Invited Guests

Angela Iun

It was that special day in the lunar calendar when, according to the traditional belief of the Chinese, the door separating living beings and ghosts would be opened. It was mid month now and that door would stay open until the end of the month. Ghosts would be everywhere in the streets, some of them would go to visit their families, and some would fool around and have fun. There are many don’ts during this month. For instance, ghosts like to walk near walls, so people should avoiding walking near walls, otherwise they might get in the spirits’ way.

People, especially those who disregarded ghosts, would bump into one easily during these days. Adults often told their children: ‘Do not say anything about ghosts during ghost festivals. Believe in their existence if you don’t want to see them!’

Samson, a fourteen-year-old boy, is the main character in our story. Like many young people, he did not believe in ghosts. Our story is set on the day Samson had finished his final examinations, and he had decided to go to his friend James’ home to play. His mother needed to be away on business for two days. Before leaving their home on Taipa, she reminded Samson to come back before night. Not only because it was unsafe for a boy like Samson to be alone in the quiet streets of Taipa at night, but also because of the ghost festival. But the mischievous Samson secretly thought that his mother’s words were nonsense and playfully said that if he saw any ghosts, he would invite them to his house as guests.  

By the time Samson reached his friend’s house the sun had set and it was getting darker and darker. James lived just above Choec Van beach on Coloane. He had so many games and puzzles and toys to play with that the two of them quickly lost all track of time. James’ mother wasn’t there because she was a colleague of Samson’s mother’s. That was how the boys knew each other. Normally Samson would have been given a lift home by James’ mother. But tonight he would just have to catch the bus instead. If it wasn’t too late. The boys had long lost track of time when they thought to check the big clock in the kitchen and saw that it wasn’t quite midnight. Still one bus left. And so Samson hurried to the bus stop.

Samson’s destination was the last stop on Taipa. On his way to the bus stop, he saw nobody on the street. He had a strange feeling but brushed it aside with the thought that others must be as silly as his mother. At the bus stop he waited and waited. He seemed to be waiting forever. But the bus came at last. There were only a few people on it and Samson was happy at how swiftly it sped off towards his home. Soon, the bus arrived at its final destination and Samson got up from his seat.

The boy was surprised to see that there were many people waiting at his stop. This seemed unusual as the bus he was getting off was the last one and Samson couldn’t see where these people would be able to go. He asked the bus driver about it but the man did not answer his question. He asked Samson not to say anything more and told him to go home quickly.

Samson got off the bus a little uneasy that most of these people were looking blank and expressionless. They might just be tired after a long day. None of them moved but they all turned their heads toward Samson. Among them, there were three smiling at him. Looking at those three, Samson felt a shiver run down his spine and saw that his skin was covered in goose pimples. He thought it was best to get away as quickly as possible.

Leaving the lifeless crowd behind, the street home brought him to a small snack shop. This was weird, as the site where the shop was had been empty just that morning. Samson could have sworn that the place was a vacant building site. However, seeing the shop made him hungry. He decided to get some snacks from the shop. After he got his change and snacks, he went straight home. But as he turned his keys in the door, the light bulb directly above him went out and the other lights on his floor became dimmer and dimmer.

Samson started to feel a bit frightened and wished that his mother were with him. He opened the door and turned on all the lights at once. He switched on the TV set but there was nothing on. The lights in his house went on and off, dim and bright, just like the lights on the landing. He tried to phone his friend James but he found that the line was dead. Samson was getting more and more frightened. He pulled out his bag of snacks and hoped that eating something would calm him down.

Then he screamed. In the bag, instead of snacks there were incense and candles. And when he put his hand in his pocket, he found that his change had turned into hell money. At that moment, he cried for his mother. There was of course, no answer.  

Instead, he heard someone giggling behind him. He turned round but there was no one there. Just then someone patted him on his shoulder. In front of him stood the three men he had seen just now at the bus stop. These were the three who had smiled at him. One of them said slowly to him in a low cracked voice, ‘Friend, thank you for welcoming us here as guests. We heard what you said this morning and that’s why we’ve come here.’ 

 Samson could not believe his ears. And he could not believe his eyes. He could not even move when he saw the whole of the group he had seen at the bus stop coming into his house, one by one, transparently through the door…

The Haunted Hut

Naomi Ho

 It was the beginning of September when Chong and Hou, two Hong Kong students, came to study in the University of Macau. Both of them were looking forward to having an interesting school life. It was arranged for them to live with a Taiwan student, Lam, who could not understand Cantonese or English well. That was why Chong and Hou always found it interesting to communicate with Lam in their non-standard Mandarin. Owing to insufficient rooms, these three teenagers were not able to live in the dormitory. So they were assigned to live in a small hut on the hillside near the International Library of the University. There were a few flats nearby but the area was not densely populated. In the daytime, students were found lingering around the library and there were two rows of parked cars and motorbikes on the road outside. However, cars and passers-by were hardly ever seen at night. The atmosphere there was extraordinarily tranquil. This hut, simple but fully-equipped, was where a series of strange events occurred.

The three teenagers lived together in harmony for the first few days until Chong and Lam had a quarrel one morning.

‘Have you two seen my Buddhist beads that I always wear on my wrist?’ asked Chong anxiously.

‘Beads? Do you mean the beads on the table?’

‘Yes, I left the bracelet on the table before going to bath. Have you seen it?’ Chong looked serious and impatient.

‘Sorry, Chong.’ Lam was a little frightened. In a stuttering voice he added, ‘I’m sorry to tell you I broke your bracelet when I tried it on my wrist just now and …’ And he timidly took out the scattered beads from his trouser-pocket and gave them back to Chong.

Chong flared up, ‘Broken? Oh, my god! That was a gift from my dead mother! Don’t you know how precious it is to me? She had it from her mother. And before that…I don’t know how many generations it’s been in my family! How can you touch my things without my permission? You meddlesome fellow! Never touch my things again!’

In full rage, Chong entered the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

‘Why’s he in such a fury? I didn’t mean to break it. I can buy a new one for him!’ Lam was bewildered.

‘I understand his feelings,’ said Hou, ‘Chong and all his family members are Buddhists. They believe that the Buddhist beads can protect them from misfortune or bad luck. What’s more, it was a present from his mother. I can understand that he must be very angry.’

‘I can’t imagine why people have such blind faith in religion. Does that really protect you from misfortune? Some people even believe in ghosts and evil spirits. That’s ridiculous!’ said Lam.

But the incident disquieted Chong for the rest of the day. He was not sad for the loss of his beads. What he actually worried about was that breaking the string of beads must be a bad omen. He was worried that something bad would happen soon.

That night, the three boys went to sleep early as usual. Chong was an alert person, so he was easily awoken by any disturbing noises. The creaking sound of the door closing woke him. He got up and found that Lam was missing. Looking at the clock, he thought, ‘It’s three o’clock in the morning already. Where’s he gone?’ So Chong glanced through one of the windows. The whole path outside was filled with mist and Chong felt a chill. He could see Lam walking, peering out from behind the mist, but Lam soon disappeared. ‘Maybe he just likes to take a walk in the mist, in the middle of the night.’ Chong thought in this way so as to comfort himself. He was too sleepy to wait for Lam’s return, so he went back to sleep.

***

‘Where were you last night, Lam?’ Chong asked Lam the next morning.

‘I went to bed at the same time as you! You know that,’ Lam answered. ‘I had enough hours sleep, so I don’t know why I still feel tired.’ He then stood up and had a stretch and a yawn.

‘Really? Maybe I was dreaming, but I could have sworn...’ Chong said. His bitter smile belied his doubts and worries. He did not understand why Lam was lying.

That night, all of them went to sleep at eleven as usual. It was again about three o’clock when Chong was awakened by the sound of the door’s hinges. And Lam was missing again! Chong went out of the house and tried to catch up with Lam but he couldn’t. Lam had disappeared in the mist. Alone in the dark, Chong was trembling with fear. So he decided to go back and he told Hou about what had happened. They decided to wait for Lam to come back.

 Chong and Hou were lying on their own beds and waiting, yawning continuously until, despite their best attentions, they both nodded off again. When they woke up, they noticed that Lam had come back home. They wanted to speak to him, but they saw him, walking like a zombie, awkwardly towards the window. They were too frightened to move or speak or do anything, so they stayed in their beds and peeped at Lam from under their bed sheets. As Lam was looking through the window, he talked to himself in English, and this was strange to Chong and Hou, because they knew how terrible Lam’s English was. What was more terrifying, he was speaking in a female voice! ‘Who…one…murdered…find…’ were the only words that they could hear. Chong and Hou did not know what to do with this possessed Lam! The day was dawning, and birds began to chirp and twitter.. Lam went calmly back to sleep after his adventure. Chong stole a glance at Lam and saw that he had started to snore in his bed. But the two boys feared the deathly apparition they had seen and were in no mood to sleep again.

 Next day, Chong and Hou were not courageous enough to tell Lam about the previous night’s events. They knew that Lam would not believe them. So they wanted to observe carefully again before taking any action and decided to wait till three o’clock that night to sort out the whole matter. At eleven, they pretended to sleep as usual and then they waited for Lam’s unusual behaviour to begin. The clock in the room soon struck three. Just as expected, Lam got up from his bed and then went towards the window. It seemed that he was staring at something. Chong grasped Hou’s arm and, clinging together with fear, the two started to tiptoe towards him.

‘Lam, it’s late, why don’t you go back to sleep?’ Chong tried to speak to Lam just as if everything were normal.

Turning his head round, Lam looked at them with a green, pale face. Next to the window, Lam’s shadow was reflected on the wall. Or at least it should have been Lam’s shadow on the wall. But in fact it was the figure of a woman. Lam then spoke in the womanish voice again, ‘Are you talking to me?’

‘Ah…’ screamed Chong and Hou. Horrified by what they had seen and heard, they rushed out of the hut and ran to find the caretaker at once.

Arriving at the Student’s Union, they found the caretaker, old Mr Lee. They were too agitated to speak clearly, so old Mr Lee comforted them and offered them cups of hot tea. Chong and Hou calmed down and told him their experience. But Mr Lee was not surprised at all.

‘Little fellows, I think I know what’s happening,’ said old Mr Lee calmly, ‘Lam’s body was taken over by a woman called Lisa.’

‘Lisa? Who is she?’ asked Hou breathlessly.

‘Yes, it must be her. To explain it all I’ll need to trace the story back to what happened ten years ago. Where should I begin the story… Let’s see…

‘A couple had once lived in that small hut. They were named Lisa and Roger. They came from America and were teaching English in the school campus at that time. This couple gave me a deep impression because they were so choosy and fastidious. They were unwilling to live in the staff dormitory and always complained about their neighbours or the accommodation. You know, they loved to be isolated and would have liked to live in a quiet place. They must have come from some very remote place in the countryside in America. They didn’t like crowds.

‘So they were finally allowed to live in that small hut, your hut. Let’s see, when was it? I remember. It was on the third of March 1992, Roger was robbed and was killed by… it was by an illegal immigrant. He was on his way home, Roger I mean. I don’t know where the I.I. was going. I remembered that he was killed at around three o’clock that night. I remember the details because I was on duty that night and I had to fill out all the forms. I was filling out paperwork about it for months afterwards. The murderer was never found and the case was soon closed. Lisa was so heart-broken that she committed suicide. She killed herself inside the hut not long after the murder. From then on, people were reluctant to live in the hut again and it had already been vacant for almost ten years when you and your friends moved in. I guess they gave you the hut because the dormitories were already full? I don’t suppose anyone told you it was haunted, did they?’

‘That’s horrible. Why were we made to live there? I can’t bear living with a ghost! We must apply for another room!’ said Hou angrily.

‘Please calm down boys. I’ll help you,’ said old Mr Lee, and the boys could see that he was thinking hard. ‘Let’s see… Roger’s grave is in the cemetery near the small hut. Perhaps Lisa goes to visit his grave at night. They took her body back to America, but they left his here. Maybe that’s the problem?’

‘I think you’re right. That must be why Haunted Lam goes out by himself late at night.’ Chong was going through it all in his head and his picture of things confirmed Mr Lee’s hypothesis.

Old Mr Lee added, ‘I think she wants to search for the murderer herself. That would explain why she still stays in the house at night.’

‘Old Mr Lee, can you come with us to have a look at Lam early in the morning? I’m quite worried about him.’

‘Okay, guys. Don’t think too much and take it easy now,’ replied old Mr Lee.

‘Can… can we stay here with you till dawn?’ asked Hou.

