Trio: Prologue - Night Chat
Mar. 31st, 2006 07:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
opengoalTrio
by Ye Zhi-wei
Prologue - Night Chat
by Ye Zhi-wei
Prologue - Night Chat
In Hong Kong, it gets dark early in the winter. It's just six thirty but it looks like late night. A panting round-faced woman bustles through the vacant Xmas music in the mall, her stomping steps heavy enough to move mountains and shatter the ground. She settles in a seat in a restaurant and shouts, "Sorry, I'm late!"
Her two friends are already seated, neither of them bothered by the waiting. One of them, the small-eyed woman who "places" her big breasts on the table, tells the round-face girl to sit down. This is a habit of hers. Without her breasts, it would be difficult to tell whether she is a woman because she looks like a Korean man. It's hard to tell whether her breasts are her pride or her burden – her acquaintances have always seen her as a show-off.
The round-faced woman took off her over-worn Burberry overcoat in slow motion, to reveal the McDull scarf underneath. Mixing McDull with Burberry is outright schizophrenic.
The small-eyed girl laughs slowly, "Ho! Ho!" - This is another habit of hers. She always prefaces her words with a dry laugh to display her friendliness, and to reduce people's (in particular women's) hostility towards her breasts – "Ho! Ho! Crystal, you aren't really late. Winnie won't be here until later. Something's come up at her office."
Crystal's face is immediately filled with concern. "Eve, nothing's wrong at Winnie's office, I hope?" She's good at putting on a concerned face at the drop of a hat. She can turn the most trivial matter into World's No.1 Emergency. Thankfully her face is full of fat and well nourished with collagen; otherwise sooner or later she would need to order anti-wrinkle cream in bulk for her over-acting.
Eve replies, "Ho! Ho! Nothing special. She has to stand in for a colleague at the last minute, that's all. Says she'll be here around seven. Ivy and I haven't been here long, either. Why don't you order a drink first?"
Crystal looks tremendously relieved. Her expressions calm down instantly. She glances at Ivy, who is sitting on the other side. She is donning a "younger" look by the day, probably to please her decorator boyfriend who isn't very educated. She is wearing something reminiscent of Mong Kok teen girls and her long straight hair, which she has no time to re-dye, is showing roots. Despite her small build, she also has a solid bottom and thick legs. Crystal says to her, "What are you drinking? Looks interesting."
Ivy throws a glance at her red and green drink and takes a sip. "It's called 'First Love' or something like that. I thought it looked cute. But it tastes just average. Too sweet!" Despite Ivy's comments, Crystal orders First Love too. It tastes alright to her – She never trusts Ivy's judgment very much.
They are supposed to be celebrating Winnie's birthday tonight. With her absence, they seem to have lost their focus. None of them quite knows what to do. The four of them met in a university orientation camp. Since all of them came from girls schools, they had seen more lesbians than men. They couldn't stop chattering with each other ever since they met, pointing at and talking about the male students all the time. They have been working for eight years now. All of them are established in their career. But they haven't forgotten each other. They often ask after and support each other; a clear evidence that their friendship can survive even the test of fire.
Nevertheless, they have not got together for the better part of a year, ever since Crystal got married – There are always female bosom friends before a woman gets married, or before a man falls out of love with his wife.
They talk and wait. Half an hour later, they have already finished their First Loves but Winnie is still nowhere to be seen. So Crystal talk about her again. "She works so late. She must be very hungry now. Told her she shouldn't move to this company. Lots of work, little pay, and no prospect at all." She shoots a glare at Ivy before continuing, "I told you to talk to her about it. God knows whether you did at all!"
Ivy takes a sip of her over-sweet First Love. "Of course Eve and I have talked to her about it! But it was no use. She had just broken up with Todd. They were working in the same company, even in the same department. They were watched by their colleagues all the time. It was difficult to work." When Ivy stops, Eve steps in. "Ho! Ho! I told you you should do it. But you just said you were busy with the wedding."
