An Adventure to Old Shanghai
Diocesan Girls ' Junior School , Wong , Yanka – 10
I
t was already midnight . Thick purplish clouds flitted across the raven black sky , splitting the slender crescent moon into halves . The chilly night breeze howled softly and everything was motionless until a lady picked up her pace and sneaked into the scientist ’ s laboratory . Cautiously looking around , the lady reached out her pointy hand , slipping two pills into her pocket . Silently she crept out of the laboratory , sighing in relief . Her biggest dream would finally come true ...
The lady was a librarian called Shelly , who was so obsessed with the stories about Old Shanghai that she longed to travel into one of the books and experience the lifestyle of the people living in that time . But little did she know how dangerous this adventure could be …
Shelly prepared herself with everything she needed : a torch , a map , a compass and old currencies of course . She then opened a book which had the words “ Old Shanghai ” written on it . Swallowing one of the magic pills , she was shocked to see a bright beam of light shooting out of the book . Taking a deep breath , Shelly jumped head-first into the book , her legs dangling in the air . “ Aah !” her piercing shriek rang through the whole town as she landed in the sand with a thud . Shelly rubbed her swollen head when she slowly stood up and looked around in astonishment .
She had landed right on the Bund . Buildings in different architectural styles came into her view . Experts and westerners called Shanghai “ Adventurers ’ Paradise ”, so Shelly hurried into the central districts of the city with a heart full of hope .
Curiosity led Shelly straight into the Paramount , the largest ballroom in Shanghai . As she peeked in , she saw a few women wearing gorgeously attractive qipaos and dancing gracefully on a large dance floor . The wealthy elite of Shanghai society sat downstage , appreciating the wonderful dancing .
Then something caught Shelly ’ s attention — a large feather fan on the table . The goose feathers were dyed with tons of colour ; Shelly ’ s eyes glowed with excitement . While no one was noticing , she slipped it into her bag and crept out without making any noise .
“ Xiaotou , Tingzhe !” All of a sudden , a man screamed , pointing at Shelly . Though she didn ’ t understand Shanghainese , Shelly could tell the man was infuriated by his expression . Without losing a beat , Shelly tightly grabbed her bag and bolted out of the door .
Sprinting like a bat out of hell , Shelly spared no effort to avoid obstacles in front , sweating and panting like a pig . The man who saw her steal the fan was dashing as fast as his legs could carry him , followed by a trail of people helping him catch her . Shelly peeled down the road with lightning speed , the soles of her shoes barely kissing the rough surface .
“ Better use some of my tricks ! This is going to be fun !” Shelly abruptly turned right and started running into an alley . Some of the people weren ’ t able to stop just in time and crashed into the wall , moaning in pain . “ Gotcha !” she cried . With excellent agility , she leaped over heaps of rubbish ahead , while the others began tripping and tumbling over . Soon , Shelly and two fat men were the only remaining ones on the run .
“ Quick , Shelly ! Quick , Shelly !” Shelly muttered under her breath as she ran . Lifting her head up , suddenly , she froze and stopped dead in her track . Her eyes bulged . It was a dead end !
“ No … please don ’ t …” Shelly stammered as beads of sweats rolled down her rosy cheeks . Malicious smiles appeared on two men ’ s faces — they were going to catch the thief .
Just as she was about to be captured , a gap between the walls that could possibly fit a slim person caught Shelly ’ s eyes . Struck by a brainwave , she slipped into the gap and squeezed her body through just a second before the two men grabbed her . “ Serves you right !” Shelly called back playfully . The men had no way out but to clench their fists with anger .
The laborious run knocked the breath out of Shelly , leaving her heaving and puffing . At this moment , she heard someone with a voice that had the ring of exasperation arguing with another person . Curiously , Shelly peeked behind a wall to eavesdrop their conversations .