The Stones
Alvin Yu, Group 3: Fiction, St. Joseph’s College
allen section of the Great Wall, present day
but
The archaeologist was standing in the perspiring heat. Sweat was dripping from his creased brows,
he didn’t bother wiping it off. He was on the verge of a new discovery.
Clink.
F
A worker had hit solid stone.
The archaeologist was standing next to the worker in no time. He gaped in amazement at what he saw: piles of
stone, all covered in tiny Qin dynasty carvings.
This is truly a BIG discovery, the archaeologist thought. He was still sweating -not from the heat, but from
excitement.
The Great Wall, Qin dynasty
The man started to suffer from heat stroke.
He had spent his whole day pulling lumber, stones and whatnot across the sizzling walkway of the Wall.
He looked around. All the people around him were all doing the same. Even the guards were sweating
profusely.
The bell sounded for their lunch break. Everyone rushed to the food station, where a sea of grimy hands battled
for every morsel of food. The man was simply too tired to move towards the station. He had got used to having
an empty stomach though. All in a day’s work, he assured himself.
Just then, a strong hand holding a piece of stale bread reached down to the man. It belonged to a guard of about
fifty, his gaunt face slick with perspiration. The young man eyed the guard with hesitation. His hand was still
stretching out persistently.
“
Come on, eat it. Otherwise you won’t have the strength to work.” The guard was still offering the wary
man the bread. Finally hunger ruled, and the man grabbed the bread and wolfed it down.
“
I can see that you have been hungry for days, young man,” the guard propped himself against the wall.
His armour glinted in the sunlight. “The food cart won’t be here for a week.”
The man didn’t bother responding. Instead, he set his bleary eyes on the far distance.
His mind jolted to his past memories: the times when he had the perfect family, perfect baby, perfect
home…. Then the soldiers came. They demanded his assistance to build the “Great Wall”, a mile-long wall that
could protect the country from harm. But the soldiers didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, they took him by the
arms and dragged him out of the house along with all the other males in his village. The man could hear his
wife’s screaming as he was shoved into a dark, smelly cart…
The man’s eyes started to glisten with moisture. The guard sighed, “I’ve seen many homesick young men
like you before. I have been working here as a guard since I was your age.”