HKYWA 2015 Fiction 3 to 6 - page 18

Fiction: Group 3
Clifford
Chinese International School, Lee, Lynn - 12, Fiction: Group 3
Pearl River Delta, where the Pearl River meets the South China Sea, is a land of stories. People from all
over the world come here to pursue their dreams, and it is easy to find a stranger with a wonderful story to
tell. In one of the small local inns down a quiet street, a stranger with mud brown and ragged clothing sat by
a small fireplace, surrounded by other men. “You wouldn’t have recognized me a few years ago,” the
stranger began, “I was a successful banker working with great people. Everyone wanted to work with me,
Clifford Clyde.” the stranger bragged. “One day, I received an invitation from the President of China
himself to work with him in the Pearl River Delta. Just because he is a president doesn’t mean that he
doesn’t need a banker.”
A gasp of awe came from the other men sitting around the inn’s small fireplace. After a ship
carrying stolen national treasures from China had sunken in the Pearl River a few years ago, those approved
by the President of China were the only ones allowed to get anywhere close to the Pearl River. The
President of China had been sending down a team of divers to go see if there were any other stolen items on
the ship. Less than 5
of the humans on earth had seen the Pearl River after the ship had sunken, and it
was an honor to be invited to go there.
The innkeeper was the only man who didn’t gasp, but instead he had chuckled under his breath.
He had heard Clifford’s story numerous times, but still stopped and listened in the middle of his work for
more of the stranger’s voice that brought the listeners on an extravagant journey. He had heard it so much,
that he could tell the story got more exaggerated the more times Clifford told it. The first time the
innkeeper heard the story, Clifford had gone scuba diving but had wandered too far from the restricted zone
and had accidentally swum into the Pearl River. The innkeeper never knew which of Clifford’s versions of
the story was true, or if any of them were true, but he knew that they all followed the same storyline. His
favourite version of the story was the version he first heard, and he still remembered it.
After Clifford had swum into the Pearl River, he decided to look around at the fish and the corals
in the sea. The sun shone into the river, and Clifford saw a flash of gold. Humans are like magpies in
stories- they are attracted to things that are shiny. Like an average human would, Clifford dove down to
pick up the shiny object. “I was so concentrated on the fact that I could be rich, that I didn’t notice
something crucial.” Clifford said. Swiftly, Clifford picked up the shiny object and kicked to swim up.
However, he realized that he was holding his breath, and he didn’t have enough oxygen in his tank
anymore. Suddenly, the surface looked so far away.
Clifford urgently kicked his feet with all his might, praying that he could get up to the surface
before he had to let go of his breath. His heart pounded as he frantically moved his legs in a circular motion,
pushing himself to get to the surface. Moments in his life flashed before his eyes, and he almost forgot that
there once was a time when his lungs had air in them. Just when he could see the sky, he let go of his
breath.
When Clifford opened his eyes, he was lying on a bed in a hospital room. Seeing the confused and
curious look on his face, the doctor informed him that he was found floating on the Pearl River, and his
wedding ring that had been clutched in his hand when he was rescued was in the drawer next to his bed.
Clifford didn’t know what the doctor said when he spoke of his wedding ring. He wasn’t even
married. Clifford felt a sudden epiphany and realized that the shiny object he had found was a wedding ring.
Clifford was released from the hospital a few days afterwards, and was dropped off at his house by
the doctor. Clifford walked towards a jewelry shop in town fingering the ring while he walked. When he
finally arrived at the shop, he opened the door and walked in, the bells on the door announcing his arrival.
Cover...,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17 19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,...735
Powered by FlippingBook