Fiction: Group 3
herself together.
S
he told herself fiercely,
You caused this, so you must find her!
Ling stared at the colourless
afternoon sky.
Yes, that’s what I’ll do.
Off Ling went, showing the passer-bys a picture of Ching on her phone and asking them if they’ve seen
her. They all shook their heads no. After what seemed like ages, she flopped down on a staircase, exhausted
after her unfortunate adventures. Ling sighed deeply. Was she ever going to find Ching?
Ling was lost in thought, when she felt a gentle tug on her sleeve. For a moment she was sure it was
Ching, who had somehow found her way back to her, and for a moment she was wild with ecstasy- but
when she turned around with bated breath, there was no Ching; it was someone else. The disappointment
was crushing- Ling nearly stomped away right there, until she realized it was a child. She was around seven
or eight, her face smudged with dirt, her clothes tattered and coal-black. Her hair looked like a bird’s nest,
tangled and oily. She was so skinny it seemed like she had no flesh at all on her arms- then Ling realized
with dawning horror she had no arm at all. One of the child’s sleeves were empty, while the other looked
like a brown stick. The only thing that didn’t seem lifeless was her eyes, large and dark and pleading. Ling
felt her heart melt at the sight of this poor, pathetic creature. She then realized the child had been saying
something to her. Ling immediately crouched down, the way she did with Ching, and asked: “What’s
wrong?”
The girl looked at her with frightened eyes. “Please,” her voice barely more than a whisper, “Please take
me away! Please!” Her thin body trembled pityingly.
Ling stared at her. “Sorry?”
The child looked around, but before she could answer, she was rudely interrupted by a harsh voice.
“Hey! What you doing with my girl?” A thickset man had come into view- a man with cruel eyes and a
thin, unpleasant mouth. His eyes burned into Ling’s as he stood there, arms crossed.
Ling fired back, “Well, your little girl was just telling me to take her away- from presumably
you
.”
The man laughed mirthlessly. “Excuse me? I’m her father! Now I need to take her back home, for she’s
been
very
naughty.” With that, he gripped the little girl’s arm like a vice and dragged her away. The child
seemed to struggle in his meaty grasp, but couldn’t get out of it. With one last helpless glance at Ling, she
and her “father” melted into the crowd.
Ling stood there, trying to process what had happened. She wished that she’d taken a picture of the
child- then she could’ve helped her find her parents. She was sure that the man wasn’t the child’s father,
and that he has been mistreating her very badly. The first thing she felt was anger towards the man- then
the anger turned into sheer terror. What if Ching was now kidnapped by a man as cruel as that?
What if she
was being mistreated right this second?
Ling thought of Ching, bounded and gagged, her eyes wide with
fear, screaming and sobbing her heart out. The impact of the image nearly shattered her; she staggered back,
feeling tears sting her eyes, but before she could pull herself together, her phone rang. Ling fumbled for it
and answered.
“Is this Ms. Cheung?” A man’s voice said.
“Yes, this is Ling.”
“This is the police. Your sister has been found wandering around a supermarket. She was looking at tin-
cans…” The officer kept talking, but Ling could no longer hear him. She stood there, frozen with shock-
and then her heart burst with wild ecstasy.
“YES!” Ling shrieked, causing the man in front of her to bang into a lamp post. “I’m coming now!”
Then she hung up and sprinted the way she came, knowing that she’ll never forget this day, nor will she
ever complain about anything again.
* * *
Epilogue
After the Cheungs have been reunited, Ling spent the rest of her holiday in Shenzhen taking photos of
child beggars and putting them onto her new website, which was named:
FIND YOUR CHILD TODAY
After years of hard work, Ling has finally been able to reunite a number of child beggars with their
families. The memory of the little beggar-girl still haunts Ling to this day and she’s determined to find her.
For she is just another pearl lost in the River,
she thought grimly,
Just another pearl.
