Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 309

The Wonders and the Threatening
Ying Wa College, Lam, Hei Shun Joshua - 13
Wind gently blew against the wooden side of enormous boat leading the great fleet. The Ming treasure
fleet had embarked their fifth voyage and had just left the port of Hormuz. Now, sailing southwest, they
were making their way to a land named Aden according to locals.
“We will next be docking at Aden.It is an important port for travelers from the west and south, surrounded
by desert, it has a hot climate and low rainfall. It is currently governed by a king named Bajad,” said Ma
Huan, the main translator of the fleet. Zheng He nodded, staring at the sea. In his thirties, Zhang He had
high cheeks and a small nose. Despite his pale complexion and tall build, the last four voyages had left him
standing under the moonlight, seeming older than his years.
Five days passed before the fleet arrived Aden. The king welcomed them fervently and soon the fleet
received boxes of jewellery, gold, myrrh and herds of exotic animals. In return, the ming voyagers gave the
king and the locals goods from China, such as silk and pottery.
One week later, they left the port and started their journey to the south. It was a sunny day when they
parted with the port. While they were loading the goods on the ships, a fleet of small fisher boats were
sailing towards the port. As the boats were sailing nearer, anxious shouts of fishermen and sound frequent of
horn could be heard. The ships were strangely empty, with only two boats arriving with few fishon board.
“Hey! Hey!” an old fisherman yelled,before anxiously mumbled sentences in another language. Some sailors
lead the man to Ma Huan for translation. Ma Huan frowned and looked quizzical. Then, Ma Huan turned
around and translated “He said that all the fish in the sea were dead. Some were floating on the sea. It was
very strange and they were extremely afraid, because something similar happened 12 years ago when strong
earthquake occured, which lead to a huge tsunami that destroyed most the villages.” After he finished his
sentence, everyone went silent. Then, a male voice broke the silence, “It’s fine! Guys, we have sailed
thousands of miles to be here, we cannot just give up! Besides, that incident was 12 years ago, I think we
should keep sailing. Just load extra food and freshwater on the boat so we are prepared if we encounter any
natural disasters.” It was Fei Xing, an ordinary sailor with imaginative mind. He had learnt how to write a
few words which brought a lot of entertainment to the sailors listening to his stories. He had recorded his
past 2 voyages and kept them in his diary. With Fei Xing’s encouragement, the crowd nodded and started to
work again. The ship left the port that evening under the sky painted in an array of pink, red, yellow,
orange, purple, and blue as the sun started to drown and fell below the skyline.
As they sailed south, every day continued to be pleasant and ordinary until the night of the third day, when
things began to changed. A random cabin boy was wandering on the deck when he caught a glimpse on the
sea surface. It was a faint sparkles of light. At first he only thought it was the reflection of moonlight. Then,
after a few seconds, he saw it again. Now more and more sparkle lit up the sea like shards of shimmering
crystal, instead of reflecting the moonlight, it seemed the light is from the sea itself. The cabin boy stared at
the glittering surface in disbelief, and then realised he must call Fei Xing to watch the wondrous scene.
Fei Xing woke up unwillingly from his dream but soon he saw the scene that deserved his full attention.
Now the shimmering light had surrounded the ships as if they were sailing upon a galaxy with too many
stars. With more and more light emerging from the depth, the sea now turned to a soft milky white, spread
to the horizon. “Wow, I cannot believe my eyes, it is such an incredible yet unforgettable scene. It is as if
sailing on a huge sheet of glowing ice or through a sea of clouds.” The sea was so white that now it could
not even reflect the moonlight. The white sheet stretched out for miles before disappearing when the sun
rose again.
Fei Xing and the cabin boy were found asleep on the deck the next morning. The were woken up and
brought them to Zheng He, as it was prohibited to sleep when a sailor was in charge of guarding the deck.
They were asked about what happened the night before. Their story amazed the crew, leaving some jaw-
dropped. Zheng He announced ”You, Fei Xing are ordered to record every single detail of yesterday’s
scene for further investigation and record when we go back to China… Before you finished the chores of all
the rooms on the second deck.”
“Ugh” Fei Xing shrugged, “why me? It will drain all my time wandering around and record funny stuff or
prank on others.” Not only would it be tiring, but the teasing from mates on deck would embarrass Fei
Xing.