Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 131

“I want to watch this one! It’s the latest Hollywood movie and I bet you’ll like it.” Two women were
arguing with indignation about which film to watch.
Almost instantly, Shelly ran out and realized that she was at Cathay Theatre—a cinema with rich art deco
architecture and designs. Exuberance bubbled in her when she noticed a movie poster under her feet. It wrote
“Shanghai Express is now playing in the theatre! Come buy tickets!” Shelly broke into a wide smile and cried,
“Marlene Dietrich was the famous idol! This poster could be one of the magnificent collections I have.” Shelly
rapidly put it into her bag.
After that, Shelly was skipping merrily along the streets when she spotted a hand-pulled rickshaw. She
wanted to gain a valuable experience by taking a ride before going home. Shelly was relaxed while the rickshaw
puller trotted along, seemingly effortlessly pulling his load behind him,
By the time Shelly arrived at the Bund, it was already sunset.
She was delighted to bring home such wonderful souvenirs. But what she didn’t realize was that people
couldn’t bring anything from the past back to the real world. Once Shelly swallowed the magic pill, something
peculiar happened. Her legs started to transform into stone which made her glued to the spot.
“What? No…no… NO!!” Her scream tore from the throat as she convulsed in horror. Her stomach knotted
in a tight fist, clenching her intestines as fear swamped her. Her life flashed before her very eyes as Shelly looked
helplessly at her stone body.
“Save me …someone…save me…” was all she managed to say.