‘Sure, ha ha,’ laughed Mr Lee, ‘but I don’t have a place for you two to sleep here.’

‘It’s okay. Just don’t leave us alone!’ said the two pitiful boys.

 ***

 It was around seven o’clock in the morning when Chong, Hou and Old Mr Lee went back to the hut. As they entered, they found that Lam had just woken up. They stepped back because Lam was holding a long sharp knife in his hand. But Lam spoke to them in a friendly voice. He was only making his breakfast. ‘Good morning. Where have you guys been? Hey, old Mr Lee, good to see you over here. Welcome!’

Lam again seemed to have forgotten what he had done while possessed, and he behaved as his normal self. So Chong and Hou told him about the strange events that had happened in these last days and Lam was greatly surprised. Lam wouldn’t believe the story. Chong and Hou insisted on moving from the hut, so Lam could only submit to their decision in the end.

 ***

‘They’ve finally pulled down the old haunted hut.’ Hou was relieved. He was looking at the remains of the hut through the window of their new room.

 Chong and Lam were busy tidying things because this was the first day after they had moved into their new room in the block on campus. ‘I hope the ceremony performed by the Daoist priest this morning was good enough to appease the ghost of that Lisa. Hope she won’t follow us anymore wherever we go!’

 The clock struck three. Chong woke. Probably he was used to waking up at this time by now. The new room was unfamiliar to him still. But he could see that Lam was awake and sitting up in bed. Lam’s bed was next to the light switch. So Chong asked him, ‘Could you switch on the light. I need to find the toilet.’

‘Are you talking to me?’ answered a womanish voice after a delay of a few seconds.

‘Ah…’ screamed Chong. And Hou screamed too. He must have been awake and listening as well. But Lam, who couldn’t control himself, had already burst into giggles.

‘Oh, tricked us! You bastard!’ said Hou, embarrassed. And then all three of them finally burst into laughter. After that they slept peacefully for the rest of the night.

Homecoming

Amy Ho, Angela Ng, Elisa Lai, Polly Cheong and Viana Hoi

What a cool Saturday morning! I woke up and got out of my little house, had a big yawn and a good stretch, and then a shiver ran down my spine from head to tail. In such charming weather, how desperately I wanted to have a walk with my master, Little John John. I wanted to go around the Monte Fort, which is just opposite our flat. I ran downstairs with delighted steps and looked for my breakfast bowl. Oh! No! Why were there no bones at all! I sat quietly beside the bowl with my tail wagging, hoping that my mistress (I usually called her Mother) would get me some food.

Mother is a marketing manager of a telecom company and was preparing to go to the company’s twenty-fifth anniversary dinner the next night. She was busy all morning and so must have forgotten my breakfast.

‘What shoes should I wear tomorrow?’ She was pacing back and forth while thinking about it. Actually, she looks attractive whatever she wears. ‘Ah! I remember the high heel shoes that I once wore to a party, and that attracted everyone’s attention. Mmm, I think I should wear them tomorrow night.’ She started looking for them. She could only find one in her wardrobe. ‘Wow, great shoe! But where is the other one?’

Seeing her being so anxious about it, I decided to find it for her. I went up to the high heel shoe that she had just put down onto the floor and smelt it. Then I inspected every corner of the house. I kept on searching until my nose bumped into something behind the sofa.

‘Oh! It must be Mother’s high heel shoe!’ I pulled it out with my snout and it really was the high heel shoe that Mother was looking for. ‘Wow! Bingo!’ I joyfully brought the shoe to Mother and I placed it carefully in front of me and sat still, waiting.

‘Wow! Wow! Wow!’ I barked in order to get her attention.

‘Soldier! You naughty dog! Don’t play with my things anymore. Or else, I will throw you out of the house!’ She took the shoe away and started to polish it.

***

I was unhappy then. The only thing I could do was to walk away from Mother. Little John John’s bedroom door was closed and I hated the bathroom, so… I paced with my head down until I came to Mother’s bedroom door. Though it was open, I dared not go in. I lay down outside the door with my head on the floor. A little spider passed by my nose and slipped into the room. My instinct told me that something wrong was going to happen. So I followed the spider in case it might do some harm in Mother’s bedroom.

That spider came to the wardrobe where Mother’s beautiful gown was hanging. The spider climbed onto the gown quickly and she made a face at me too. I was very angry and I was anxious to rescue the gown from that bad spider. I jumped at the spider before she could see that she was in danger.

‘Hee hee, I got you. Get out of the house at once or I’ll kill you.’ Just when I had finished saying that, I heard a scream from Mother.

‘You dirty nasty dog, you’ve made my gown filthy. Get out of here and never come into my room any more! Get out! I never want to see you in here again!’

Poor me! I hadn’t meant to do anything wrong. I just wanted to save Mother and her precious gown from the wicked spider. But it all went terribly wrong. I knew she must be very mad at me and it was useless for me to say anything, for she could not understand my language at all. So I tried to apologise by giving a few mournful barks and following her with sorrowful eyes. However, all I received was another scolding and a little kick from her. A kick! And I’d only been trying to help! There is no justice in the world!

I was extremely sad but I had no one to talk to or to comfort me, since the other family members were not yet home. The only thing I could do was to draw myself into the gap between the sofa and the cupboard at the side of the living room!

I missed Little John John very much! Where are you, Little John John? I started to feel tired and sleepy and… before long I suppose I was snoring like a dog. This peaceful period did not last long. Or I don’t think it did. I heard Mother screaming at me again!

‘Soldier, where are you? It must be you who stole my diamond earring. Come out at once or I’ll get you!’ Why was Mother so angry? One of her diamond earrings was missing. She must have thought that I had stolen it and hid it somewhere. I was a dog much misunderstood.

Then the bell rang and Mother went to open the door. It was Little John John and Father. Now he was back I wanted to run into Little John John’s arms. But Mother seemed to be so angry today that I dared not do as I usually did. 

Little John John then called, ‘Come here, Soldier! What’s wrong with you today?’

I walked towards him slowly while Mother complained to Dad, ‘It’s good that you’re all home together now. Let’s talk about this wretched dog of ours. I wonder whether we should keep Soldier in the house or not. That dog messes my things up. To tell you the truth, I think the dog should go.’

My heart sank at these words of betrayal. If only she knew how loyal I was, how hard I had worked, how… But who would defend me?

‘No, mum, no. Soldier is my best friend. No! I won’t let him go!’ Little John John held me tightly in his arms while he pleaded. 

‘What has Soldier done today?’ Father asked. 

‘He’s so naughty. He has played with my things and chewed my shoe and wrecked my gown and even stole my diamond earring.’ Mother’s voice had an angry tone to it. 

I was frightened that Father would agree with Mother but after considering for a while, he said, ‘Dogs always act like that and I don’t think we should kick him out because of this. He can’t help being a dog. I certainly hope that no big dog ever throws me out of the house, just because I’m being a father.’

Little John John then echoed Father’s views, ‘Please! Let him stay, mum! He’s just a dog. He’s innocent, I tell you!’

‘Okay! As you like!’ Mother walked away angrily. 

I was so happy that I could not help wagging my tail. From now on, I must be careful so as not to make Mother angry again.

***

At noon, I thought that the whole family would be out for lunch. I would then make use of the time to look for the earring. I hoped that by finding it for Mother, I would prove not only my innocence but my undying loyalty. She would be happy when she got the earring back and would not think of getting rid of me again. But Mother refused to go out with Little John John and Father. She said she needed to get ready for the party tomorrow night. She was in a bad mood, so I tried to keep out of her way.

Unexpectedly, Mother came looking for me. Maybe she wanted to make friends again? Maybe she felt bad about kicking me before? Mother had the car keys. And she found me and picked me up. She carried me down to the garage. This was unusual. She never picked me because she always called me a dirty, stinking dog. But this time she wasn’t saying a word. Maybe she was taking me to the park for a walk? Maybe she still wanted to make up? No such luck!

On the way, I kept on wondering where Mother wanted to take me. I looked out of the window and found we were on a road over the sea. This was a long trip. I had not seen those views before. Where were we going? Though it was beautiful, I found it a bit boring. Why hadn’t we got there yet? I mean, to wherever it was we were going. While I was looking around at the view, something in the car – something shiny – caught my eye. Oh! It was Mother’s diamond earring. 

‘Wow! Wow!’ I tried to get Mother’s attention but she did not reply to me. She couldn’t understand dog language. Perhaps she was concentrating on driving. As Dad always says, we should be careful when on the road. Finally, we stopped at an open area. I tried to tell Mother that the diamond earring was in the gap there beside me, between the seat and the door.

‘Wow! Wow!’ I kept on barking while Mother was opening the door. I thought she would understand my message and would pick her earring up. Humans are so slow. Our language is so simple but they never seem to learn. She picked me up instead. 

‘Stop barking!’ Mother yelled. Wow, serious bad mood! ‘I won’t bear it anymore! Never see you again! Bye bye bad dog!’ Then she threw me onto the ground, got back into the car quickly and drove away.

Everything was clear to me now! She wanted to leave me here! I was alone in the world. Me, a poor but honest dog. A loyal subject. A faithful hound. How could it be? The truth was unbearable! No! I needed to see Little John John!

‘Wow! Wow! Wow!’ Mother must listen to reason. I cried for help and tried to run after the car but I failed to catch up with it. Where was I? There was no one around. Nothing! Whom could I ask for help? Hmm! I needed to stay calm! I needed to get out of this deserted area first! I tried to trace the smell of the car so that I could follow it and find my way out. But do you know? One car smells a lot like another, even to a dog. It’s people we can sniff apart.

After wandering for a while, I found something big in front of me. What was that? Oh! It was a big rubbish heap. Someone was searching in the rubbish. Oh! It was Mr Rat.

***

‘Hello! Excuse me, may I ask you some questions?’ I tried to be polite because I remembered Father teaching Little John John: ‘One must be polite to others if one wants to ask for others’ help’. Wow, that guy was so wise. But how could he help me now? Dad would know what to do. But how could I ask him now? I was a dog alone in the world.

‘Who are you? Can’t you see that I’m very busy now? What’s the matter?’ Mr Rat berated me while he was busy looking for food in the rubbish bin. 

‘My name is Soldier. I’m trying to find my way home. I was… (and here I held back a big doggy tear)… abandoned here.’ I could not help sobbing when I thought of my present situation. So unjust!

‘Okay, okay, just stop crying, will you? Tell me where you want to go.’ Mr Rat made a lot of noise, busily searching for food and speaking to me at the same time. 

‘Would you please tell me which direction is the Monte Fort?’ I asked politely.

‘What? What did you say? Can you speak up and say it once more?’ Mr Rat made a much louder searching noise this time. 

‘I would like to know in which direction the Monte Fort is.’ I used all my strength to speak up as loudly as I could. 

‘Oh! That’s easy. You just need to walk through the gate and you’ll get there soon.’ Mr Rat answered with his head buried into the rubbish. 

‘Oh! It’s so near?’ I asked. 

‘Yes! Go! I’m busy!’ Mr Rat seemed indifferent to my plight. His instructions were vague, but there seemed to be no point in bothering him anymore.

‘Thank you very much, Mr Rat! Goodbye!’ I then started to walk towards the gate. Hmm! But was it really that near? The environment was not familiar to me! Anyway, there was no risk in trying! So I continued finding my way out. 

I walked and walked and I walked and walked. And then I kept walking some more. I don’t think a dog ever walked as far as I walked then. I was tired and hungry. All that walking! I remembered that Little John John would bring me my lunch when the sun shone straight above my head. While I was enjoying the lunch, he would stroke my back affectionately, then start telling me about how boring his lessons were. But now I did not have anything to eat and I really missed Little John John very much. ‘What is he doing now? Has he noticed that I’m missing? Will he go out and look for me?’ These questions filled my mind. I could not wait any longer. I had to go home right away.

***

Suddenly I heard a long and deafening noise. I looked up into the sky. ‘Oh! What a huge and strange-looking bird!’ I exclaimed, and I thought I had better ask this big bird to speak softer next time I met him. There were more birds resting in a big fenced open area. It was strange but these birds had no feathers at all. Wouldn’t they feel cold in the winter? I was discovering so many strange and wonderful things on my journey. After that, I found many big big cars located beside the place for the big big birds. 

I heard some people complaining. That’s the usual sound humans make with each other. I walked towards the sound and I came to a big big green car. It did not exactly look like a car. What was it? Anyway, I saw two big men, each smoking a cigarette, chatting with each other. They did not look very kind and so I stepped back and was about to go away. Just as I turned my head, I stepped on something and it gave a thunder-like roar.

