New Tales of the Pearl River Delta “Wrath of the Black Turtle”

Chinese International School, Sun, Andrew - 13

In the powder blue sky, the scorching golden yellow sun hung like a red lantern, discharging

heat waves that struck the lone man like a rock. In the distance, he could see Mount Baiyun surrounded by luminous clouds. He was familiar with this part of the shimmering river as he had sailed past it thousands of times before. The algae water had a tinge of emerald green in it, leaving the steaming river with a turquoise colour. There on his boat he sat, gazing at the radiant sun’s reflection. As drops of sweat trickled down his back, he pondering his sad fate, for it had been many months since he had been able to catch enough fish to feed his family. Running his gnarled hands through his damp dark beard, he fervently gasped. “Ai ya! I am surely a poor fisherman for if I return empty handed, my family will starve.”

Suddenly he saw a black object dart across the river leaving a trail of sea fume. Startled, Bo Hai gasped in amazement. No! it couldn’t be! A fish? Throwing the net gracefully across the patch of river that was distilled by the creature, he strained eagerly over the edge of the boat. The net landed right on top of the creature. He deftly pulled back the net and gasped in amazement. Skimming above the water, its ebony black shell gleaming in the sun, was a sacred black turtle. Bo Hai’s hands trembled as he tugged in his miraculous catch and deposited it in the bottom of the boat. He then gasped in amazement. Crawling in front of Bo Hai was the turtle of the mythical god Gong Gong, the turtle of longevity, the most gorgeous thing in the world.

“My my, you are a beauty! You will bring me many riches!” remarked Bo Hai as he carefully put the turtle into a bucket of water. “The wealthy people of Beijing will pay greatly for you, for they foolishly believe that whoever possesses you, fate will not allow to die and for you will bring them immortality.”

His hands trembled in glee as he rapidly pulled up the sails and pointed the boat’s nose towards home. However, not even five minutes had passed before he felt a gust of wind howling around his head, saw lightning flaring across the sky, and heard the thunder growling around his ears. Then came the rain. It wasn’t like any storm he had seen before. It was tempestuous, catastrophic, cataclysmic, and most of all frightening. It was like the storm and ocean were playing with him.

“Oh, my how unlucky am I? I catch the grand turtle only for us both to die!” the terrified man wailed.

Waves crashed down upon the boat, filling the bottom rapidly with salty seawater. As the boat tipped dangerously sideways, Bo Hai grabbed a bucket and bent down to bale the water out of the boat. Suddenly, he saw his father’s reflection in the water.

“Oh my God!” Bo Hai blurted out.

The reflection remained silent, the eyes piercing deep into Bo Hai’s heart.

“Could it be? No! It couldn’t” Bo Hai’s head shook in bewilderment. His father had been dead for fifteen years and Bo Hai didn’t believe in ghosts, not like those asinine people in the village that prayed to everything, including chairs. Looking back at the reflection, the shocked fisherman saw a face with beady eyes which bored through his head like a bullet. Its beetling brows shot straight up in the air, its thick-lipped mouth scowled while the jaws clenched like a fist.

Suddenly, he remembered his father’s words to him as an apprentice fishermen. “Respect the gods especially Gong Gong as he is god of water and can decide your fate. Do not be foolish and proud my arrogant son!”

Bo Hai shook his head. Surely his imagination was getting the better of him. Had his father not been dead for 15 long years? From the edge of his eyes, he saw the turtle’s eyes darting back and forth from the sea to Bo Hai. Those deadly black eyes… could it be? Could his dad not have been so foolish?

Looking back at the reflection, Bo Hai could swear he saw his dad shrug and then there was nothing - just a sloshing pool of water.

Bo Hai thought quickly, “Could it be the turtle causing all this trouble? We will never have a chance to get out of the storm alive. But, if I return the turtle to the sea, I may survive.”

Bo Hai quickly made up a decision that he would throw the turtle back. Getting up, Bo Hai tried to steady himself as massive waves hit the boat. He stumbled towards the bucket where the turtle was. As the boat lurched in the waves, he slammed his head into the mast and swore. Rubbing his bruised forehead, he inched closer to the cage until it was right beneath him- with the sacred turtle in full view. Picking the black tortoise up, he took one last glance at the creature and chucked it off the boat.

Abruptly, the clouds started to separate, allowing streams of sunlight to shine upon his boat. A light breeze started brewing as the milky clouds, fluffy and soft, danced across the azure sky. The mountains in the distance appeared again lush and green. The glimmering sea seemed to smile warmly at Bo Hai as he stared at the shiny ebony shell padding away towards the horizon.

Bo Hai shook his head in disbelief. Turning the mast around, he sailed back to the golden idyllic beach where he docked his boat with the other creaking barges. Listening to rocks crunch under his buckling sandals, he shuffled towards his home empty handed but relieved.

As the sun sank under the horizon, Bo Hai took out all his father’s belongings that he had buried under the bed when his father passed away. Quietly, he separated the statues that his dad used to bow to, from the old man’s clothes and shoes. He then carefully brushed the dust off the statues using a goose feather. Placing the statues on a wooden shelf near the window, he put the statue of the turtle in the middle. As he bowed down to them, he was sure out of the corner of his eye, he could see the turtle smile.