Crystal has not expected the false accusation half a year ago would be brought to trial so soon. She knits her brows and retorts, "You're still blaming me! I have always cared about us! But that really wasn't a good time for me. I was stressed too! I had so many things to do because of the wedding. And my in-laws are so demanding. Besides, wouldn't it have been rubbing her in if I'd talked to her so close to her break-up?" This has happened more than six months ago but she knows her friends still blame her for not helping a friend in need. After the wedding, they have got together just once, to look at the wedding photos. None of them has asked her out again. She is glad she was invited to this gathering. She doesn't really have many friends. Actually her friends think that she likes to compare herself with them so as to feel even happier with herself. Among the four, Crystal has always been top of the league – She has married from a Kwai Chung council flat into an expensive apartment on Bonham Road – That's why everyone's jealous of her.
"Ho! Ho! That's not what I mean. It's just, we were frantic at the time. You were always the expert in counseling friends... Ho! Ho! How is married life treating you?" Eve is always like that. She's never willing to face a problem, always trying to change the topic instead.
But Crystal won't have it; at least her exaggeratedly flushed face says so. But it is her fault actually. She can't act like a queen here, unlike at home where her husband listens to her every word. She has no choice but to rein in her temper. At the end of the day, she only has these friends. So she says, "It's going fine with Chun-fai. His parents live in the next apartment block so it's very convenient to eat dinner there." She has kept her temper in check and answered politely.
Ivy smiles and says, "You still haven't learnt how to cook? I remember you couldn't even open the rice cooker on the camping trip." At the mention of their youthful days, they break into laughter. But the past is the past. Dwelling on it won't do them much good.
Crystal looks at the two women in front of her, no, not just looks, she carefully examines every detail on their faces: their small eyes, the blackheads and spots on their noses, the smile lines at the corners of their mouths. The more she looks at them, the blurrier it seems, like a segment of her dreams. She suddenly has a strange feeling – She doesn't really know them! How can that be? They are her childhood friends! This kind of friendship should be the purest, everlasting kind. There is a popular saying that, "We must cherish this kind of friendship, friends whom we met before we learnt schemes and deceit." But once this thought emerges, it just doesn't go away. How did it come to this?
Maybe the saying was right. We should cherish friends we met before we learnt schemes and deceit. It is an advice for people who deal in schemes and deceit. Why else would this thought cross her mind during a friends' gathering? For people open and honest like children, they can get friendship any time. On the contrary, it is probably more difficult for grown-ups to find a real friend who understands them. Therefore, at this kind of gatherings, the key part is "reminiscence of the past". It can't help being a welcomed treat to return to an innocent era, to remember the flowers that blossomed ten springs ago. Even if the flowers were just leftovers in a jumbo sale, it wouldn't diminish the joy and freshness.
Crystal is still troubled by her confusion when a voice suddenly comes from behind. "I'm sorry. Have you waited long?" It's Winnie. She is tall and big. Her usual shoulder-length hair is now cut short, revealing her long, pale neck. Seeing her, the girls are instantly lively again.
Laughter is the best way to break the tension. They order food. Halfway through their meal, they have more or less run out of things to reminisce about. Their topics turn to the present and they start talking about men.
Ivy smiles. "I have an announcement to make!" The other three look at her at the same time, all thinking the same word: marriage! "I'm living with Paul now."
"Living with" equals "cohabiting". Once these words are out, all three look at her in disbelief. This is far from what they expected. They are like betrayed! They are an old-fashioned lot. To them, cohabitation is just a fad. A woman can only live with a man after they get married.
All of them take a sip of First Love to steady their nerves. Then questions start to shoot:
Winnie asks, "Have you thought about it carefully? Are you just living together or is it a trial marriage?"
Ivy replies, "I've thought about it carefully. I'm scared we'll break up if we don't live together. I'm twenty-nine already. Apart from the boyfriend at college, I've only ever had this boyfriend. I don't know how I'm going to live without him!"
