Fiction: Group 4
“All of us must have heard of Hebo, the Lord of Rivers. People worship him by throwing valuable things
into the river. But I don’t think it is enough to soothe the Dragon King’s anger. We may need a living
thing.”
“But the only one in our village who keeps animals is Little Li.”
“I only have an ox for plowing,” piped the little man standing at the front. “If I throw it into the river, we
will have to plow the fields laboriously for days!”
“Little Li is right, we cannot sacrifice the ox!”
“Then perhaps we will have to sacrifice one of us,” said the Chief.
The crowd went muted. Men glanced at each other nervously, though the boys did not understand much,
telling from their fathers’ faces, they knew something was not quite right.
“Our sons are precious; we cannot throw them into the river!”
“Yeah, who is going to take care of us when we get old?”
“If not us, then the women!”
Ah Man gasped but quickly her mouth was covered by Ah Xi’s palm. Then they heard the Chief saying,
“We can offer a virgin girl as a bride to the Dragon King. This is the only way to cease the flood. Everyone
go home and fetch your girls; we will have a raffle once everyone come back. Hurry up!”
The crowd scattered back to their huts and made the females assemble in front of the Chief’s house. The
females all looked startled and shuffled their legs uneasily; the wives greeted each other while the girls stay
beside their family members closely, not making any sound. Ah Man went to join her mother, who was
asking her husband the details of the men’s assembly. Cold wind pierced the children’s faces and it bellowed
without a steady beat. The sudden algidity made Ah Man stared at the grey clouds that had saggy pouches
down underneath.
“There is a storm in the air,” said Ah Man gloomily to Ah Xi. “I hope our houses will not be flooded.”
“This will happen, especially when they claim that the Dragon King is furious.”
“Anyway, who do you think will most likely be the bride?”
“I don’t have any idea. Let’s cross our fingers that the chance will land in someone else’s hand.”
Wei came out from the hut with his father again, with Little Li holding a box with shreds of parchment
inside. The villagers stopped their talks and focused on the Chief. The Chief cleared his throat and said,
“Virgins please come forward and draw lots. The one who picks the shred with a black blob will be our
saviour and bride today. Don’t unfold it until everyone has taken one.”
One by one, the girls picked up their lots and returned to their families, clinching and staring at their bit of
parchment.
“I sure hope my little girl is not going to be the bride,” muttered a mother while looking at her seven-
year-old daughter, who had just came back with the lot in her palm. “She is still so young.”
“Age does not matter,” snapped her husband. “As long as she can ease Dragon King’s fury.”
“But she is still so little—”
“Don’t be ignorant. Age does not matter at all as long as she is a virgin.”
Swiftly, the girls finished picking their lots, and the Chief started giving instructions.
“Ah Man, help me hold my slip, I need to clean my shoes,” said Ah Xi once she gave Ah Man her slip, then
crouched down and brushed off the dirt on her shoes.
Ah Man looked at Ah Xi, who was busying cleaning her shoes. Her fingers unfolded her paper and took a
quick; she immediately folded it back, unable to take the truth. If that was the case, then she would have
to…
“I am done, thank you,” said Ah Xi. Ah Man handed back the slip.
“Girls, unfold your paper,” ordered the Chief.
For the next moment, no one moved, and then all girls opened the slips simultaneously. Suddenly, all the
men and women began asking at once, “Who gets it?” “Is it Little Li’s daughter?” “Is it Ah Xing’s sister?”
Then the voices began to say, “It’s Ah Xi.”
Little Li dashed through the crowd to Ah Xi and forced the slip out of her hand. It had a rich shiny black
blob on it, the ink mark that the Chief had made not long ago. Little Li held it up, showing the slip.
“Alright, everyone,” said Wei. “Let’s do it.”
“Papa, save me!”
“Shut up,” snapped her father, not moving at all. “You can finally make good use of yourself and make
contribution to our village.”
“But I don’t want to and it is not fair—”
