The New Tales of Old Shanghai Dulwich College Beijing , Zhang , Henry – 11
D ad , how much longer do we have to wait ?” I asked impatiently .
“ Just a little longer , it ’ s almost our turn .”
My family and I were in Shanghai , standing on Wukang Road , a historical road that dated back to 1897 . According to a plaque hanging above me , it used to be called Route Ferguson , after an American man who built the road . But I didn ’ t care about its history , my legs were tired . We had been standing in line for almost two hours just to get a scoop of famous Shanghai ice-cream .
Wanting to relieve some pressure off my feet , I leaned against the old brick wall . To my surprise , I felt one of the bricks wobble under the weight of my shoulders . I turned around and pulled out a loose , tarnished brick . Inside the cavity it left behind , there was a piece of yellow paper . A few words scrawled on it in barely legible ink . It read : Hello , my name is Henry . What ’ s yours ?
“ Honey ,” my dad yelled , “ it is our turn .”
I shoved the paper back into the hole and crammed the brick in its place . Now I faced the challenge of picking the two flavors I wanted with my cone . The creamy , rich , vanilla and chocolate combo made me forget how tired I was , and it gave me renewed energy for the rest of the day .
While I was enjoying the ice cream on the way back to our hotel , I suddenly recalled the old note that I found . All day , I wondered about the strange and secretly hidden message . After everyone had gone to sleep , my curiosity kept me awake . I went back to the ice cream shop to find the paper , making sure to pocket the hotel keycard on my way out . When I arrived , I found the loose brick where the note was hidden . Roughly folding the paper , I stuffed it in my pocket and fled back to my room without a backward glance . Once I got back to my room , I grabbed a pen and wrote : My name is Henry too .
I woke up to find that I had fallen asleep in the clothes I wore last night . By pulling out the piece of paper from my pocket , I saw the word OK on it . How extraordinary ! Two days later , the mysterious person wrote again : Soon , you will travel back in time and explore Old Shanghai with me . Just as I finished reading it , a purple portal appeared and I got sucked in .
When I opened my eyes , I noticed that the streets and the style of clothing were completely different . All of a sudden , a tanned , tall man walked towards me , and introduced himself as Henry . He must be the stranger who wrote to me through the yellow paper !
For some reason , I felt a magical attachment to him , so I followed him through the crowds . In the heart of the city , I saw bustling streets , passing rickshaws and packed markets . Almost all the buildings were European style : there were towers , buildings , neon lights … It looked like Paris , only in the East .
During the walk , we passed Route Ferguson ( Wukang Road ). The ice-cream shop there was barely noticeable , it was small , quiet and shabby . That was when I noticed that Henry had similar features as mine , curved eyebrows , skinny body , tan … I couldn ’ t help but wonder if we were related . “ Are you my relative ?” I asked . “ What makes you think that ?” queried Henry .