Crystal asks, "Didn't you have savings? Is he still a decorator? What? He used all his money to start a business? Or does he simply not want to get married? What if you get pregnant?"
Ivy replies, "Getting married is too expensive. He's got a big family. A wedding would be a lot of trouble. Anyway, my savings is just sitting there. I'm better off helping him out. Then I'm at least sort of a boss. Besides, my cousin is getting married this year. It wouldn't be nice to clash with her."
Eve asks, "Ho! Ho! A boss. You're so easy. Don't you think he’s taking advantage of you? Told you not to give in to him all the time. With your qualities, you must have other options."
Ivy replies, "I'd be fooling myself if I thought I had other options. Everyone can see women like us don't have many options. And nowadays there isn't such a thing as 'being taken advantage of'."
Everyone is talking at once. At the end, Ivy doesn’t even have the chance to reply. After much discussion, they come to the conclusion that cohabitation is not a wise move. However, what's done is done. The less said about it, the better. So the main verdict is that Ivy should save up more money and think up plans to change cohabitation into marriage.
Eve says to Crystal, "You married so well. Chun-fai is so good to you. He follows your every word and he lives in Mid-Levels. This has always been your dream."
Crystal can't help her triumphant smile even as she sighs, "It isn't really that good. If it were really so good, I wouldn't have to work. His family paid 20% of our mortgage but my husband and I still need to pay the rest every month."
"I thought you're working because you like it." Winnie said with a little sympathy.
"How can you like work if you are in Hong Kong? Every time there is something urgent, the office becomes a war zone, everyone is working fiercely like wolves or tigers. My mum says it right. She looked at Michelle Reis's photo and said, 'One doesn’t need to have a pretty face. One just has to be born with good luck.' Then she pointed at Anita Mui's photo and said, 'One doesn't need to be too strong. Only men who want to live on your money will give in to you all the time. Let me tell you: Don't dream about finding a good man. It's much better to rely on yourself!'" Ivy says.
"I told you to go to church with me. The quality of men there has more guarantee." After over six months of marriage, Crystal has realized that: Education is good. Work is good. But a man that treats you well is even better! A college degree is the best dowry. She couldn't even afford an apartment on Caine Road with her old job even if she worked twenty-four hours a day!
Winnie smiles and says, "I think everyone has a different goal. Two days ago I bumped into our old hall-mate Irene in the supermarket. She is married with a rich Indian businessman and doing quite well for herself.
Irene was the money-crazy vixen they used to despise. She devoted all her energy to part-time jobs, buying designer products and building up capital for romance. Rumour had it that she were involved with a married professor too.
Eve shouts out, "Remember the career vows we made at the orientation camp? Remember what she said her motto was?"
Winnie says, "Of course I remember those famous words. Her ambition was to 'marry into a rich family' and her motto was 'Love is patient. Love is kind. It is Gucci.' It was talk of the town."
The four women laugh like children when they hear these words. But soon they think, perhaps only those women who see love as "career" are good enough for this career.
Winnie asks, "I have forgotten what career I chose. Do you remember yours?" The other three rack their brains but they have no clue what their dreams and ambitions were.
Eve suddenly replies, "But I remember on the evening of the graduation ceremony, we thought Crystal would surely study for a master's degree and then marry an old-fashioned professor."
Everyone laughs. Even Winnie chimes in, "Ivy, you said you would join a beauty pageant. I was stupid enough to get you an application form too."
At that moment, the waiter brings them the dessert. The women giggle again. With the Xmas music in the restaurant, they are like little girls playing house. Pretend or for real, they are just as happy.
They talk about the past but they can never return to it. They are not uneducated fools. They know very well that they can only "pretend" they have returned to their past. They can still picture vividly their "I'm-the-king-of-the-world" faces at graduation. But after so many years, their old photos only make them speechless.
