Silent Fear
Valerie Ma, Group 3: Fiction, Hong Kong International School
ou better do it now,” said my brother, “or father’s going to come.”
I nodded, and slowly opened the door to my father’s bedroom. Creeping around ever
so quietly, I looked for the box that held all the secrets to my father’s past.
It was dark inside his room. I crawled on all fours until my hand accidentally felt a
dusty box. I opened the latch and grabbed the first thing inside, closed the lid, and ran out the
door.
“
Let me see it! Let me see it!” said my brother, trying to grab it away from my hands. But I knew better.
May 29, 1644
Commander Qi had just received the news of the enemy on May 26.
“
Quick! Arrange yourselves in formation. The enemy is sleeping in their armor tonight. We must be
ready at a moment’s notice!” He yelled at us. The soldiers on the ground arranged themselves into defensive
lines, while the soldiers on the wall stood side by side, in two rows along the wall.
We stood for an hour, before we were allowed to sit and wait for our fates. I was on the wall, looking
down at the trembling soldiers who were new to the battlefield, like me. I immediately began to daydream about
life before being sent to the Shanhai Pass. My father was just a farmer, but he gave me my first bow when I was
10.
I was enlisted into the army for that very reason. But most boys like me had to fight anyway.
Nightfall washed over us, the wind kissing the top of our heads, even with our shining helmets on. The moon
was high in the sky. I think it was around midnight, that I heard the distant sound of marching. Everyone else
heard it as well. We scrambled to stand up and prepare our weapons. Within a few minutes, all soldiers were up
and terrified.
“
This is the time when you fight for your country! Don’t let a single man cross this blood stained wall!”
Commander Qi yelled to us. My eyes swam, and I began to feel dizzy. This was it, my first battle. Death was
coming, and it was so close. My father lost his life building this wall. My father’s bones were somewhere inside
this wall, and I now had the determination to defend it.
Soon, the marches got closer. I gripped my bow until my knuckles were white. The smooth wood felt
slippery to my fingers. My right hand felt for the hilt of the sword that was given to me by my brother. I felt for
the quiver of feather ended arrows, taking one out, ready to release it on command.
I could see the black line getting closer and thicker.
“
Ten thousand on the left, and ten thousand on the right. I know who this is,” said Commander Qi,
“
Dorgon and the Manchurians.”
Sunlight began to stream through the clouds, and for a second I had hope. I had hope in my fingers, and
in my eyes. The Manchurians sped up, now jogging. Then they began to run. A cry pierced the silence that
surrounded us, and the first man was killed.
I held my bow up, ready to fire, when Commander Qi put his hand on my arm.
“
Not now. They are too far away, we have to wait.” He said to me, as I lowered down my bow. I
crouched down, hiding behind a block of stone, as I was forced to watch the lives of the soldiers fly with the
wind, away from this battlefield, away from this land.
“
Get ready now. On my signal, send your first arrow to the enemy. Their weakness is their neck and
waist.” Commander Qi said to us. I got up, legs trembling. My feet inside of my cloth boots were ice cold, and
the cold feeling ran up into my chest.
The enemy was pushing forward quickly. On Commander Qi’s signal, we sent volley after volley of arrows,
replenishing more with the stocks behind us. I had become a robot with no empathy, killing as many enemy
soldiers as I could. The wind began to pick up, and soon, I was blinded, as was everyone else.
“
Get down and cover your eyes!” yelled Commander Qi. Everyone fell to the ground as fast as they could,
and covered their eyes with their hands. A sandstorm had come in the afternoon, at the brink of defeat. There
was still a chance that we could win, and I held onto that chance as tightly as I could. When the sandstorm
lessened, I heard the galloping of horses on my left side. Some of us stood up, to see the shaved foreheads of the
Manchurian cavalry, charging straight at us.
The left flank dissipated, as screams rang in our ears. The cavalry immediately massacred almost all of
the soldiers. The only hope I had left was to flee. More soldiers pushed ladders towards the wall on my right.
Some valiant soldiers stayed to await the enemy, but I was young, and my first instinct was to leave my brave
“
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