Shortlisted
Sands and Stars
Heep Yunn School, Leung Yik Wan, Gigi, Fiction: Group 4
S
woosh” An arrow broke the serenity of dawn, cutting through the well-blended paintbrush
on the horizon—sapphire blue, silky violet, rosy pink, lemon yellow… The gust it brought
stirred up the eternal sand. The ochre danced under the first light of this November day.
The arrow flew truly towards the golden eagle, whose smooth feathers glistened under the young sun.
“Don’t!” Shouted a clear, silvery voice. But the golden eagle shoved off the arrow with its
wings almost effortlessly, and emitted an eagle whistle as if in wrath.
The girl who had just shouted sighed in relief, but then she gazed at where the arrow came
from. She glared at the young man, who was muttering a curse lowering his bow.
“Why did you do that?” The music in her voice could not cover the accusation.
The young man was of but early twenties, carrying not a burden but his bow and quiver. He
twitched uncomfortably at the girl’s pointed finger, mumbled something under his breath with
a red face and fumbled nervously with his ragged clothes, but then his face hardened, thinking
better of it than to answer to the girl’s questioning.
“Why did you shoot Golden Eagle?” Just then, the girl asked again, putting more pressure
this time, “why?” She took a step forward, and despite her smallness, she managed to seem
intimidating enough to compel the youth to step back, his forced cold demeanour threatened to
start crumbling. He parted his lips as if to say something, but what came out of his mouth was a
snap instead, “who are you anyway? My business is my own!”
The golden eagle half-whistled, half-cried once more, circling lower and lower above their
confrontation; the first daylight hid behind and filtered through its flying figure alternately, like a
bright golden eye blinking. Until, at last, it landed securely on the girl’s left shoulder. It pecked the
girl’s cheek playfully while she stroked its head, lulling it to a nap.
“What…? It…is it your pet?” The dumbfounded young man burst out, the awe on his face made
him look like a boy again.
“Pet? No! The eagles here have no masters!” The short moment of tenderness (directed towards
Golden Eagle) on her face was replaced by scarlet indignation once again upon the young man’s
innocent question.
“But then…” he tentatively neared the girl and the lightly sleeping golden eagle as curiosity
got the better of him, “but then… why is it, why is he so…fond of you?” He tried to touch the
eagle’s head with his forefinger, but the eagle sensed the foreigner and bit him. And not so
playfully. “Ow! That’s hard!” He cowered back while watching a thin line of blood trickled down
his finger.
The girl chuckled, the mirth dispensed all the shadow on her face. “You deserve this, you
should be glad that he did not bite your entire finger off!”
“He is my friend, if you must know. That’s why he likes me enough to sleep on my shoulder.”
She wore a beaming smile glancing at the pile of feathers, her gaze softening, “he has always been.”
Upturning her face, she looked at the distant mountains across the vast sand somewhat wistfully.
“You still haven’t told me why you tried to shoot my friend,” she feigned fury, but a mischievous
grin lit up her face again, “but never mind, you have thrown down his arrow, haven’t you?” She
seemed to be directing her enquiring eyebrows towards the dozing golden eagle, but secretly gazed
“
