HKYWA 2015 Fiction 3 to 6 - page 270

Fiction: Group 3
New Tales of the Pearl River Delta
St. Joseph's College, Wong, Sean - 12, Fiction: Group 3
Lychee Red
he was in a scene of velvet darkness. Suddenly, she felt something hot behind her. It was starting to
get warmer, as if something, something was gliding smoothly across the surface towards her. She
decided to look backwards. Nothing. Nothing but a red dot glimmering in the distance. It was
getting bigger and bigger by the second. Finally, she saw it. It was a massive snake, shooting out a fiery
flame, and it was getting closer to her. Closer and closer...
Lihung jumped up. What a strange dream! She saw a few lychees before her, plump and red. They were
the best in the village. She laughed. She must have been daydreaming again. She picked them and
proceeded to the next tree. Her dad planted the trees by Xi Jiang when she was born. She was named
Lihung - Lychee Red.
She was covered with sweat. It was hard work in the villages. She looked towards where the river flowed.
That was where the cities were supposed to be. No one in their village had been there, but propaganda
posters that were everywhere told them that the cities were marvelous, and Lihung thought so too.
She returned to picking lychees as quickly as she could, throwing them into the basket she had behind her.
As she felt the lychees, she already knew they were the sweetest and plumpest of the season. She had to
pick more to sell to the fruit stall owners who were coming later that day. She hoped she could get a good
price. The family needed more money to nurse her father back to health.
Suddenly, “Brr….” It was the sound of a motorbike! She had never seen one since her neighbor married!
She rushed to the muddy dirt road and hoped to see it. There it was! The motorbike was shiny and sleek.
It swerved and parked in the dead center of their field.
A woman stepped off the bike, signaling the driver to stand and wait. Then she walked towards the door,
ignoring Lihung. She was wearing high heels and a red dress, as red as the lychees, trying to avoid stepping
on the mud. Then, the woman knocked the door repeatedly. Lihung rushed forward to open it for her.
She expected a thank you, but the lady just walked past, ignoring her. Then, Lihung’s mother ran forward
and interrupted, “Nihao, let’s… talk inside.”
In the next few days after the woman left, mum was quiet. She said nothing, all she did was to sit by her
husband’s bed. But, she also wept alone quietly in the night. Lihung didn’t know why, but she was sure
that it was something to do with the awful lady she had met.
Soon, the truth revealed itself. A fortnight later, the same lady came. Then, her mother came and said to
her, “Lihung, I’d like you to go with this lady. She will lead you to a factory down the river, where you
will earn some money.” Before Lihung could say anything, her mother handed her a red packet. There
was a dollar in it. “May you have a safe trip along the river.” Lihung realized what had happened. She had
finally got her chance, her chance to go to the city!
They went to a dock by motorbike, then got on a boat, travelling down Xi River. It was daybreak when
she left. The water was clear. She could see fish swimming downstream, cows grazing the grass and farmers
ploughing their fields, harvesting the fruit of their work. But by the end of the day, there were no more
fields and grass and flowers. She could see a dimmed sky, some three storied houses and down in the river,
the fish swum slowly. And sometimes, they saw some more boats, going in the same direction as they were.
It was evening when she awoke from a nap. She could see only one thing before her. Buildings, hundreds
of towering buildings, with chimneys reaching to the sky, scraping the clouds. Neon lights blinked and
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