New Tales of The Old Shanghai
Island School , Work , Victoria - 14
I stood on the scaffold on a old steel bridge , looking down into the rapid water fifty feet below . Hands behind my back ; wrists bound . A noose encircled my neck .
There were two soldiers from the army , supervised by a sergeant who looked grotesque , malicious - not at all friendly . The sergeant was in uniform , armed and ready to kill . Just in case the prisoners and I didn ’ t die fast enough , a group of soldiers at each end of the bridge had their machine guns loaded , ready to fire .
I heard muffled cries coming from the numerous trucks on the bridge , all packed with squashed prisoners . The trucks were so crowded that each person scarcely had enough room to turn around . Crimson stains on the murky water , corpses with cut ropes around their necks floating on the surface . Shanghai lay on the opposite bank of the river , a place where I came from . Where buildings towered over fields , where farmers plowed the dark earth , creating great clouds of dust and dirt , giving up the grounds musty dampness , exposing its luxuriant richness and wiry worms to the gloomy sky . Little did the worms know , they would be eating well tonight .
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My parents left about ten years ago , and no one knew where . I was still a baby , so I was thrown around like a ragged doll by the authorities to my greedy and rapacious relatives , who forced me to do chores all day . I lived in the barn with the horses and the pigs , “ Fai , that ’ s where you belong ” said my aunt when she first saw me .
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Walking home from the market one day . I saw in the distance , two men , arms entangled around each other . Their expressions were fierce and venomous , each looking at each other with hatred and detestation .
I edged up closer , but still keeping my distance . The man ’ s features were good - a straight nose , firm mouth , broad forehead , from which his black hair was sticking up , falling behind his ear to the collar of his shirt . He had a dark beard , his eyes were large and black , and had a bone-chilling expression which could scare a person from a mile off .
The soldier looked really beat up already , his left eye was already black and blue , with bruises everywhere . His uniform was ripped and his arms were scraped . Berry-red blood oozing through his clothes , his hair was ruffled up , leaves and small branches tangled and twisted in his hair .
The soldier swung around and gave the man a fast and powerful kick in the ribs , the man howled in torment but still continued to stand . The man pounded at the soldier ' s chest , sending him flying backwards . The man pulled the soldier up to his feet , almost tearing his collar . The soldier kicked him in the leg , forcing the man to drop him .
The soldier ran off towards the middle of the field , where a gun was lying on the ground . The soldier picked it up and pulled the trigger towards the man ’ s face . Click . Click . “ It ’ s empty !” shouted the soldier . He dropped the gun on the ground and chased after the man . The man turned around and picked up the gun . “ Bad mistake .” said the man .
The soldier lunged for the gun in the man ’ s hand , but the man rolled his hands down and away with a deflection move , and smashed his fist in the bottom of the soldier ’ s chin , popping his jaw like a mouse trap . He smashed again