I’m lying on my bed writing in my diary when I hear the doorbell ring. I wait a moment to see if Ting Ting will answer it, but there’s no sound from her room.

It’s dark as I cross the pebbled courtyard. When I open the red gate it’s not Por Por but a lady standing under the streetlight, holding the handlebars of her bicycle. She’s gasping for air, her eyes wide and scared.

‘Is Mrs Bao in?’ she pants. ‘I must see her. It’s urgent.’

I shake my head. ‘She’s out at the moment but she should be back soon.’

The lady groans. Then I hear footsteps behind me.

‘Mrs Wang,’ Ting Ting says, pushing me aside. ‘Can I help you?’

‘Oh, Ting Ting. Zao gao!’ Mrs Wang starts crying. ‘I need your por por right away. It’s back. That … wretched … thing … is … back. I don’t know what to do,’ she sobs.

‘Don’t worry, Mrs Wang,’ says Ting Ting. ‘I’ll take care of it.’

The lady looks up through her tears and I see doubt cross her face. ‘Are you sure, Ting Ting? You think you can handle it … alone?’

I catch a glimpse of a smug smile on Ting Ting’s face. ‘Por has taught me everything I need to know for this one,’ she says. ‘Wait here. I’ll be right back.’

I want to ask Mrs Wang what the wretched thing is, and what Ting Ting is supposed to be taking care of. But she’s mumbling to herself and pacing up and down like a madwoman.

Soon Ting Ting comes out wearing a jacket. Slung over her shoulder is a long grey bag. She winds the rainbow scarf around her neck and wheels her bicycle to the front gate. ‘Tell Por I’ve gone to Mrs Wang’s,’ she says to me. Then they ride off up the lane.

I hear the whirr of wheels and the rumble of tyres on the stones. Then they turn the corner and all is suddenly quiet.

I go inside the house and down the hall to the secret room. It’s strange, but I feel as if there’s something in there that belongs to me. I put my hand on the doorknob and turn it. But the room is locked.

‘Hui lai le! Hello, I’m home,’ Por Por calls out from the front of the house.

I walk quickly up the hall.

She puts down her handbag and takes her jacket off. ‘I’m sorry I’m late but there was such a queue at the station. I’ve bought the tickets and we are all set to leave for the Isle of Clouds tomorrow. Did you have a good time with Ting Ting?’ Por Por looks around. ‘Where is that girl?’

‘She went with Mrs Wang,’ I say.

‘Mrs Wang?’ Por Por suddenly looks worried.

‘Yes, the lady wanted to speak with you first. She said it was urgent, something about the wretched thing being back. Then when I told her you weren’t in, she started to cry. So Ting Ting went off with her.’

‘Aiya!’ Por Por puts her jacket back on.

‘Is there anything wrong?’ I ask.

‘Get your coat, Little Cloud. We have to go over there immediately.’

As I follow Por Por down the hall to my room, I see her take a key from her pocket. She opens the door to the secret room, then disappears inside.

When we meet back at the front door, Por Por is carrying something long and thin, wrapped in black cloth. It looks very similar to the bundle Ting Ting was carrying.

‘Quickly, we have no time to lose,’ she says, her eyes suddenly steel sharp.