Fiction: Group 3
She had hair that was white and grey, she wore a floral printed worn out shirt with holes bitten out by
moths. Her pants were a size too big and her shoes were broken. She had a down jacket, but the fluff and
feathers had mostly fallen out.
I think she was very poor and didn’t have enough money to buy nice
clothes. She was bent over inside a garbage can, she picked up soda bottles and cardboard and she put those
into the trolley next to her. She was very hardworking, I could tell but she didn’t earn enough money. As
she leaned over again, she was hunched over and began to push her trolley in the direction of our fish tank.
Over the course of a few months, I noticed that this old lady would come each day to collect garbage and
look at us. She always licked her lips as she stared at us, especially at me.
I thought she was quite hungry! As
well as this old lady visiting me, I also noticed that most of the fish were gone. I am sure that they were all
cooked in the kitchen. There were only 3 fish now, and we didn’t know what to do. I guessed that we
would just wait to be mysteriously scooped and cooked.
This old lady would leave after having
looked at
us for a long time. I don’t think I was the only one that noticed her. The fat business man standing in front
of the restaurant noticed her too, I think that this was the owner of the restaurant. He never said anything,
he stared at her, just like we did.
Another few weeks passed by. I saw many people in front of the large tower near the harbour. This was
the only time the other fishes also looked at the event, most of the time they just spent sleeping or
complaining with the other fishes about how their life is going to end miserably by getting eaten. As we all
watched
the hours passed by and more and more people arrived, creating a sea of people around the large
tower. Suddenly, the people started shouting and moving around. I still remember clearly what they said:
“3…2…1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!” I guess it was the start of a new year for everyone. The people were
happily dancing and fireworks were set alight glittering into the night sky.
After a few months, it was
Chinese New Year! This was the only festival I knew since I would see many adults and children dressed up
in traditional Chinese costumes, and I also saw many firecrackers and lion dances. As I was looking out the
window into the kitchen and the restaurant, I saw many people sitting around the tables, happily eating and
chatting. Even the owner, who was usually in a bad mood was happy and excited today. As I turned towards
the outside, the Old lady that had been staring at me for a few months was here again. Then, the owner of
the restaurant came out to smoke. As he saw the old lady, he smiled. He said loudly that she could choose
anything she wanted on the menu and order it. The old woman entered the store, this time sitting at one of
the tables, and I watched her as she eagerly pointed to a spot on the menu, smiling widely and showing her
rotted, yellow teeth. The waiter returned to the kitchen, and suddenly I felt myself being lifted out of the
tank. I flopped around, gasping desperately for air but to no avail, my gills weren’t working!! As I struggled
around in the net, I didn’t see where they brought me. I suddenly was placed down on an oily, warm
surface.
And then, everything went red.
