Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 445

The Tale of Miss Eileen
St. Paul's Co-educational College Primary School, Tung, Sophie – 9
E
very summer, my family spends our holidays in Shanghai because it’s my Mum’s hometown.
There are lots of places that I have visited that I truly like, but the Shanghai Library is always my favorite.
It is an ancient building situated right in the heart of the city. This “architectural artworks” is a nice
combination of spiritual past and modern present. The whole ageless building was made of red bricks. The
wooden staircases are classy. The old antique grandfather clock at the doorway always welcomes you like an old
friend. It is too old to ring though. But that particular afternoon, it rang. And the memories of that afternoon are
still fresh in my mind…
It was a sunny day. Mum took me to the library as usual. We walked into the cool air-conditioned room.
Mum took a book and settled down on a chair. The afternoon sun streamed through the windows. She smiled
with satisfaction and said, “This is my favorite place to read when I was little. Feel free to walk around and find a
book for yourself.”
I skipped to the second floor of the library. Suddenly I saw a golden swallow flying towards one of the
bookshelves. How come there’s a swallow flying inside the library? Curiosity pulled me towards the shelf .To my
surprise, there was a hidden door behind it. I gently pushed the door meanwhile I heard the grandfather clock rang
three times “Don~~Don~~Don~~”. Before I knew it, I was already inside a room.
The interior was dim and smelled of cherry wood. There was a little girl about my age sitting on a wooden
chair who’s absorbed in a book. She was dressed in a cheongsam with golden swallow patterns on it. The same
golden swallow I saw just now!
“A-hem,” I cleared my throat to call attention.
She looked up from her book, “hello…hi…” She sounded surprised.
“Is this the children’s section?” I asked.
“Er…” She looked around. “I’m not sure… but definitely you will find some famous books here…”
“What book are you reading?” I asked, looking at the book sat on her lap.
“I’m reading The Dream of the Red Chamber,” She answered slowly. “It is a very sophisticated story. I need
inspiration from stories like this.” She showed me the cover, which was very old. “I want to be an author one
day,” She went on.
“Oh! I read it too. I can’t love it more.”
“Really?” She exclaimed happily.
“Yes, “I nodded. “But it’s such a sad story…”
Her eyes studied me, “I never saw you in this library before. I come here nearly every day. And you don’t look
like Shanghainese. Where are you from?”
“Hong Kong. I came to Shanghai with my family for my summer break.”
“Hong Kong? I always want to go there.” said the girl, almost singing the word.