The New Tale of Old Shanghai
Kowloon Tong School ( Primary Section ), Chong , Ka Wun - 10
L
ong long time ago , when Shanghai was not even called Shanghai , there was a girl called ‘ The Sea God ’. She controlled the sea , and old Shanghai was her home . Her home was covered in water . However , she used her magic to bring the water on land instead of going into the water herself .
The first person was made by the Birth God , who creates people was called Chiu Lau San . The Birth God gave her an English name , Lily . Lily was claimed ‘ born ’ in Shanghai . She walked around old Shanghai and asked , ’ Why are there no people ?’ ‘ You ’ re not alone .’ said a mysterious voice . It was the Sea God !
‘ I ’ m Lily .’ said the little girl .
‘ They usually call me the Sea God . But you can call me Salina .’ answered the Sea God .
Salina gave Lily the power to breathe underwater . They played together happily . They met a lot of sea creatures . While they were having the time of their lives , the Birth God continued to make more people . Some of the people had a bad heart . They met Salina and fought her so that they could take lots of water from the sea . Lily was unable to help . Salina told her to run as far as possible , but Lily could not bear seeing her only best friend fight those people . With her diligence and determination , she somehow managed to make a huge wave ! The group of people ran away and never came back to fight Salina again .
One day , a powerful man was made . He had all sorts of weapons . He tried to kill Salina and he found her . Unfortunately , Lily went back home . Salina was on her own . She tried different kinds of water attacks , but he was not afraid . With a single bullet , it took away Salina ’ s life and that man became the ruler of the sea .
When Lily found out , tears rolled down her cheeks and she could not forgive herself . In front of her door there was a tiger , a white one . On its collar it said ‘ Salina ’ on it . Lily guessed , ’ That might be Salina watching me !’ There was a cup under its tail . Magically , there was white liquid falling from it . It poured into the cup . Lily picked it up and smelled it . Suddenly , she remembered the scene when Salina and her were drinking what Salina called ‘ Tiger Milk ’. ‘ It ’ s from white tigers .’ Salina said . ‘ It ’ s healthy for your body .’ Lily drank the cup of tiger milk , and she started crying . Then , the tiger started to fade away .
Lily decided to find that man who killed Salina . She went into a little cottage with no one in it . She went inside . Inside there was a little yellow box . It had a piece of paper with some lines . It said , ‘ Today , I killed the guardian of the sea . David Gunman , 42 .’ Lily was curious . ‘ What does 42 mean ? His age ? His weight ?’ she said as she was scratching her head . Suddenly , someone busted through the door . It was David Gunman ! Lily ran out through the back door quickly into the woods . David chased after her with his angry look . Luckily , Lily could escape by hiding into the bushes . But she was lost in the woods . She walked and walked and still could not find her way out . It was just like a maze . Then , she saw a girl writing on a tree . It said , ‘ Today , I saw a tiger . Honey Chan . 62 .’ Lily asked the little girl why she wrote 62 . She answered , ‘ They say it ’ s a cooler way to not add a slash between the numbers , but I always add it .’ Suddenly , Lily realized something . 42 means the fourth of February ! That day , Mrs Lee ’ s shop , which was located next to the sea opened for 24 hours . Lily asked the girl she just met for directions . Then she ran to Mrs Lee ’ s shop . She asked her about that night . Mrs Lee replied that she saw a man carrying a big bag . On his body , he was carrying guns . Mrs Lee was scared . Later that night , she saw Salina making a big wave . Then she heard a gunshot sound and Salina died .