Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 148

“Because you look similar to me," I replied.
“Yes, I suppose it’s obvious.”
“How can I go back to the future?”
“By experiencing Old Shanghai.”
“What does that mean?”
“You must find out for yourself.”
All of a sudden, Henry disappeared into thin air, leaving nothing except a stack of notes. I bent my back and grabbed
the money off the ground, thinking about how to get back to the future.
In the following days, I tried many ways to experience Shanghai, including exploring its very edges, going shopping,
eating its local food… but nothing worked. How could I go back?
Until one day, I met a young beggar with scruffy-looking black hair, an unbelievably skinny body and cracked lips.
Suddenly, several wealthy kids came and laughed hard at the beggar.
“Hey, orphan!” a youngster shouted.
“Begging for money again?”
“Too bad! We are not giving you our money.”
“Stay where you belong, in the trash.”
The platoon of kids laughed.
I could not help but to stop them. “Leave him alone, jerks!” Pushing them aside and threatening to call the police,
they ran away.
To relieve him of his thirst, I bought the orphan a cup of water and gave him coins to supply his needs. As he
recovered, we started to talk by trading stories of our lives. He was shocked after learning I was from the future. As
I heard his stomach grumble, I ran towards the corner shop and bought him a bag of juicy meat buns. This was his
first taste of the meat buns here. When he laid eyes on the food, he grabbed and gobbled it like he hadn’t eaten in
years.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“No problem,” I smiled.
As I turned around, a purple portal appeared out of nowhere, and in a flash, I landed back near the wall which started
this compulsive adventure. I felt the brick wall with my right hand and reached for the loose brick with the paper
inside. Expecting the edge of the brick to pop off, I tried to pry the brick apart and felt the rough paper that took me
back in time. However, the brick wall seemed like any other. Where did it go? I looked around and double checked
for the ice cream shop and the wall. It was the right spot, but my adventure to Old Shanghai was over.
The brick wall was waiting for someone else to unlock its secrets.