Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 281

Mei's Adventurous Voyage
West Island School, Minglani, Rhea - 13
It was that time again, when people were the most joyous because they had heard the tales of the
adventurous Ming treasure voyages. The Ming treasure voyages were known for being sensational and full
of adventure and the so called ‘Pirates’ travelling on the ship weren’t just regular pirates. These pirates
carried along precious items, such as gold or silk, to give away as gifts from the emperor. What a smart way
to make relationships with other countries and explore the world at the same time!
My great grandfather had been lucky enough to experience this journey along the clear and deep seas. He
always used to tell me stories of meeting all the friendly people and giving gifts to them, he must have been
so proud to be Chinese and represent China. But the expeditions weren’t always all song and dance, they
would often encounter unpleasant weather or bad-tempered real-world pirates. Luckily, the travellers were
trained to handle situations like these and the expedition ships were well equipped with military forces and
weapons.
After hearing grandfather’s stories countless time while growing up, I had made up my mind. I wanted to be
the first female traveller on one of the Ming treasure voyages. As soon as I turned 18, I went to meet the
Emperor and Admiral Zeng He to see whether he would consider me worthy enough to embark on this
expedition. He sent me back home without even taking a look at me. I still remember his words to this day,
“A girl like you should not even think about joining something as dangerous as this voyage. Now go back
home little girl.“ This had just made me want to take part in this expedition even more. To prove them
wrong. So I decided to run away from home. I rented a minuscule, shady flat in the dark part of the
country, it was all I could afford. I was dedicated. I had to get in to the list. I trained day and night, sun or
rain. I pushed myself to my limits, often coming home to find not even a morsel of food left in the
cupboard. I lived by the quote “Always follow your dreams, no matter what”. Soon after, I couldn’t even
afford to rent the flat. I decided that it was time. I shaved off my lucious, long black locks of hair and set off
to meet the Emperor once again, this time impersonating a man. The new and improved Mei was back, and
this time stronger than ever. She wouldn’t ever, never ever, take “no” for an answer.
I joined rest of the aspiring troops for the grueling selection exam, where we raced and wrestled to prove
our worth. When it was all over I returned to wait for the several week’s wait for the result. I joined a
machinery repair shop to earn a living. After a long, exhausting day of working in the repair shop, I came
home to a letter in the post. A thought passed my mind, this letter felt different, it felt almost as if it was
written with deliberation, but I let the thought go almost as soon as it entered. Being the witless person I
was, I threw it in the bin without even glancing at it, thinking it was another one of those electricity bills
that were long overdue. But thank the lord I decided to retrieve it a few moments later, it was a message
from the Emperor, saying that I qualified to take part in this wonderful expedition. I went to sleep every
night, ever since I was six years old, wishing for this day to come and it was finally here. I was as happy as a
clam, my prayers were finally answered.
That was how I ended up taking everything I owned, which was not much considering I couldn’t even
manage to feed myself, and with only faith and determination keeping me going, I bidded farewell to all my
fellow flatmates. With a deep breath, I was off. The journey had just begun.
After 3 hours of intense walking that morning, I had finally made it to the port where the antique ship was
docked. My mouth dropped with awe at first sight of the ship. It had beautiful royal red sails and fragrant
aged wood interiors. I couldn’t believe that I was going to travel the world on this magnificent ship with so
many other dinitary men. Soon enough, I was escorted to my room which was located on the bottom most
floor, these were the dirtiest dormitory rooms, with rats and spiders, surrounded by a foul smell of a
combination of vomit and coal. Sleeping on the beds at night felt like laying on a rough bed of rocks. All of
the other men in the dormitory were immensely unfriendly and impolite, I wondered how I was going to
spend the next few months here.