Fiction: Group 3
New Tales of the Pearl River Delta
Korean International School Secondary Section, Bezanilla-Reyes, Maria - 14,
Fiction: Group 3
his is where your father died, boy,” the lips belonging to the most beautiful face barely
moved when the woman said this. “And this is where he was buried.”
The boy was having a really hard time concentrating, the woman’s face was so close to
his, he was so focused on it, and he was not paying much attention to what she was saying.
“Would you like to meet your father, boy?” she asked as she slowly extended her hand for him to take
it.
“Yes.” It came out as a rough whisper.
“Then,” she stood up and beckoned for him to do the same, “Follow me.” She finished in a whisper.
The boy slowly extended his hand towards hers, but right before their hands touched, a loud voice woke
him from his sleep.
“Boy!” His aunt’s voice came from what he could only assume as the kitchen. “It’s your turn to do the
dishes. You were late for breakfast, so, too bad. You’ll do your duties wishing you could have woken up
earlier to eat something.”
The boy only grunted in return. He sat up and immediately wished he hadn’t. Everything was out of
focus and spinning. His head hurt badly and he was aching all over. But none of that mattered to him. He
had been really bothered by that dream. He had never dreamt anything like it before. Not even close...
He sat there on his cot for a few more seconds before slowly standing up and going over to his pile of
clothes. He picked out a pair of trousers and an old shirt that had once belonged to his older cousin.
Quickly taking off his pyjamas, he put on the clean clothes and made his way to the kitchen.
“Make sure you get enough water for the rest of the day and for tomorrow!” his aunt called at his
retreating figure after thirteen hours of labour.
“Yeah,” he called back. “I know how it works.” He muttered to himself. Because his aunt’s house was
located more in the centre of the village, walking to the river was the last thing anyone would volunteer on
doing. Plus, every place close to the river was eerie. None of the boys liked to stay there for long.
While he walked in the direction of the river, he thought about the dream he had had hours ago. He
didn’t know whether to trust what the woman had said to him. Had his father really died and been buried in
the same river? Who could give him the answers to that? Whenever he asked his aunt about his parents, she
would just start scolding him for not having done one of his duties, even if he had already done it.
He was so lost deep within his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed a bunch of the older kids were already
there, most definitely ready to throw him into the river again.
“Oh, hello,
boy,
” the oldest of them all said mockingly. The boy just started moving along the riverside
to the left, trying to get away from them, but it wasn’t that easy. They just followed him.
“Would you like me to tell your aunt that you were being rude
again
?” the oldest asked while the others
snickered. They were remembering the last incident in which the boy had completely ignored them.
The boy knew that it was dangerous to mess with these boys, but he was tired of being laughed at
because he didn’t have a real name. And of course, because he was the youngest of all the boys in the
village, ‘only eleven’, they would tease him. But still, he gave it a shot.
“Oh, sorry. I hadn’t heard you,” he said as innocently as possible. “Hello there.” He even put on a fake
smile. The boy knew he shouldn’t have, but, who cares? This could be his last night on this forsaken earth.
“You want to be thrown into the river again, don’t you?” asked the oldest, again. It seemed to the boy
that the oldest was the only one who could talk, while the others only laughed.
“No, thanks,” the boy replied, his fake smile still smeared across his face. “I already had a shower.”
As good as it felt to finally talk to them like this, the boy knew he had just planned his own death. On
the same spot as his dad, ironically.
The oldest gave him a smile before nodding to the next two eldest, who, in seconds, had already thrown
the boy into the river.
“T
