Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 264

invention: a time traveller. We named it Uthkarsh , which is the Indian name for excellence. It is really
precious, and you can use it to go to any time in the future or the past.”
“So… you want me to use it?”
“Yes.”
“Sure, but can I go to the bathroom first?”
“Yeah, it’s right there,” the king pointed to the door to the men's lavatory.
Soon enough, Zheng He was sitting in the compact time machine, getting ready.
“So, crank this, then twist that, then press this… you got me so far, right?”
“... Yes?” Zheng He said this like a question, uncertain. He never knew that travelling in a time
machine would be so complicated.
“Don’t worry, I promise you this will change your world forever.”
“Right,” Zheng said. “So, when I’m in here, no time will pass here?”
The king saluted. Apparently Indians had another way of saluting: They pointed the index finger
up and put their hands to their foreheads.
“And will the people in
“Well, bye, then.” Zheng He said. He cranked the lever, twisted the knob, and pressed the button,
and wrote on the panel: “October 25th, 2018, Hong Kong.” This was because 10 and 25 were his lucky
numbers. 2018 was his dad’s birthday. He was born on February the 18th.
Rrrrr… the engine of the machine roared. Pop! ‘You have now reached your destination,’ a
monotonous female voice said. ‘Please open the door on your left and feel free to step outside. Please note
that you have five minutes until the Uthkarsh will transfer itself to the present.’
“Great,” Zheng muttered. “I must go exploring then.”
In front of him was a school. He poked his head into one of the classrooms. He was looking at
something totally different from what he had seen before. It was an air-conditioned room with tables and
chairs, and the students were all typing things on strange open-and-close metal devices. He looked at one
of the devices, and saw the words: “Zheng He was a great admiral who helped China discover different
cultures of the world”. This was great, of course, because not only was this student writing about him, this
sentence meant that he would succeed in his voyages!
When Zheng He looked closely, he saw the words “Hong Kong Young Writers Award”. They
were writing about him for a competition! He felt so proud. He was world-famous! Not only that, he
could help invent those open-and-close metal devices! He made a note in his head: “When you get home,
start trying to figure out how to invent open-and-close metal devices.”
Zheng He returned to the time machine. There was a clock on the wall that told him that he only
had one more minute and then the machine would transport itself back to the present, where the king was
waiting for him. I ask you, what would you do if you had such a big decision? Well, Zheng He decided that
it was too much of a risk to keep exploring. He went into the machine, then pressed the button, twisted the
knob, and then cranked the lever.
Rrrr… the now familiar roar of the machine took over the eerie silence. Pop!
“Hi, so how was it?” Aarav asked as soon as Zheng He climbed out.
“It was so good! I discovered so many things!”
“Good. I was hoping you would say that. Now come on, let’s go and get back to the throne
room.”
When the two returned, everyone in the humongous room bowed; some to the king and some to
the admiral.
“Well… I am sad to say that we have to go now,” Zheng He told his new friend. He’d not waste
their time. He came only and only for the pepper, not to dilly dally and enjoy the Indian King’s palace. He
could do that back in where he came from, in Yongle’s home.
“Oh, how sad. Here’s the pepper.” the king’s servant passed a huge cauldron of pepper to Zheng
He’s men.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Zheng He waved as the door to the palace closed with a soft
thud behind them.
Zheng He smiled to himself. Today was not only a success, but also a surprise. Who knew the
Indians had built a time machine? And now that he knew what was going to happen a few hundred years
later, he’d better be a good admiral or else the students in the future wouldn’t be writing about him after all.
As Zheng looked up to the cloudless sky, he realized that more surprises would come.
And another did.
TO BE CONTINUED……