Spirits among the wall
Lon Yan Chiu Jaslyn, Group 3: Fiction, Shatin Tsung Tsin Secondary School
ou are called upon by a long lost pair. This is your destiny…’ the husky voice of the
ancient-looking fortune-teller droned in Gwen Mason’s mind.
Fumbling for the tarnished key in her pocket that the fortune-teller insisted upon giving her,
Gwen couldn’t help but shudder. Those sharp eyes that bore down on her, those blood-red lips
that tremor as she spoke, that hypnotizing flame held nothing but her bare, wrinkled hands…
‘
Earth to Gwen!’ a shrill voice, followed by a sharp stab on her elbow broke her out of her spell. ‘Ouch!’
Gwen yelped. ‘Ms. Buckley is asking whether you could share a story about the Great Wall with us,’ her best
friend, Annabel hinted. Gwen sighed, tucking a strand of her raven black hair that betrayed her Chinese ancestry
over her shoulder. Her friends had been bugging her incessantly, begging for Chinese history lessons since she
had introduced herself as half-Chinese at the briefing session of camp.
Stealing a glance at the muddy snake that slithered all its way as far as the horizon, Gwen cleared her
throat’ There was once a legend among the local Chinese about a girl called Meng Jiangnu. During the Qing
dynasty, numerous men have been forced to build the imposing Great Wall we are now standing at. Blood and
bone paid the heavy price for its construction and as far as I know, the Great Wall is the biggest unnamed grave
for all those who sacrificed their lives for its glory.’
A slight breeze swept past the now uneasy group.
‘
Unfortunately for Meng Jiangnu, her husband was one of them. Legend has it that she cried for three days
and nights after she learnt about her husband’s tragic death until parts of the Great Wall gave way to her somber
sobs. Over the past few centuries, there have been reports of ghostly figures roaming around this part of the
Great Wall and blood-curdling howls of a woman’ Gwen continued, reciting every single word the fortune-teller
had drilled into her mind.
A chill ran down the spines of the teammates. Even the few boys who often mucked around were silent.
“
Right, thanks for your lovely story, Gwen. Now, gang let’s move on, we’ve got a lot more of bricks to set
foot on before sunset.’ Ms. Buckley clapped her hands cheerfully, clearly not aware of the hush that fall over the
group.
‘
I wish you had saved that story for camp tonight. Thanks to you, our camp has just turned into a ghost
busting tour. How many times have Ms. Buckley warned us not to wander off on our own and listen to some
stupid lecture? Now, you’ve only got that old crackpot in your mind. ’ Annabel tutted as she followed the group
before Gwen could even protest. ‘What about that ball of flame in her hands? Surely, she is more than just a
crackpot.’ Gwen argued silently.
A faint whiff of daffodils caught her nostrils. ‘Help me!’ Gwen froze, rooted to her spot. Twirling her head
around slowly, Gwen half-expected the voice to come from a teammate lagging behind asking for help but there
was no one near her. ‘Please, help me.’ The singsong, pleading voice drifted into her ears again. Every single
hair stood still on her back.
Mustering what little nerve left in her, Gwen lied to herself ‘It’s just your ears playing tricks on you, stupid.
Annabel’s right, you shouldn’t have gone into that lecture in the first place.’ Shifting her heavy backpack, Gwen
jogged up to the now distant group. But stealing a glance back at the deserted spot, she knew deep inside that
was more than just a hallucination.
The tour continued on, with the group stopping occasionally at watchtowers for the breathtaking
panoramic views. Besides killing her films, Gwen was flabbergasted to find that this part of the Great Wall,
between Jinshanling and Simatai was not as well-preserved as the part near Beijing that had mesmerized tides of
tourists around the globe into sweeping to Beijing just for a glimpse.
Much lay crumbled in piles of broken rocks, defeated by the torrents of heavy rain and savage wind. Those
adamant ones who had survived Mother Nature’s cruelty were not considered lucky, as they soon found
themselves slashed and scarred, tie-dyed in the trendiest colours. Now they stood guard over each pass and turn
of the treacherous mountains, undaunted by the tortures of both nature and mankind, despite being robbed of
their former majesty.
Stroking at the sharp crevices of a rude comment and the lurid colours of an anonymous artist’s work,
Gwen couldn’t help but feel that the wall and herself were one of a kind. Insulted and ruined by the very people
who were supposed to love and caress them, inflicted with the incurable scars of the past and present and living
in excruciating pain, abandoned and haunted by their nightmarish past.
Fat droplets of tears blinded her eyes.
‘
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