Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 143

The New Tales of Old Shanghai
Dulwich College Beijing, Hunter, Maggie - 8
B
lah blah blah,” the priest blabbered on and on and on about how the dragon fights all the innocent people of
Old Shanghai. "When are we going to be finished?”, moaned Xie Ning. Her brother, Xie Qing, who was
quietly praying, also disliked sitting and listening to the boring things the priest said.
Bong! Bong! The gong rang. Finally, home time! The streets were full of clattering bicycles and squeaky
tuk-tuks that were full of women who were wearing short and tight dresses with patterns of dragons, and men
wearing bow ties and pants. Food cart owners were bellowing, "Dumplings! Come get your freshly made
dumplings!" Xie Qing kept quickly bouncing ahead of everyone, and urging them to move quicker. "Xie Ning,
Mum and Dad! You guys are sloths!", panted Xie Qing.
At last, they approached their tiny flat, which smelt like cheese (they ate cheese all the time) and unlocked the
door. Neatly set up, golden plates and transparent goblets were placed on the table. Xie Qing hustled everyone to
the table, and they ate.
"Good night, Mother!", called Xie Ning from her beautiful room that was filled with ancient pottery. Soon she
was sound asleep.
"Noooooooooo!", screamed Xie Ning. She had just woken from a nightmare. She dreamt her mother and father
were gone. "Mum! Dad!", she yelled. No answer. "Mum! Dad!", she yelled even louder. Still, no answer. Worried
and frightened, she went to find her brother. Xie Qing, who was still half asleep, was listening to every word his
sister said. "Where could they be?", questioned Xie Qing. "I don't know…", replied Xie Ning, "They're not here,
let's go find them." They scrambled down the stairs, and ran out of the door.
The lights were all off, but the street markets were still there, and just a few people were strolling, mainly because
it was three in the morning. Xie Ning was shivering, so her brother wrapped her in a small blanket. Finally, they
arrived at the temple, and as soon as they stepped in Xie Ning's jaw dropped. There they were, lying on the
ground. Their hearts not pumping, but they still seemed to be breathing...
Xie Qing was looking in his pockets for a resource that would cure the case. He came to a pen. This was no
ordinary pen, it was a magic pen. "Stand back", he warned Xie Ning. He pointed his pen into the sky, and a jet of
sparks fell out and landed on his pen. Instantly, it transformed into a black wand. Hurriedly, he pointed it at his
mum and dad, and a white string emerged, which was so bright that it almost blinded him. At last, he stopped and
they sat up. "Oh my!", they screamed. It was a wonderful sight.
They got home and their parents said, "You two better get to bed! Good night!"