For many roads, it is quite enough just to walk down them once.
For many dreams, it is quite enough just to have them once.
Truly enough.
Her two friends are already seated, neither of them bothered by the waiting. One of them, the small-eyed woman who "places" her big breasts on the table, tells the round-face girl to sit down. This is a habit of hers. Without her breasts, it would be difficult to tell whether she is a woman because she looks like a Korean man. It's hard to tell whether her breasts are her pride or her burden – her acquaintances have always seen her as a show-off.
The round-faced woman took off her over-worn Burberry overcoat in slow motion, to reveal the McDull scarf underneath. Mixing McDull with Burberry is outright schizophrenic.
The small-eyed girl laughs slowly, "Ho! Ho!" - This is another habit of hers. She always prefaces her words with a dry laugh to display her friendliness, and to reduce people's (in particular women's) hostility towards her breasts – "Ho! Ho! Crystal, you aren't really late. Winnie won't be here until later. Something's come up at her office."
Crystal's face is immediately filled with concern. "Eve, nothing's wrong at Winnie's office, I hope?" She's good at putting on a concerned face at the drop of a hat. She can turn the most trivial matter into World's No.1 Emergency. Thankfully her face is full of fat and well nourished with collagen; otherwise sooner or later she would need to order anti-wrinkle cream in bulk for her over-acting.
Eve replies, "Ho! Ho! Nothing special. She has to stand in for a colleague at the last minute, that's all. Says she'll be here around seven. Ivy and I haven't been here long, either. Why don't you order a drink first?"
Crystal looks tremendously relieved. Her expressions calm down instantly. She glances at Ivy, who is sitting on the other side. She is donning a "younger" look by the day, probably to please her decorator boyfriend who isn't very educated. She is wearing something reminiscent of Mong Kok teen girls and her long straight hair, which she has no time to re-dye, is showing roots. Despite her small build, she also has a solid bottom and thick legs. Crystal says to her, "What are you drinking? Looks interesting."
Ivy throws a glance at her red and green drink and takes a sip. "It's called 'First Love' or something like that. I thought it looked cute. But it tastes just average. Too sweet!" Despite Ivy's comments, Crystal orders First Love too. It tastes alright to her – She never trusts Ivy's judgment very much.
They are supposed to be celebrating Winnie's birthday tonight. With her absence, they seem to have lost their focus. None of them quite knows what to do. The four of them met in a university orientation camp. Since all of them came from girls schools, they had seen more lesbians than men. They couldn't stop chattering with each other ever since they met, pointing at and talking about the male students all the time. They have been working for eight years now. All of them are established in their career. But they haven't forgotten each other. They often ask after and support each other; a clear evidence that their friendship can survive even the test of fire.
Nevertheless, they have not got together for the better part of a year, ever since Crystal got married – There are always female bosom friends before a woman gets married, or before a man falls out of love with his wife.
They talk and wait. Half an hour later, they have already finished their First Loves but Winnie is still nowhere to be seen. So Crystal talk about her again. "She works so late. She must be very hungry now. Told her she shouldn't move to this company. Lots of work, little pay, and no prospect at all." She shoots a glare at Ivy before continuing, "I told you to talk to her about it. God knows whether you did at all!"
Ivy takes a sip of her over-sweet First Love. "Of course Eve and I have talked to her about it! But it was no use. She had just broken up with Todd. They were working in the same company, even in the same department. They were watched by their colleagues all the time. It was difficult to work." When Ivy stops, Eve steps in. "Ho! Ho! I told you you should do it. But you just said you were busy with the wedding."
