Fate of a Protester 3

By Nathalie Ho

Dear Journal,

I am SO excited!!! My mom offered to bring me to a protest where Joshua Wong would be too. Just in case you don’t know, I have all of Joshua Wong’s books, and watched his movie 34+ times. I. Am. A. Huge. Fan. Of. Joshua. Wong!

As for bad news, my hamster, Hammy, died.

Joy

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We were on our way to a protest at Victoria Park. I went with Hana to the vending machine nearby, grabbed a Vita Lemon Tea then walked to the front of the line. I put my drink in my bag, then I waited for the call to start. Someone shouted “CHARGE!” and I ran as fast as possible, only to ram into a barrier. CRASH! I stood up, then gasped. A shot of pain spread through my leg. My left knee was dripping with blood! Unfortunately, I forgot to bring band-aids. Crap! I hopped to the nearest makeshift first-aid station, where a girl from secondary school named Amelia bandaged my knee with wrap-around gauze. I said thank you, and limped and ran quickly back to the area of the protest. Man, this gauze is tight!

I went to the crate of petrol bombs nearby, and adjusted my breathing mask. I grabbed the top-most petrol bomb, and hurled it at one of the police. CLANG! It knocked down one of the metal fences and exploded nearby. My locket was already JUMPING on my chest as my heart throbbed. I ran (and sort of limped) to the crate to get another bomb, but I saw something that made me forget about my leg.

Hana was sprawled on the floor, blood running from a wound in her arm. It looked like she got hit by a brick on her arm, and there were fragments of them all over her. She was crying in pain, tears trickling onto the puddle of blood on the floor. I quickly ran to her and pulled a My Melody tissue from my pocket and offered it. She took it weakly, and I told her I would get help. I ran to Amelia as fast as my legs could take me.

“Amelia! Someone needs help!” I shouted. She followed me, running to Hana, assessing the injury.“ I think she needs an ambulance,” she said. My heart practically dropped. While Amelia called the ambulance, I pinched myself, just to check whether this was a dream or not, only to jump in pain.

Soon, the ambulance arrived. The lump in my throat grew bigger and bigger, until I just couldn’t help but burst into tears as more and more people started crowding around the ambulance. I saw Hana being carried into the ambulance by stretcher, and felt someone patting me on the back. It was Amelia. She put her arm around me, as we watched Hana disappear into the ambulance and drove away. I didn’t even have the chance to give her the matching BFF necklace my dad gave us.

I knew I had to fight for Hana. I ran, grabbed a petrol bomb, and hurled it at the police in frustration. I saw Calvin waving a black Hong Kong flag, and I walked up to chat with him. He told me to meet up at Golden Bauhinia Square with Willy tomorrow night, for Operation Black Bauhinia. We wanted to continue to send the message--that Hong Kong needed to be independent. I nodded, then texted Hana’s parents to tell them about the incident.

Apparently, a sharp brick hit her in the arm, causing her arm to fracture. I felt so bad. That night, I took the bus back home. I settled down to watch the news, then went to bed. Raging thoughts paraded around in my head, memories of Hana too, and I couldn’t sleep. I decided to keep myself busy by plotting out a plan for Operation Black Bauhinia.

Soon, a notification popped up on my WhatsApp. Joey was coming home TOMORROW! Finally! I was excited, but tired. I put my phone down, and instantly fell asleep.

The next day, I took a bus to the hospital, and picked up Joey and Mom from the hospital. It was great to have Joey back after her month-long struggle in the hospital. I told Mom about everything that happened when she and Joey were gone, and afterwards, she pulled the both of us into a hug. I smiled, and showed Joey the new Lego set Dad gave me. We built something called The Sister Treehouse, where the both of us could hang out as our Lego figures. At 12:30pm, I made sandwiches for my family to eat, and then I helped give Joey a bath. After caring for my sister, I made myself a lemon tea, and then took a refreshing shower, then spent some time eating a muesli bar.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I jerked up. It was Dad! I ran to the door and said hi. Soon, it was time for dinner. Dad made his signature tuna casserole rice, and Mom added a seafood platter. After we ate, I got changed into a long- sleeved black shirt, a pair of black yoga pants, and I wrapped a black scarf around my face. I then took my backpack (which had my water bottle, a can of black spray paint, and my phone in it) and set out to Golden Bauhinia Square.

Goodbye, Golden Bauhinia, I thought. Say hello to Black Bauhinia. As buildings and lush trees passed by, I wondered how Hana was, alone at the hospital in pain, having to wake up everyday in the ward. Visitors weren’t allowed in public hospitals yet because of the virus, so even though I wanted to see her, I couldn't. It was frustrating.

