Fiction: Group 2
Mermaids inTaipo Reservoir
Creative Primary School, Wong, Elisabeth - 12, Fiction: Group 2
o you believe in mermaids? Would you believe me if I told you that I knew one?
Back in the 1980’s, a girl called Katerina lived on a hill with her family on an old chicken farm
near the Taipo Reservoir. She would help every day after school to feed the chickens that pecked around in
the dirt within the fence.
One particular foggy, April day, she was exhausted after school. It bothered her that her best friend Sabrina
was missing, so she snuck out of the house and chased after the mini bus that was rolling down the steep
road. The mini bus driver slammed his brakes on, and waited for Katerina, warning her that he would not
stop next time. She nodded her head and rushed to the window seat at the back.
She sat, gazing out of the window, trying to erase her mind, thinking of something to look forward to -
like her birthday! But then she realized Sabrina wasn’t going to be there. Her face looked even worse than
before and a few tears escaped out of her eyes, soaking her favourite jeans.
The mini bus halted at the entrance of the reservoir and Katerina jumped off, getting a cloud of dust in her
face. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and hurried to the edge of the lake. The wind whispered and blew
through her hair. Leaves followed the wind’s direction and twirled around her. She felt as if her heart just
sank into the water, just like Sabrina did.
She slowly sat down on the edge, dangling her sweaty feet into the cool water. The water bubbled around
her feet. She closed her eyes and leaned back onto her jacket. A dreadful voice came into her head. “You
are banned from going to the Taipo Reservoir. It’s too dangerous! You mustn’t go there. You know what
happened to Sabrina.” Katerina quickly opened her eyes, trying to forget the harsh words of her parents.
Then, Katerina felt an icy drop of water dropping on to her cheek and looked into the gray sky. It was
starting to rain, cold drops splashed down on her. Suddenly, a great big storm started to rise, the waves got
bigger and a big wave hit the edge that Katerina was sitting on and dragged her away into the reservoir,
bumping her head on a rock.
When Katerina opened her eyes slightly, she was as tiny as a small fish and she saw two orange fishes
standing like humans on her left and right, each holding a spear, and her own feet had turned into a tail! She
wiggled it, but she was too tired. Then she heard them say, “Who is she?” the other fish answered, “Must
be one of those humans again, let’s take her back to the castle.” Katerina felt the fishes dragging her arms,
she tried to struggle away, but the fishes sprayed something on her face and she slept like a cat.
She woke up from the sound of a gate that smacked closed behind her, and her eyes popped open like
balloons. She thought, “Where am I? Why am in a dungeon?’’
She peeped to the cage on her left and she saw someone lying on the cold floor. She asked, “Hello? Um…
could you tell me where I am?’’ The person slowly turned. Unbelievable! It was Sabrina! Her hands were
tied together with a rope, she had fizzy clothes on. Katerina shouted happily, “Sabrina? What are you doing
here?’’ Sabrina whispered, “Katerina! Keep your voice down! If the guards hear us, they will spray some
sleeping powder in our face, like they did to me.’’ Katerina breathed, “Let’s plan to get out. I have an
idea…”
The guard heard screaming and grabbed the sleeping spray, rushed into the hallway of the dungeon; but he
couldn’t see Katerina in her cage. He quickly opened Katerina’s cage to check. He rushed out to get help,
letting the keys dangling at the cage door. Katerina, who had swum up to the ceiling, quickly dived out,
D
