Antonia's Fantasy Story

The FantAsia and the Underworld




Siu Mui the child labour at a toy factory and her three cockroaches and Teddy Bear are best friends. They share the bittersweet memory together in this underworld. Every day, Siu Mui sits on the assembling bench until midnight to produce the toys for the FantAsia Park.

One day, while the cockroaches are having party, the factory is suddenly out of control. Siu Mui and her little things are sent to the FantAsia Park and meet a courageous acrobat in the Cirque du Fantasie, Kent. How will they have an adventure in the park and make a difference for Siu Mui?

This inspiring story from an English for Professional Communication student will have you believing in the magic of justice, dream and friendship.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a bright summer in the Merveilleux Island Resort, the world most luxury holiday paradise. Every year, Macy and her family had their summer vacation here. They used to live in this riverside cottage, play the paddle boat, and dine in the best restaurant nearby the pool.

“Teddy bear you are so fluffy and cute. I will take care of you” Macy said ecstatically. She saw the teddy bear in the restaurant and picked it. The teddy bear was a round, fat little soft toy, with a scar on its right ear, and a yellow bow tie decorated. It was once the classic icon of FantAsia Park in the golden ages across the 40s to 90s. However, it was closed down few years ago because of its notorious reputation. The original site was now renovated into the Merveilleux Island Resort.

“Good night sweetie. We are going to the Dreamy Circus show tomorrow.” Mother said nearby Macy’s pillow. “Yes Mommy Daddy! Good night!”

Everybody was sleeping well and Macy’s daddy was sniffing loudly. Suddenly, the Teddy Bear was awakened. He was slightly rubbing against his little drowsy eyes. “Oh! Where am I? Who’s the girl next to me? WHERE ARE MY FRIENDS?” Teddy astonished, keeping his head wagging and finding his friends.

Teddy wanted to climb onto the windowsill to see where he was. So he promptly slipped away from Macy’s arm and jumped on the couch. He touched the window frame and quietly sits on the windowsill. He gazed around this room. The Italian queen-sized bed, Persian rug, Picasso drawings, white-musk fragrance, and all the décor sounded very unfamiliar for him of living in a toy factory franchised by the FantAsia many years ago. Teddy looked upon the sky and suddenly missed a distant friend deeply in heart - Siu Mui, his best friend in the factory few years ago.

At the first time Teddy met Siu Mui, she had a worn-out face. However poorly educated, compared with other kids in the same age, Siu Mui was extraordinarily hardworking and mature. In her age of 14, she left her rural home. She decided to work in city where she thought she could get a good job and good paid to support her grandfather, parents, and two younger brothers.

Since then, she started her “new life” in an underworld – a franchised toy factory to produce soft toys routinely, almost 7/24/365.

Teddy was among all the FantAsia Teddy Bears the flawed minority for there was an oily blemish spilled by chemical substance on its right ear. The quality control officer put Teddy aside and was ready to throw it into a big trash bin.The FantAsia never sold their souvenirs with a minor mistake. FantAsia was a perfect world. They aimed at 100% perfection. Teddy had once thought of himself to be abandoned until he was picked up by Siu Mui.

“Hello, poor bear. Can I call you Teddy?” Siu Mui whispered. “Yes. My name is Teddy,” Teddy nodded and said. “Can we be friend?”

Then they started their friendship.

The factory has long been the home of Teddy, Siu Mui and her friends – Chipsy, Brownie and Choco, the three giant thumb-sized cockroaches. They lived nearby the assembling benches. When Siu Mui was sewing the toys, the three cockroaches would have gossips all the time or dancing party with other cockroaches to awaken Siu Mui. They liked Siu Mui and Teddy very much.

Sometimes, they would have hide-and-seek with the rats near the pipelines – their running track; the fans – their marry-go-round; and the slippery floor – their skating rink. Every Friday when officers left the factory early, they would have party in their favorite “haunted house” – the operation room with spider web covering the installed surveillance cameras and the excellent lighting effect. Gloomy and dim.

