Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 430

The New Tales of Old Shanghai
Singapore International School (Hong Kong), Wong, Gabrielle – 10
R
un! Jimmy! Run! The Japanese are here!” Ah-Yi shrieked downstairs. As I scrambled out of my bed in
terror, troops of soldiers were marching towards our house.
“The ceiling!” I climbed up my desk and hauled myself up into the small trapdoor that led to the attic
which was connected to the chimney. Clinging onto the wall of fennel, I heard the Japanese soldiers bursting
through the door, pushing Ah-Yi aside, searching every room. The air echoed with the thudding of the military
boots as I looked up at the gloomy night sky shown through the top of the chimney. I prayed for a miracle. Below
in the living room, a man was rapping out orders that I could not understand. As if fate had heard me, suddenly a
head peered down from the wide opening of the chimney. Da-Bao! The chef’s son! He stretched down his arm
and pulled me out of the shaft.
We slid down from the water-pipes at the back of the house. Without looking back, we started to run
into the woods. I ran as fast as I could, my heart pounding in my chest and veins pumping in my neck. Eventually,
we slowed to a stop as every one of my muscles protested and my lungs yelled for air.
“The Japanese have been killing the Chinese but I wonder why they are after the Westerners?” I panted,
still appalled.
“Japan bombed a US harbor and they are enemies of US now. They have been taking American
businessmen like your father.” Da-Bao explained in between breaths.
“Fortunately, Dad is in Singapore for a business trip. Mum went to the Embassy and she should be safe
there.” With that remark, the burden of loneliness suddenly descended on me like leaden cloud.
“We can’t keep hiding here. The Japanese will soon come searching. We’ve got to go to the Bund and
try to sneak in a ship to Singapore to look for my Uncle there.”
By the second morning, the Bund was in view. It looked complacent at dawn, except with two warships
carrying Japanese flags in the harbor, it now looked like an old sleeping cat with scars on its face. I had always
come here to dine on the best cuisines in Peace Hotel with Daddy’s chauffeured car but now I was hiding in the
shades underneath the bridge, covering my face under a grungy straw hat. I felt strange. Disconnected. I felt my
familiar world was gradually sliding away from me, until I saw the sign, “No Dogs and Chinese.” Da-Bao’s fist
clenched so hard that the knuckles of his fingers turned white.
“I am sorry.” I grimaced. “I never realized how it felt to be discriminated until now.” Perhaps being in
misfortune brought up the empathy in me?
“BEEE……” A deafening whistle approaching fast broke up my thoughts.
“Run!” Da-Bao pushed me ahead. I jumped over the short fence and dashed towards the river. To my
horror, Da-Bao did not follow. I hid behind bushes and spotted that one Japanese soldier had grabbed Da-Bao’s
hair and hit him with a baton. He bent forward as if to keep the pain at bay. I found myself torn. On one side I
wanted to run back to Da Bao, but on the other hand, reason had stopped me. I had to stay free to find
opportunity to rescue him. Both hands tied, Da-Bao was pushed and chained behind a string of Chinese who
were unfortunate farmers, passers-by or hawkers. All young males. This is the way they got coolies or front line
soldiers in the army!
The captives were hit and forced to march ahead together along the main road on the Bund against the
gleaming porch buildings and women walking into hotels in fur coats. The white marble of the buildings dazzled
my eyes. All physical sensations – fear, tiredness, hunger – all faded away except a volcano of anger surged inside
me, and that, surprisingly, had made my mind exceptionally clear.
I maneuvered through the crowd, keeping my eyes on the string of captives with my right hand tightly
holding the knife in my pocket. We had been using the knife for cutting food, but soon it would have a different
use. The prisoners were brought to the quay, close to a boat. The soldier guarding them went inside a shed, filling
out a form or some sort. As quickly and quietly as I could manage, I snuck behind Da-Bao and cut the rope
binding him.