Fiction: Group 3
Tales of the Pearl River Delta
Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School, Lee, Rachael - 13, Fiction: Group 3
arkness and the still air hovered over me. The sound of the car engine rumbled. A long, eerie
silence took my breath away from me. Inside a car boot, surrounded by a foul smell, laid a fragile
young girl. Me. My heart thumped wildly. Tears streamed down my cheek. I cried desperately for
my family. But it was no use. I had been kidnapped.
Days before, I had been gazing out of my school’s dusty window, and stared at the enchanting river
from a great distance. It was shimmering, like thousands of diamonds, as the waves reflected the sunlight.
Papa used to take me to the river, I recalled, as tears the size of gumdrops rolled down my flushed cheeks.
He used to carry me on his back, and run along the side of the shining water. I would shriek as he threw me
high into the air and caught me every time. My papa died when I was seven and when Lian was two. He
never told anyone of his heart disease, and one day, he just died. We were devastated. Mama needed a man
to work for money and food, so she married my current step-papa Zhong. “Jia! Please pay attention!” I
woke up from my daydreams at a start and brushed my tears off my cheeks. I got a glimpse of the river
again, which carried memories of my papa and I, flowing for thousands of miles, deep into my broken heart.
“Dinner’s ready!” Mama’s voice rang out in the hollow corridor. My heart felt a pang of longing
for the old days, when I sat on papa’s broad shoulders, taking in deep breaths of air, listening to the water
blown by the summer wind. “ Jia! Come down for dinner please!” mama shouted in an annoyed tone. I
shook the thoughts out of my head. I settled down on the rigid plastic chair and stared down at the watery,
nauseous smelling liquid in my bowl. Not cabbage soup again! I scowled at the sight of it. “Jia, don’t
scrunch up your eyebrows like that! If you don’t want to drink this healthy and delicious soup, go to your
room and skip dinner!” My step-papa bellowed threateningly. “How dare he!” was all I could think of the
lividness that boiled inside of me. Tears of frustration welled up, my fists clenched and my teeth gritted so
hardly that I tasted the metallic taste of blood. I stormed into the room and shut my bedroom door with a
loud bang. My family sat there open mouthed at my queer attitude, for I have never behaved in such a way
before. “I loathe this family!” I sobbed as I punched my fist into my pillow.
It was a typical Tuesday. I dragged my entire body from my bed. My eyes were puffy from crying
and my throat was as dry as a scorched desert. My cheeks were flushed with embarrassment as I trudged into
the kitchen. Mama was spreading butter on my piece of burnt toast. I muttered a thank you when she passed
the plate to me. Perched on the sofa, I flicked through the television channels and the words “Pearl Delta”
caught my eye. A news reporter was seated in front of the camera and she said in a pleasant voice: “Good
morning! Lately there have been several kidnapping cases in the Pearl Delta province. There have been four
reports on child abduction. The children kidnapped tend to be aged from three to thirteen. Please be alert
around when travelling.” The piece of chewed toast in my hanging mouth dropped onto the carpet. A
shiver ran up my spine. Soon dragging my backpack behind me, my sister and I kissed our parents goodbye,
then we headed off to school hand in hand. Little did we know that would be our farewell kiss.
Our walk to school was like any other, Lian lapsing behind me followed by my occasional chides at
her dilly dallying.
A sudden rustle of the bamboo leaves beside me sounded. “What was that?” I glanced
nervously in the direction where the sound came from. “Calm down Jia, it’s probably just the wind.” I said
reassuringly to myself. I heard a series of crunches of the long forgotten twigs and branches on the moist
ground. Crunch. Rustle. Crunch. Crackle. Lian’s whining stopped abruptly. Something was definitely
wrong. I spun my head around to find she had vanished into thin air.
“Lian? Where are you? Lian? Come
out right this instant!” I cried, as my voice started to quiver with anxiety. This was not happening. A split
second later, icy hands covered my mouth, I saw flashes of black and the strong smell of alcohol. There were
at least two men, one grabbing my arms and one grabbing my legs. I thrust my hands about and shrieked at
the top of my feeble lungs, but it was no use. I had been taken.
D
