A Story in Hong Kong

By: Quincy Zhu
Peter is an 18 year old boy from Hong Kong. He has golden hair and big smile. He always wears black jacket and purple pants. He is very cool. He likes talking and telling jokes with others. But he never talks about himself that we can’t know about him particular. Also, he makes jokes with others’ shortcomings and goes straight to the heart of the matter. He doesn’t study hard and always talks in class, after school he plays computer games at home all night. He doesn’t care many things.

Hong Kong is a very beautiful and prosperous place. Hong Kong is made of three parts; New Territorie, Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong island. He lived in a big house with his parents. He always hung in Mong Kok and Kowloon. They were flourishing neighborhoods.  Too many people were shopping there. Always people jostle each other in a crowd. When he was walking on street, he always barged against others. The night piece of Hong Kong is famous. All lights shine the city and make it like day. Here is Hong Kong. He stands on a corner and looks how this city works. Busy streets, cars pass one by one in front of his eyes. Hurry people, walk as fast as they can; office workers talk about the missions, young people chat about their lives or starts, others think of their own things. High buildings stand up side by side, over 20^th or 30^th floor. He is looking up this city. Here is open world, you can get many things, you can do many things, and people have their own lives. Sure he got his own life here.

Five years ago at the age of 13, he joined a gang. Why? There are no whys and he doesn’t remember the reason. I guess maybe his friends asked him to or he thought it was very cool idea so he joined. He moved out and lived with his friends in a house, and left school. He started to put up for sale private DVDs and drugs, because he had to do what organization asked. He thought selling private DVDs and drugs were common, because everyone was doing this. He was youthful, and he didn’t know he was criminal. He didn’t realize that drugs were harmful to others’ health. He stood on the street and sold private DVDs, while he waited for a call from those who wanted drugs. He would make deliveries to their houses. He did those things for a long time, almost two years. Never was he arrested in those two years. He thought, “Maybe I wouldn’t be arrested in the future.” However, reality was always in opposition to his dreams.

One day, he was selling the private DVDs on the street as so many other normal days. “Today is sunny, it will be a good day.” he thought. He waited for the call, which meant there were drugs over his body. Unfortunately, the policemen came without warning and searched his body; this is where they came out. So bad! One of the policemen said, “Hands up. Put your hands up and turn around” Peter started sweating. He felt two hands pat his body, from the top down. Then they stopped at a pocket; all his body became cold like the ice. Anxiety and nervousness pressed in his heart. He thought up many ways to protect the drugs but none could work. At last the policeman took out the drugs. As a result, he was arrested and taken to the police office where many questions waited for him. He really wanted to go outside; this place did not belong to him. Can anyone help him? No one. He didn’t go back home but to prison. At that time, his parents weren’t at Hong Kong, they were at the United States. Only Peter left in Hong Kong. His parents’ friends told his parents this thing. Then, his parents came back and visited him. They talked to him “Now, you know that you are wrong. We told you don’t do that, don’t do that. Why you don’t listen to us before?” He felt sorry to his parents that he let them worried.

Sorrow, fear and sadness filled of his mind. Anyone can predict that this was the beginning of a nightmare. The prison was very simple, no more playing, no more laughing. The room was very simple too, only six bunk beds and white wall. He stayed in the cold area, using only a thin blanket to warp around himself, but it couldn’t keep him warm.  He tried to go on with his life: he did exercises everyday, ate terrible food, didn’t wash and slept in a cold room. The food was awful like you can’t imagine. Everyday seems like the same, rice likes porridge, a cup of tea and vegetables or black fire-fish. All that foods are tasteless and smell bad like they are charring. Everyday he had to do push-up, sit-up, pull-up, running and jumping. He said “I think the policemen enjoy harrying us. Each day is very tired.” He really remembers the first night in prison. He felt scared and he couldn’t sleep at all. He thought of many things that he ever hurt his parents, his friends and his teachers. He was excused to them. Moreover, he always thought if there was anyway or anyone who could help him to get out of prison. Another questions also came to him, “Was there anyway he could continue do such things but not be arrested.” He was thinking and thinking, but he didn’t turn his wrong to right. Time ran slowly, one day passed like a year.

But time still went away. Winter was coming. He got thick clothes that gave him a little warmth. Also, he made some friends who were the same age as him in the prison. They talked about each other’s experiences. All were similar. After that, he knew why he was arrested. He found that he did wrong things, and he shouldn’t do such things that were bad. He wanted to change himself. At last, he did. After one year in prison, he went out.

Peter says “Now, I still think about that. It let me know my faults. I want to have a new life and shouldn’t make an incorrect choice again. I want to learn and get a job in the future. There are many hopes in my days!”