Fiction: Group 3
Wrath of the Black Turtle
Chinese International School, Sun, Andrew - 13, Fiction: Group 3
In the powder blue sky, the scorching golden yellow sun hung like a red lantern, discharging heat waves that
struck the lone man like a rock. In the distance, he could see Mount Baiyun surrounded by luminous
clouds. He was familiar with this part of the Pearl River as he had sailed past it thousands of times before.
The algae water had a tinge of emerald green in it, leaving the steaming river with a turquoise colour. There
on his boat he sat, gazing at the radiant sun’s reflection. As drops of sweat trickled down his back, he
pondering his sad fate, for it had been many months since he had been able to catch enough fish to feed his
family. Running his gnarled hands through his damp dark beard, he fervently gasped. “Ai ya!
I am surely a
poor fisherman for if I return empty handed, my family will starve.”
Suddenly he saw a black object dart across the river leaving a trail of river spume. Startled, Bo Hai
gasped in amazement. No! it couldn’t be! A fish? Throwing the net gracefully across the patch of river that
was distilled by the creature, he strained eagerly over the edge of the boat. The net landed right on top of
the creature. He deftly pulled back the net and gasped in amazement. Skimming above the water, its ebony
black shell gleaming in the sun, was a sacred black turtle.
Bo Hai’s hands trembled as he tugged in his
miraculous catch and deposited it in the bottom of the boat. He then exclaimed in awe. Crawling in front of
Bo Hai was the turtle of the mythical god Gong Gong, the turtle of longevity, the most gorgeous thing in
the world.
“My my, you are a beauty! You will bring me many riches!” remarked Bo Hai as he carefully put the turtle
into a bucket of water. “The wealthy people of Beijing will pay greatly for you, for they foolishly believe
that whoever possesses you, fate will not allow to die and for you will bring them immortality.”
His hands trembled in glee as he rapidly pulled up the sails and pointed the boat’s nose towards
home. However, not even five minutes had passed before he felt a gust of wind howling around his head,
saw lightning flaring across the sky, and heard the thunder growling around his ears. Then came the rain. It
wasn’t like any storm he had seen before. It was tempestuous, catastrophic, cataclysmic, and most of all
frightening. It was like the storm and river were playing with him.
“Oh, my how unlucky am I? I catch the grand turtle only for us both to die!” the terrified man wailed.
Waves crashed down upon the boat, filling the bottom rapidly with salty river water. As the boat
tipped dangerously sideways, Bo Hai grabbed a bucket and bent down to bale the water out of the boat.
Suddenly, he saw his father’s reflection in the water.
“Oh my God!” Bo Hai blurted out.
The reflection remained silent, the eyes piercing deep into Bo Hai’s heart.
“Could it be? No! It couldn’t” Bo Hai’s head shook in bewilderment. His father had been dead for
fifteen years and Bo Hai didn’t believe in ghosts, not like those asinine people in the villages along the Pearl
river, whox prayed to everything, including chairs. Looking back at the reflection, the shocked fisherman
saw a face with beady eyes, which bored through his head like a bullet. Its beetling brows shot straight up in
the air, its thick-lipped mouth scowled while the jaws clenched like a fist.
Suddenly, he remembered his father’s words to him as an apprentice fisherman. “Respect the
gods especially Gong Gong as he is god of water and can decide your fate. Do not be foolish and proud my
arrogant son!”
Bo Hai shook his head. Surely his imagination was getting the better of him. Had his father not
been dead for fifteen years? He saw the turtle’s eyes darting back and forth from the Pearl River Delta to Bo
