Fiction: Group 3
The Happy Pearl
Heep Yunn School, Sum, Natalie - 14, Fiction: Group 3
ohnny groaned, kicking off his sheets and staring out of the little window. He was almost sure that he
spotted the shimmering outline of the Shenzhen airport terminal. The sun was already setting; blazing
lights both red purple and pink, like a rainbow. How Johnny wished after 10 years, he could forget the
past and be happy that he is now home, but then a voice brought him back to reality. It said,” Welcome
back home, Mr. Tong”
Johnny was scanning the crowd when an unfamiliar but stunningly attractive woman strode towards him.
She was wearing a hot pink dress and a black leather jacket. All eyes turned to her as she walked in a
graceful manner on her six- inch high heels towards him. “Welcome home, Johnny. I am Elaine, your
father’s friend. Your father is having a meeting so he can’t pick you up but he would like to have dinner
with you” Johnny stared at her, as if a blade had just pierced his body, sharp and painful, on one hand, he
wondered why that she looked so much like her, his own mother, then another moment, he thought she
was nothing compared to her. Biting his lip, he winced as he tried to suppress the memories.
It was evening as the car sped along the broad roads of North Ring Highway. Johnny gazed as he passed the
rows upon rows of buildings. In the distance he could see Pearl River with its waves shimmering under the
moonlight. He couldn’t help but recall the times when he was small, when she pointed to her the tales of
the Pearl River Delta, how Shen Zhen was just a small fishing village, and things were so different at that
time… he felt dizzy, he rummaged in his bag and found the bottle of anti-depression pills and gulped down
a generous handful, hoping the pain would subside.
His father was already waiting for him as he entered the dining hall, but as he walked towards his seat at the
other end of the table he saw someone sitting next to his father. It was the woman in the pink dress with
shiny black hair that he instantly recognized as Elaine. It was nothing strange as his father often invited
friends of his to dine. ‘Welcome home, son. This is Elaine, you stepmother’ His father stood up, introducing
the lady. It felt like a bomb had just dropped on Johnny’s head, His head ached again, harder this time; the
pain was like needles this time, reminding him of the past. ‘Mother?’ He thought. He opened his mouth to
scream but no words came out. Gritting his teeth, he settled himself down on his chair in a stiff position
along with his new family.
Dinner was awful. Not that the food wasn’t delicious, but he just couldn’t pick up his fork, especially when
his father and ‘mother’ were giggling and flirting at the other end. Johnny watched as his ‘mother’ made
some lame joke about how Hello Kitty died since it didn’t have a mouth. His father laughed and stared as
his cheeks slowly turned rosy pink. Johnny’s eyes blazed with rage. His father seemed to have forgotten
everything that happened 10 years ago, and now he was laughing and flirting with this woman he met an
hour ago known as his stepmother. Their laughs hit him like blades of wind, each one sharper than the last,
slowly tearing him to pieces. “He was angry, no he was hurt”, he thought. He couldn’t seem to forget the
only happy times in his life when his real mother had played with him, sang with him, read to him till he fell
asleep. The memories seemed to have rushed back now, filling his mind like a waterfall. He couldn’t bear to
see those shatter. He couldn’t forget those memories, he couldn’t let them fade. As their laughter rang
through the hall, their voices were like gusts of wind, raging at him. Finally, he could bear it no longer. He
raised the glass of red wine, it was a fine glass of 2006 Chateau, and brought it down with a crash, It made a
terrible sound, and his ‘parents’, stunned, looked at him in surprise. Then the words came out of him,’ you
traitor! She will never be my mother never!’ He felt his body boiling with heat like a bomb had just
exploded inside him, but then he was clenching his fists so hard that he saw bright red drops dripping from
the table, but he felt nothing only anger and hate. He could hear his parents calling him in the distance, but
he ignored it and stormed out of the room.
His head boiled as he slammed his bedroom door shut. He leaned on the door, letting the pain sink in, his
hands now covered in bright red with little shiny bits sticking out, were nothing compared to the ache in his
head and heart. He felt dizzy, painful and sad at the same time. He leaned his head back and saw the stickers
which shone at night. He remembered they were given to him as a birthday present, how his mother smiled
at him like an angel, protecting him from all dangers. He could never forget the pain when his mother
walked out of the house, the look in her eyes, full of hate, as she pushed him down. Remembering this,
Johnny’s heart jumped, His mind was a blur, the pain banged on his head. Suddenly he threw himself on the
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