‘Who are you?’ the mangy creature asked.

‘I’m Soldier,’ I said.

‘If you’re a soldier, then I’ll be the general!’ he said coldly. ‘Then what are you doing here?’

‘I was abandoned by my mistress. Now I want to go back home.’

‘All humans are like that. They’re cold-hearted. All my friends have had painful experiences from them too. Some of them have been beaten, some have been psychologically tortured, some have been thrown away. Some (and here he wiped away a tear with his paw) have even been killed by the humans. Don’t worry! You can be my brother, I will look after you. Follow me.’

‘It’s very kind of you! But …’ I hesitated.

‘By the way, what food do you have right now? Give some to me first.’

‘What for?’

‘Don’t you know that there’s no such thing as a free lunch? I will protect you when you’re in trouble, but of course, you need to pay me something beforehand.’

‘I don’t have any food now, sorry, and I’m going home anyway…’

‘How come you still want to go back to the cruel human world? We can live without them. They left you here, hungry and cold. They don’t want you, so why do you want them? You’d better follow me,’ the cur said. And his dogged logic was compelling.

‘No, not everyone would do this to me. I can’t blame every human just because one human made a bad judgment. Little John John is a very good boy. He plays and talks with me everyday. He treats me as his best friend. Man is dog’s best friend! Wasn’t that the first lesson we were taught?’

‘Then why did his mother throw you away?’

‘Maybe she misunderstood me. But I’ll show her that I’m a good dog. Oh! I must hurry now, I need to get back.’

Meanwhile, the two drivers had just finished their conversation and one of them said that he was heading to Macao. That word sounded familiar. Wasn’t that where I lived? So I followed that driver to his big big car. It was big! Just as he was about to start it up, I jumped onto the end and hid in among the cargo. It was the most crowded car that I had ever been in. It was the strangest collection of stuff I’ve ever seen in there. But I’ll have to tell you about that another time.

Soon we were crossing the sea again and soon I could see familiar buildings around me. I could see the big golden birdcage with the big sparkling colourful flower. When the car stopped I jumped out and started to smell the way home. It was a long way! I walked and walked until my legs were about to fall off. Finally, I came to the familiar black and white cobbled pavement. And now I was sure I was going in the right direction.

I met Mother on the way. She was carrying lots of plastic bags. She’d been shopping. Suddenly one of the plastic bags broke and the oranges dropped onto the road. She tried to pick them up hurriedly but she did not notice that a car was coming. I ran towards her at top speed and used all my strength to seize the hem of her dress. She stepped backward and shouted at me immediately. ‘You disgusting dog, you look just like… you’re…’

Mother seemed a little surprised to see me. ‘How come you’re here? Won’t you get out of my way? Oh! My dress is…’ Leaving no time for her to finish her sentence, the car which would have hit her passed by as quickly as an arrow. And then she understood. She looked down at me, her eyes were filled with love and pity but mainly with gratitude. She knew that I had saved her life! She knew! Now I was saved! And she also realised why I had behaved so impolitely to her.

‘Soldier… you’ve saved me. Oh! Sorry, Soldier, I’ve misjudged you.’ She wept and gave me a big hug. ‘Come on! Let’s go home together and I’ll cook something for you. You must be very tired and hungry,’ she talked to me as her long lost friend, as we were walking towards her car.

When we arrived home, Mother parked the car and said ‘My dear Soldier. Now, we’re back at home. I won’t abandon you ever again. Let’s get out of the car and let’s go upstairs.’

However, I did not move. I kept on barking. You know why, don’t you? Thinking that I was too tired to walk, she bent over and picked me up. It was then she discovered that her diamond earring was just next to me, in the gap between the seat and the door. From her look, I could guess that she was ashamed of what she had done before. She knew then that I was her dog forever.

***

Since this incident – I call it ‘The adventure across the sea’ – I can go anywhere in the house freely. I share the bedroom with Little John John. I am allowed to have dinner with the whole family. And dinner is no longer only dog food, but also some delicious dishes that the humans in the family have.

Everyone else in the house felt strange about Mother’s sudden change of attitude towards me. I dared not to tell the truth and anyway they still haven’t learned even the most basic dog language. So slow, these humans! So, I’ll try my best not to offend anyone anymore. I’ll be a good dog always. This adventure will remain a secret between Mother and me. It is our bond. I have now become a real member of the family.

Schmatoise and BunSenna

Cecilia Hong and Kit Kelen

It was a sunny afternoon. Long shadows were cast in the forest, just like in a dream. All of the animals felt sleepy. They were missing their afternoon naps because they’d had to go to a big meeting. It was hard to sleep because there was a droning noise somewhere in the background, a noise like motors mixed with shouts and screams, but far-off. Some animals of course can sleep through anything…

The Sports Department of Macao Forest (Macrest) had just finished a meeting to decide the sports activities for the coming month. During the meeting, all went smoothly except for the suggestion of a rabbit, which raised a little debate.

‘I have a suggestion! Why do we have to hold the stupid Tortoise and Rabbit Race this year? We have the race every year, it’s so boring. Why can’t we do something different for a change?’ It was BunSenna, the rabbit who had spoken so forcefully.

‘What’s wrong with the Tortoise and Rabbit Race? We have it every year, everybody is happy about the result.’ Master Owl said.

‘Agree.’ a group of deer said all together.

But BunSenna had never been happy with the results because she was the rabbit and the rabbit always lost. It had been like this for as long as anyone could remember.

‘Let me say something.’ Schmatoise, a calm looking tortoise, cleared his throat and continued, ‘It is not the game which is stupid. It is you who are lazy, BunSenna.’

It was true that BunSenna had always fallen asleep in races before now. That was why she always lost. But why did it always have to be like this?

‘What about changing the competition for once?’ BunSenna said, ‘A footrace is so tiring and so old fashioned. What about car racing?’

‘What?’ all of the others asked in astonished unison. Living in the forest on Coloane, many of the animals had never even seen a car before. It was just like BunSenna to suggest something so far out of the ordinary, something that would make the mind, and probably the heart, race.

‘Our very own Eagle-the-Newsimal told me that the city outside our Forest is celebrating the fiftieth birthday of their Grand Prix, which is a car racing competition, just like our annual racing, but much much faster.’ BunSenna’s tone was as eager as it always was when she wasn’t resting under a tree.

Master Owl, the wisest of them all, now cleared his throat to speak. It took a long time. He must have been going to say something very wise. Everyone was watching him and waiting to hear what he’d say. BunSenna looked worried but Schmatoise remained calm. Schmatoise was always calm. In fact his name revealed his manner, it took you a long time just to say it, whereas with BunSenna by the time you’d opened your mouth to say the name it was gone.

Finally the owl did speak. ‘It seems a good idea’ he said. But the owl had taken so long to speak that most of the animals couldn’t remember what the good idea was. After another long, puzzling pause, Owl went on, ‘Actually I also feel bored with the Tortoise and Rabbit Race we hold every year.’ And then Owl raised his voice to say, ‘does anybody object if we make a change this time?’ But how could anyone object to Owl’s wise thoughts?

As no one objected, Owl announced, ‘This year, the… (and now Owl cleared his throat for a very long time while he thought of a good name)… “Macrest Grand Prix” will be held instead of the Tortoise and Rabbit Race.’

Everyone agreed. They clapped and cheered and so the suggestion was approved.

The day of the competition had come at last. Instead of using Porsches and BMWs and Hondas, Schmatoise and BunSenna used two carts left by the last farmers from the old days. The animals altered the old carts so that they could race.

Eagle-the-Newsimal was to be the reporter for the event. He could see everything from up in the sky. This race was the most exciting thing that had happened in the forest for a long time. When the competition was about to start, the spectator stands were full of animals of every different kind. There were elephants and giraffes and zebras. There were young calves, baby beavers and monkeys who shouldn’t really have been allowed out on their own. A group of tortoises and another of rabbits were in the stands to cheer on their friends.

Rooster was chosen to give the starting signal. It was his bright voice that sent Schmatoise and BunSenna racing. BunSenna shot off like a rocket but Schmatoise could only lumber along steadily behind. Even with the new inventions the race seemed to be starting just as it always had. Neither competitor looked at the other.

‘Now, BunSenna is leading the race, Schmatoise is at least ten trees behind.’ Eagle-the-Newsimal’s big voice boomed from the sky. All the animals looked up but Eagle was moving so quickly that they couldn’t see him. They fixed their eyes again on the track where Schmatoise and BunSenna were racing. There wasn’t much excitement so far. BunSenna rode the cart as fast as she could and Schmatoise was now far behind her. All the animals tried to follow BunSenna with their eyes. She would be the obvious winner, if only she could stay awake for the whole of the race.

As a reporter, Eagle-the-Newsimal tried his best to make the race commentary as exciting as possible. He tried to make a boring situation exciting by putting on a tense voice to ask, ‘Will BunSenna be able to change what seems to be the fixed result of this race, or will her past record remain unchanged? Will Schmatoise lose this race for the first time? Right now it looks like BunSenna will win.’ The young animals in the stands were all nodding vigorously as Eagle went on, ‘But it always looks that way at this stage in the race, doesn’t it?’ Now the parents of the young animals were nodding knowingly. ‘She probably won’t fall asleep this time. She’s moving so fast, how could she possibly fall asleep? But then she has every time before. Why should this time be any different? Has she learned from her past mistakes? Or has something changed this time to alter the result? There’s always an element of luck in a race like this.’ Now all the animals were nodding. Eagle had managed to get them all interested.

During the race, Schmatoise tried his best, just as before. He carefully avoided the stones on the track and drove cautiously at every turning. Because he was so slow and careful, he was very much behind BunSenna. As she streaked ahead, BunSenna became more and more confident of victory. She thought, ‘This time, yes, this time I will be the one who wins the race. How can I lose? That tortoise will be so ashamed, he’ll have to climb right back into his shell.’ Encouraging herself with such thoughts, she drove her cart faster and faster.

‘BunSenna is now far ahead of Schmatoise, but let’s see… there is something wrong… Oh! She is on the wrong track! She was going so fast she didn’t notice that she’d taken a wrong turn. Oh no, BunSenna is heading straight for a cliff.’ Immediately Eagle-the-Newsimal had reported the danger, the rescue deer were sent after BunSenna to help if they could. Before anyone could reach her though, BunSenna had …BINGBANG… tumbled over the cliff. The deer couldn’t help her now. Instead the elephants and the giraffes and anyone else with a long neck were sent to help bring BunSenna back up from where she had fallen over the cliff.

Schmatoise, now facing no competitor on the track, was meanwhile slowly making his way to the finishing line. The story had changed but the result was just the same. BunSenna had lost again. You might think that as she was nursing her wounds at the bottom of the cliff, she would at least have the satisfaction of knowing she hadn’t fallen asleep this time.

As it turned out, our racing rabbit had never been in much danger at all. She’d thought she was going to die as she’d plummeted over that cliff in her cart… but it was an apple hitting her on the head that made her realise she was safe after all. The apple had fallen from the tree under which BunSenna had lain down to take a little rest, a rest she knew she could afford because she was so far ahead in the annual footrace. When she woke up she was startled and had called out loud in her sleepy voice, ‘Oh, where am I? Where is my cart?’ She heard cheering sounds far away. The other animals were clapping and shouting, ‘Schmatoise, Schmatoise.’ And now BunSenna realised it had all been a dream.

‘What’s that drone in the background?’ BunSenna wondered when the cheering died down. It was the sound of the cars in the kartdrome, down on the causeway just at the bottom of the hill. No wonder it had been so hard to sleep. What a crazy dream she’d had.

When Your Shadow Cries

Camilla Lam

This was the most sudden and the severest winter in living memory in the Land of Animals. Dingding and her mother were walking along a lane which was now covered in snow. There were grasshoppers quivering all over the sides of the lane and their eyes were half closed. Some of them looked frozen and motionless. The small bowls in front of them, all made of dried dead leaves, were empty.

‘Mama, why do these grasshoppers have no home and no food?’ Dingding blinked her big round eyes. They looked puzzled and, somehow, sad.

‘My dear Dingding, they were lazy in summer and now they are suffering. So, be a good hardworking kitty. You don’t want to be like them, do you?’

‘I don’t think I want to… but mama, we’ve got lots of food in our bag. Shall we give them some?’ Dingding stopped and waited for her mother, Mrs Miu, to reply.

