La Flâneuse à Shanghai ( The Shanghai Wanderer )
Diocesan Girls ' School , Wong , Ariel - 16
T he wailing siren tore through the early morning sky . The welkin became Lucifer ’ s canvas . Wild sanguineous streaks were drawn across the horizon . Furious crimson splotches scarred the heavens . Buildings went up in flames . Piercing screams and cries rang on the streets . With panic gushing through her veins , the girl clutched the grass slippers to her chest and ran for the air-raid shelter . Alas , the girl tripped . The next thing she knew was a bayonet at her throat , and a rising sun flag staring down blatantly at her . It finally dawned on her . The empire of the sun has risen . It dawned over all of Shanghai with its rays penetrating every alley of the old city . Nippon had finally dawned over Shanghai .
Then , the lights flickered out .
" What ? That ' s the end ? What happened to the girl ?" Ke Rou exclaimed .
" If you want to know more , pay up ," said the storeowner of the Xiyangjing shop , fanning his hand-fan nonchalantly .
" I paid for a full show !" demanded Ke Rou .
" Sorry , the price has gone up , young lady ," said the storeowner in a buttery voice .
" You crook !" shouted Ke Rou as her face fumed with anger .
" Jie , just leave , we ' re causing a scene ," said Kai Rou to her sister . Staring down at those fear-stricken eyes , Ke Rou relented . She tugged her sister ' s hand and stomped out of the shop .
" This is the first trip I ' ve taken with my sister and I ' ve already messed it up ," thought Ke Rou as she strolled through the Cheng Huang Temple .
" Shanghai handicrafts ! All hand-made ! It ' s only 30 dollars for a pair of JiaDing Caoxie !" hollered the granny at a nearby handicraft store .
" I ' ve always wanted a pair of those !" cried seven-year-old Kai Rou excitedly as she dragged Ke Rou into the shop .
As Ke Rou wove her slippers , she stared at the shopkeeper . She may be old , but her hands were like vivacious birds , flying quickly over the patch of straws , bringing the strands of straw over each other , crisscrossing them to form an intricate pattern .
Then the ringing of the bell at the entrance put her out of her trance . Fragments of heavily accented Chinese tumbled out , " Wai Po , You really should stay with us at Pu Dong . The city is developing so rapidly , many skyscrapers were built , the view is fantastic ..."
" He is your grandson ?" Ke Rou asked with disbelief . At the doorway , stood a young man in his twenties with tousled brown hair and a pair of shimmering sapphire eyes .
" Oh ! I took care of a French child during the Battle of Shanghai , so he treated me like his mother . This is his son , Nathan ."