Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 167

New Tales of the Ming Treasure Voyages
Maryknoll Convent School (Secondary Section), Tsoi, Janna - 15
The night was silent, almost peaceful – a rarity aboard the ships. The sea was mostly calm, with small ripples
every now and then, and even as the sharp wind hammered on the huge papyrus-coloured sails, it felt
calming and serene and almost safe.
Ironic, that. Especially as we only just defeated the notorious Indonesian pirate, Chen Zuyi, the day before.
I leaned on the wooden railings of the ship, staring out at the beautiful display before me. A stunning array
of stars covered the velvety midnight blue sky, and the water was almost black, with distorted reflections of
the night sky. It looked so…magical, like something drawn out of a fairytale. This was my favourite part of
being onboard the Ming Treasure Fleet - no matter how much I see, the night sky would always remain
one of the most beautiful scenic displays I have ever seen.
Not that I had ever known any life besides voyaging with the crew, fighting with pirates and hostile armies.
Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I were a normal girl living in my hometown, going to school
- well, normal school that didn't have soldiers for teachers - and having a proper family. The thought is
almost tempting.
But then I would never have met everyone here. My friends, soldiers that I had known all my life, my
father.
I wouldn't have given that up for the world.
I heard footsteps approaching and instinctively I whipped around almost immediately, an arrow notched and
aimed directly at the heart of the silhouette. The silhouette quickly raised his hands in surrender and I
recognized him. Lowering my arrow, I muttered brief apologies as the boy came up beside me and joined
me in staring at the sky.
"It's late," he stated, "you should be asleep." His voice was casual, but I could sense the concern beneath.
"You need rest after the big battle yesterday."
I laughed, but even to me it sounded forced. "I'm not tired, Xinjie."
My best friend didn't look convinced. “Zhilan- don't over-exhaust yourself.”
I waved it off. I had never been and will never be comfortable with sharing my feelings. “I'm fine, I've been
trained to do things like this since I was four. Besides, I'm not on duty - I came out here of my own free
will. You being older doesn't mean you get to boss me around.”
Xinjie looked out to the star-filled sky, the stars reflecting in his dark eyes, like there was a galaxy inside
those swirling orbs. “You're thinking of him,” he stated again, as if it was just another fact.
I could feel tears coming to my eyes, but I pushed them back down. Don't show emotion. You have to
keep your front up. “I wonder what my father would think of all this. I wish he could be here with us… he
wanted to see his home again and now-”
“I'm so sorry for your loss.” I saw him looking at me with that pity and sympathy and I just wanted to run,
run until I couldn't see it anymore, because it was just a painful reminder of what I had lost.
“It's okay, I should learn to get over it, it's been years after all,” I forced out the words. How could I ever
get over it? How could I ever forget my father's body, lying there upon all those bodies of perished soldiers?
How- how could I ever forget how I lost my brother over how he was too young to register the pain of
becoming an orphan?
I could never forget the shock and crushing pain I felt that day.