‘I understand your feeling, my sweetie, but I don’t think that’s what we should do. We cats should mind our own business. After all, there are hundreds, thousands, and perhaps millions of grasshoppers in this world, and we can’t give all of them food.’ Mrs Miu held Dingding’s little palm to hers and marched forward. Dingding followed her mother with her head hanging down. She felt that it was too scary to look at the rows of grasshopper bodies. There was no more quivering going on in the grasshopper world. The snow had finished them all.

The sad memory of the grasshoppers had not bothered Dingding for very long. Soon she was happy enjoying the warm air blowing out from the heater. After amusing herself with her own tail for a while, she stretched out her four tiny legs and yawned.

‘It’s time for you to go to bed, kitty.’ Mrs Miu stepped out from the kitchen, and asked, ‘Have you cleaned yourself?’

‘Yes, mama…’ Dingding was giving a little extra cleaning to her front claws.

‘Good kitty. Go to bed. It’s cold tonight.’

Dingding jumped onto her soft warm bed. She looked out the window. The snow glittered like stars under the silver moon. Winter was beautiful but she loved summer more. Now she started to miss the butterflies with whom she played happily when the flowers bloomed. Would they return? Her mother said so but she also said it would be a long time yet. Dingding drew a little butterfly shape on the misty glass with one of her claws.

It was midnight. The wind shrieked whenever it passed through cracks and gaps in the wall. Dingding was floating in a sea of ice cream before the chill of the wind woke her up. Still very drowsy, she half-opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the wind. ‘Why is the window open so wide?’ she murmured to herself. She tried to hide away from the wind by wrapping her fuzzy little body with the quilt. It just did not work. Finally Dingding got out of the bed and slipped over to the window. The floor was icy. She had to tiptoe all the way.

It was always hard for cats, especially kittens, to open or close a window, because their palms were small and round and because their claws weren’t really meant for this kind of work. After several attempts, Dingding finally got hold of the handle. Dingding’s round eyes were wide open when she saw what was up there in the sky.

It was a horse. Not just a horse, it was a unicorn! It had wings! A winged unicorn. It was flying! Well, what else should a winged unicorn do? But both Dingding’s eyes and mouth were wide open. The unicorn was shiny and white. It was flying slowly as if it were carrying something very heavy on its back.

Not knowing what to do, Dingding rushed to the door and through to her parents’ room. ‘Mama, papa! A house… no… a unicorn… it’s flying… out there! Mama… papa!’ she kept pulling at the corner of her parents’ quilt and yelling excitedly.

‘Oh... my dear…What’s up?’ Mrs Miu finally turned to Dingding with her half-opened eyes.

‘Mama, a horse is flying in the sky! Come at once, mama, or it will be gone! Come!’

‘Oh my dear… it’s now three in the morning?’ Mrs Miu looked at the clock by the bed, nodded and continued, ‘Whatever it is, my dear, I need to sleep now!’

‘But mama… it’s real! It’s real! I saw it with my own eyes! And I’m sure it’s still out there right now… so… come at once… quick…’

‘It’s not real, my dear! There are horses in our village. And perhaps there are unicorns somewhere in the world… but a flying unicorn! Go to bed and stop this fuss!’

‘But mama… I…’ Dingding was almost wailing.

‘Oh yes, I know… I know… you saw it with your own eyes. Remember last year you jumped into our room and said you saw  Santa Claus up in the sky? But it was only a dream. Don’t you remember?’ Mrs Miu was getting impatient.

Dingding sighed. It was true she’d forgotten all about Santa Claus. And now she crawled slowly to the door, as if she had just lost in an important battle. When Dingding got back to her room, the sky was empty again. No flying unicorn, no moon. Only a few stars hanging there. Gazing at the silver moon, somehow Dingding felt that she had lost something, something more than a flying unicorn. But she was too sleepy to think too much now.

It was on another windy night in the following week when Dingding was dreaming about bouncing on marshmallow clouds... that all of a sudden, a huge ‘BOM!’ dispersed all the soft sweet mists of her dream. Dingding had no idea what had happened. She hid herself in the quilt, leaving just a tiny hole to peak from for anything strange that might be worth seeing. She could feel her little body shivering and it wasn’t the cold that was making her shake.

There over the balcony, beside the window lay a huge black shadow. What could that be? Dingding could not tell. She wanted to get a closer look, yet she was so frightened that every hair on her fuzzy body stood straight.

Dingding told herself that she had to be a brave kitty. She took a deep breath and crept silently to the window. She got closer and closer until she could finally peer over the window sill. When she saw the huge bear lying there on the balcony, she fled back into her quilt at once. She was so scared that she used her paws to cover both her ears and eyes. This had to be a dream! ‘This must be a dream!’ Dingding thought aloud. Still everything remained so real to her.

‘Don’t be frightened, kitty!’ said a soft gentle voice.

Only just daring to glance through her claws, Dingding looked through the window again. Was the bear speaking to her? She gazed at the creature for a while – his body did not seem to be moving. Dingding thought he might be sleeping… but how could a bear sleep and talk at the same time?

‘Kitty, here, look here, in the right corner,’ the voice urged. The voice was weak.

Dingding turned to the right corner and there she saw…

The winged unicorn!

Dingding was excited but confused. Was she dreaming again? But the unicorn was so real, his body was as white as snow and both his mane and tail were so shiny. And best of all, he was speaking to her! It hadn’t been the bear at all, the bear was really asleep.

‘I’m sorry for having disturbed your sleep, my little kitty,’ the unicorn continued, ‘and you do see me and hear me, all right?’

‘Yes…’ Dingding nodded and answered, ‘and also the bear. I mean I see the bear.’

‘Good kitty, what’s your name?’

‘Dingding.’

‘Nice to meet you Dingding. I’m sorry but just now the weather was so horrible, and the shadow I was carrying was very heavy and so I fell.’ Mr Unicorn blushed, as if he should not have fallen on any account, or as if falling down were something he should be ashamed of.

‘Oh… would you like to come in and take a rest?’ Dingding offered her paw to help Mr Unicorn up into her room.

Mr Unicorn kneeled beside her little bed. He gazed at the floor motionlessly, appearing to be in deep thought.

‘Mr Unicorn… was it you… last week… Do you remember?’ Dingding looked at Mr Unicorn with curiosity and expectation. She was waiting for him to confirm with her that he, unlike Santa Claus, was real.

‘Dingding, I’m sorry but happy to tell you that… you are still in your dream. This is your dream.’ Mr Unicorn turned and stared deeply into Dingding’s round eyes, as if he had known her for a long time. ‘But I am surprised that… I am still in your dream. You are a good little kitty indeed, my Dingding.’

Dingding was completely lost. It was really strange to be told that you were dreaming when you were still in your dream.

‘I am so glad that you feel that you have lost something. It means that you care.’ Mr Unicorn smiled kindly.

‘Oh... Mr Unicorn… I’m sorry… I don’t think I understand…’ Dingding was getting more confused.

‘How can I make it simple for you…’ Mr Unicorn was thinking for a while, and then he opened his mouth again. ‘Your shadow is not only a shadow who follows you everywhere, my dear Dingding. She can think. You know, like a little animal similar to yourself. She gives you advice and vision when you see, or when your heart has doubts. You can feel how the others feel, because of her. Do you understand me so far, my dear Dingding?’

Dingding nodded, but still with some confusion in her big round eyes.

‘She follows you everywhere by following your heart. But when you start not to trust her, or not care about her by thinking that she is no longer important to you, the poor shadow will start to cry. Once the shadow starts crying, she will have trouble following your steps. Do you remember Santa Claus and those grasshoppers?’

‘Oh...’ Dingding stood up and, while Mr Unicorn watched patiently, she jumped here and there under the silver moonlight, but she could not find her shadow on the floor. Now she learned that she had indeed lost something on that night last week when she had first seen Mr Unicorn.

‘Then… where is my shadow now? Where have you taken her? What will happen to her?’ Dingding looked at Mr Unicorn anxiously.

‘Well, it’s like this. When we hear your shadow cry, and see that she has trouble following your steps, we will come and take her to the Land of Shadows where all shadows in her situation live. There the shadows will spend the happiest time in their lives. They are cared for, they love each other, and they are always waiting for their owners. If ever their owners notice their absence, and feel sad about it, they will see me, the way you saw me in the sky, and now in here. But the shadows will not live long. Without their owners they can live no longer than one year. When the shadows finally pass away, those animals, whose shadows were taken, no longer imagine or feel how the others feel.’ Mr Unicorn paused for a while, ‘so far you are the first one to notice something missing.’

‘Oh…’ Dingding’s feelings were now very complicated. She was the first of all the animals to have ever seen Mr Unicorn. That made her rather special and being special in this way gave her responsibilities… but it was so hard to think about it all…

‘Mr Unicorn,’ there were tears in Dingding’s eyes, ‘What should I do? I really miss my shadow and I want it back… I don’t want to lose her!’

Mr Unicorn hesitated for a while. Dingding sat quietly and waited for his answer.

‘There is only one chance for you to be re-united with your shadow.’ Mr Unicorn had finally opened his mouth after a long silence, ‘I will bring you to the Land of Shadows. There you will have to find your shadow among so many others. You will have only one night’s time, that is, one day’s time in the Land of Shadows. And I’m sorry to say you have to do it on your own. Are you afraid?’ Mr Unicorn looked at Dingding wondering whether she would accept the challenge.

‘I will go there!’ Dingding took a deep breath and nodded exaggeratedly.

‘Okay, my little Dingding. I’ll come to you tomorrow night. Be ready for me! And now I have to go. Go to sleep.’

But Dingding already was asleep and in her dream the words ‘go to sleep now’ from Mr Unicorn were like a spell, and very soon Dingding fell into a dreamless sleep before she could think or talk more.

Dingding was sad all the following day, especially when she discovered both her parents’ shadows were, like hers, missing. And they were not even aware of it. She didn’t have the heart to tell them.

The following night, Dingding could not get to sleep at all. Time and again she looked through the window and waited anxiously for Mr Unicorn to come. The waiting seemed to go on forever. Gazing at the shadow of the window frame, she found herself missing her own shadow so much.

‘Dingding!’ It was the soft and gentle voice of Mr Unicorn again. Dingding rushed to the window at once and opened the window for him. This time, the bear was not there. ‘Come, come on to my back.’ Mr Unicorn lowered his body and let Dingding climb up onto his back. It took some time for Dingding to get settled. They then set off into the sky.

It was the greatest experience Dingding ever had. The night was so deep, but she did not feel cold at all. It was warm on the back of Mr Unicorn. The Land of Animals was getting smaller and smaller and finally it fell out of the sight.

Dingding did not know how far they had flown, but it did not take long before she could see the places below her were changing. Finally, Mr Unicorn landed in front of a huge wall. ‘There is no door to the Land of Shadows, no entrance, and no exit.’ Mr Unicorn continued, ‘Remember, no shadow will live longer than a year. After a year, more or less, case by case, the shadows just fade away. None of them can leave this land by themselves. And so far neither have any been taken back. So I really don’t know whether it’s possible for you to get back your shadow or not. In theory I can’t see why you shouldn’t be able to. But your time is very limited. So, just get in and search for your shadow. Remember, you have only one night to do it.’ Mr Unicorn flew away and soon Dingding was landed in the Land of Shadows.

Dingding was very frightened. Everything here was in black and white, there was no colour at all. But before she could ask any questions, Dingding discovered that Mr Unicorn had gone. She looked at her paws hind and fore and saw that her body was black and white too. But she didn’t have time to worry about that.

The Land of Shadows was busy. Shadows of all sorts of animals were walking on the street. They were all smiling, and none of them looked sad. Even the foxes and snakes, who seldom smile in the Land of Animals, appeared to be happy here. Their smiles were no different than those of sheep or deer. Dingding was not afraid of them. Dingding walked around and saw lots of shops. Shadows smiled at her and said ‘Hi’ all along her way. Some of the shopkeepers offered her free ice-creams, while some gave her sweets.

‘Hey, little kitty, how old are you?’ a hen, who had just offered her a sweet, asked.

‘Eleven…’ Dingding was trying to get her tongue free enough to talk because she had a candy in her mouth.

‘Eleven days! I should have guessed that! You know, I’m already two hundred and fifty days old. I guess I will go soon. To an even better place than the Land of Shadows.’ The hen spoke merrily.

Dingding was so happy hanging around the Land of Shadows she almost forgot her mission. She looked up and found that the white sun, in the grey night sky, was already at its zenith. Dingding had to hurry. She searched and searched. But she could not find any kitten like herself. She did come across other cats and kittens but none of them was her shadow. After a whole long day that was night, she still could not find her shadow. The white sun had almost set and Dingding was very worried.

