Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 443

Great Grandmother's French Encounter
St. Paul's Co-educational College Primary School, Leung, Charlotte – 10
T
en-year old Lei Yu felt very thankful. It was 1940. She knew there was a war and many parts of Shanghai
were under the Japanese concession’s control. She also knew they were not kind rulers. The Chinese
population were suffering. Fortunately, the Japanese had left the foreign concessions alone. As she walked along
Ave Pe’tain in the French Concession part of Shanghai, there was no sign of war. Tall plane trees lined the road
and behind the trees, protected by hedges and fences, were grand mansions and expensive apartment buildings.
This was one of the most beautiful parts of Shanghai. Lei Yu was glad her family was rich enough to live in this
area.
As she skipped along, Lei Yu had only one thing on her mind – she was going to the big park. It was
surrounded by a high stone wall but Lei Yu could get a glimpse of the park through the large iron gates. She did
not like the sign on the gate. Written in large Chinese characters were the words ‘NO CHINESE OR DOGS
ALLOWED’. Lei Yu was not sure what that meant or why the sign was there. She just knew she could not go
inside. But, oh, everyone looked so happy in there. The tree leaves had turned golden and red, and they were
fluttering ever so gracefully to the ground. She could even see squirrels scampering among the branches. How she
wished she could run in that large park and hide among the trees!
“Hello.” A voice startled her. Lei Yu looked up and saw a boy standing inside the gate, looking at her. He
seemed to be about her age, maybe a couple of years older. He had the most yellow hair and the most beautiful
brown eyes she had ever seen. He wore a plain blue shirt and stood there, his hands in the pockets of his grey and
white trousers, with a big smile on his face. He looked friendly and very rich, but Lei Yu did not know what to
do. She turned round and ran away. She could hear him calling after her, but she just ran without looking back.
The next day, Lei Yu went to the park again. She peered through the gate and the boy was standing just inside!
He seemed to be waiting for her. “How are you? My name is Ames. Who are you? Why don’t you come in?” he
said in Mandarin!
Lei Yu was really surprised but Ames’ accent was so funny that she giggled. Ames blushed. He looked down at
his shoes and said, still in Mandarin, “I know I don’t speak that well, but at least I hope you can understand what
I’m saying.”
Lei Yu was a little embarrassed. She had been rude. She looked at Ames and nodded, “I can understand what
you’re saying. My name is Lei Yu. I’m sorry.”
It turned out that Ames was French. He and his family were staying in the big mansion just opposite to the
park. He was able to speak Mandarin because his nanny and the family driver were Chinese and because he had a
Mandarin tutor. When Ames found out Lei Yu’s desire to visit the park, he took her to his home when his parents
were away. From the big glass window on the second storey, Lei Yu was able to see into the park – the flower
beds, the ponds, the bicycle tracks, and of course, the beautiful trees. She could even see children running around
and adults resting on the benches under the trees.
After that day, the two youngsters would meet at the gate of the park and they would spend hours together.
They would read and recite, they would run and hide in Ames’ garden and they would take walks along the
avenue or follow the stone walls of the park. Lei Yu helped Ames to improve his Mandarin, and he taught her
French.
Then one day, Ames had bad news for Lei Yu. A new government was in France and his father had been
ordered to return to France. Lei Yu did not really understand. Her eyes were filled with tears, wanting to cry, but