Page 68 - 2021 English Magazine - Final

Among all the nasty sayings, these two were the ones that left the deepest scar on my mind, of which
Merely seconds ago, my consciousness was entrapped in a realm that did not feel like home.
The last thing that I could recall was being stuck in a gigantic, enchanted orb, in the middle of
nowhere. All I could hear was an incessant scream, reverberating within the orb. I wanted to
escape, but something about it kept me longing for more. Stranded, all I could do was keep
diving, and diving. Until a ray of light abruptly caressed my cheeks, and I was brought back to
life once again.
That beam of sunlight signalled the beginning of another tedious day. It was difficult to recall the
last time I got to let my hair down in this tense household.
The Orb
Benedict Koo Xiang Yu
“Don’t mind him, he’s always been like this.”
“He just can’t be one of us.”
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it will be ingrained upon for eternity. I loathed the people that lived under the same roof as me, I hated
this place. A bland, yet familiar ringtone lit up the dreadful atmosphere. Even before taking a glance at
my phone, I was certain of who the caller was. It was him. His lively voice never ceased to bring me a
crumb of joy, a piece of vivacity, a sense of sincerity. After rummaging through my closet, I donned a plain
tee and headed out. He was waiting across my porch in his red mustang. I hopped into his car. Without
saying anything, we left this hellhole in a heartbeat.
Despite our frequent car rides, this one felt particularly strange. We have known each other since the
dawn of time, seeing him steer a car felt wrong. It was like seeing a toddler do what adults do. Perhaps it
was nostalgia manipulating what was before my eyes. We kept driving, frolicking in our seats, speaking in
languages no one else could interpret. At that moment, we did not have a worry in the world.
We pulled over on a freeway and got out of the car. There was no one, not a sign of life. I had no choice
but to follow him into the muddy field, or wherever he was going. Occasionally, he would look back to
make sure I was fine. In his eyes was a glimmer clouded by mist. The afterglow in his gaze left me
craving for something more, I wanted to seek the truth behind it.
He slowed his pace as we reached the summit of a small hill.
There was a tree, a fig tree, I presumed. We stopped walking when we saw the multiple figs rotting on
the ground. The tree was no longer in blossom.
“It was not always like this, what happened…”
The sight of the withered tree annihilated all of the already-diminishing excitement inside him. Neverthe-
less, he dug up a mooncake box and blew away the
sand on its surface. To my astonishment, there was a familiar glowing orb inside the box, identical to the
orb in my dreams.
“You gifted me this when I was five. It had reminded you of the northern lights,” he said.
I never knew he treasured it so much, I did not remember giving him that orb to be frank. But when I
looked at the enigmatic orb, I had all the answers.
The mist in his eyes parted, revealing tenderness and innocence. The innocence inside us never
disappeared, it was simply obscured by mental mist. Retrieving the orb was just a return to love, an
embrace of our childlike selves. At that moment, we were five-year-olds again.
Since then, I rarely dreamt about that orb. Even if I did, there were only sweet aftertastes.
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