Soon, the sun did set. Dingding was so tired that she sat beside a tree and started to cry.

‘Don’t cry, Dingding.’

Dingding looked up with the tears still in her eyes. She was shocked but she was happy. It was her own shadow who was speaking to her!

‘Oh… oh… do you know how much I’ve been missing you? My dear shadow?’ Dingding cried again.

‘I knew it had to be you… Mrs Hen just told me about you. She said there was a kitten crying and you know that none of the animals cries in the Land of Shadows. We are never sad.’

‘Shadow… I know this land is great… but would you like to go back with me? I promise I won’t ever let you cry again… in my world.’

‘Sure! If you would like me to.’ Dingding’s shadow smiled and continued, ‘and you know what, I can always come back here if things do get too sad.’ The shadow smiled again.

On the back of Mr Unicorn, Dingding, and her shadow, the two as one, were going back to the Land of Animals. Her shadow was finally back with her again, and wherever she walked, she could feel her shadow following her steps. But somehow Dingding still felt sad, even she herself could not tell why. At least she knew now what she had to lose. For Dingding this was precious knowledge. It’s always difficult to be the only one in the world who knows.

You are Your Own Doctor

Alice Lam

6:30 am. The in-patients at Kiang Wu Hospital had just finished their breakfast. At 7 am sharp the nurses came into the medical ward. They were all women except for one. They entered their office, which lay at one end of the ward, shut the door behind them and began their daily briefing. The head nurse read out a rather long list of instructions to her nurses and pointed out any mistakes they’d made the previous day. This took place at the same time in every other ward.

It was summer 1997. Lok was the only male nurse at the Kiang Wu Hospital. The patients in the general medical ward liked him. He could say things which cheered them up. He was also more patient and thoughtful than many other nurses. One morning he saw an old man twisting and turning in bed. The nurses on night shift hadn’t noticed that the man had wet his bed. He immediately went to change the sheets. The bed stank! Anyway someone had to do it. It was then that Leng arrived. Lok was surprised to see a young girl in a ward full of old people. ‘What could be wrong with this girl?’ he wondered. She seemed to be perfectly fine. The head nurse decided to put her in a room away from the other patients, considering that a young girl might feel uneasy if she was surrounded by a bunch of sick old men.

Lok brought Leng her medicine every day. He’d always give her a few pieces of dried apricot to go with the medicine. Sweets weren’t healthy, he thought. He’d also say a few things to brighten her up. Leng wasn’t pretty but there was that simplicity in her face which fascinated Lok. He wanted to know more about her. The girl seemed unhappy. Sometimes she would turn to face the wall when Lok came, but Lok was very observant. He knew that she’d been crying but instead of comforting her, he would just leave the medicine on the table and walk away quietly. It’s good to let it out. The thing which worried him was that Leng ate too little. ‘You need to eat more in order to get well,’ he said. But she was very stubborn in her ways.

Four weeks had passed. ‘She’s not making much progress. Someone has to make sure that she eats up her meals,’ the doctor said after his round. He told Lok to put Leng on a drip. Lok took out her medical record from the file cabinet to mark this down before he got the drip ready. Out of curiosity, he went through the record: ‘Anorexia nervosa. Severe malnutrition, protein deficiency, lapse of menstrual periods… swollen stomach, swollen feet…’ It hadn’t occurred to him that eating too little could cause so many problems.

Lok went down the corridor with the drip in his hand. He couldn’t figure out why some people could be so stupid as to starve themselves to death. He was from a single parent family. His dad left his mum to live with another woman when he was three years old. His mum struggled to raise him. He couldn’t join his classmates for lunch when he was at school because he had no money. His mum would give him two pineapple buns in the morning and those were his breakfast and lunch. He was often hungry, all the more after a game of football. To him food was nothing but pleasure.

He felt sorry for the girl in front of him. A girl at her age should really be enjoying life. Somehow he wanted to help. He rolled up her sleeves to pierce the skin with the needle. She was so skinny. It was easy to see the veins in her forearm.

‘Does it hurt?’ he asked.

‘A little,’ she replied softly.

‘Eat enough and you won’t need this anymore’ He looked into her eyes as he stopped. They looked as if they wanted to say something.

‘I still haven’t introduced myself. My name’s Lok… as in “fai lok”! Press that button if you need anything.’ He smiled at her and left.

‘Fai lok,’ she whispered. (Fai lok means ‘happiness’ in Cantonese.)

21st June, Midsummer’s Day, Leng’s birthday. She couldn’t sleep. It was too hot. Her room was third class, the worst type of room in the hospital. There was no fan or air-conditioner. She couldn’t help scratching her arms and legs because of the mosquito bites. ‘I don’t want to stay here!’ She started crying. Lok was woken from his doze. He was on the night shift this month. He followed the sound and came to Leng’s room.

‘There’s no need to cry. I’ll get you an ointment.’ He also unplugged the electric fan in the office and moved it to Leng’s room. ‘Oh, I forgot to get some mosquito incense.’ As he moved, Leng grasped his arm.

‘Please don’t force me to eat again, please. I beg you!’ she pleaded.

‘Leng, you have to eat…we all have to eat. You shouldn’t feel guilty about eating.’ He paused there. He was afraid to hurt her feelings. But he felt that he had to say this. ‘We don’t eat simply to survive. If eating were just for keeping alive, we wouldn’t have so many different kinds of food. We could just take a magic pill a day to keep us going.’ He stopped. Her eyes were swollen. Her face was covered with tears and sweat. He took her towel and gently wiped her face. Seeing that she had calmed down, he went to get the mosquito incense. She could sleep now. She was tired after all this crying.

***

Lok gave her the will power to conquer her fear of eating. Leng was getting better day by day. Her weight went up. Her stomach and legs were no longer swollen. She could go home. Lok gave her a gift when she left. It was his diary. Her name was scattered over the pages. Did he have a crush on her? Whatever the case might be, his diary was a precious gift. It was the record of her road of recovery. To her, he was a very good nurse, and a very nice guy. 

A year had passed. Leng was now a second year student at the University of Macau. She was no different from any other girl. She would gossip, eat out, go on a date and go shopping with her friends. Her mum was happy with the way she was.

One morning mum was cleaning the toilet again. ‘This is such a pain!’ She’d cleaned the toilet three times this week and it still stank. It’s probably the disinfectant. She’d get a different brand. As she poured the new disinfectant down the toilet bowl that night she saw scraps of food on the sides.

The next day she began to note Leng’s actions. After Leng’d had her tea, she went to take a shower, leaving the TV on. Leng’s mum stood outside the bathroom and listened very carefully. She hoped that her guess was wrong, but her daughter had been throwing up after meals. ‘Why are you doing this to yourself? Why do you have to do this to us, Leng? If you’re afraid of getting fat, don’t overeat,’ Leng’s mum tried hard to contain her emotions. Leng felt ashamed of herself. ‘I won’t do it again, mum. I promise,’ she said.

***

Not long after Leng had left Kiang Wu, she became concerned about her weight gain again. She would get up early in the morning to go jogging, from the Interior Port near her home, all the way to the Dynasty Plaza and then back. Because she started very early, there was hardly anyone along the way except for a few old people exercising in front of the Maritime Museum and the A-Ma Temple. On rainy days when she couldn’t go outdoors, she would walk up and down seventeen flights of stairs in her block till she became completely exhausted. She would go on a strict diet till she shed her ‘extra’ pounds. The more she deprived herself of food, the more she wanted it. Soon she started bingeing. In less than half an hour she could swallow a sponge cake for six, a pack of digestive biscuits, a whole carton of milk and more. When she could no longer force anything down into her stomach, she’d rush to the toilet, stick her fingers down her throat and throw up everything she’d eaten. Blood in her vomit wasn’t uncommon.

She became more skillful at doing this over time. Rice, bread and any sticky foods were no-nos as they stayed in the stomach. Something soft and spongy… plus a large amount of liquid to go with it was perfect. She would go to the bathroom after meals. ‘Mum, I’m going to take a shower’, ‘I need to hand-wash my clothes’. And there were many other excuses. Once in the bathroom she would purge till she saw traces of the first thing she had swallowed. The sound of the rapid running water covered the horrible sounds she made and there were always the TV and the stereo to serve her purpose.

***

‘I won’t do this again’ was easier said than done. She did keep her promise (in a way). She would only binge and purge when her parents were at work. On the days when her parents were away from Macao, she would go through her ritual three or four times a day, or more. It didn’t matter when her throat was bleeding and swollen. Leng found herself with less money left for buying new clothes and make-up because a lot of it was flushed down the toilet. 

There were days when she wandered on the street aimlessly. She didn’t see the purpose of living. What would her classmates think of her if they knew her secret? What would her parents do? Life was all the more unbearable as she began to be plagued with related health problems.

March 2002. Lying in bed, she stared into the white ceiling, her mind filled with childhood memories. She remembered her mum beating her with a feather-duster when she couldn’t write straight characters in her copybook in kindergarten, and she remembered going to the Flora Garden with her mum and dad. They would feed the monkeys and stand there for ages just to see the peacock spread its tail… Her mum and dad had always loved her. Why didn’t she see that? Her pillow was wet. She dared not move to wipe her tears as there were tubes attached to her body. She was in pain. But her parents’ wound was deeper. At the Peak Hospital (Hospital Conde de S. Januario), there was no Lok. Her own memories were a better encouragement than his person, or his diary. She wanted to heal their wounds by healing herself.

From the SARS Story

In autumn and summer of 2003 SARS was a nightmare in many Asian countries. It could have been much worse if health authorities in places like Macao hadn’t taken steps to quarantine those suspected of having had contact with the disease. In the case of Macao, those facilities were not much used because Macao had only one case of SARS. The two stories below are from the collection The SARS Story: A South China Decameron. In these stories we imagine what would have had happened if people quarantined at Hac Sa Beach on Coloane, instead of doing nothing and sulking all day, had gathered to tell their stories.

LV

Cassenna Chan

Mrs Kwan was now looking right around the circle in an effort to arrest the unstable mood of the group. Her glance was so threatening it seemed to just make things worse.

‘I’m Mrs Kwan,’ she declared. She had a pair of small round eyes, flat nose, and big mouth with thin lips. A traditional Chinese face reading would have told you that she was a typical gossipy middle-aged woman. She was talkative and stubborn. Mrs Kwan cleared her throat, and in a high pitched voice she said, ‘I shouldn’t be here. They suspect me to have contracted SARS, but it’s nonsense.’ Eyebrows were raised but they fell again as tears started to trickle down Mrs Kwan’s pink cheeks, ‘But it’s not just this. It’s always been like this. It’s the story of my life.’ She sobbed.

‘Tell us!’ somebody said.

Mrs Kwan continued, ‘I married an unlucky man. He never earned enough money for me to pursue my dream. It’s ridiculous but he died of a heart attack when I told him our flat had been re-mortgaged to the bank. I just spent all the money to buy as many LV (that’s Louis Vuitton) handbags as possible. What had I done wrong? I could have blamed myself, but I didn’t. I’d only done what any woman would.’

Mrs Kwan was sobbing again, she was so moved by her own story. But for the others the delay was intolerable. ‘Then what happened next?’ somebody asked. Mrs Kwan struggled to go on.

‘Now I was a poor widow, I started to hunt for a job. But no employers would hire me because they thought I was too old to work. So I launched a herbal tea stall in my neighbourhood a few months ago. I sell the twenty-four flavours. Do you know how much I sacrifice to earn money? Every morning, I climb up Guia Hill to pick herbs. Sometimes I have to re-boil the herbal tea that was left behind the day before.

These last days have been the worst period of my life, and it was only the LV handbags that gave me the strength to go on. I talked to them and shared my worries with them every night. Oh… I miss my LVs.’ Mrs Kwan stopped and blew her nose with a flowery handkerchief. The audience were silent and that urged Mrs Kwan to continue.

‘I’m sorry, I must go back to my herbal tea. My herbal tea, as I always say, can cure any kind of flu, fever, cough. I never had to learn from any Chinese medicine doctor how to mix the herbs because I’m clever enough to guess how. Once my cat got a fever and I knew what to do. I knew straight away that she had got a SARS, a big nasty SARS too. I knew what to do straight away. I forced her to drink my herbal tea and she recovered the next day. So, being community minded, I told my neighbours the most sacred function of my herbal tea. I told them it could save them from any SARS.

