Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 - 2017 | Page 319

When we arrived, we went to the most famous place of the Old City, the wall. The wall was a defensive mechanism, and
it was used to secure the area. I was wondering would it ever be demolished. Chow told me it would be demolished one
day, but certainly not now, because there was an upcoming war.
Time flew by and before we knew it the sun fell out of the sky. Chow and I proceeded to a hostel, which was going to
serve as our temporary home. I was overwhelmed with excitement for the unknown. Life was great, we continued to live
at the old city of shanghai in content. He became a father to me, he taught me many things from cooking a fish to trading
with merchants.
Five years passed. I still lived with Chow. Nothing had changed, except the birth of a brutal war. Chow despised the
Russians, the slightest mention of them ticked him off. One day, Chow woke me up at midnight: “Next week, go to the
Russian military base just outside the Old City Of Shanghai, you will plant a bomb inside.” I nodded obediently.
I was shocked. Why would Chow ever tell me to do this? I followed him because he was a kind and thoughtful man. I
thought he took me in out of the kindness of his heart. I don’t want to be associated with this man. I will not commit an
act of war for him. I must leave Chow.
The following morning I woke up. As usual, I went downstairs for breakfast. Upon arriving at the table, I saw Chow with
six other muscular men. Chow then greeted me loudly, “Oh hello, did you sleep well last night? I hope you did. These men
are from America. They will be helping us with the operation.” I nodded nonchalantly. “It is finally your time to repay me
boy for all these years,” I gave him a weak smile.
A week after, I knew Chow was going to be here at midnight, so I hid a sharp knife from the kitchen, ready to escape. He
coughed and said, “We are starting our plan now.” I turned around and punched him right in the eye, then, proceeding
to open the drawer I got the knife, stabbing him right in the stomach. Immediately, I ran downstairs and left. Before I
opened the door, I heard Chow shout, “Go get him.” Then, his voice fell silent.
Rushing out the hostel, I quickly navigated myself to the main gate of the Old City Of Shanghai. Not long after, I heard
the six men shouting loudly, charging at me like bulls at a red flag. I had a knife in my hand, and I knew that the street
would come to a dead end. So, with all my confidence, I ran towards the end of the lane, ready to fight.
The six men arrived in front of me and without hesitation I lunged forwards, stabbing one of them. Then, I grabbed his
weapon, hitting the other two. After a long struggle, they finally fell to the ground in defeat as I desperately tried to catch
my breath. I had cuts and scratches all over my body, but it was a small price to pay to bring an end to the bad man who
betrayed me.
The day I left China, I had flashbacks of all the memories I had in Shanghai, everything was bittersweet in my head. It will
always be a part of me, forever engraved in my brain. At last, I’m doing what I had always hoped to do; leave China. The
day I finally had enough money to buy a ship ticket to Vietnam, I bursted into tears, filled with anticipation and
excitement for my new life. It was rebirth.