When the bus stopped in Wan Chai, I got off, and a soft harbor breeze was blowing. I then saw three silent figures in the distance. I ran over, hoping to see a familiar face. I then saw Willy, then Calvin and Amelia! I said “Hi,” and then we all walked over to the Golden Bauhinia. I silently climbed onto the ledge, and took out my bottle of spray paint slowly, trying not to make a sound. A BUMP sounded nearby. Amelia had bumped her bag against the ledge. “SHHHH!” I said. “We’re trying not to make any noise!” Amelia nodded. I sprayed some paint onto the solid, cold, shiny statue. Spray it went, hitting the metal. Pretty soon, we had done the job. Calvin added the last thing: a big red X.

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Dear Journal,

I’m so proud of myself! I made it all the way to Wan Chai and Operation Black Bauhinia was successful! No one even noticed! Now I gotta have breakfast.

See you later,

Joy

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Today I’m visiting Grandma for the day because my mom and dad are at work. And I’m excited, because whenever I visit Grandma, she makes awesome Cantonese pastries like almond pastries and egg rolls. (Did I mention that she works at a local Hong Kong pastry shop?) She also likes to play mahjong.

When my sister and I got to her house far away in Fanling (yes, she lives in a house, not an apartment), she surprised us at the door. “Hi, Joy, Hi Joey!” she said.

“I can see that Joey is better now, I’m so glad.” She hugged me and my sister leading us in.

“Would you like some almond pastries?” she asked. We both nodded eagerly. I sat down on her couch, and watched TV while she put the last batch of almond cookies in the oven. She wanted us to bring some home for Mum and Dad. Then she said, “Hey Joy, can you set the mahjong table up on the tea table while I boil the tea? I’ll have Joey get the cookies out.”

I ran to the dusty store room, looking around for the mahjong board and box with the mahjong pieces. Then, I stumbled across a mysterious chest. I unlocked it. Inside, there was a diamond- shaped locket, and a note. It said:

OMG! This was from Grandpa! He had passed away in 2018. I checked the locket on my chest, where I stored a key that my dad gave me ages ago. I carefully slotted the key into the locket, and it opened! Inside there was another message:

I gasped. What does this all mean? Then I remembered that I had to find the mahjong board. I pocketed the treasures, then looked around.

Ah-ha! There it was, golden and shiny, folded neatly, leaned across the corner. I took it out into the living room, took out all the pieces and carefully aligned them, as Grandma and Joey took more snacks out, and sat down on the couch. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing.

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Dear Journal,

I’m back at home now. I’m so confused about the treasures I discovered. I am thinking about how all these mysterious pieces are linked: First, Hana gets hurt. Second, Amelia becomes a friend. Third, I find a mysterious chest and locket in my Grandma’s store room with messages from my Grandpa.

THIS IS ALL SO WEIRD!

Joy

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That night, I lay in my bed, tossing and turning, and thinking about the locket mystery, Amelia, and Hana. I felt confused, stressed and anxious. My dad knocked on the door, checking up on me. “Joy, what’s wrong? Take it easy, girl. If you can’t sleep, just try to rest. If you need me, I’ll be in the living room.”

I flopped out of bed, too tired to say anything. I turned on some music and put my earbuds on. I went to check the time. It was 11pm. I looked out the window across the harbor, noticing that the fighting continued... in the distance, I saw some smoke billowing out into the air. Was it another street fight?

Three hours later, the sun was peeking out with an eerie, greenish glow. I looked outside again, and walked to the kitchen for a drink of water. I looked groggily out into the hallway. It was super quiet. I decided to take a shower, checking my phone just before I turned on the water. There was an extreme storm warning. I wrapped my fluffy bathrobe around me and softly knocked on my parents’ bedroom door. Dad came to the door, and asked what I was doing up at 5 am. I told him about the typhoon. The eerie glow of sunrise was replaced by a storm cloud, and it suddenly went very dark. I dressed and came out of my room still clutching my phone. I saw Dad storm-proofing the house. I turned on the radio and put some cups of tea on the sofa. I could feel the windows shaking with the heavy gusts of wind blowing against our building, which was very close to the harbor, and very old. I could hear wild flapping of curtains from the neighbours. Lucky we took the laundry in last night, I thought. Suddenly, multiple phones around the house were ringing. It was Grandma, then Amelia, warning us of a possible T10.

I sat down on the couch, and turned on the TV. By the time Joey and Mom were awake, there was a heavy downpour of rain and a clap of thunder every few seconds. Mom was trying to comfort Joey while I tried to feed them French toast. I was getting super worried about what was about to come.

I sat on the windowsill, looking at the completely grey sky. Suddenly, there was a loud crash from one of the rooms, and a clattering noise. I went to the room where Joey and I built our Lego World. Our world was destroyed.

From the living room TV, the news showed pictures and video footage of the storm. I stared at our Lego room. Our chances of getting a Guiness World Record was destroyed. Joey was crying silently. But then it got worse. In one giant smash all the windows shattered! I screamed for help. Dad came over, led us out of that room and closed the door.

