Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 - 2017 | Page 438

Boundless
St. Paul's Convent School, Yeung, Tivona - 14
1857
H
er petite figure, clad in a fiery red cheongsam, caught his wandering forest green eyes. Her luscious jet black hair was
pulled back by the salty seaside wind as she turned her head, as if sensing a stare—then she shrugged, and was gone.
Yet the picture she painted in his mind he couldn't seem to erase; she crossed his path in a scarlet flash and his mind worked in
overdrive as it strived to remember every single detail—the intricate golden designs on the exquisite fabric, the dark brown
entrancing eyes she possessed, the slim and shapely legs that graced the earth she trod on. He desperately wished they would
meet again.
She made her way down the busy road, the exhaustion from the day lingering in her veins. The skin-tight cheongsam she
donned felt restricting, but she wasn’t far from her fiancé’s family home. Her thoughts turned to the upcoming lavish
wedding—her arranged marriage to the only heir to the Wong’s Family Enterprises was a big deal in town. She was
unbeknownst to the new admirer she had gained herself.
He was to set off three days after, but the violent storm the night before had severely damaged his sail. The staff at the local repairs
shop had held up two fingers, telling him in poor English that it would be at least two months before his ship would be fit for
travel again. His lips delivered displeasure, stating his desire to return to England, but inwardly his heart was leaping in joy—he
had two more months to win his Shanghainese beauty.
She strolled through the colourful market, a light blue figure amidst the shouting and bargaining. Her eyes were seeing the
overpriced goods the hawkers were offering and her nose was scenting the tempting aroma of sweet and sour delights, but her
mind was elsewhere. For a girl brought up in a traditional patriarchal Chinese household, she had been a surprising
exception—thoughts deeper than her soul, dreaming to find something more in life than merely going through the motions. She
often wondered how events would take a turn if she were to choose her own destiny, yet the works of her imagination felt the
farthest from reality as she drifted through an effervescent dream of flickering hope and longing