“Hey Siu Mui it’s already 1 a.m.! Let’s eat something! That DUMB has left us his WHOLE DINNER in the room!” Brownie shouted excitedly.

“You mean the man from Quality Control? asked Chipsy.
“Yes! Yes! It’s he!” Brownie said.
“Nooo-Nooo-Nooo. You stupid dummy fatty cockroach. The dinner is NOT for us! It is JUST his snacks or appetizers. He is now enjoying the X’mas banquet! He’s never that generous to give us food!” Exclaimed by Chipsy.
“No wonder he can leave the factory so early tonight.” Said Choco.

“Hey my little things, are you hungry? Take my bread here. I can’t play with you tonight. I need to stay up till very late,” Siu Mui comforted the cockroaches and slightly shivered her body in the windy night. “Well…Christmas is coming. We need to finish this order by tomorrow’s morning.”

“Siu Mui. You can do it.” She muttered and encouraged herself optimistically.
“I want to stay with you. Can I?” said Teddy and smiled.
“Sure, you little Teddy.”

That night was particularly busy yet silent. Every worker was seriously in hurry to assemble the components and put the Christmas outlook on the five hundred FantAsia Teddy Bears. Scottish scarf, fury boots and little glittering hand bell.

Tic-Tac-Tic-Tac. It was 2 a.m. now. The toys were still not yet completed. But the workers decided to go back to dormitory except Siu Mui alone to insist on continuing her work.
“This factory was really like a hell…Luckily we have you to help us, Siu Mui! Hey, don’t go back to dormitory too late. We still have to work tomorrow.” The workers said.

Siu Mui was counting the finished Teddy Bears in the shabby place. “Four hundred and one…four hundred and two…four hundred and three…four hundred and four… five hundred… and…” She dozed off a moment and finally couldn’t help falling asleep on the desk.

Meanwhile, the cockroaches and rats were still having party in the operation room. They sang the “Friday Night Fever” and danced joyfully. Brownie was standing on top of the system keyboard pad and carelessly kicked the red button. Suddenly, the factory’s speakers were on air and made the announcement loudly.

“Attention Please. Attention Please. The truck is going to be arrived in 5 minutes – arrived in 5 minutes. Please mind the platform gap. Please mind the platform gap.”
“Silly Brownie! WHAT’S GOING ON? What sort of button did you click?” Chipsy asked furiously.
“I…I…don’t…don’t know…I meant no harm!” Brownie cried and looked innocently.
“Take it easy. Perhaps there’s the show time NEXT!” Choco shouted in excitement.

The lights in factory were all switched on. Machines started to upload packaged Fantasia Teddy Bears. The delivery belt rolled frontward speedily. The whole factory was out of control!

The three cockroaches galloped away downstairs and shouted, “Siu Mui! Wake up! Wake up! Let’s go to have fun!”
Teddy curiously asked, “Hey! Where are we going? I need to stay with Siu Mui! She looks very tired!”
“No more time! Sit on the belt first!” Commanded Chipsy
“Get on the ride? Cool!” Choco laughed.
“Where…where can I fasten the safety belt?” asked Brownie.
“You STUPID Brownie! Sit on the delivery belt but not fasten the belt!” Said the two cockroaches.

They passed all the assembling check points and were mysteriously approaching the trap door. Siu Mui, Teddy and the three cockroaches looked upon the signal ahead and read a line. “No Admittance Except On Contingent Mission In Park. What does that mean?” Asked Siu Mui. “O! Here We Go – The FantAsia Park!” Shouted Teddy.

After passing through a tunnel in dark, it finally came out into the open air. Siu Mui, Teddy and the cockroaches were very glad. They looked around in wonder.
“This must be the FantAsia Park!”
“Look at all those beautiful castles! Arh…and the biggest circus ring – The Cirque du Fantasie!” said the cockroaches.