My neighbour’s daughter Ieng Ieng passed by my herbal tea stall one afternoon. She hadn’t drunk my herbal tea for a long time, so I insisted she should in order to keep all those bad SARS away from her. But she told me she was going to the hospital because she had got a fever. For her sake, I advised her not to go there. Those doctors are dangerous you know. They just want your money. Or your life. There are only two places you can go in Macao, you know. Your money or your life.

The traditional way is better, I told her. I recommended she drink the twenty-four flavours because it cures any kind of fever even a great big SARS, tiny little ones too. I insisted she drink two cups rather than one because she looked terribly sick. For her sake, I forced her to drink another cup after she finished the first. And I even gave her a five per cent discount for drinking two. That’s how much I cared! I had re-boiled the tea twice, so that the tea would be stronger to kill the fever. After drinking two cups of my super fever herbal tea, she said she felt very dizzy and that she had to go home to have a nap. She said all that but I could see that she looked better, trust me, she felt better, and I was sure that she would recover after her nap.

The next day, early in the morning I heard the ambulance siren. Ieng Ieng had been sent to the hospital, I suppose she’d taken my remedy too late. But I’d done the best I could for her. 

Later that day the police came to my flat and arrested me. They told me Ieng Ieng died because she had drunk some poisonous herbal tea. What nonsense. That SARS was just too big for her. They said the autopsy found some SARSes in her body, and that’s why they took me into the quarantine. But they said that she hadn’t died from the SARS. They claim – so ridiculous – that my tea was poisonous and that it killed her. Huh! So they arrested me and brought me here. They wouldn’t listen to sense. I told them many times that my herbal tea is not poisonous. Perhaps I re-boil it two or three times, it might become too strong for some weaklings. But it’s not my fault if they’re weak, right? I’m trying to cure people, to keep everyone healthy, but they’re treating me like a criminal. And as for the SARS, I’m very strong. I’m sure I haven’t got a single SARS. They’re wasting my time and everyone’s money to put me here for ten days. Ridiculous.

When I get out of here I have to go to jail for six months, and I have to pay a hundred thousand patacas partly to the court and the family.’ She was weeping at this point but choked back the tears to say, ‘So I have to sell all my beloved LV handbags to pay the money, I have nothing left now, nothing… not even a purse to put the bus money in. And I still owe the government some. So I shouldn’t be here, I should be in jail. The earlier I go to jail, the earlier I can come out. Then I can earn money, and buy LV again. They’re waiting for me, my darling LVs. They need my love and care.’ Mrs Kwan had a devilish smile now. She’d stopped her crying and wiped her cheeks dry as she finished her story.

Masks

Alice Lam

After Mrs Kwan’s story, people in the circle turned their heads to San, a woman who had been sitting quietly all through the session. San knew that it was her turn now. A blush came into her cheeks. She smiled as if she were a little bit embarrassed and started her story straight away.

‘This story takes place at a large pharmacy – I won’t tell you the name – but I think you know where I mean, it’s near the Red Market. I’ll tell it like a story in a book. That’s easiest…’

***

‘Hm, should I get one more?’ To buy one, to buy more than one, or to buy nothing at all – that was the question.

San was shopping inside the superstore. Her favourite brand of shampoo was marked with the orange label. It was even cheaper than the bottle she’d got from the San Miu Supermarket.

‘Oh, should I get a few more? Perhaps those with a different scent. They’ll probably be sold out very soon and I won’t be able to get any later. Oh, but I have so much to carry already. Hai’, San sighed to herself with a falling tone. ‘I wish I hadn’t bought the water-melon, but honey loves water-melon after dinner.’ She sighed again.

San, as you might have conjectured, was a housewife. Shopping was her preoccupation. Cooking couldn’t fully engage her attention when she had to rush out of the kitchen to follow the soap operas every now and then. A housewife is certainly among those good at multi-tasking.

San wasn’t a mathematician and so comparing the prices of goods became vigorous mental exercise for her.

‘Miss, you’re getting that?’

San knew that the saleswoman was addressing her but didn’t respond. She hated to be pestered by ‘frivolous flies’. She carried on checking out the prices on the labels.

‘Oh, the Panda Smooth and Sleek shampoos also have the orange tags on them!’ She was wondering whether she should try one of those. She remembered her cousin saying that these were good. ‘Such a difficult decision… if only I hadn’t bought the melon…’

‘Miss, those low-grade shampoos won’t do much good for your hair. Have you ever tried a professional shampoo? We sell professional shampoos that are tailored for different hair textures. This brand here contains a special ingredient. It removes the daily residue on your hair and so adds body to it. Your hair does look a bit flat, and I can see some split ends too…’ She kept on magnifying the ‘weaknesses’ of San’s hair, which San found rather offensive. Yet she wasn’t the kind of person who could be bothered to quarrel with a stranger.

‘It was originally a hundred and sixty patacas a bottle. Now we’re offering it at half price and you get a free conditioner with each purchase.’

Gifts are hard to resist. ‘A professional shampoo…manufactured in Germany. I guess it’s alright to treat myself to something posh every now and then. This shampoo is of a better quality anyway. The shop assistant’s hair looks really glossy.’

San bought two bottles and got an extra gift in the end – a bright green beach towel. She walked home happily with her harvest.

The shampoo turned out to be quite ordinary. It in fact made her hair coarser than before. Thanks, no doubt, to its super-cleansing quality.

‘For goodness’ sake, where did you get this cheap towel from? The colour came off while I was using it to towel my hair dry. Glad that I noticed it quick! Or else I’d have to take another shower!!’ San’s husband was a man full of grumbles.

‘I reckon I’ll have to start tightening up your money sooner or later. You go around wasting my money. How many times have I warned you about cheats, San?’ The husband felt helpless. Women were so stupid in his opinion. They were so out of touch with the world.

‘You know how many fish balls I sold today? I don’t even want to talk about it. Wonder what will happen if SARS really breaks out in Macao. God, I hope it won’t.’

‘No, it won’t, dear. Macao is an auspicious land. It has good feng shui. Mrs Chan was telling me this yesterday when we walked home together from the Red Market. She’s right I think. We shouldn’t get so paranoid about SARS. And Edmund Ho is a capable man. Don’t you feel that Macao has become a much better place since he’s taken charge?’

The husband didn’t like to be interrupted by women’s gossip especially when he was watching the serious evening news report, above all not during the sports news.

‘Yes, yes,’ he replied half-heartedly, ‘get me some masks from the chemist tomorrow, will you? I must put one on when I’m at the stall. That’ll give people a bit more confidence. I don’t want to lose all the business.’

The next day San set off to do her shopping as usual. Again she drifted into the superstore. She couldn’t afford to miss the Easter sale. After all it was only five o’clock. She still had time to prepare for dinner.

‘Would you like to try our free facial treatment, miss?’

San was drawn by the word ‘free’ and paused.

‘Your skin looks really good. I bet you were born with perfect skin. But we mustn’t neglect our skin for this reason. It’ll be too late if you wait till your face is full of freckles and wrinkles.’

San was flattered by the complimentary remark.

‘Oh, did you say it’s free?’

‘Yes, this is our promotion week. Everyone has the privilege to try first and buy later when you feel satisfied with our products. Our mud mask is very effective, and very gentle. It’s “dermatologist recommended”… look here… it’s suitable even if your skin is of the sensitive type.’

‘I guess there’s no harm trying, but does it take long? I still have something important to do.’ San didn’t want to give the saleswoman the impression that she was here for a free facial, but she was indeed delighted to lie herself down comfortably and be pampered for nothing.

The result was satisfying. A facial treatment almost always soothes a woman’s face, especially when the woman hasn’t been to a beauty salon for ages. Now was the best time for the saleslady to proceed with her tactics.

San knew this too. Yet San must maintain her composure! She mustn’t surrender too early. This was a battle between the salesperson and the potential customer. The former wanted to sell and get her commission; the latter wanted to obtain as many free gifts as she could.

‘Missus, this mask is just excellent. I’m not cheating you. You can see for yourself.’

San took her time and perused the print on the package (though she could read neither English nor French).

The saleswoman showed no sign of relenting. As long as her potential customer was near, there was a glimmer of hope.

‘Well, you may not believe me, but the receipts here are certainly not fake.’ She took out a pile of sales dockets from her drawer as she spoke.

‘See the amount this customer spent… you can be confident of our brand. Look at this… and this…’ She flipped through the receipts one by one to show the housewife. ‘These customers wouldn’t have spent hundreds and hundreds on our products if our products weren’t good.’

San was convinced. It seemed the case that San simply could not escape from the pull of the superstore unless she moved flats. Then she wouldn’t pass the store on her way home from the market.

‘Oh, I almost forget to give you these. We’re giving out a box of surgical masks to each new customer. You know, because of SARS. Thank you very much, miss. Come back if you have any problem with our products.’

That was a neat solution. San’d completely forgotten what her husband told her to do the night before.

‘I told you to get some masks and you wasted so much money on these? You women are the most foolish animals in the world. There aren’t such things as magic masks and these won’t make you ten years younger. Go back to the store and return them tomorrow.’

On second thoughts, San’s husband decided he would go to the store himself after work. He didn’t want his silly wife to be swindled again.

The saleswoman was taking off her surgical mask when San’s husband came in. It was her dinner break. She recognised the box he was holding. She looked at the receipt and thought back.

‘Why? Is there something wrong with these masks, sir? But your wife had tried one before she bought them. Her skin wasn’t sensitive to the ingredients.’

‘No… noth-nothing wrong with them…’ The man was astonished by the lady’s stunning face. ‘But the price is outrageous. I… I want my money back.’ He was glad that he was wearing a mask. It concealed his own facial defects.

‘I’m afraid we don’t give a refund in this case.’

He felt embarrassed and wished that he’d left his stupid wife to handle this by herself.

Dinner was all ready when he got home. Instead of getting a refund, he’d bought an extra packet. Would he tell her?

Story of A Mei

Sidney Ung

It was the early spring of 1623. Andries, a Dutch soldier, was captured as a prisoner of war after the Dutch defeat by the Portuguese in the 1622 battle for Macao.

Andries worked as a prisoner to build the city wall. Every day he toiled on the wall at the junction of the Rua do Campo and Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida. His work was not heavy. He only needed to carry the sand from one place to another so that the other workers could build the wall. But this kind of work was a humiliation to him. He had been an officer in the Dutch navy. Now, he had become the assistant of his subordinates. Everyday he felt deeply depressed about his miserable situation.

Day after day, he thought of committing suicide. The situation was really too much for him. More than once he tried to hang himself or to put the blade to his wrist. Every time he stopped himself before the very moment. The only reason he didn’t do away with himself was because he did not want to put the reputation of the Dutch Army to shame. Though it was humiliating to work for the enemy, it was the only way Andries had to show the toughness of a Dutch soldier.

While Andries was suffering these inward struggles on the Rua do Campo, there was a Chinese girl living and working there, oblivious to his existence. A Mei was sixteen, the youngest daughter of a poor peasant family. She was very beautiful even though everyday she was exposed to the sun by her outdoor labour. She was an optimistic girl and she never complained about the hard work she had to do.

The Chinese New Year was coming. On the day called Cui Jik, Mei had to bring some food to her relatives for the festival. Though her family was poor, they were generous to others. She stayed with her relatives until the evening. When she was walking home, she met three Dutch soldiers. They had just finished their work and were going back to the camp. Seeing that A Mei was so pretty, they approached her. A Mei was so frightened that she could not respond at all. Her passivity only darkened their hearts. Just as the soldiers tried to grab her, Andries happened to be passing. He shouted at these ruffians who were originally his subordinates. They ignored him. They were crazed by A Mei’s beauty. One of the soldiers had already got hold of A Mei’s arm. She struggled like a hunted sheep.

Andries was angry that this woman was being mistreated, but he was more angry that he was not respected by the men. As a prisoner, having no sword to draw, all he could do was to approach the men threateningly. He was one and they were three, but he was taller and stronger than any of them, and he had the bearing and the courage of an officer. Realizing that they would all be punished if they made trouble, they let A Mei go and they ran away. Andries stayed with the girl instead of pursuing them. He would deal with these rascals when he returned to the camp.

Having been transfixed with fear, A Mei remained frozen for a few seconds. It was Andries’ kind eyes bent towards hers which made her realise that she was out of danger. Now that she had woken from her fear, A Mei was very grateful to have been saved. She looked at this foreigner: tall, muscular with golden hair and blue eyes. To her, every foreigner had been the same. But now, she saw that Andries was unique. It was as if she were seeing the gweilos for the first time.

