Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 31

The once silent men erupted into fraudulent laughter. The vain leader stood with his chin high.
Gosh, how did I end up here? Big Wong seemed like the opposite of Little Wong, tanned and muscular.
Yet he had the same round face with the bulb-like nose of his little brother. He winded the rope around
me that scraped my damp skin of water and sweat. One of the pirates walked up and poked me with a cleft
mop. I tried evading but the weakness in my body persisted. I slowly backed away until the floor beneath
me felt… unstable.
I seemed to be steadying myself on a plank at the edge of the ship. With the biting stabs of the mop
and the spraying water on my exposed feet, I chose my only option.
“What do you have against me?!”
“There's no use of keeping you alive!”
“You think I even wanted to end up with you people?” This made him pause for a moment. His
eyes focused on me. A whispering conversation stirred between the rest.
“Hmm, we can’t be sure to trust someone who’s come from the other side of the Earth. First, you
must do something for us to prove that you are trustworthy!” he projected as he laid the sword on me again.
An hour later I found myself dumb-founded while scrubbing the decks while the others were in
the cabin discussed me. Shivers ran down my spine as I watched the ocean water stand unnaturally still.
Thump… Thump… Thump…
Steady footsteps were coming towards me as I hurriedly got back to work.
“Come here, will you?” The captain motioned at a space alongside him as he leaned upon the
sides of the ship. His demeanour had suddenly changed like a switch had been flicked. His voice had the
same gruffiness but it was soothing. I made my way discreetly past the soapy floor next to him. “Earlier back
there, you stood up to us. It was a very brave thing to do.”
“Th-thanks.”
“You remind me of someone. Of my own father.”
“Re-really?”
“You sure do! How did you end up on the sea anyway? Where your parents, boy?”
“Jake actually. I ended up here since my village had caught a terrible fire. My parents left me in
the sea instead of being stuck in the fire with the rest. They thought I might be found.”
“Well, you clearly look like you are somewhere from England.”
“How do you know that?”
“It’s been decades since I’ve first stepped on a ship. I bet I’ve travelled around the globe more
than there is to travel!” I tried my best to fake a laugh, but his boastful joke made no sense to me. We
chatted along a while longer before he said “It’s time to bid the stars goodnight now,” and gave me a
wholesome pat on the back. I felt a connection with him, though I couldn’t explain it as we made our ways
to the cabins. The others had made a makeshift bed for me out of layered cloth and a cashmere blanket on
top. Though it not as welcoming as the one at my now-burnt-down home, I slept like a bag of sand, with
the lack of proper sleep in weeks, I felt…
SPLASH!
I was woken up with a startle. Not again Mr. Pirates…
“Come on kiddo! We’re here!”
“It’s Jake… and what do you mean by ‘we’re here’?” I picked myself from the bed and dragged my
legs that were tied to invisible weights across the floor. I looked over the sides that were suddenly taller than
me. They must have been stretched overnight. Or did I shrink? I peeked over the side to see a grey haze
with a faint hue of green. “Where are we?” We sailed closer to this Island. Capt’ looked back at me with a
grin.
“Welcome to my home country- China!” Captain seemed to have drunk a de-ageing potion. He
was jumping up and down frantically to get a better view. We descended the ship, which I later learnt was
called ‘Dragon Kite’. “Mumma!” An old lady stood patiently, looking for her son. Captain ran towards her
to embrace. I guess captain just beat the record of the tightest bear hug. His mother peeled his body away
but pulled back for a spirited kiss on the forehead.
‘I’m so proud of you,’ was what I read from her teary face. Gosh, I felt like my eyes started welling
up.