Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 201

Time and Tide Again
Shanghai American School-Pudong, Chong, Caden - 12
I stop in horror, the tip of a silver blade pressing to my throat. A dark, ominous shadow looms over me as a
tint of moonlight shines through the gaps of the cracked ceiling, dimly lighting the room. Heavy drops of
water thump on my head, as the storm rumbles vigorously, vomiting a series of light.
The thought that I – Wei Tian - at age 15 - am about to take my last breath, makes my whole-
body shudder.
As if in response, the heavens call to me from above, and the pouring rain becomes blood red.
Everything seems to slow down. A sudden wave of panic goes over the group of huddling children backing
against the storage room wall. I feel the cold steel of the blade, as the pirate strengthens his grip and
menacingly gestures at everyone to stand back.
“Don’t you dare touch my son!” A voice echoes above me, deafening and loud. I tilt my head upwards. The
voice sounds like father’s.
“Then come and get me!” snarls the pirate.
The next thing I feel is a thud on my skull. Darkness overcomes me, as I see the silhouette of my
captor disappear through the door. My mind is a confusing mix of black, white and grey. I see my limp
body sink to the floor. It is like I am sinking to the uncharted and unfamiliar depths of the ocean. The
dragon pendant I am wearing begins to glow coral blue. The scene changes and I am no longer on the ship.
I look around. The world seems to form wave by wave around me. I am terrified and scared of the beautiful
surroundings that are rippling to life. I shut my eyes and feel myself rise to the surface. When I open them,
the red-orange sunset hovers above the horizon, its watery reflection shimmering from the light, splashing
as the warm wind gently brushes over my hair. Home.
Looking around, the rows of houses made me jump. Was I home? I caught sight of a person sitting
on the decks of the shore; he held a thin bamboo rod over the water, with a bucket of fish beside him. It
was Father. This was too good to be true!
“Fa—” A bunch of armed guards marched towards me. Were they going to arrest me? Trying to be
as soundless as possible, I quickly hid behind some wooden barrels of fish. Father looked back and stood up
to greet a man who came out from within the group. An official, I thought, considering his brown cape,
with a white silk robe that had a green dragon embroidered on it. However, the wu-sha-mao on his head,
made me realize that this was no ordinary minister. It was Zheng He.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Zheng He. I hear that you are assembling a crew to journey through
the seas.” My father called out. Zheng He cast a questioning glance towards him. I heard the official mutter
something about how he knew that.
“Looks like you don’t just have the eyes of Mushen , but also the ears of Shuishen .” Zheng He
commented, nodding in approval. My father bowed deeply.
“May I know the purpose of your visit?”