Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 164

The New Tales of Old Shanghai
German Swiss International School, Kwok, Megan – 10
T
he best way to learn is to experience,” said the boy in a black hoodie and jeans.
“Eric, you should pay attention in class,’ said Collins.
“Why are you trying to fit into that box, Collins? You know you’ll end up like a dog’s dinner,” asked Eric
“This is a time machine. It can take you to the past, and you can go anywhere, anytime in the past! Want to
try it?
Eric hesitated. What if he got trapped in the past and could not come back? What if he got killed? What if …
“Eric, if you were in danger, you could get back to the portal box as soon as possible. I can easily get you back
once you are in it.!” Smiled Collins crookedly. He had read Eric’s mind.
Challenged, Eric pulled Collins out of the box and jumped into it.
“Ok, send me to Shanghai during the war. 1943. I need to finish my school report on the French
Concession.”
Eric prepared himself for a wartime Shanghai, full of excitement and Indiana Jones’ style of adventures.
In the blink of an eye, he was taken through a series of lights and ended up in front of a wall.
hear French accents, but also American, British, Russian and Chinese.
Not only could he
“I read that Shanghai’s Concession Zones were romantic and grand. But if they could see this, they would be
amazed. Hollywood got it all wrong,” Eric muttered under his breath. All around him, he saw wide boulevards
lined with plane trees. It was rather an impressionist’s view of the French Concession.
“Vouz perdez! Vous etes en danger! Vous ne regnez pas!” shouted a man carrying a metal blade to the people on
the street.
Eric’s French lessons came back to him as he translated in his brain.
“You lose! You are in danger! You will not reign!” Eric murmured. “It must be targeted to the Chinese. The
Chinese are in danger. The Japanese are coming!”
Eric looked around. He was in front of the St Nicholas’ Church, built by Russian refugees from their 1917
revolution. He thought that the church would be a great hiding place from the Japanese.
“我々は支配する！我々は征服する.” This time a Japanese man was shouting out.
Eric was pleased he had paid attention in his Japanese classes as well.
“We will dominate! We will conquer!”
“I have to get out of here!” he whispered to himself surveying the scene. “I must get over to the waterfront of
the Huangpu River to the Shanghai International Settlement for the British and Americans. I need to let them
know!”
Eric ran through towards the waterfront through the French Park which resembled Monet’s Japanese Pond.
There he saw people relaxing and chatting. He was puzzled.
The park was big and he walked around for a long time but he did not see any sign of wartime tension.
“Vous perdez. Vous etes en danger! Vous ne regnez pas.” The same man he had seen in a soldier’s uniform
wea now standing in front of Eric, repeating the words over and over. Further away, Eric could see a tent with
people dressed in world War II dress. Next to the tent was a big sign which read “Prochain spectacle a 14h.”
“Next show at 2:00 pm,” Eric translated.
And now here came the Japanese man again who shouted, “我々は支配する！我々は征服する!” but he was
playing Japanese chess with another man, still holding the sword.