The Drop of Life
Dewei K
t was quite a few years ago since it happened, perhaps five hundred, maybe more- in any case, it was the
year 2014. People lived short, busy lives, died young, many well before they were fully shrunk. They were
still obsessed with health and the ultimate knowledge, as it had been for thousands of years before then,
was the secret to eternal life.
It all
ung, Group 2: Fiction, St. Paul's Co-educational College Primary School
started when a group of guards were ordered to guard the Great Wall. Of course by 2014, the Wall had
lost its uses as a defense of the country. But guards were needed because so many people went to visit the Great
Wall that guards were thought necessary to protect the great historical monument.
I
One of the guards, a man named Du, was pacing up and down his stretch of the Wall when suddenly, his
foot caught a loose stone. The stone looked like any other but for a stone the size of a marble, it felt like a huge
rock against his poor foot. He picked it up and saw that it was covered in tiny characters. Du himself was not
learned enough to understand the words and so scholars were consulted about the meaning of the writing.
Finally, they found that the special writing was in code and after deciphering the code, they found that in the
third rock of the third level of the third tower of the Great Wall, there lay something called “the drop of Life”.
Some scientists in Beijing used different ways such as lasers, virtual knives and the strongest ultrasounds to
probe the rock. In the end, all they found was a small drop of liquid. The scientists were confused because they
were not able to identify the liquid- It was not water, oil or anything they recognised. It was absolutely sublime
to find a drop of moisture in the middle of rock. It fascinated the scientists and their curiosity drove them to find
out what the drop was.
After much research and discussion, it was finally decided that the rocks above the moisture drop had to be
removed to find out what the drop of moisture was.
When the heavy rocks were removed, the scientists tried to suck the drop of moisture out from the rock into
a glass vial with advanced technology but the moisture could not be moved. It stuck to the rock as if it were part
of it.
The scientists started to wonder if the moisture was hiding some great secret and decided to stay and
live at the Great Wall until they could get to the bottom of the matter. There was a stony but beautiful room in
the third tower with plenty of windows. The room had just been built to put in a tourist office but now the
scientists used it as their own.
One bright day, a scientist named Chang opened one of the windows to let the sunshine flood in. At the first
glimpse of sunlight, to the scientists’ surprise and delight, the drop of moisture sprang up into a beautiful
fountain- could this be? they thought, could this possibly be: The Drop of Life?
The scientists were curious, but also scared that the water may be poisonous, so they did not try it, but
poured some of the fountain’s water on the flame of a candle. The flame did not go out but instead grew
brighter! The candle remained burning and it still burned after everyone who visited the scientists’ room at the
Great Wall tried to blow it out.
Without any doubt, the group of scientists knew-The fountain found at the Great Wall was "The Drop of
Life". Soon word spread out that a fountain that can give eternal life had been discovered and there was an
argument about who should get to own the fountain and even who could get the first taste of it. Thousands and
thousands of people lined up for a sip of it. It was finally decided that people would have to take turns according
to age. The oldest people drank first, and the youngest ones were last to drink the water. That year, I was twenty
three.
I am an old man now, though I am not sure how old since we have all stopped counting the years. But I
know I have more years ahead of me than behind me. Whiling away the time and living life isn’t as easy as I
first thought. I am often bored and never get sick. I hope someday the scientists will discover the "Fountain of
Dying in Peace"...
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