Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 306

The New Tale of Old Shanghai
Kowloon Tong School (Primary Section), Wong, Suet Wing – 11
N
ow, everybody, this is a photo of old Shanghai in World War II. Shanghai was bombed by the Japanese
Navy, and……’ Isabella, an 11-year-old girl was on her first visit to the History Museum. After talking
about the history of Shanghai, Isabella’s history teacher let the class have some free time to look around in the
museum. Isabella strolled around excitedly, examining some artefacts carefully. Suddenly, something caught her
eye: gold with a warm sparkly glow, there lying on a silky pillow was a key with lovely patterns on it. Isabella was
dazzled. All of a sudden, she heard voices calling for her to touch the key! ‘Isabella, Isabella! Come and touch me!’
As if she was hypnotized, she grabbed it. A huge whirlpool of light appeared out of nowhere and Isabella
disappeared into thin air.
Isabella blinked once. Twice. ‘Where am I?’ she wondered as she looked around. Hmm…… She did not recall
seeing a temple in the museum, and where was the key? It should be in her hand! When she looked at herself, she
realized that she was wearing a cheongsam! ‘What? What happened?’ she screamed. A child at Isabella’s age peered
of her. ‘Nice qipao ,’ she said.
‘A “what”?’ ‘A qipao !’ ‘Do you mean a cheongsam?’ ‘What is a cheongsam?’
Isabella ended the awkward conversation with a ‘whatever’. The child introduced herself as Willow and noticed
Isabella’s blond curls. ‘You must be one of the many new foreigners here. Do you need help to find a place to live?
You can stay in my place! My family would be happy to host you.’ Isabella agreed although she had just met
Willow.
When Isabella stepped into Willow’s house, Willow introduced her to her parents. Great hospitality was shown!
Willow’s parents served her tea and ‘fried mantou’ right away and she immediately felt at home. She sat down on a
wooden stool and looked around. ‘Excuse me, where is the TV?’ I’d like to watch the news, please.’ Willow
stared at her. ‘What is a TV? We are one of the wealthiest families here in Shanghai, yet we haven’t even heard of
a TV! Do you have one? You must be very rich! Here, just read the local newspaper.’ Isabella was shocked.
Shanghai? She glanced at the newspaper. Year 1932? The incident at the museum flashed in Isabella’s mind. ‘Have
I time-travelled here when I grabbed the key?’ Willow, who was having tea immediately turned around to face
Isabella. ‘YOU WHAT!’ Oops, thought Isabella. Having no other choice, she told Willow about how she came
here. Willow understood why Isabella was acting so weirdly about qipaos and TVs then. ‘Isabella, I will help you
get back home.’ Isabella felt relieved as she did not want to be stuck in the past forever. They had a huge feast for
the New Year, and Isabella loved the ‘niangao’! Afterwards, everyone went to bed.
Days passed and Isabella started to get used to the traditional ways of old Shanghai. She also became a very good
friend of Willow’s. On the 26 th of January, when the two girls were travelling by rickshaw to the beach, they saw a
fighter aircraft fly pass their heads. ‘What is the aircraft doing there?’ asked Isabella. ‘I’ve seen quite a lot of fighter
aircrafts in Shanghai starting from the previous month,’ replied Willow. Fighter aircrafts…… Fighter aircrafts……
Oh no! What her teacher told the class in the museum popped into Isabella’s mind. The Japanese bombed
Shanghai on the 28 th January, 1932! She grabbed Willow’s hand. ‘We have to spread some important news to
everyone in Shanghai.’ She got off the rickshaw and started running towards the town, dragging Willow along.
‘Why?’ ‘There is no time to explain, or everybody’s lives will be in danger!’ After getting Willow’s parents, they
spread the word to evacuate everyone in Shanghai. Unfortunately, nobody believed her except for Willow and
her family. Willow and her family fled to Beijing but Isabella stayed, trying to get more people to leave.
On the 28 th of January, the Japanese really came to bomb Shanghai! When the first bomb was dropped, an
ear-piercing sound of explosion was heard and Isabella ducked in fear. Suddenly, in a glamorous white flash, she