Fiction: Group 2
The Power of Hope
French International School - Primary Section, Daveau, Farah - 10, Fiction: Group 2
y great grandfather apparently had said, once upon a time when hope was in short supply, five
Celestial beings on five rams, carrying sheaths of rice descended on Canton. They blessed the
land, and called it ‘Yangcheng’ -- City of Rams. They offered rice to the people as a symbol of
prosperity. The five rams turned into stone and the city flourished. My great grandfather was a ‘co-hong’ a
merchant who was trading with the original 13 wholesalers on the riverbanks of the Pearl River Delta. His
godown was at No. 5 Shisanhang Lu. He traded silk, tea, silver and porcelain on the Maritime Silk Road.
He died at sea. It was said that the typhoon was the anger and wrath of Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea. The
“act-of-goddess” smashed his ship against one of the stoned rams. It was believed that he had broken a
code of conduct on the Canton System. I was named after my great grandfather, Bao-Zhi. My hair was oak
wood brown. My eyes were blacker than midnight. It would shine like crystals in the light. My nose was
short and flared. My mouth was very small. My skin was peach and shimmered wherever I went. I was short
but horribly skinny.
A wise man who read the ways of the universe and stars told us that a bad luck would befall our family once
again, which then would break the curse that would take us to a fortune. Weary, we lived quietly, in a poor
village. Our shanty hut was dingy grey, made out of stone and so were all the other houses around. We had
one old saggy couch and a small rug made out of animal skin. Everyone would have to sleep on the floor.
Because everyone argued who should sleep on the couch!
We always had to remember to appease Mazu, the sea goddess, so we could allay any forthcoming bad luck.
When I was old enough, my father asked me to make offerings to the sea goddess. I made the journey,
mustering much energy and carrying all hope to reach the top of the mountain. So that any wrath of Mazu
would not fall on us a second time. My mother said hope is nothing in such a circumstance but to me hope
is everything. As I went down on my knees, clutching the joss sticks to pray, I felt a rough jolt. Three strong
men took me by the arm and shoved me into a rice sack. They dragged me for two days until they took me
into a sombre grey factory with cloudy air pumping out of it.
The men tossed me onto a floor of dirt and grime and yelled with deep low voices,
“This is now your life, you will work for nothing, child labour prisoner!” The years rolled by and I worked
in the light bulb factory on the banks of the Pearl River Delta. Light bulb after light bulb, and time was at a
standstill. The days stretched like years when I was alone. I was more melancholy after every minute that
passed. Hoping that someone would save me.
I had been in captivity as a factory worker for 5 years. One night when the factory was closed, I finally
found the courage to pick at the rusty padlock until it unlocked quite easily from wear and tear. I tiptoed
softly out the door, looking for an escape route. A full moon softly lit the dark corridors through the
windows. I saw something move in the shadows. A mouse! It had been following me the whole time I
worked at the factory and also looked as broken as I was. As we felt our way, suddenly we saw a ball of fire.
A faulty light bulb had probably electrocuted and started a blaze. As the flames leapt and licked the walls,
the mouse scurried, showing me a hidden passageway, to safety. We heard screams from the three thugs
who had abducted me, consumed by the ravaging fire. The factory burnt to ashes. I saw daylight for the first
time. And out of the remains, I saw that the address was No. 5 Shisanhang Lu.
The mouse ran over a charred metal on the floor. It was a trapdoor. Buried in the earth were Qing dynasty
golden coins, silver and imperial antique porcelain. The mouse was my guardian, carrying the soul of my
great grandfather. The family curse had been broken and our fortune, prosperity and destiny unfolded.
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