Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 502

French Concession and run along the quiet tree-lined streets, just like my old home in France. Your great-grandfather also liked to show me around the Old Shanghai City. My favourite place was the Yuyuan Gardens, where I could watch the goldfish swimming freely in the clear, turquoise pond for as long as I liked. There, I would tell him all about my life in France, and he enjoyed teaching me Chinese! Several years later, we got married. Our wedding pictures were taken in front of the City God Temple and on the Bridge of Nine Turnings (Jiu Qu Qiao), a zig-zagging bridge near the Temple. Though I had struggled to get used to living in Shanghai initially, over time, I learned to love my new life, and in the end, my family decided to stay in China, even after the concession ended in 1943 when the Japanese invaded Shanghai. I have loved living in Shanghai, and hope that this letter has helped you know more about me. I will always love you, but most importantly, I would like to wish you a happy 18th birthday! I have left you a special painting and hope that you will cherish it as much as I have. You will find a special message behind the painting. Love, Your great-grandmother Claudine I walked towards the painting that had been hanging in my bedroom for as long as I could remember. On it, there were the water lilies that I was so familiar with. It was indeed a beautiful painting - the sky blue water reflecting the golden sunlight, the pink lilies, the fish swimming happily in the pond… I held my breath, and started to carefully remove the painting from the wall. I put it down on the ground with a gentle thud, exposing the back of the painting to me. I looked closely, and saw a message written in French: ‘To my granddaughter Claudine. I hope you will enjoy your new life in Shanghai. I shall miss you and would like to give you one of my paintings that I am very proud of - “Water Lilies”. May your own granddaughter be as beautiful as these lilies! From, your Grandpa Claude Monet.’