My Encounter with the General
HKUGA College, Katherine Wan, Fiction: Group 4
I
am not fond of deserts. Which is strange, because I grew up in one. Yet, when I hear people
talking about its alluring mysteriousness, it sends shivers down my spine, reminding me of
one particular incident that still haunts me till today.
Where to begin? I suppose I should start by introducing myself. I have been raised by a
shopkeeper. To this day, I still remember his face, the colour of papyrus and wax, hovering above
an accounting book. Money came and went, mostly went, and as our conditions worsened, he
turned to invest in his juvenile asset: me.
My town faced the threat of the Mongolians, whose army marched across the desert,
conquering everything. Therefore, my guardian speculated that the number of wounded young
men would increase steadily. He dumped me into the hands of an army doctor, forcing me to
become his apprentice and requiring half of my future wages, as a form of ‘repayment’.
Yet that was not what I desired. I have always dreamt of travelling across the desert. My dusty
town was claustrophobic, and the walls blocked our view of the horizon, but chances to run away
came and went. A few years later, when I heard that our iron gates were to be closed for a siege, I
decided that it was now or never.
I escaped from my town.
I brought along my medical kit and a few supplies, and ran to the nearest hill. The sunlight
was dull, and the clouds ominous, but I didn’t care. For once, I was free.
That evening, I climbed onto a small hill. It formed a ledge, overlooking an oasis right outside
my town. The lake inside had almost dried up, so we relied heavily on the oasis. I waved at the
troops sent to guard it. One of them I recognised as my friend, Lau. I waved at him too.
As the sky transformed from lemon-coloured to candy pink, to indigo, I ambled aimlessly
around weeds and pebbles, staring pensively at the horizon.
Tomorrow, I thought, I would leave forever. With a folded map in my bag, and my route to the
south formulated in my head, I had thought it unlikely that I would return.
How wrong I had been.
Ripples appeared on the lake below. I focused on a small gap between the rocks. Surely, surely
something had moved in there?
I crept closer. The moon had risen, but it was blocked by boulders on top of one another. With
every step I made, the night was darker and colder. “Who’s there?” I shouted.
This time, I heard a muffled sound. I couldn’t quite make out whether it was made by a
human or a beast, but I was absolutely certain that something lurked behind the gap. “Show
yourself,” I declared.
No response was made.
It was probably a beast, I thought to myself.
Just as I turned around, a groan echoed behind the gap. It was no muffled noise, but a sharp,
distinct groan, and I was sure this time that a human was inside the hill. Not just any human, but
as years of apprenticeship had taught me, an injured man.
“Answer me!” I demanded, wanting to confirm my discovery. The man groaned once more,
then shrieked, gasping in pain.
