Winner of Hong Kong Young Writers Awards
DCB is proud to announce that Suvarn (Year 6), is a proud winner of Hong Kong Young Writers Award 2018. Suvarn and his mother attended the award ceremony in Hong Kong earlier this month and the pictures below show him proudly receiving his award. Congratulations once again for your fabulous entry Suvarn!
The competition's main aim is to foster excellence in creativity by providing students with the opportunity to develop their expressive talents and expand their horizons. The awards encourage excellence in English writing and artwork among students of various age groups, diverse backgrounds and different learning abilities. Since its inception in 2010, the competition has been a resounding success, with more than 980+ innovative entries coming in from 200+ participating schools across Hong Kong, Macau and China. All entries this year were based on the theme New Journeys to the West.
Below is Suvarn's entry:
The vast far flung desert, coated completely with bitter snow seems to be endless, stretching on for miles and miles. I have been trudging on for many exhausting days, tiring my scrawny knees, causing blistering rashes everywhere. Glistening beetle-black eyes belonging to my deceased grandfather Xuan Zang stare at me through the smeared, fractured glass of a photograph kept in my rucksack. He inspires me, with his daring journey across colossal mountain ranges and deserts. A few weeks ago, I foolishly made the decision to make a trip from my hometown, Nalanda, to China along the very same path that my great grandfather had taken. But, the many deserts he had gone through were now just glaciers. And I never knew how much the feeling of regret, the thought to give up and go back would overcome me. I know I have to go on, to ignore everything and focus, but now I do not feel the same as before.
Little lumps of snow harshly plummet from the overcast clouds, and I immediately know what it is. A blizzard. Cursing under my hazy breath, I footslog forward, frigid wind whipping my sullen face. A large patch of dry leaves is located directly in front of me, each one placed precisely next to each other, and I immediately know something is wrong. Leaves in the winter? This is not right. I look to my left and right, but hills stretch on and on in that area, so I must head forward. Cautiously, I walk on to the strip of dried leaves, but the ground gives way beneath me, and I plummet down. I land on bleak snow that cushions my landing, then spring up to my feet. Someone had set that trap for me. But who? There is no one in this lifeless, uninhabited area. And how could they have possibly known the exact path I was travelling? I gaze around the deep, dim trench. There are two rocks in one corner and a metal groove pokes out of the jagged ground. The walls are too steep to climb, and there is not a chance I can jump out. Abruptly, a thumping noise comes from just outside the trap. A massive looming figure leaps into the trench. In the little light that allows me to see, I can distinguish its features. It looks like a she, and is dressed completely in black, with a flowing black dress, and a beautiful black robe. Pale and chalky white, a little skin could be seen under her clothes.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here.” Her voice is high pitched and raspy; it feels like nails on a chalkboard.
“W-w-who are y-you?" I stutter as I am deathly afraid of her.
"I, am the great Báigǔjīng! When your cowardly great grandfather made his expedition, I wanted to eat his flesh. But he and his stupid monkey ruined it all. So, I am here to get revenge!" I backed up against the solid, musty walls, nicking my lower forearm on the metal groove. Blood splatters the ground, and I grimace in pain.
“Lousy mortal, I will finish you in no time!” she bellows, shaking all sides of the pit. Ignoring the pain in my arm, I hastily get back up; she has already locked her pale eyes on my body. Unanticipatedly, all 10 feet of her lunge at me, sharp claws emerging from her inhumanly hands. I dodge the blow and swiftly roll over onto a rough, uneven rock.
"Báigǔjīng…” I rack my head trying to translate the name from the little Chinese I was taught at school. In spur of the moment, I remembered. Báigǔjīng is the ‘White Bone Demon’ that tried to murder mygrandfather and Sūnwùkōng, the monkey king. She brutally tortures and murders anyone that she captures; I know that the only reason that my great-grandfather escaped was he was a well-taught Buddhist monk with the help of an omnipotent, clever monkey. To simplify things, I am going to die. There is no way out of this. I jerk to the side, panting heavily. Glaring at my terrified face, she dashes at me once again with her bloodshot eyes. I make a helpless try to dart out of the way, however her deadly pincers grab the hem of my sweat-filled robe, tearing it right off my defenseless body. From side to side, I sloppily duck her punches, until I see something in the distance. It is someone standing near the top of the dike, beyond view of Báigǔjīng. Losing my focus, the last thing I see is a massive fist heading straight for my head.
When I groggily wake up, I find myself in a narrow chamber, lined with miniscule and unlit torches. I rest my back against the rough wall, and try to find out where this dungeon is. I cannot escape, as the cell has rusty metal bars lining the exits on each side, with a cramped room outside the jail that had one marble entrance in one corner. I examine the room closely. There is a figure crouched down in the darkness, with wide eyes. Something clicks in my head. It is the figure I saw during the fight. It scurries over to the jail and starts fingering the hatch. It grabs a hairclip out of its blue fanny pack and pushes it in between the gap between the lock and the door. The door creaks open and he beckons for me to come with him through the door.
"Who are you?" I inquire. He pulls down his hood revealing a long mustache and a scowl.
"I", he says with a pause, "am Xuan Zang, your great grandfather."
