Fiction: Group 2
The Fairy Tale of Pearl River Delta
Xi'an International School, Lee, Natalyn - 11, Fiction: Group 2
t this moment, there are plenty of wealthy people wearing nice clothes and going to parties in the
Pearl River Delta. But don’t you think this is only home to the rich, there are also plenty of poor,
homeless, starving people. Airen, unfortunately, was the poor type. He was about to jump off one
of the many bridges that overlooked the Pearl River, an action that most would call suicide.
Why did this young man have any desire to commit suicide? Well, as you know, beggars don’t live
a very happy life. Airen felt that he couldn’t bear life anymore. Endless suffering on the street, not to
mention he had his family to take care of. He looked down and saw the remains of which was once a
beautiful landmark: a polluted river. Airen hated the pollution, though not because it was dirty; he hated it
because his youngest son was halfway to heaven from the sickness he got from it. In the distance, he saw a
streak of white leap across the water. A Chinese White Dolphin, he told himself. Under most circumstances,
he would have jumped in excitement and gone straight to thinking of the threats it would face, swimming
in a dirty lake like this. But not now, this was a day in which a decision was to be made. Probably the
decision of his life, assuming he still had a life after today.
He needed to think. Not the best place to think, standing on the edge of a bridge somewhere on
the Pearl River Delta. It didn’t help much that The Pearl River Delta had become a major manufacturing
base for electronic products, since he could hear irritating everyday sounds from everywhere-the chime of a
clock here, the hum of a sewing machine there, and the constant blasting music of the arcade. He was proud
to say that the Pearl River Delta economic zone counted for approximately one third of China’s trade value.
Unfortunately, Airen couldn’t think, for people were starting to point, stare, and worst of all-whip
out their phones. He didn’t have a fear of phones, but if the people of Pearl River Delta called the police,
things would get messy. He needed to buy more time. “Easier said than done.” He told himself. The
officials don’t give a thought to beggars starving to death, but the press would report it. He could imagine
the headline of the newspapers tomorrow: “Slumdog commits suicide” “Beggar takes the jump” “Ashes to
ashes” They do this all in the name of love, obviously.
A coin fell from his palm into the rushing waters below. He wondered whether that coin would
travel to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, maybe even Hong Kong. Hong Kong was his dream future. Never mind
that it was one of the world’s leading financial capitals. Hong Kong because that was where his great-great
grandfather changed from a wealthy businessman to a peasant.
He didn’t know what really happened, but it went something like this: His great-great grandfather,
who was Le Xiao, was one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest businessmen. His rival, Huang Yun was jealous. One
day, his jealousy became so serious that he devised a plan to get rid of Le Xiao. He told his servants to put
drugs in Le Xiao’s drink. This drug would act as a mind control to see and kill. Luckily, the plan didn’t
work out as Huang Yun planned. Huang Yun knew that after one hour, the drug would lost its chemicals
and Le Xiao would be killed for murder. What Huang Yun forgot was that he must stay far away from Le
Xiao to avoid getting killed. Huang Yun wanted to see the action happen. He wanted to see Le Xiao
murdering his loved ones and getting killed. When Le Xiao drank the drug, it began to take action. He
killed Huang Yung and was sentenced to death, for the lives that were lost that day were many in numbers.
Airen had no idea how he ended up in The Pearl River Delta, but he did know, that although his
home was The Pearl River Delta, his future lay in Hong Kong, home to his great-great grandfather Le
Xiang.
He closed his eyes and thought about life, which didn’t include much happiness. But maybe he was
just looking at it in a wrong way. He spent his life being depressed and always focused on the bad things in
life. He never really looked at the other side of the world, which was full of beauty and happiness. He knew
that common sense was to step back and fight through life with his family, but there was still a little nagging
voice at the back of his head, encouraging him to end everything.
Airen had always thought everything was a burden. While most people would say that family was a
precious gift, he had thought they were a burden.
He stared down at the pearl-coloured shells that had washed up on the shore. Then, he took a step
back. Airen thought about the White Dolphin he saw and the sun, the warmth and love it had always
offered. He just never accepted it. He stepped back, and thought of his family, his wife who saw him as the
brave man who protected his family and his son, who although was in bed with cancer but willing to fight
A
