The Story

They promptly raided Dr. Sun’s headquarters in Canton. When Haodong received the news, he told his comrade in the office to vacate. Leaving in a hurry, they inadvertently left the membership roster of the party members in the office. At this critical moment, Haodong volunteered to retrieve the membership list. Dr. Sun said, “Don’t go back. It is too dangerous!” Haodong replied, “No, there will be serious consequences if the roster lands in the hands of the enemy.” Haodong hurried to the office. He located the membership roster and set it on fire. Sadly, at that moment, the Manchu soldiers surrounded the compound; they broke down the door and captured Haodong. Dr. Sun escaped Canton and fled to Hong Kong.

The rain poured down in sheets, and the piercing wind blew fiercely. In the open atrium, the rain gutters could not handle all the pouring rain and started overflowing onto the floor. Simultaneously, the drainage began to backflow, and we knew the house would be flooded during the night. A massive bolt of lightning splits the sky, followed by roaring thunder. Then, a powerful gust of wind tore off one side of the bedroom window shutter. The other side of the wooden screen was left hanging loose, swinging back and forth, banging loudly on the window and the wall. The wind and the rain poured in through the sides of the window, blowing our mosquito net off the bed. In no time, our bedroom quickly became drenched.

I arrived at the famous Star Ferry terminal station at the next stop. Getting off the train, in awe of the bustling British Colony with people and cars whizzing me by, I was bewildered but full of optimism for a new beginning. And yet, I knew I looked like I did not belong. I was a young peasant girl, poorly dressed, with two braided pigtails, holding a rattan suitcase; the others were well-dressed office workers, business people, and foreign tourists busily crossing the bay on the Star Ferry. 

Hesitantly, I stood by the curb across the street from the opulent Peninsula Hotel. On the streets, I noticed the fully loaded red double-decker buses, the assorted automobiles, and the red rickshaws lined up on the curb with their dark, skinny operators waiting for their passengers. 

He chose to risk being hit by gunshots rather than surrender because he knew the consequences would not be pretty. They heard more commotion behind them, and the soldiers started to spray bullets in their direction. Bang! Bang! Bang! They did not know how many soldiers were pursuing them, but the shooting became fiercer as they ran closer to the boat. Fear fell upon the adults, and the children stopped laughing. No one dared to look back.