Fiction: Group 3
Pearl of the River
ISF Academy Secondary Division, Fong, Lok Ping - 12, Fiction: Group 3
he sun beat on young Xiang's back as he worked laboriously near the Pearl River, he nonchalantly
wiped the sweat off his furrowed brow as he rested his sore arms on the decrepit sides of his boat.
Xiang was breathless, tired and fatigued, but he was satisfied with todays catch. He caught a dozen
bighead carps and tilapias, a sufficient amount to feed his family. He dug through the contents of his net,
grin getting bigger and bigger as he rummaged through all the fish he managed to catch. He expected a lot
of brown and maybe grey carps, but his eyes landed upon a completely green, turquoise-ish carp that was
flapping its fins and tail, creating quite a ruckus on his boat. Water and seaweed sprayed all over his face as
the carp went berserk. Xiang shut his eyes and blindly reach for his knife and slit the carp right across its
stomach. Xiang slowly opened his eyes and expected a gruesome sight of guts and blood smeared all over
the hull of his boat, but he saw something unbelievable. Pearls in the mouths of living shelled mollusks. For
a moment, Xiang thought he struck the jackpot after finding all these pearls. He looked away, and glanced at
them again. He was flabbergasted, this had to be a trick of some kind. Xiang’s mind was clouded with
thoughts, he wondered, what should he do with all of this? Xiang smiled, grin growing wider wider as he
thought of bringing them all back home, so he could be rich! . Xiang grabbed a handful of mollusks and the
net of fish with him. The net cut him like a thousand devils, but he felt none of it because of how jubilant
he was. He could just imagine himself spending all of the pearls, buying extravagant amount clothing and
attires.
Xiang looked at the sunset, the golden rays of the sun fading behind the mountains. Xiang knew from
experience walking in the dark could lead the regretful consequences. He quickened his pace, dragging the
net and pearls with him. Xiang did not have any sort of map or guidance to help him get home, so he
scored the tree’s with serrated rocked, marking a road for him. This proved to be quite effective and Xiang
always relied on them since then. Even with all these markings lighting the way for Xiang, the hike up is
still strenuous and tiring. Once he got home, he found his wife waiting patiently outside his huts door, face
unmistakably filled with anxiety and worry. Xiang looked up, just realizing how late it was and bit his lip in
frustration. He trudged into his living room, head beaded with perspiration from the hike up home. Xiang
ate quickly and ran up to his room to inspect the pearls, he noticed that the pearls were strange in color,
slightly green, and there seemed the something inside it. Xiang narrowed his eyes and held the pearl up in
the light. Then, he saw it, that… ...thing. The thing in the pearl wiggled, and moved. Xiang Yelled in
surprise and almost fell off his chair, that is not possible, there is no way that there is something living inside
the pearl. Xiang knew he did something wrong, he had to take them back to the river, and hopefully not
disturb that… …thing. But, Xiang wanted to be rich and now he faced a terrible dilemma. He crawled to
his bed, mind conflicted whether he should put them back or sell them
The next day was a beautiful day. The sun is up, the birds are chirping and a soft breeze ruffled the deep
red leaves of the mahogany tree’s. Xiang smiled with glee and walked along the market stalls, finding food
for tonight. His enthusiasm ended abruptly when he passed a prophet, and overheard something that sent
shivers down his spine. “Pearls I say, there are some pearls… … with something alive… ...nightmare, a
terror… ... will bring doom to our village… ...Guangzhou is in danger” Xiang gulped and glanced at his
pearls, he eyes widened in shock as he realized they seem to have grown larger overnight. Xiang knew he
could not wait any longer, he had to get rid of these dreadful pearls, so ran to the pearl river delta, sandals
slapping the gravel, sending little pieces everywhere. He clutched the pearls against his chest as he ran faster.
The shore came to sight and Xiang anxiety lowered a little, but it sky rocketed up when he a ripple
emerging from the depths of the river. A huge fin, dotted with green broke the water's surface, with a
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