‘You’re not human, you’ll heal easily’, they said.
“Three presses every time. Even if your screams shook up Heaven and Hell they wouldn’t stop. Every step out of line, three
presses of a hot iron rod on the skin. I detest that fire poker. They don’t hesitate to leave marks anywhere. Burns where they
cannot be seen,” Guang Hong tugged on the collar of his robe, exposing overlapping burns lying on otherwise milky white skin.
“Thankfully I was taken in by the madam of this teahouse at fourteen. She’s been so unconditionally welcoming but I don’t
understand. Why would she invest time into a monster like me? She could have picked anyone else in the orphanage but she
wasted effort on me instead. She should have left me – ”
“Guang Hong,” Li Qin’s piercing voice sharply interrupted Guang Hong’s tirade. “Do you honestly think that you’re a
monster?”
“Many people call me a beast behind my back, that I’m inhuman – ”
“Do others determine your self-worth? No, because no one gets to decide whether you’re worthy of living. But people need
someone to tell them they deserve to be as they are, so I’ll say this now – I care. Nobody should have to go through what you
did. But there’s already people like you out there, so I’ll be by your side until you don’t feel broken anymore.”
(My name is Guang Hong, I’m seventeen years young and just as human as everyone else.)