Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 - 2017 | Page 351

“There is a new governor,” Liu Xia walks up from behind me, “Chen Qimei. He ordered our town to be built afresh, the city
walls to be dismantled.”
“And you all allowed this?” I turn towards her, the anger clear in my eyes.
She sighs, and looks at me apologetically, “Most of us were unhappy, but none dared to defy General Chen. He has big plans,
dreams to form something called the ‘Republic of China’, a new society.”
“But where is everybody? You’re the one person I’ve recognized out of my walk through this new...place.” I say.
“About that Gemma…” She leads me to the couch again, “Your family left a day after you were taken, on a desperate search to
find you.”
“No” I look at her in dread.
“They never came back. I’m so sorry.” She pats my hand and holds it tightly, looking at me in concern, probably wondering how
I would take the news.
My parents were dead. That was what she was trying to tell me. Even worse, it is my fault. I close my eyes and take a deep breath,
blinking away tears.
“...And...and everybody else?” I ask.
“Most left in search of new places to live.” She tells me, “Do you need a place to stay for the night? I have an extra room in here
and I would love for you to-”
“No.” I rip my hand away from her and stalk towards the door, “Thank you for the information, I must be on my way now.”
I leave her behind gaping, and I don’t look back. My feet carry me to the old garden I played in when I was a child. I still
remember my mother’s warning.
“ Now Gemma, remember not to get too close to the river, it is deep.”
The place is deserted, the distant shouts drowned out by the bubbly stream. I have nothing left. My family is dead, almost all my
friends have left, my house has been destroyed and I have no ways to go for a job. This is all pointless, riding around an empty
fairground. My old life is a framed photograph, a distant memory, buried under collapsed rubble. The dam breaks and the tears start
to flow I collapse on the ground and sob for a forgotten past.
“ Now Gemma, remember not to get too close to the river, it is deep.”
My mother’s voice echoes around me. I sneak closer to the edge, and look down at my blurred reflection in the waters. This will
be the first time I disobey my parents orders, but they’re not here now, are they? Maybe I will see them soon. I slowly lower myself
and sink down, welcoming the pain in my lungs. In another world, I hear shouts of panic and alarm, then Liu Xia’s voice. I can feel
hands start to drag me out, but they are too late.
I am already gone.