Then another clap of thunder shook the house, shaking the floor. There was another audible crash coming from outside. Part of the industrial building next door had a damaged wall that fell partly on our side of the building. The impact made our flat shake, causing our bookshelf to fall against the TV. Our house was a wreck! There was another massive crash and one of the living room windows shattered, causing a gust of wind to blow across the room, which made the salt and sugar bottles fall to the floor.

Joey screamed. It was madness.Downstairs, the promenade was flooded, and we could see strong waves of water going into our main lobby.

Meanwhile inside our flat, two windows in the living area had shattered, and rain was coming in from all sides. The wind was blowing things off the shelves. We didn’t have a choice but to leave. It wasn’t safe in the house anymore.

I ran down to the lift, but the door wouldn't open even though it showed that it had stopped on our floor: 14. I kept pummelling the button, but it was no use. We ran down using the stairs. I ran down the stairs, carrying Joey on my back. She wasn’t feeling well again, and she was heavy.

We finally reached the lobby floor, but when Dad kicked it open, it wouldn’t budge. We saw water forcing its way inside the lobby. We pushed together and managed to get out, as the glass of the main lobby doors broke. We were swimming in a pool of glass and water, and who knows what else?!

I waded out, one hand holding Joey, the other one struggling to keep my phone in my pocket. I could seriously hear the instrumental version of Ignite by Alan Walker and K-391 ringing in my ear, which I used as background music on a documentary on Hato, a previous typhoon that I worked on in school. The music was ringing in my ears, as I swam out with Dad and Mom wading about. The entire main street was flooded… it was so hard to get anywhere. Suddenly, I blacked out.

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The next thing I knew was we were inside a civil aid vehicle. I took out my phone from my pocket. It was dripping wet. I was sitting next to a sopping wet Joey, wrapped in a towel. As we rushed past other rescue vehicles, I stared back at our home. I knew it was too late. As water flooded past, I started to cry. Was everyone else OK? I closed my eyes. I saw visions of Hana in the hospital, her arm all bandaged up, tubings flailing everywhere, as the hospital got flooded. Then a vision of Calvin and all his lab stuff floating away. Then Josh, one of the bomb guys (and not to be confused with Joshua Wong, as he doesn’t even look like him) floating away, with all the petrol bomb crates, floating away with him. Then Willy, who also lives at my estate, floating away into the street. Suddenly the vehicle stopped. I jerked awake. We were at a refugee center.

We walked in. The room smelled of cats and instant noodles. I followed a young girl who looked like she was about 15. Her name was Serena and she had a pink shawl wrapped around her hair, a pink top and green shorts. She introduced us to her sister named Cadence. She led us to a corner just a few inches away from the corridor, and gave us mattresses. I fell asleep straight away, too tired to think about anything else.

The next morning, I went to the makeshift cafeteria to get breakfast. I noticed everyone was having the same thing--mashed potatoes and bacon, with broccoli. I walked to the front with my plastic plate and got my food, then got some cutlery and sat next to Serena. I set my plate and cutlery down. I delved deeper into conversation as we both ate and talked, about how they ended up here. Eventually, the conversation landed on the protests. “I’m pro-China,” Serena said. “How about you?”

I was outraged. “Traitor.” I said quietly, not really caring if she would hear. Now was not the time to get into a fight, so I excused myself and walked away. Our makeshift refugee center was covered in trees, which was probably why it was chosen as a shelter. It used to be a junkyard, and there was a large pulldown door which couldn’t be opened because it was covered in foliage. We worked together and managed to clear the doorway of our once-abandoned shelter.

While working, I saw Serena and Cadence whispering, and pointing to me in a corner. I found myself running towards them like I was at a protest, shouting, “What’s your problem?!” The two managed to run away to a room far away from our beds.

That night, I sneaked into the room they disappeared into. I fiddled around with the lock until it opened and was shocked by the piles and piles of donations which they had obviously kept for themselves: food, blankets, clothing, chocolates, even some luxury goods.

I walked to where they were sleeping and shouted, “You’ve been hiding this stash for yourselves all this time? How selfish can you two be?!” They were startled awake, suddenly looking guilty. I walked away and told my parents, letting them report the girls to the people who ran the shelter.

My mom and dad told me to go back to sleep. I tossed and turned. Suddenly, Hong Kong was a total wreck. I could see a drowning Hana, bathed in blood, then a washed-up Calvin moaning, then Willy wet and sneezing in the rain. Then Joey, DEAD?! I screamed. It was a nightmare!

I willed myself to wake up. Joey is here with us. She’s safe and sound. Calm down. I took a few deep breaths but had to turn my Airpods on to listen to some music because I couldn’t get back to sleep. I suddenly heard Joshua Wong’s voice… His scheduled conference was being broadcasted online instead of live, because of the typhoon. “When injustice becomes law, rebellion becomes duty… let’s not give up on our dreams for Hong Kong.”

I turned off my phone. It was time to deal with the real cheaters.

To be continued...