The Secrets Behind
Joslyn Tsoi Yin Lo, Group 4: Fiction, S.K.H. Bishop Mok Sau Tseng Secondary School
ummer air is already warming up outside the museum. The moist air coats everything in a thin layer of
water droplets. The refracted rays of sunshine shining through from the tiny window paint the
Terracotta Army in a shade of golden yellow, washing the aged reddish brown color away. I lift a hand
and stroke the rough edge of his armor, then trace my finger up along his bushy eyebrow to his squared
jaw. I just can’t stop admiring his beauty. Don’t get me wrong; ‘he’ is a soldier from the Terracotta
Army in the newly discovered tomb of QinShiHuang, the first Chinese Emperor.
‘
Patricia! Have you found anything yet?’ Calvin’s deep voice breaks the utter silence in the tomb.
‘
Yeah’ I reply.
‘
Let me check it out’ Calvin says, making his way out of the packed room to poke his head next to me.
‘
Five-foot-eight inches tall, bronze, high cheek bones, fading red paint…this is definitely from the Qin
Dynasty.Nice job, Pat.’
I smile with satisfaction and stretch my arms. I can hear bones cracking from my spine. The hardest thing for an
archaeologist is that when everyone is sitting in their comfy office, we have to dig our heads into the muddy
ground, and look for the slightest trace of evidence to prove that an artifact is actually from ancient times.
Though it sounds difficult, I do love my job. Once we even found an intact mummy! Can you believe that?
‘
By the way, did you watch the afternoon news?’, he suddenly asks. His voice shifts through from the
other side of the room, interrupting my thoughts. I didn’t realize he had left.
‘
No, why?’
‘
The news mentioned that part of the Great Wall in Shanxi has collapsed because of weathering and poor
maintenance. It’s quite serious. Experts said if no maintenance work is done to the Great Wall, the downfall
would continue to occur.’
‘
So… you are saying that it will vanish in the near future if we don’t do something?’ I frown.
‘
Yeah, probably.’ He says in a flat tone. ‘Hey, my work is done, so I’m going out for lunch, are you coming?’
Calvin asks.
I rub my eyes and shake the sand out of my hands. ‘Er…No, I’m not really hungry, enjoy your lunch
though.’ I call out, adjusting my gaze from the soldier to the little door at the far end of the tomb. Staring out at
the long rows of clay soldiers, I cannot help wondering how QinShiHuang ever managed to build this, alongside
the Great Wall, and now that one of the great wonders is going to tumble, we can do nothing! He must be
heartbroken, I think silently to myself.
This tomb we’re working on was just discovered in Shanxi province a few months ago, only 500 miles away
from the Great Wall. The local government hired us to examine the Terracotta Army as many forgeries had
appeared in town these past few years, and they hoped to open the museum to tourists as soon as possible. As
Calvin and I were the only archaeologists in the region, the mission fell onto our shoulders.
‘
You can go home and have a nice bath after this’, I mumble to myself, pulling my hair into a pony tail
and picking up the brush. After all these years, I have gotten used to feeling the bumpiness when holding the
brush handle.
My first brush was a gift from my dad. My dream was to become a brilliant painter like him when I was
young, but I soon developed an interest in archaeology. He was a bit disappointed but still showed me his full
support and gave me that brush on my twentieth birthday. The brush, the cotton shirts and those muddy boots
have been my best partners ever since.
By the time I finished my work, the moon had cast a gloomy shadow upon us. I crack my neck and brush
the dust off my blouse.
‘
Great! I can finally go home and take a rest.’ I pick up my bag and make my way towards the exit, only to find
it locked.
‘
Oh no! Not again! It’s only past ten, who locked the door?’ I say under my breath, and start turning the
door knob. ‘No! I’m not staying in this hot tomb overnight!’ I wallop the door in desperation and sink down
onto the ground.
‘
Are you all right?’ A voice behind me asks.
‘
Great. If you consider sleeping alone inside the museum for the entire night is fine, then I’m great.’ I
reply without hesitation.
Hang on. Everyone has gone by now. Calvin has a date with his girlfriend and all the security guards had left at
eight. No one should be here… what if…
S