Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4567 | Page 153

Single Soul Dwelling in Two Bodies
Leung Shek Chee College , Pak , Becky - 16

A wisp of subdued sunlight passed through the window and was condensed on a yellowing memory within a lacework . A young lady in a flowery cheongsam and wearing crimson lipstick stood next to an underprivileged girl in ragged clothes . The smiles on both faces crossed over my presbyopia glasses and a smile was on my face again as I recalled happiness in the past . My sight started to become blurry with a watery layer blocking my field of view . I caressed HER face with calloused fingers . I missed HER so much …

Knock ! Knock ! ‘ Pandora ! Pandora ! Wake up ! It ’ s time for us to go to work !’ I pounded the door and yelled in front of my best friend ’ s wooden house .
‘ Ouch ! Wait me for a minute ! I don ’ t want to be late ! Please wait for me , Holly ! Please !’, she begged sincerely .
‘ Okay , okay ! Calm down ! I ’ m here waiting for you ! BUT we only have FIVE minutes left to rush to the factory !!’ Pandora opened the door immediately and grabbed my hand and we began to run towards the textile factory on this new sunny day in Old Shanghai .
We halted after passing the entrance of the factory and arrived punctually . We giggled at each other and wiped our sweat away with our handkerchiefs . ‘ We should wake up earlier in the future or else we will experience this exciting process of coming to the factory every day !’ I told Pandora and she nodded in delight . We moved towards our seats and started our sewing work .
The sky turned orange at sunset and the shadow of a pair of girls on their way back home stretched long . Pandora and I had been neighbors in Nanshi District since we were born . We came from poor families so we only wore tattered clothes . However , Pandora was a glamorous girl with regular facial features , even though she was in really old clothes . This beauty was what Pandora had been proud of in these years . A great contrast would occur when I stood abreast of her , but I didn ’ t care much about that .
Days shifted and time flew . Pandora and I had worked in the factory for a month so we got our salaries on the last day of the month . Unexpectedly , Pandora got much more than I had even though we had worked for the same length of time ! Both of us were shocked at first but I realized something — the manager of the factory was partial to pretty girls — and this result wasn ’ t so unexpected . I kept silent instead of saying anything as Pandora was as smart as me and I guessed she must also understand what the extra wage meant . Things seemed quiet right now , but it was just the lull before the storm .
There is an old saying about how money would kill humanity . When someone has got much more wealth than he had never imagined before , his greed would grow and that was the dark side of humanity . Unsurprisingly , Pandora begun to enjoy her life thanks to the favoritism from the factory ’ s manager . She morphed into a modern and classic lady wearing cheongsam and high-heeled shoes . Prettified with foreign cosmetics , she was more gorgeous than before . She even told me that she would do everything to earn as much wage as she could in order to break away from the poverty and step into the upper-class . Pandora was unfamiliar to me now as she was strange and utilitarian …
‘ Holly ! I have something to do tonight … so … you don ’ t need to wait for me to go back home together .’ Pandora smiled reservedly to me when we finished our work one day .