Andries became the only foreigner she could think of, a handsome and kind man, the man who had saved her from evil. Andries was glad that his dignity was maintained though he had not intended to save the girl. To him, A Mei was no different from any other Chinese girl. Andries had smiled at A Mei, because of his success in maintaining his dignity. And he had gone with his pride in tact.

A Mei stood there for a while until she once again realised the danger she might encounter. Then she ran home quickly. Though her mind was full of Andries’ image, she told her family nothing about what had happened to her.

The next day, A Mei wanted to show her gratitude to her saviour. She wanted to give him something. However there was nothing of value in her house to offer him. She thought for a long time and finally decided to prepare something delicious for him to eat. All she could afford was one dumpling or zhong made from rice and beans. She thought that he would have to like it because her cooking was always praised by her family and neighbours. She thought he would be glad to have this token of her gratitude. Having poured all her love and admiration into the dumpling, she packed it with great care and left home.

When evening came, A Mei held her dumpling and waited for Andries. When Andries appeared, he did not recognise A Mei at all. Being braver now than before, A Mei walked up to Andries and offered him the delicacy. Andries was surprised and only after a few seconds he recognised that this was the girl he had helped the day before. He was not sure why he was being given this… what was it? He was trying to figure out what was happening, but A Mei felt so shy that she could stand there no longer. A few seconds had seemed like hours to her. She ran home with an excited heart. She was delighted that Andries, whom A Mei now considered to be hers, had accepted her first present. She knew that he loved her.

For his part, Andries was puzzled. He tried to figure out what was in the little parcel he’d received. This triangular thing covered with leaves had to be food. Out of curiosity, he opened it. He looked at it and was not sure if his guess was right. It seemed like glue, hot and sticky. He could not imagine putting such a thing in his mouth. So he threw it away and continued back to the camp.

Over the following two weeks, every evening, A Mei brought a dumpling to Andries. However, Andries did not appreciate these gifts of love at all. Every time he saw the girl, he wanted to find another way home to his barracks. But there was only one way to walk. He tried to signal to A Mei that he did not want this inedible thing she was giving him. He waved his hand when A Mei handed the dumpling to him. Not knowing each other’s languages, it was the only way these two could communicate. A Mei’s heartbeat increased dramatically whenever Andries waved at her like this. She interpreted it as a warm farewell signal. The harder Andries waved his hand, the more passion A Mei felt Andries was expressing to her. Andries did not understand why this Chinese girl always brought him this one strange thing, but compared to the humiliation he perceived in his general condition, these episodes were nothing to him. Andries’ mind was focused on getting back to Holland. That was how he survived in Macao.

After three months, A Mei had fallen deeply in love with this Dutch soldier. The happiest part of her day every day was when she delivered her zhong to him. Knowing that there was no way to make his refusal clearer, Andries accepted the food every day. And every day he threw it away when A Mei turned and ran home out of shyness. Life seemed to be very sweet to A Mei. One evening, completely out of expectation, she did not see Andries. She held her dumpling and waited. No one appeared. A Mei was so worried about him. She was reluctant to leave until it got dark. The next day, she came again and found no trace of Andries. Now she was sad. For the next three weeks, she insisted on waiting for him every day although he never came.

Andries was working at a new location. He was building the part of the city wall near the Guia Hill. In his soul he felt numb from his ongoing humiliation. He continued his work, thinking of Holland and without remembering A Mei.

Andries did not know until one of his fellow workers told him that A Mei had kept waiting for him at the old work site. Though he did not care about A Mei’s strong passion for him, he thought it was unfair to make her wait. He did not want to waste her time. He knew from his own experience how painful it was to waste time in this terrible place. So, he wrote a few lines to A Mei. A Mei was surprised and happy at Andries’ reappearance. She had no idea why he gave the letter to her but she considered he was a wise man. She accepted whatever he gave her.

After a time, A Mei came to consider this as her very first love letter. She did not know what was written on the paper but she was sure that Andries had her in his heart. In the following days, she kept on carrying the food for Andries, though he never appeared again. A Mei was not upset, she assumed that Andries was on an important mission and so he could not meet her. She kept waiting for him and believed that once he finished his mission, he would come to her again.

This wait continued until, three months later, A Mei was betrothed to marry a peasant boy. She had no way to refuse even though she loved Andries. The only personal item she brought to her new family was Andries’ letter. She kept it as if it was a family treasure. She lived with her husband like any Chinese woman at that time. She was a very good wife and good mother. She managed the family well. She was happy and satisfied with her family, but she did not forget Andries, even in her old age. She treasured the letter. To her it was as precious as the jewelry her husband had given her.

The encounter with Andries was A Mei’s own romantic love story. It was as well her lifelong secret. The mysterious letter reminded her of every sweet moment that had passed between them and, until her last days, she smiled every time she looked at the old tattered paper and the lines, which read:

Thanks very much for your food-like stuff. But please NEVER send it to me again because I can’t eat this hot glue.

Love Never Goes

Camilla Lam

Eventually, I came back.

I was standing in front of a hotel, the Pousada de Sao Tiago. I had the address in my right hand – Avenida da Republica, Fortaleza de San Tiago da Barra, Macao.

Perhaps, nothing could speak more for the past of this location than this Portuguese address. Fortaleza de Sao Tiago… Fortaleza de Sao Tiago… Who else in this small city would care about the story behind this four-storey building?

To me, it was never a hotel. Never at all.

The breeze gently freed the little paper from my hand, blowing it high into the air. I heard the wind whispering in the trees, like that day, when I first saw her…

***

Lost in my memories, still I couldn’t remember where things began. I could not tell exactly when I first met her. I just remembered it was an afternoon in late summer, when the golden sheen of her hair glittered in the sunlight…

I was riding my bicycle to deliver a cheongsam  to a Mrs Wong. I was making the delivery for my parents from their clothes shop. It wasn’t long before I heard the wind whispering in the trees along the side of Avenida da Republica, ‘Sai Wan’ in Cantonese. A leaf was blown up in the air, dancing. My eyes followed the leaf up, up, and up. I blinked my eyes and opened them wide. The leaf was a leaf no more. It had transformed itself. There, up on the Fort of Sao Tiago, a foreign girl was sitting in the balcony. She was like an angel… no, more than that…indescribable! Her long golden hair, her snow-white oval face, her green blue eyes, her straight and slightly steep nose-bridge, her thin pink lips… it was the kind of beauty that defied description… a splendid piece of art!

No one who saw her would hesitate to take a picture of her, I mean if there was a camera in their hands. But back in those days, owning a camera was a luxury. At least ordinary people like me would not have one. However, I had my own ways to capture an image.

I got off my bicycle, sat down and leaned my back against a tree. Carefully I took out a piece of paper from my bag. With my sharpened pencil, I sketched as well as I could my weak imitation of her unique beauty. There were only the two of us in the whole world. She and I only. The wind continued to whisper. She hadn’t noticed me.

***

I did not know how it started. Maybe it was her hair. Maybe it was her eyes. No, it was the moment when I saw her… when her brightness dazzled me, dazzled the whole of my heart. That was the magic.

There I was, again sitting under the tree with my always-sharpened pencil in my hand, and my paper upon my thighs. This was her fiftieth portrait. Somehow I felt my pencil was becoming heavier and heavier. I didn’t know why. Maybe it was because of yesterday. That was exactly what I had expected. I had tried to get close to her. I wanted to give her her portrait. But I should have known that it would be impossible for me to get to her. Indeed, I should not have tried.

And after all, I was a Chinese, a Chinese under a Portuguese government. And she was a Portuguese, a Portuguese living in a Portuguese fort, with Portuguese guards and big dogs of unknown nationality. But I just wanted to show her my drawings. I just wished that she would like them, keep them. I… I just wished that I could, one day, draw a picture for her, I mean, in front of her. That was my dream.

But I was not even allowed to get near that fort. Although I did not understand a single word from that burly door guard, from the twisting of his facial muscles and the tone of his yelling, I definitely knew that I mustn’t step an another centimetre farther.

My pencil was now heavier than ever. I stopped. This drawing was taking me longer than any other before. I needed to hurry up, or father would have me starving till midnight this time. I knew it was ridiculous to take more than an hour to take just one cheongsam to one customer. Recently he had pushed me even harder to take up tailoring, although I never liked the idea. Were painters, as he said when he beat me last time, no better than beggars? He wasn’t offering me an alternative.

***

Why were you always looking so serene, my lady? Were you never troubled by anything? There were only the two of us in my world, yet you belonged to a completely different world. Was it right for me to devote myself to you so whole-heartedly? No, shouted my brain; yes, cried my heart. And you did not even know me yet.

Until one afternoon.

I never thought I could be so brave, or so bold. I did not know what might happen if my parents discovered what I had done. Still I had done it. I had taken just the right amount of money from their drawer and rushed out.

There was Mr Chan, already waiting for me under the tree. I hurried to him.

‘Here it is.’ I handed him the notes.

When I discovered that she had a ‘bicycle rickshaw tour’ on the last day of every month, I had approached Mr Chan, the ‘driver’.

‘So you’re serious, boy?’ He took the money and counted.

‘Are you sure this will be OK?’ I was nervous, and I could feel my palm was sweating.

‘Not to worry. Alright, that’s it. Come with me.’ And I followed.

I got in the trishaw. I felt my whole body tingle. Slowly I rode to the gate of the fort, the Fort of Sao Tiago.

I did not worry at all that the door guard might recognise me, the fact was that every Chinese looked identical to the Portuguese: black hair, dark eyes. What did worry me was what would happen next, when she would come down and sit in the back of the trishaw… so near to me. I had never dreamt of it.

But before I could complete this train of thought, here she came and sat down, as gently as the breeze. My heart was almost jumping out from my chest. I rode and rode. I could not see the road ahead, because her face was so clearly in my mind. I could not hear anything but only her humming. I could not smell anything but only her exotic perfume. I was so anxious. Almost there, almost there! After this very turn we would be out of the sight of those guards. And then I could stop and show her my drawings. Come on, trishaw!

I was following the bend of the road, I was almost around it, when suddenly the whole world tilted to the right. We almost went over. And then, she screamed. I did not know what was going on.

Alas! It was a pothole in the road! I just hadn’t seen it! Not at all! I stopped, much earlier than I planned. I did not know what to say, nor did I dare to get near her. She had already got out. I wished I knew a bit of Portuguese, at least, words like ‘I’m sorry.’ I stood there, like a prisoner waiting for the death sentence.

To my surprise, she did not look angry. I hoped that was not merely my misreading of her mind… but she smiled at me! How nice and kind she was! Then she said something, something that did not mean anything to me. At last she pointed to the fort, with a smile. I pointed to the fort too. She nodded and smiled. Then I returned to the trishaw and we turned back in that direction. Again I rode, with her behind me, back to the fort. My dream was shattered, my drawings weeping in my bag. Who was responsible for allowing such a pothole to lie so boldly on the road?

***

My drawings continued to weep, not in my bag anymore, for there were too many of them, but in my little drawer. As my skill of tailoring was improving, I needed to work much more than I used to. Actually tailoring was a kind of art too. I remembered how happy I was when I first made a cheongsam. Of course, never happier than the time when I first had her portrait sketched. And I never forgot my dream – to draw a picture for her in front of her. That desire kept with me even though it might remain a dream forever.

I must have really been infatuated. I was silly enough to start designing a cheongsam for her. I wished one day she would model for me in it. Silly me! I was not even able to show her my drawings.

But life is unpredictable.

I knew I had a better chance than ever, when I saw the Drawing Competition in the newspaper. It stated very clearly that the work of the winner would be published in every newspaper in Macao. Every newspaper in Macao! I rushed home and chose the best from the best out of her portraits.

Then somehow I felt none of them was good enough. They had all seemed so fine before, no doubt because in them I was admiring their subject. But now none of them seemed good enough. So I needed a new portrait immediately. I would concentrate harder. This time I would succeed where before I had only been practising. 

I rode to the fort at once. I was humming to myself along the way. I had to win! I had to win! Then she would know everything. At least, she would know I existed. I rode and rode. My always-sharpened pencils and snow-white paper were dancing inside my bag.

To my surprise, there were no guards in front of the gate, nor was there any barking from the big dogs. My heart sank and I looked up…

There was nobody on the balcony.

Later when I learnt that her family had moved back to Portugal, my dreams, like the fallen yellow leaves, melted into the sodden ground.

***

‘Now, let’s welcome Mr Chan Zi Jing, one of the world’s most famous Asian painters.’ The MC moved to the side of the stage.