Crystal has not expected the false accusation half a year ago would be brought to trial so soon. She knits her brows and retorts, "You're still blaming me! I have always cared about us! But that really wasn't a good time for me. I was stressed too! I had so many things to do because of the wedding. And my in-laws are so demanding. Besides, wouldn't it have been rubbing her in if I'd talked to her so close to her break-up?" This has happened more than six months ago but she knows her friends still blame her for not helping a friend in need. After the wedding, they have got together just once, to look at the wedding photos. None of them has asked her out again. She is glad she was invited to this gathering. She doesn't really have many friends. Actually her friends think that she likes to compare herself with them so as to feel even happier with herself. Among the four, Crystal has always been top of the league – She has married from a Kwai Chung council flat into an expensive apartment on Bonham Road – That's why everyone's jealous of her.
"Ho! Ho! That's not what I mean. It's just, we were frantic at the time. You were always the expert in counseling friends... Ho! Ho! How is married life treating you?" Eve is always like that. She's never willing to face a problem, always trying to change the topic instead.
But Crystal won't have it; at least her exaggeratedly flushed face says so. But it is her fault actually. She can't act like a queen here, unlike at home where her husband listens to her every word. She has no choice but to rein in her temper. At the end of the day, she only has these friends. So she says, "It's going fine with Chun-fai. His parents live in the next apartment block so it's very convenient to eat dinner there." She has kept her temper in check and answered politely.
Ivy smiles and says, "You still haven't learnt how to cook? I remember you couldn't even open the rice cooker on the camping trip." At the mention of their youthful days, they break into laughter. But the past is the past. Dwelling on it won't do them much good.
Crystal looks at the two women in front of her, no, not just looks, she carefully examines every detail on their faces: their small eyes, the blackheads and spots on their noses, the smile lines at the corners of their mouths. The more she looks at them, the blurrier it seems, like a segment of her dreams. She suddenly has a strange feeling – She doesn't really know them! How can that be? They are her childhood friends! This kind of friendship should be the purest, everlasting kind. There is a popular saying that, "We must cherish this kind of friendship, friends whom we met before we learnt schemes and deceit." But once this thought emerges, it just doesn't go away. How did it come to this?
Maybe the saying was right. We should cherish friends we met before we learnt schemes and deceit. It is an advice for people who deal in schemes and deceit. Why else would this thought cross her mind during a friends' gathering? For people open and honest like children, they can get friendship any time. On the contrary, it is probably more difficult for grown-ups to find a real friend who understands them. Therefore, at this kind of gatherings, the key part is "reminiscence of the past". It can't help being a welcomed treat to return to an innocent era, to remember the flowers that blossomed ten springs ago. Even if the flowers were just leftovers in a jumbo sale, it wouldn't diminish the joy and freshness.
Crystal is still troubled by her confusion when a voice suddenly comes from behind. "I'm sorry. Have you waited long?" It's Winnie. She is tall and big. Her usual shoulder-length hair is now cut short, revealing her long, pale neck. Seeing her, the girls are instantly lively again.
Laughter is the best way to break the tension. They order food. Halfway through their meal, they have more or less run out of things to reminisce about. Their topics turn to the present and they start talking about men.
Ivy smiles. "I have an announcement to make!" The other three look at her at the same time, all thinking the same word: marriage! "I'm living with Paul now."
"Living with" equals "cohabiting". Once these words are out, all three look at her in disbelief. This is far from what they expected. They are like betrayed! They are an old-fashioned lot. To them, cohabitation is just a fad. A woman can only live with a man after they get married.
All of them take a sip of First Love to steady their nerves. Then questions start to shoot:
Winnie asks, "Have you thought about it carefully? Are you just living together or is it a trial marriage?"
Ivy replies, "I've thought about it carefully. I'm scared we'll break up if we don't live together. I'm twenty-nine already. Apart from the boyfriend at college, I've only ever had this boyfriend. I don't know how I'm going to live without him!"
Crystal asks, "Didn't you have savings? Is he still a decorator? What? He used all his money to start a business? Or does he simply not want to get married? What if you get pregnant?"
