Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 - 2017 | Page 456

The Golden Pocket Watch
The Independent Schools Foundation Academy, Chen, Evan - 14
I
t was the 1920s, and I was resting on the side of the bun-shop, watching people, old and young, walk by the road, just
strolling about. I hear the swishing of the river to the east, and the chilly breeze coming from the mountains of the west. It
was a somewhat cloudy day, and as peaceful, as ever.
Now it’s the 2010s, and I stand inside my small apartment on the 5 th floor, watching large groups of tourists and foreign
jumping and bumping into other people, causing disruption. I see the old men, who all are my friends, eyeing the tourists in
disgust. Once a tourist group leaves, the next one comes. Sure, these groups bring more international people to our city, but is it
really worth it, to abandon the old traditional ways of Shanghai?
I walk out of my apartment, and make my way down the squeaky stairs and rush past the tourists to get to the other side
of the street. There stands my neighbor and friend Jin-Zhong. We greet happily, he makes a cup of tea and urges me to sit down
with him. Jin-Zhong and I were friends since high school, and have never left our city. We’ve seen the old ways, we’ve seen the
revolution, and now we see the new ways and how much Shanghai has changed in the past hundred years. We like to talk about
the 1920s, back when we were young, and when we were carefree. We talk about old Shanghai and the old traditions that people
used to follow. We also talk about what great food old Shanghai had, and sometimes even attempt to remake it! It never becomes
successful, though. Today he comes with a small wooden box that I haven’t seen before. He hastily opens it, and as it creaks open,
I see what the box contains: a golden pocket watch.
I stare at the watch, unable to find any connection with anything. Jin-Zhong sees my confusion. “This is an old pocket
watch from the 1920s” Then I make a gasp of recognition, this watch meant a lot to a man. The watch does not only tell the time,
but also shows the status of a man, and his taste. The prices of these watches were different according to their status and ranks,
and this is no ordinary Rolex that you wear to work every day. “Where did you acquire this watch?” I ask excitedly. “It was
handed down for many centuries in my family. I refurbished it in the 1920s to give it a newer and a better look, but I can still say
that this watch has been alive and ticking for hundreds of years. I am simply fascinated, I reel in towards the box and take a look.
“Oh sure, you can try it out” Jin-Zhong says. I slowly take the golden watch out of the box and pin it onto my shirt. The watch
has no straps, but one single golden chain with a sharp and pointy end that you can pin on your shirt. “How about this”