While they were at the entrance, they met a well-dressed decent soldier. The cockroaches and Teddy quickly crawled into Siu Mui’s handbag.
The soldier gave them a notice, “Welcome to the FantAsia Park, Miss. Here’re the reminders you need to follow. In the park, first, you are not allowed to bring any foods and beverages. Second, you are also not allowed to talk to our acrobats, trained animals, musicians, stunt artists from the Cirque du Fantasie.”
“He-is-so-mean-and-bossy!” said the three cockroaches and Teddy.

“One more thing. We don’t welcome any animals. Thank you for your cooperation.” The soldier added politely.
The little things shut up immediately and soundlessly peeped outside. They were staring at the soldier.
“I wonder why they command their visitors in this way.” Siu Mui told Teddy and cockroaches silently.

“Hey look at the higgledy-piggledy cottages over there!” Teddy teased.
“And what a crowd of different kinds of fairy-folk!” Chipsy laughed.
“Oh! Teddy! Your face is printed everywhere in the souvenir shops! You’re the idol like a super star among the kids!” Shouted Brownie.
“I DON’T CARE. All the toys are only cheap products in our factory. Right?” Said Teddy in the handbag.
“I agree. But the workers have no choice. Come on! C’est la vie.” Said Siu Mui.

Siu Mui pointed to the big circus ring on a steep hill. She was curious to look inside.
Then they took the path that led to the ring. It was not long before they were climbing the hill on which the ring stood. They came to a great gate titled as “Restricted Area”, and by it hung a bellrope.

“Be careful!” the cockroaches said in a whisper. Siu Mui pulled it and at once a jangling noise was heard in the courtyard beyond. The gate swung open and Siu Mui went in, feeling a little bit frightened.

The circus would only perform in night. In the day time, there was no one in the courtyard. Exactly opposite was a door, which stood open. The cockroach buddies and Teddy jumped out from the handbag. They went towards it and peeped inside. Just as they got there they heard some nice music.

“An acrobat is here! Let’s go in!”
They crept inside the door and found themselves in a huge gorgeous tent. At the middle there was a raised stage on which stood the acrobat having training.

He was muscular and looked particularly sophisticated. He climbed the fabric without the use of safety lines. And he started to slowly wrap and swing and spiral his bodies into his position. Siu Mui was amazed that he attempted to fly through the air, striking another pose while flying with the brisk rhythms and soft melody.

Not long after, the acrobat spotted out the shadow of Siu Mui. Suddenly, he slid down from the top.
“Who are you?” Asked the acrobat with frown.
“I’m Siu Mui. I just pass by here…Am I disturbing you?”
“No, I’m just exercising. You are my first audience today. I’m Kent. Nice to meet you. Have you ever watched our show before?” Asked Kent.
“Well… Sorry... It’s my first time to be here… I can’t…a…afford the ticket…” She replied with a bit embarrassment.
“Oh it doesn’t matter. What do you do? Are you a student?” Kent could observe that Siu Mui was not too old.
“No. I work in a factory. The FantAsia’s franchised one. We produce toys for this park,” Siu Mui took out Teddy from her handbag and said. “See? That’s the Teddy Bear we made. Teddy is my best friend. Of course, and these three cockroaches as well – Chipsy, Brownie and, Choco! These little things were always my best buddies!”

She smiled and kissed them one by one. Teddy and the cockroaches jutted out their heads from the handbag. Kent was scared at the moment. But then he slowly gazed at the thumb-sized things. The little things took a look at Kent and shook his fingers sincerely.
“Hi! How’re you?” the cockroaches greeted Kent.
Kent saw Siu Mui’s hands with wrinkles and scars. And he found her very pale in face. He noticed that she might overwork in the factory. Indeed, Siu Mui had soaked too much chemical substance in the factory over the years.

“How about you? What did you do?” Siu Mui asked.
“Well...A long history it is. I’ve worked here for eight years. I’m a full time acrobat. Huh…you know…the training is extremely tough and exhausting. We usually get injured when juggling fire torches or even knifes. Insurance is not covered. And sick leave barely allowed.”

