Every nurse in the Shanghai General Hospital knows that something is going on between Dr Chen and the US ambassador.

I first saw it when I was heading towards Shanghai to promote the Treaty of Amity and Commerce. It was nibbling on a waterfowl under the steel bridge, gulping it down along with its feathers. I exclaimed loudly, pointing towards the southeast waters. When everyone turned their heads, the area was devoid of anything but a few ripples. A few weeks later I saw it again by the Suzhou River. Crimson tail, and a face which resembled the locals. In broken Chinese, I asked the grandmother living by the river if she had seen a similar creature. She mentioned that there used to be water spirits here, and a child had drowned. I asked other locals as well. The driver I knew from the embassy said it's a merman he saw when he was young. Another playboy said it might be a gimmick of an underground dance hall to attract customers. They would have mermaid performances, with people swimming in glass tanks wearing fish tails. He was from a prestigious local family with insights into such matters. But I knew the mermaid didn't come from there. It didn't seem like something which belongs to this world.

After social gatherings, I often took walks by the Suzhou River and frequently asked for hard bread from restaurant kitchens to feed river fish. Usually, within seconds, the bread would be devoured by the hungry school of fish. But sometimes, it would float there for a while before decomposing. So I knew there must be something underwater deterring the fish. That's when I began to throw more valuable items. Plastic toys, glass bottles, metal pocket watches, and a wooden mermaid sculpture I carved myself. Without exception, they sank into the riverbed, at that place where strange things often occurred.

Later on, I got into a shipwreck on my way back to Shanghai from Guangzhou. I woke up in a public hospital in Shanghai. My assigned doctor was Dr. Chen. He is a sharp and indifferent person who seemed to dislike Westerners, which was understandable. We colonized his homeland and exploited his people.

The nurses form the hospital said that I was found on a shallow in Fengxian. There were a few rotting sea fish and a small bottle of rum the size of a pocket. Back then, I was certain that this creature saved me. But I didn't tell anyone because it sounded too crazy. Whether it truly existed or was just a psychological defense mechanism to alleviate anxiety and fear during the tumultuous 1940s, I couldn't say. Because after that, I never saw it again.

exchange student from new jersey

victor: hates the american kid because he stole all his asian parents’ attention and they never loved him as much

By the poolside, where the scent of chlorine lingered, my heart felt as if it's been trampled by a hundred troops. Clichéd and vague words failed me, and my breath froze.