Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 72

It was a sight, seeing a stampede of people, squashing themselves onto that thin path. To say that it was
hectic was an understatement. Everyone hurtled towards the beach, desperate to see what was going on;
each person stopped in their tracks once they saw the two men. They weren't from Malacca, that was for
sure. A crowd formed around the pirates. "They come from China! To take our land and our valuables!"
Suriyani's mother yelled into the crowd but quieted when she saw him, the mighty village chief, standing
before them. Everyone dropped to their knees. "Let them speak. " He croaked, as he gestured to the pirates.
They stood up straighter. "I am Bo-Cheng, from China, and we are offering you valuable goods of ours,
not stealing. " Spoke the first pirate. The pirate talked about how they were here to help, and that all they
wanted was permission to dock their boat here. Everyone looked at the chief to answer. Surely he wouldn't
let these pirates with a terrible excuse bring their boat here.
"Yes, you may dock your boat here."He answered. Suddenly a huge uproar came from the crowd. Though
they tried to change his mind, no one could oppose his word. The pirates would arrive tomorrow.
It was late night once everyone was walking back, while they did, many of the villagers were plotting against
the pirates. They didn't want those thieves on their land. "We have to do something!" A village boy called
Haissam told a group of people who were also upset about the chief's poor decision. "We’ll fight them!" he
commanded. Everyone shouted in agreement. "Build an army!" He cheered. Everyone shouted again. They
agreed to meet at midnight to discuss the situation, at Haissam's house.
Suriyani arrived home quickly, and she went to her room and waited for her mother. It had been a few
hours of pretending to be asleep when Suriyani leapt off the lumpy, hard mattress and creaked down the
stairs. She approached the dusty, wooden door, thinking no-one had seen her. Little did she know, her
mother had seen the whole thing.
She journeyed down the little path in the dead of night. Haissam's house wasn't far, and she arrived quickly.
The group talked for a few hours but came to an agreement that they would fight while they weren't
expecting them: right then.
The sound of clanking metal was deafening. Knives pulled out of their sheaths, bows and arrows, anything
that would inflict damage. There was an air of excitement, of confidence- they were ready.
Back at Suriyani's house, her mother was contemplating what to do. She couldn't let her daughter die
fighting, but she was sure that there was no way to convince her not to go. Her mother sighed, she knew
what she had to do.
It was hectic on the ship, orders being screamed, opposing ones being shouted from somewhere else. They
were going to dock at Malacca, give away the treasure, and then leave; or so they thought. As they came
closer to the beach, they saw a strange sight. A few hundred people lined up on the beach, glaring
menacingly at their boat. They wielded knives, bows and arrows and even large sticks. "Bo-Cheng what are
you doing staring off into the distance? Get on the task, you imbecile!" Yelled commander Fei-Hong, the
captain of this ship, as fiercely as a lion. "Commander, the islanders seem to be rebelling; there they are on
the beach!" The commander went red. Suddenly, she started yelling out commands. "Ready the cannons!
Send out the army! We must fight them now!" She yelled, panicked. Hundreds of men hurried onto boats,
rowing out towards the beach, while others manned the canons.
As they stood on the beach, they saw them coming. Suriyani clutched her stick tighter, she was ready for
whatever they had.
She saw it, a black ball in the sky, a cannonball. Frozen in fear, she heard her mother’s muffled voice in the
distance. Her mother held a dagger, ready to fight the invaders alongside her. The cannonball shot through
the sky, but she couldn’t move. Her eyes widened, for the very last time. The light left her eyes.