Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 172

Titanic and Zheng He
Munsang College, Kwai, Hoi Yan Hayley - 13
It had been 15 minutes since Titanic hit the iceberg. Shing was one of the crew members
on board. The lower part of the ship had budged and begun to submerge, yet he was still
on the ship, struggling to pack everyone into the lifeboat. But there was not enough
lifeboat and he had to keep himself on the boat by hanging onto one of the railings. After
some time, he was exhausted. He let go of the railing desperately and fell into the sea. He
could feel himself sinking deeper and deeper, with chilling water filling his lungs. Then,
he closed his eyes and became unconscious.
“Hey, wake up!” Shing heard someone yelling at him. When he tried to open his eyes, a
bucket of cold water was poured onto him. Shing became wide awake. He realized that
he was on a gigantic ship, and he was lying on a bed made of wood. Before he could
figure out what had happened, a man before him said in relief, “Do you have any idea
how long you had been asleep? I pulled you out of the sea three days ago. Thank God
you are alive.” Shing was glad that he survived, yet he quickly discovered that the people
around him were wearing Chinese clothings. He asked in horror, “Why am I here? I
don’t recognize anyone!” The man shrugged, “I saw you in the sea and pulled you up. I
don’t know who you are either! Anyway, you are one of the crew from now on.
Remember, we are a fleet with the mission to sail to different countries to show how
strong Ming Dynasty is. By the way, you can call me Zheng He.” Then he walked away,
leaving Shing puzzled. A second ago he fell off Titanic and drowned, the next moment he
was on a ship, surrounded by Chinese sailors. After he put his thoughts together, he
concluded that he travelled to the time when Zheng He was having his seventh voyage.
Though he didn’t know how to go home, he just had to try to join the other sailors,
becoming one of the members on this enormous fleet.
As a former crew member of Titanic, Shing coped with his new life easily, though the
technology of instruments was antique. For nights he glanced at the night sky alone. The
sea was calm and the horizon met with the sky. The stars glittered above his head. It was
just pure beauty. Sometimes, Zheng He would join him. The two experienced sailors
shared their experiences and thoughts with each other. Shing’s rich knowledge on sailing
held Zheng He in awe. Shing was promoted quickly.
All of a sudden, a gang of privates armed with swung onto the ship. Before Shing could
figure out what was happening, the fellow sailors grabbed weapons and yelled, “Pirates on
board! Be aware!” In a few seconds, lots of soldiers holding swords rushed onboard and
started fighting with the pirates. Shing was petrified yet he decided to fight like a gladiator.
He joined the fight with fellow soldiers. In the chaos, Shing found he pointed his sword at
one of the pirates and he could kill him in an instant. But he didn’t kill him. Throughout
his whole life, he was taught not to kill anybody. Then, a middle-aged man with a scar
on his face pierced his sword into that pirate’s heart and yelled,” Why didn’t you kill him
instantly, young lad? That pirate could kill you and steal our properties! There’s no mercy
on this ship!” Shing nodded frankly and kept fighting. After some time, the pirates were
all captured or killed, and their leader was put into the dungeon. Shing couldn’t stop
thinking about what that old man said. “The ship and scene are beautiful,” he thought,
“yet the bloodshed and violence are cruel.”