Fiction: Group 3
River Spirit
The International School of Macao, Gouse, Afreen - 12, Fiction: Group 3
t’s been years.
I was only seven when I got taken away, so I suppose my memory has faded a little bit since
then, so all the events may or may not be so accurate.
We were at the beach. I remember that the sky was clear, and there wasn’t a single cloud in the
sky. The sun beat down on us, and if it hadn’t been for the umbrella, I’m sure I would’ve been darker than
obsidian.
For me, it was the perfect day.
I was sitting on a mat in the shade and my mother was chatting with my aunts. My father was
playing in the sea with my older brother while I dug my toes in the hot sand and hummed nursery rhymes.
Soon it was time for lunch and my mother handed out paper plates. She spooned a serving of
lettuce-and-tomato salad onto my plate, followed by a lump of mashed potatoes. My mother’s feeble
attempts at western food did not taste good, so when nobody was looking, I dumped my food onto the
ground and covered it with sand.
My brother handed out juice boxes. I slurped mine up and gave it to my father who tossed into the
sea and ran off to stop my brother from swimming too far.
After lunch, I picked my way through the sand to the shoreline, trying not to step on any sharp
rocks or seashells. I tiptoed to the tide and felt the cool water tickle my feet as the wet sand swallowed them.
It was liberating. For the first time, my mother wasn’t watching me intently to make sure I didn’t
dip in ‘that dirty seawater.’ She was instead talking slowly and amiably with my little cousin as she told her
about preschool.
My mother’s sweet younger sister was singing a lullaby to her newborn daughter - a beautiful,
sleepy melody that reflected the day.
My mean aunt was snoring loudly, and the umbrella that she had propped up above her had rolled
off to one side leaving her exposed to the sun.
I splashed the cool water onto my face. Suddenly, I had the urge to dunk myself in the foamy sea.
Why not? The water felt refreshing on my scorched skin and it was definitely worth my mother’s ire. I had
to keep it quiet, though, so I advanced tentatively.
I took another step and watched my knees disappear under the dark water. When I put my foot
down again, I felt something squishy under my toes. I nearly screamed, but was relieved to feel the fine sand
under my feet. I wondered what it was, but decided not to dwell on it. I kept walking until the water was
up to my shoulders.
That’s it,
I told myself.
Just dunk your head in. Then swim to your brother, splash
loudly, and come out of the water yelling, ‘Jin! You pushed me!’ and you won’t get in trouble.
But it didn’t happen that way.
===
I followed the first part of my plan. I took a deep breath and let myself sink to the bottom. That’s
when I felt something wrap around my ankle. I struggled and tried to wrench it off, but in vain. I used all
my energy to swim up to the surface, and managed to stay there long enough to yell, ‘Mama! Help!’ and see
her stare at me, horrified, screaming, ‘Leena!’
I inhaled sharply before I got pulled back into the water.
And then everything went black.
===
I woke up to feel my comfortable yellow summer blanket draped over my face and hear the
constant blub-blub-blubbing of the fish tank in my room.
I yanked the blanket off my face and yelled, “Mama! I had a nightmare!” only to discover that I
was still having a nightmare. The yellow summer blanket was, in fact, a fuzzy red throw.
I was in a huge transparent bubble and surrounding it was… the sea? The water was shallow and I
could the see the sun hovering above me, twinkling brightly as I stood up.
The blubbing sounds came from fish swimming near my bubble. Their mouths opened and closed
soundlessly as they swam past.
I
