Fiction: Group 3
Foshan, a Place for Romance
Immaculate Heart of Mary College, Cheung, Siu Hei - 13, Fiction: Group 3
ne day, my grandfather told me a love story. This story date back to Qin Dynasty, it was a well-
known story in Foshan, which was passed down from generation to generation. Someone may
doubt the authenticity of this story, but to me, it is not just a story.
The story started with two teenagers falling in love with each other and got married. Three years later, they
had a baby called Stephen Lee.
While Stephen was five years old, he was obsessed with art. He drew lots of painting, like dolphins flying in
the sky, snails swimming in the sea. Although those paintings were colourful, nobody liked his works.
Teachers thought he was crazy and his classmates laughed at him. He was always alone at school. Though no
one liked Steven’s paintings, he never gave up drawing despite all the tease.
Steven had a friend called Mary Cheung. Her eyes were glittering like shining stars in the sky, and her
pointed nose enhanced her charming beauty. Steven thought Mary was the most beautiful woman in the
world. Unfortunately, Mary was disabled due to an accident two years ago.
Besides drawing, Steven also had another hobby which was hiking. Since he was seven years old, he found a
hill and a steam behind his house. The turquoise water was clear, and there were different kinds of fish
jumping up and down in the river. The trees on the hill were also very tall and big. They looked as if they
were more than a few hundred years old. Steven was always inspired by the smiling flowers and chunky tall
trees and produced lots of landscape paintings.
His favorite mountain was called Mount Xiqiao. There was an enormous tree. Steven thought it represented
life, happiness and health. Steven had a dream which was to being Mary to this beautiful place and praised
the peace and silence. However, Mary’s legs could not move so Steven always gave her the paintings he
drew and wished Mary could contemplate the beauty of Mount Xiqiao.
One day, Steven went to a mountain with his Four Treasures of Study in order to draw a painting for
Mary’s birthday. When Steven was drawing, he found that the weather was becoming foggy. Suddenly, it
rained and started thundering. Luckily, he found a cave on the path of mountain so he got in. The weather
became worse. Steven could not leave the cave. Water was flooding into the cave, and his life was in danger.
So, he had no choice but walked further into the cave.
As he moved on, he found torches inside. He could not hear the water flow anymore and the ground was
dry.
Finally, Steven entered a room and saw a bed in front of him. He walked towards it and found a dying man
lying on the bed. Steven was very stunned and dropped his painting on the ground and asked, ‘Are you
alright? When the rain stopped, I’ll take you out and save you.’ The man saw the painting and Steven, then
said, ‘Don’t worry. Look at your painting. What a good artist! I am so glad to see we have this kind of artist
in China. Look! Your painting brush is old. That is my favorite drawing brush in the stone. Now it is yours.
Go and pick it up.’
Steven went in front of the stone. The painting brush looked choked in the stone. He turned his head back
but the man had disappeared. There was a sound speaking to him, ‘This painting brush is for the best artist.
You can draw the best picture. Do not give up because of others’ criticism. Work hard! I give you my
magic power.’
Steven was stunned, overjoyed but frightened, so he ran as fast as he could. When he reached the
mouth of the cave, the rain stopped. The view there was the most beautiful one he had ever seen. He drew
the view with his old brush. When he got back home, he used the new brush and drew a portrait of Mary as
her birthday present. In the picture, Mary was not disabled anymore and she could run!
When Steven arrived at Mary’s home, he saw the most unbelievable thing in his life—Mary was running to
him. Steven was surprised and he hugged Mary promptly. ‘When I got up, I could feel my feet. I can walk
now!’
Steven thought, ‘This brush can make anything I draw become true, so fantastic!’ He told everything in the
cave to Mary. Since Steven healed Mary’s leg, they started dating. Time flied, this couple got married after
two years.
One day, Mary went to a market and bought food for dinner, crowds were standing around a poster, ‘We
are going to fight against the Qin Government. Every man must go and join the war!’ Mary was very
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