Fiction: Group 2
Nevertheless, after we heard for the first time the dull rumble of distant bombing, Papa seemed to lose the
confident smile on his face. As bad news came pouring in, there was no school any more, and over the next
few weeks, many fled the village and Papa, started making plans for us.
One day before dawn, Mama woke me up early and told me we had to leave. She was carrying
my little sister on her back, while Papa had our possessions bundled up in cloth and tied around his
shoulders. We were barely out of the village when we heard the drone of the bombers again, but much
closer to us. The third bomb fell and hit one of the long deserted houses. Papa yelled “Brace! Brace!” and he
threw himself on top of us. The next thing I knew there were broken timber and fragments that used to be
walls and ceilings, all around us. When I asked Papa if it was all over there came no answer. Suddenly I felt a
warm ooze dripping down my face. I used my hand to wipe it off, and as I looked at it and realized it was
Papa’s blood.
Uncle Lin, our neighbor, heard the commotion and hurried over to help. It turned out Papa was
hurt both on the leg and on the head and was simply too weak to carry on the journey. Papa and Uncle Lin
exchanged some soft, almost inaudible whispers and Uncle Lin nodded firmly. Papa beckoned me over and
told me to follow Uncle Lin to Hong Kong to find my aunt, and they would join me as soon as Papa was
well enough to travel again. I protested but I knew by the look on his face that he allowed no arguments.
Mama sewed my aunt’s address on my undershirt and I bid them farewell.
***
The sea kept rolling and rolling but the sinking had stopped. I could feel something carrying me. I
realized that I was on the back of a dolphin which looked oddly familiar - Xiao Bai Quan, the dolphin with
a white ring mark around her snout which I had once saved had come to save me.
“Xiao Yan Zi, you survived! We’re in Hong Kong!” Uncle Lin cried as he came running over.
