I Remember
Elizabeth
remember the day I was taken out of the kiln. Coming into the world, ready for my destiny. But destiny
had a way of tricking you when you least expect it…
Knight, Group 3: Fiction, Kellett School
I was to be carried to my place in the Wall. Held still in a shaky old pair of dirty hands, I peered
up at the old woman’s face. Her thin grey-black hair sprawled and blew in the light breeze like a nest of black,
ferocious snakes. Her fingers were long and her dirty finger nails were sharp and pointed. Time suddenly
seemed to stop. She seemed to be glaring at me through her cold, dark eyes. Whispering in a raspy, tired voice,
silent as the noiseless breeze around us she seemed to say “You of all beings!” she spat “You play an important
part in my life. Do not ruin it. You will be sorry otherwise…” Her glowering eyes bore down on me, as if trying
to make me crack. Time felt like it was running again. I puzzled about what that old woman was talking about.
What did she mean by ‘You play an important part in my life’; and ‘You will be sorry otherwise’? What was she
on about? Upon reaching the Wall, I was placed on a creaky old wooden plank attached to ropes, hoisted up and
positioned on a ledge. They had one brick left over! Me! The Wall was finished, magnificent and glorious. The
Shanghai Pass was where I sat.
I
A gentle rumble shook the earth and Wall and sent vibrations through the stone. Horses. The forceful
hooves trampled and flattened the damp earth as the Manchu galloped through the Wall with swords held high.
Their battle cries were blood curdling and sent a shiver down my back. The stomping of the stallions shook me
until I was barely able to stay intact. I was slipping closer and closer to my doom. Horrible thoughts of falling to
my death came creeping in and surrounded me, choking me until I couldn’t bear it any longer. Ruined as I
already was, I couldn’t afford to get spoilt any more than I need to… let alone get cracked in half if I tumble
down the Wall. Another set of violent vibrations came through the wall. Suddenly, a rush of wind swirled
around me as I left the Wall behind. My vision blurred and everything around looked fuzzy. I could only just see
enough to know that the ground was zooming in at a fast rate. A short steady thump was the last thing that I
could remember clearly from that day.
When I woke up, at first I thought I was back at the Wall and that everything that happened was all a
dark nightmare… Unfortunately not. A boy about eight years of age was carrying me in his arms for a reason
that was not clear to me. His eyes twinkled knowingly. They were full of mischief, yet behind all that, I could
sense misery and loss. His scruffy black hair gave away that he had been travelling for some time. The boy wore
clothes that were caked in mud and blood. The boy mutters in his sleep. I always heard the same words every
night; over and over again. “Mother! No! Don’t go! We have already lost Dad, please…”
The dusty path ahead of us was a ribbon of winding sand. I had no idea where we were going but the
boy seemed to know exactly what to do. Again, his eyes gleamed knowingly. A small set of huts rapidly loomed
up in the distance. The boy didn’t seem surprised at all. He sighed happily and broke into a fast run. Shelter. The