“Have you ever imagined
what you look like ten years later?”
People love to ask this question
but I cannot answer
Some want to be a flower shopper
Some want to be a social worker
Some want to be a doctor or lawyer
Some want to devote their life to letters
But I wonder if it will help
Even if you find your way
People are too positive
that they never consider
Maybe ten years later
I’m dead, the Earth’s sick or the world’s
going to be over
We never know what will happen
at the next moment
In this case, all these things do not matter
I will receive a letter
which I wrote ten years former
I will find that I used to dream to
become a lyricist
Yet I was drowned by reality
Now I become a slave of money
Those who used to whoop to
seek dream courageously
Now they work hard just like a fairytale’s donkey
So I wonder if it will help
Even if you have a dream
Reality is too cruel
And you aren’t temerarious
Therefore ten years later
I work for what I hate and throw away my guitar
I burn the letter so as to say goodbye to myself
who used to want to be a lyricist
It was a cold and silent night. I was watching a film called “Christmas Carol” at home. The selfish man, Scrooge, was being chased by “the Ghost of Christmas Future”. The man looked frightened and the ghost looked terrible. This scene was so exciting that nothing could distract my attention.
Suddenly, the man crashed a girl with a familiar face. Who was she? I left my seat and walked closer towards the television. The girl had a small round face with a pair of black framed glasses. She tied up her straight hair in a ponytail. ‘It’s me!’ I exclaimed, ‘Why am I in the movie? I’m not an actress!’ All the things came abruptly and were unbelievable. The man left ‘me’ there and kept running. I, the real me, was then grabbed by a big hand, followed a faint.
When I woke up again, I was lying on a quiet small island. The weather there was extremely hot. Feeling confused, I stood up and took off my heavy overcoat. I looked around and wanted to find where I was but I could only see a boundless sea surrounding me. I took out my mobile phone from my pocket. The date “24th December 2023” was manifested there. ‘I was in 2023?’ I shouted immediately, ‘The ghost did bring me to the future!’
A man was sitting on a boat which was parked along the coast. He seemed depressed. I walked towards him and decided to seek help. ‘Excuse me, I’m lost. Could you tell me where I am? Am I still in Hong Kong?’ ‘Don’t you remember?’ the man answered, ‘A severe flooding occurred last year and had submerged lots of low-lying areas in Hong Kong. Scientists all believed that global warming is responsible for this disaster…’
At that moment, I realized what happened. Meanwhile, the confusion in my heart turned into scare and worry.
The hot weather made me sweat a lot and my hair and skin was about to burn. I should leave this horrible place as soon as possible but I had no idea how I could get back to 2013. I gave twenty dollars to the man and requested him to bring me to another island. I needed to find the ghost again. During the “travel”, I found something unbelievable. The sea water surrounding me was really dirty and stinky. Industrial, construction and commercial wastes could all be found in the sea. Moreover, when I looked up the sky, I could only see some grey smog. The clear blue ocean and sky in the past had disappeared. I was really shocked.
Suddenly, a storm struck the sea. The waves became stronger and stronger, eventually turned our boat over. I stopped breathing and struggled in the sea. Before I lost my consciousness, I saw a big hand stretch out and it grabbed me again.
A noise woke me up. I opened my eyes and found that I had returned back to 2013 and was lying on the floor at my home. My hair and clothes were all wet, which made me shiver all over with cold. I stood up quickly and used a towel to wrap myself up. The movie, “Christmas Carol”, had just ended. I sat on the sofa and started thinking back my special “adventure”. I believed that everything happened was real and wasn’t a dream as all the things came coincidentally! May be the reason why I could arrive at Hong Kong in 2013 was because of the arrangement made by the God. He wanted to remind us the significance of the environmental conservation and enhance our awareness over this issue. No matter whether the experience was real or not, it was my responsibility to protect the environment and tell others the severe consequences of different pollution problems nowadays.
From now on, we had only ten years left to rescue our planet. If we still do nothing for our future and refuse to be eco-friendly, our city with eight million residents’ memories would sooner or later be submerged permanently.
I switched all the idle appliances off and wrote down my experience on the diary. I believe what we do to our Earth now determined our fate after ten years.
Today, I woke up early and was going to visit relatives with my son in Chinese New Year. We arrived at my parent’s home in the morning. I knocked at the door, and it was opened slowly by my mother. My mother, whose back was bent with age, got a lot of wrinkles all over her face. The cap hid some of her thin, white hair. She looked pleased and amused to see us. But their flat was very crowded and narrow. After my son received a red packet from my parents, we satquietly on the sofa. There wasn’t any interaction between us and my parents. Soon, I felt bored and anxious. I wanted to leave this simple and crude home as soon as possible. “I got a financial problem so I can’t pay you with the daily expenses.” I said to my father in mumble. He beamed and said it was fine. We left soon as my son was begging me to buy him the latest electronic gadget.
Suddenly, a strong light appeared in front of me in a flash. When I woke and I was lying on the street. The sky was brown. While I looked up, there were plenty of aircrafts. They moved and floated fast in the air. I was surprised and amazed. But I still didn’t realize where I was. The only thought that came onto my mind was to go back my parent’s home. It was almost impossible for me to determine the direction due to the vast change of the landscape in Hong Kong. Hence, I had to ask the passer-by to distinguish what was happening and the way to my home. Everyone on the street didn’t give me a glimpse even if I spoke to them loudly. Eventually, I discovered the fact that I became transparent. I felt naked, both physically and mentally. My heart thumped frequently. I tried to convince myself to keep calm and find the way to my home in perseverance.
In the end, I found the building of my home. I breathed a sigh of relief.It was still there, thoughthe surrounding old buildingshad been replaced by new skyscrapers. Looking at the huge screen which was attached on the wall of skyscrapers, I saw the video about Chinese New Year celebration, and the screen showed the year “2023”. “Oh my god, I eventually realized that I was in the year of 2023. It was ten years after my actual livelihood”, I shouted out in astonishment.
At the same time, the gate of the building opened slowly. An old man who sat on the wheelchair was pushed outside by my son. I walked closer to see more clearly. The old man looked like me. “I am sending my father to the Homes for the Aged since there isn’t space for him to live in. I have to give enough space for my son to play.” My son exclaimed. At that time, I realized that I’m the guy who was sitting on the wheelchair. I was in the future and watching what was happening on me after ten years. I was mad insomuch as my son abandoned me after he had become an adult.
All of a sudden, the strong light appeared again and I felt that someone holds my hand tightly. “Goodness! I finally get back to ten years earlier. I understand that I should be a good role model to my son, so as to prevent my son from doing the same thing to me in the future. I should repay to my parents and spend more timeon them. There is no point that I use the money for buying electronic gadgets instead of helping my parents to live better. We will get retribution if we are selfish and inconsiderate. Meanwhile, we ought to make compensation before nightmare falls on you!