Ivy replies, "Getting married is too expensive. He's got a big family. A wedding would be a lot of trouble. Anyway, my savings is just sitting there. I'm better off helping him out. Then I'm at least sort of a boss. Besides, my cousin is getting married this year. It wouldn't be nice to clash with her."
Eve asks, "Ho! Ho! A boss. You're so easy. Don't you think he’s taking advantage of you? Told you not to give in to him all the time. With your qualities, you must have other options."
Ivy replies, "I'd be fooling myself if I thought I had other options. Everyone can see women like us don't have many options. And nowadays there isn't such a thing as 'being taken advantage of'."
Everyone is talking at once. At the end, Ivy doesn’t even have the chance to reply. After much discussion, they come to the conclusion that cohabitation is not a wise move. However, what's done is done. The less said about it, the better. So the main verdict is that Ivy should save up more money and think up plans to change cohabitation into marriage.
Eve says to Crystal, "You married so well. Chun-fai is so good to you. He follows your every word and he lives in Mid-Levels. This has always been your dream."
Crystal can't help her triumphant smile even as she sighs, "It isn't really that good. If it were really so good, I wouldn't have to work. His family paid 20% of our mortgage but my husband and I still need to pay the rest every month."
"I thought you're working because you like it." Winnie said with a little sympathy.
"How can you like work if you are in Hong Kong? Every time there is something urgent, the office becomes a war zone, everyone is working fiercely like wolves or tigers. My mum says it right. She looked at Michelle Reis's photo and said, 'One doesn’t need to have a pretty face. One just has to be born with good luck.' Then she pointed at Anita Mui's photo and said, 'One doesn't need to be too strong. Only men who want to live on your money will give in to you all the time. Let me tell you: Don't dream about finding a good man. It's much better to rely on yourself!'" Ivy says.
"I told you to go to church with me. The quality of men there has more guarantee." After over six months of marriage, Crystal has realized that: Education is good. Work is good. But a man that treats you well is even better! A college degree is the best dowry. She couldn't even afford an apartment on Caine Road with her old job even if she worked twenty-four hours a day!
Winnie smiles and says, "I think everyone has a different goal. Two days ago I bumped into our old hall-mate Irene in the supermarket. She is married with a rich Indian businessman and doing quite well for herself.
Irene was the money-crazy vixen they used to despise. She devoted all her energy to part-time jobs, buying designer products and building up capital for romance. Rumour had it that she were involved with a married professor too.
Eve shouts out, "Remember the career vows we made at the orientation camp? Remember what she said her motto was?"
Winnie says, "Of course I remember those famous words. Her ambition was to 'marry into a rich family' and her motto was 'Love is patient. Love is kind. It is Gucci.' It was talk of the town."
The four women laugh like children when they hear these words. But soon they think, perhaps only those women who see love as "career" are good enough for this career.
Winnie asks, "I have forgotten what career I chose. Do you remember yours?" The other three rack their brains but they have no clue what their dreams and ambitions were.
Eve suddenly replies, "But I remember on the evening of the graduation ceremony, we thought Crystal would surely study for a master's degree and then marry an old-fashioned professor."
Everyone laughs. Even Winnie chimes in, "Ivy, you said you would join a beauty pageant. I was stupid enough to get you an application form too."
At that moment, the waiter brings them the dessert. The women giggle again. With the Xmas music in the restaurant, they are like little girls playing house. Pretend or for real, they are just as happy.
They talk about the past but they can never return to it. They are not uneducated fools. They know very well that they can only "pretend" they have returned to their past. They can still picture vividly their "I'm-the-king-of-the-world" faces at graduation. But after so many years, their old photos only make them speechless.
For many roads, it is quite enough just to walk down them once.
For many dreams, it is quite enough just to have them once.
Truly enough.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-03-31 05:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-01 11:36 am (UTC)Personally I thought it was weird he began with four women who would just be passers-by in the main story. Maybe he was going for something like Doctor Who 2005, i.e. you only see how everything all comes together as a big whole at the end.