My father was a peculiar man.The only stories he told me were about this certain place and how he
would have loved to go there some day. I had always thought that it was only a story that my father had
invented: a fantasy land that he created for me.After some thorough research and digging of files and
invading old memories, I had discovered exactly how my father was related to this.
The TerracottaWarriors had inexplicably disappeared in a catastrophe when I was just a young girl. I
didn’t know much since there wasn’t much information on the incident but I did know that my father
was at the scene- or at least he claimed so as written in his diary that I kept close to me at all times but
promised never to look into it until that day.When I turned to the older pages, I drew attention to the
maps and scrawny symbols drawn onto the discoloured pages.That’s how I had found out where this
place was exactly. I decided that it was my duty to get to the bottom of this as the daughter of Li Zihao
even if it were the last thing I did.
I was brought back to reality by a bright flash of light coming from somewhere above me. Startled, I
stumbled backwards and caught my foot in one of the craters, sending me flying down the hills.The world
seemed to rush past me and my head was spinning in every possible direction. I could feel the wind
enclosing me in a ball of nothingness as I kept moving. It felt as if there would be no end to this – the
only end would be to my life. Suddenly the land had disappeared from below and I felt myself free-falling.
Shocks ran up and down my body in every possible place as I came crashing back onto flat ground.
It had taken me a while to get back up onto my feet due to the excruciating pain that the impact had
caused.Although, I did make it back up. Only then had I realized where I had landed after my fall.The
roof was raised high above my head and shadows bounced off them as the setting sun shone rays of warm
colours toward me.The ground was uneven in every place that I laid eyes on and small creatures roamed
the cave as if they owned it.
There it was again.
My eyes caught sight of the bright light with my feet firmly planted on the ground. However, they didn’t
stay hooked down for long. Before I could process what I was doing, I was darting in the direction of the
light, following it as best as I could. I didn’t care if it may not have concerned what I had come to look for
but my curiosity had gotten the best of me and there was no stopping me. Maybe it was rage, maybe it was
curiosity or maybe it was fear that was driving me – I would never know.
I came to a sudden halt. I couldn’t believe the sight that had unveiled itself from beneath the shadows and
the mist. My feet began to hesitantly move backwards out of pure fright however my eyes stayed glued to
the scene. My lips trembled vigorously but no words came out. My body had forgotten how to function
and was refusing to work. My thoughts ran in every direction causing mayhem as I froze.
All the frustration and confusion that I had gone through had finally proved to have been worth it and so
did those long nights that I had spent pouring my thoughts onto paper.
An undamaged, complete Terracotta Army presented itself right before my eyes.
The spell on me broke abruptly and I could feel my feet again and I could think straight again. I slowly
began to approach the soldier that stood closest to me. Step by step, I got closer to accomplishing my
mission.All I remember feeling was pride and the taste of victory. I had finished off what my father had
started but never had the chance to complete. Maybe my father had left this world for a reason…