Kent sighed deeply. His eyes were miserable. Seems that he had lost his freedom since the day he was trapped into this dazzling circus ring.
“How poor he is…” Said the cockroaches.

“But why do you still work in here?”
“This is my life. I was born in a musician’s family. My parents are both the elite musicians in provincial opera and orchestra teams. But I’m the opposite of them. I like acrobatics and gymnastics arts. That’s why I leave my home to work in here – the world renowned Cirque du Fantasie.”

Despite having physical pain, he didn’t give up his career. He loved to be an acrobat. He believed the tent was somewhere he belonged. It was the only place he could make the dream came true.

They chatted a lot on the stage. Kent felt glad to talk with Siu Mui as they shared similar story and he found Siu Mui a very tough girl. However, he also felt pity to her. He recognized she should have her dream rather than staying in the stuffy factory. He didn’t want her to suffer from the toxic substance anymore.

So he determined to act out a secret mission that saved Siu Mui from the underworld. Then he discussed his plan with Chipsy, Brownie and Choco secretly at the courtyard while Siu Mui was bringing Teddy to visit the castles. She didn’t realize her little three had slipped away.

“Shuh! Don’t tell Siu Mui! Or else she would use the cockroaches- repellent spray!” said Choco.
“Spray? For what?” asked silly Brownie.
“TO KILL US! UNDERSTAND?” Choco said angrily.

Clever Chipsy went out to discuss with other cockroaches. More and more cockroaches originally hided in the kiosks, washrooms, bakery shops, trash bins, or anywhere in the park suddenly gathered on the steep hill. There were over thousands of cockroaches ready to embark on their top mission – To Attack The FantAsia Theme Park!

Chipsy, Brownie and Choco headed the cockroaches and divided them into different teams. They stationed at the entrance, main street, Circus, casltes, cafeteria etc.
“Ready! Set! GO!” Chipsy ordered and all the cockroaches rushed into their stationing points to horrify the visitors. “COCKROACHES! GET OUT! GET OUT! OUT-OUT-OUT!” “NO! NO! NO! WE’LL NEVER COME AGAIN!” the tourists screamed and yelled and complained.

The cockroaches crowded were getting more fiercely towards the visitors. They meant not to panic the tourists. They only wished the park’s reputation to be worse so that nobody would come again. The park was disorder and completely out of control now. The queues of visitors were escaping at high speed. Unfortunately, Teddy and the three cockroaches were lost in the chaos.

After the two days-battle, the cockroaches had a string of victory. The mission was completely successfully! Every newspaper and magazine carried an entire coverage on “FantAsia’s Collapse”, “FantAsia Greatest Hit by Cockroach”, “FantAsia – No More Perfection” as headlines.

During the year, the park received less than ten visitors coming every day. The following year, the Chief Executive Officer of the park had no choice, but to announce the theme park and the franchised toys factory to be closed. The FantAsia was then taken over by the Merveilleux Island Resort, the world-class high-end holiday paradise.

However the Cirque du Fantasie was dismissed, all the performers worked together in another circus called Dreamy Circus that Kent became the Director and Siu Mui the successful tamer.

She still liked animals a lot. And she missed Teddy, Chipsy, Brownie and Choco, which they shared laughter in every midnight, and finally make her dream came true.


“I’m proud of you all. God bless you. Little things.” she prayed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Antonia Cheong Hoi Kiu came up with the idea for The FantAsia and the Underworld because she read many news about women workers and child labors at toy and garment factories in the developing countries. She says, “Why don’t I illustrate this crucial social issue into the story so that more people can be aware of the basic human right of the needies.”

She thought, “What if I empower the character of little animals in the factory to describe how poor the working environment is?” And the whole idea came just at that moment – that three lovely cockroaches and a Teddy Bear were the worker’s best friends in this underworld.”