What’s Yet to Come
Natalie Boutot, Group 3: Fiction, International College Hong Kong
he story of a boy and his never-ending hope
January 12th, 221
Today I have left my family. I am going on to a new life and a new work that they promise
will bring me and my family enough money to live for 10 years! Now I will have enough to send my younger
brother to the school he has been wanting to go to. It is on the other side of China, so he has been saving for so
long to go. This will sure be a good surprise for his coming 13th birthday! I am on my way there now, and I
have decided to bring this journal so that I may tell you about my life in my new home. Wish me luck, for I have
no clue what the future holds for me, and I hope that I will find out soon...
T
January 13th, 221
I have just reached the place I will be staying, and I must admit, it is not as nice as I thought it would
be. I’m sure I will learn to like it, though. The walls are bare, much unlike my home, where every inch is taken
up by old family pictures or some kind of new leaf or pebble scratching my brother happens to find all over our
small town. The beds here have thin mattresses and threadbare blankets. It’s not much of a surprise if you find
one or two small rodents burrowing in the corners of the room; they will steal tiny bits of food if you are not
careful... I have started to meet some of the others I am bunking with, so that I may get to know them better. I
am going to be sharing a room with them, anyway. Most have been here for years, and these are not too friendly.
They mostly stay inside the little room and remain on their beds, barely moving. I pray that one day I will not be
like them. I can’t help myself from wondering what they have gone through. Maybe tomorrow I will find that
answer.
January 14th, 221
Today was the longest, hardest day of work I have ever gone through. We pulled and lifted at least a
hundred big, gray blocks up to the other workers standing on the top of the wall section. Now I see why the
others despise and hate this work as much as they do. My back is aching something fierce and my hands are
worn raw and red from the rope I held for what seemed like forever. Everything will probably get better by
morning, though. I am too tired to write much more, sleep is enveloping me...
January 29th, 221
It has been nearly half a month of working here, and I don’t think I can bear this much longer. I see
now why the older workers are as grumpy as they are. I only really have one friend, and he is my working
partner. His name is Bu Nuo Tan, and he is only 15, one year younger than me. He has a kind smile and eyes the
color of the deepest oceans. They remind me of my village by the sea. I appreciate his company, for work gets
quite lonely when we are miles away from each other, carrying supplies to the other towers. Even though he is
younger, he has been here for a year already, so the boss told him to show me around and teach me the rules. Bu