‘I’m so glad that I could hold this exhibition right after the Handover of Macao. During my absence, Macao has really changed a lot. For example, before I left, the Fort of Sao Tiago was still a fort, now it’s become a hotel. Time flies.’ I paused a while and continued, ‘The works I share with you here today were mainly completed during the past twenty years. To tell you the truth, I didn’t study art until I reached my fifties. But art had always been my dream. I am sure everyone here had or has different dreams, and life is beautiful because of our dreams. I hope that you will enjoy your time here. Again, thank you very much for coming.’

I came down off the stage, bathed in warm applause.

‘Mr Chan?’ It was a lady’s voice. In English. I turned back and replied almost naturally, ‘Yes?’

But within the next few seconds, time was frozen.

It was her! It was her… wasn’t it? Such a familiar face. My world was quaking.

‘Nice to meet you, Mr Chan. My name is Margarita.’ she said and smiled. ‘I really like your works. They’re great!’

‘Thank you very much. Nice to meet you too, Ms Margarita.’ I felt both my palms sweating, and we shook hands.

‘You’re so beautiful, Ms Margarita.’ All through these years I kept rehearsing the best words to say when one day I would eventually meet her… now, my tongue was tied.

‘That’s very nice of you, Mr Chan.’ she smiled again.

‘Um… I’m just wondering whether I will have the pleasure to draw a portrait for you?’

‘Oh… that would be my pleasure…’ She covered her lips with hands as if she was really surprised, ‘… Are you serious, Mr Chan?’

‘Of course…’ My heart was beating almost faster than my age could afford.

I was no longer the boy of decades ago… but she… though wrinkles did show on her face… her eyes, her nose, her lips... were still so charismatic. It was her, my angel of the Fort of Sao Tiago.

***

Dear Ms Margarita,

Attached is the portrait I painted for you last week. I was so glad that you wore the cheongsam I prepared for you. You look great in that cheongsam! And I hope you will like this painting.

Please find also other portraits of you in this portfolio. You may be surprised that there are so many of them.

I wonder if you remember long ago, when you were still living in Macao, in the Fort of Sao Tiago, there was once a young boy riding a trishaw for you? I was that boy. I’ve been keeping my drawings for so many years, never published them, just because I wished that one day, a moment like this would come when you would receive this letter. I had always hoped that you would have a look at them, and keep them. That was my dream.

Maybe it sounds a bit silly to tell… but drawing a portrait for you in front of you has been my dream all through these years. Thank God that the Handover of Macao has brought you and me back here. Now, my dream is realised. I don’t know the words to express my gratitude… but this is the greatest moment in my life.

By the time you receive this letter, I’ll be flying to Greece, a place I’ve been longing to visit. It’s time for me to pursue another dream.

Again, so nice to have met you, Ms Margarita.

Chan Zi Jing.

I folded the letter and put it into the green blue envelope I had chosen to match the colour of her eyes.

It was already late afternoon when I stepped out of the hotel Pousada de Sao Tiago. To me, it will always be the Fort of Sao Tiago. I heard the wind whispering in the trees, just like that day, when I first saw her.

Perhaps, from that very moment, time had stood still. And love had never gone. Perhaps.

Anniversary

Eliza Leong, Janie Chau, Kelly Lei, Rosetta Si and Sarah Wu

It was a lovely winter morning. The sun shone softly through the window. The sunlight made the house seem even brighter and cleaner than it already was. David sat down on the sofa after having breakfast and began reading the newspaper.

‘Is there anything special in today’s newspaper, daddy?’ His wife, Marina was clearing away the breakfast things from the table.

‘Yes,’ said David, ‘You know the Grand Prix is starting on the fourteenth, don’t you?’

It was the fiftieth Macao Grand Prix, and it would run for three days from the fourteenth to the seventeenth of November. Now Joanne spoke.

‘I hate the Grand Prix, dad. It causes serious traffic jams every year. I have to go to school earlier for those days, otherwise I will be late.’

‘And it’s noisy.’ David added.

‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a house in another place and go travelling during those days!’ David’s wife, Marina, liked travelling.

‘Do you want more milk, my sweet?’ Marina wanted to be a good mother. She was always filling up Joanne’s glass.

‘No, thanks mum. It’s nearly eight o’clock. I’m in a rush.’

‘Ask your father to drive you to school.’

‘No, I think riding my bike is faster than driving. There’ll be traffic jams for sure today.’ Joanne rushed to school with her mouth full of unchewed bread.

‘You have to be more careful. Don’t ride too fast!’ Joanne could hear her mother’s voice from the corridor.

After Joanne had gone to school, her father left for work in Guangzhou and Marina went to the market and did the household chores as usual.

***

After school, Joanne went home and saw her mother with a puzzled face holding a letter in her hands.

‘Mum, what is it?’

‘Nothing. It’s just the bill for your dad’s mobile. I can’t believe how much it’s costing. There are so many long distance calls to and from China.’

‘Let me see,’ Joanne took the bill from her mother. She looked over it carefully and said, ‘Well, mum, are those calls to daddy’s company in Guangzhou…? No… perhaps they are from daddy’s friend. I noticed that all the numbers are the same.’

Her mother looked at the number. ‘Mmm… maybe the calls are from your dad’s friend. I wanted to ask your dad about it. But I forgot. It’s all right.’ Still, her mother looked worried.

Joanne was suspicious, and then she was wondering out loud. ‘No, mum, since daddy’s been working in Guangzhou, there have been too many of these calls. He’s not working in a public relations department. He’s just a supervisor. Also, you see, he called that person almost every day, and sometimes twice. He didn’t even phone us as often as he did his friend. Don’t you think it’s strange? Let’s say daddy does have a friend in China. There’s no reason why he should call so many times. Unless…’

Her mother understood what she was thinking, so she laughed and said, ‘Come on, dear, you should trust your father. He works very hard in Guangzhou and has no time to fool around. I don’t believe he’s doing anything wrong. And…’

But Joanne thought she understood the situation better than her mother. And so she interrupted, ‘Oh, no, mum, you shouldn’t be such an innocent. You shouldn’t let him out of your sight. There’s so much temptation across the border. Also, daddy is a handsome guy. I’m afraid another woman would tempt him.’

‘No, no, no, it’s ridiculous. Your father and I have been married for nearly twenty years, and this coming weekend is our anniversary. Our marriage is very stable and harmonious. Also, I deeply understand your father. He is not a person who likes flirting around. He’s an honest man and does not know how to tell lies! Sweet, don’t be silly and don’t think too much. Now, please go and change your uniform and come into the kitchen. I need you to help prepare the dinner. I’m going to make chicken curry, which is your daddy’s favourite dish.’

The mother was busy frying the chicken and the daughter was chopping the onions, when the phone rang. Marina hurried to answer it. Joanne heard her mother. ‘Yes, how are you, darling…? Oh, really… It’s pity that you’re going to miss your favourite dish, it’s almost ready now… yes… no problem. It’s fine… OK, take care, honey. Bye-bye.’

Joanne saw her mother was a little disappointed after talking on the phone. Still, she pretended not to know whose call it was. Her mother told her that daddy would not come home tonight and that he had to spend the next weekend in Guangzhou.

‘Oh, my goodness, it’s your twentieth anniversary next weekend, isn’t it? He shouldn’t do that! No matter how busy he is. Family is the priority. Also, I don’t see how he can be that busy!’

‘Come on, dear. He has no reason to tell lies. You don’t know how many orders the company took in these last few months. Why don’t you have confidence in your father? You should trust him.’

Joanne kept her mouth shut after that. She continued to chop the onions. A few moments later, tears fell on her hands.

It was quiet during dinner. Neither knew what to say. Joanne did not touch the curry dish. She picked a little at her dinner and then hurried to her bedroom. Her mother looked at her. She sighed and shook her head affectionately.

Joanne was unhappy, she shut herself in her bedroom. Her mother’s faith in her father did not convince Joanne that everything was all right. With a deep sigh, she threw herself on the bed. She felt her mother was too naïve. This case was not so simple and it was necessary to discover the truth. She needed to do something for her mother, to help her see what was going on. After she had thought such thoughts for quite a long time, she came up with a plan. Joanne grinned to herself and closed her eyes. In another minute she fell asleep.

Next morning, Joanne woke up early. The first thing she did was to look for her mother. When Joanne went out to the living room, she saw her mother was preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

‘Good morning, mum,’ she said.

‘Good morning, sweet. You seldom wake up so early in the morning. Didn’t you sleep well last night?’

‘Oh, no. I got to sleep early last night. So I had a good rest.’ She continued, ‘Mum, I understand now. You’re right. We should trust papa and have confidence in him. He works so hard and is busy with his stuff. He has enough pressure. We shouldn’t put any more weight on his shoulders’.

‘Lovely, glad you can see that. You’re a clever girl’.

‘Thanks, mum. But even though papa is very busy right now and is not able to be back in Macao, I still think you two should celebrate your anniversary. So, why don’t we look for him and give him a surprise? He’ll be very pleased to see us.’

‘Hey, you don’t still think …’

‘No, no, no, I just want to surprise him and we three can spend a great weekend there. Mum, it’ll be fun. Let’s go!’

But her mother wasn’t absolutely sure that Joanne’s intentions were innocent. Still she agreed to the trip. ‘OK, then, prepare what you need. We’ll be off after breakfast.’

‘Hurry up! Mum. The last coach is leaving.’ Joanne and her mother had just come through customs and were heading down into the underground station on the Gongbei side. Marina and Joanne got on a coach for Guangzhou.

Two hours later, they arrived. They then got on number 139 bus to the centre of the city, where David’s company was. They got off at the bus station opposite David’s company. Just as they were going to cross the road, Joanne saw her father getting into a taxi. He was with a beautiful woman. They were smiling. She was getting into the taxi with him.

‘That’s dad, isn’t it, mum? Who is that woman?’ asked Joanne.

‘I’m not sure,’ said Marina.

‘Let’s follow them, mum.’ Joanne was already waving for a taxi. They took a taxi and followed her father’s. As soon as she got into the taxi Marina began to feel guilty that she was following her husband. And yet she did have some doubt now so she allowed her daughter to follow her suspicions.

Half an hour later, the taxi arrived at the entrance gate of a housing estate. David and the woman got out of the taxi and they entered a building together. Marina and Joanne were watching them from the taxi.

‘What’s happening?’ said Joanne. Her mother looked worried and was silent. Joanne immediately called her father on her mobile.

‘Dad? Yes, It’s Joanne.’ said Joanne.

‘Oh, Joanne. What’s the matter?’ her father asked.

‘What are you doing now, dad?’ asked Joanne.

‘What? Are you all right, Joanne?’

‘I’m fine. Just tell me what you’re doing now, dad.’

‘Hm… I’m working in my office.’

‘You’re working in your office? Now?’ She wasn’t surprised at the answer and looked at her mother with eyebrows raised.

‘Yes. What’s wrong with you?’

‘I’m fine. I just miss you.’

‘Oh, silly child. I’ll come back next week.’

‘All right. See you next week.’

Joanne snapped her mobile shut and turned to her mother. ‘He says he’s working in the office now.’

Joanne was quite sad. Her mother was shocked. The moon had already come up. She was searching for a reason why her dad and that woman would come into this building. There were only flats and villas in that estate, no offices! He must be having a relationship with her. He must be lying. Joanne did not know what to say because she could see that her mother was deeply sad.

‘What should we do now mum?’ asked Joanne.

‘I don’t know.’ Marina said in a downhearted voice.

‘Do you want to go home now?’

‘I don’t know.’ Marina shook her head sadly.

‘How about we go for a walk?’

Marina was silent, she sighed.

‘It’s already nine o’clock. There’s no coach to Zhuhai now. How about we go to visit grandma?’ Joanne suggested, but her mother was silent again.

They found a bus stop nearby and waited for about ten minutes for the number 229 bus to grandma’s home.

‘Marina and Joanne? Come in.’ Grandma was surprised to see her daughter and her granddaughter on her doorstep. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?’ asked grandma.

‘Well, we miss you so we just decided to visit you. Is it a pleasant surprise?’ Joanne was trying to conceal their sadness.

‘Oh, I’m glad to see you. But why have you come so late? Have you had your dinner?’ grandma asked.

‘Not yet. We’ve just gone shopping.’

‘What’s that?’ Grandma was a little deaf.

‘I said we’ve just been shopping,’ Joanne repeated very clearly, trying not to shout.

‘That’s why we’re so late. Isn’t that right, mum?’ said Joanne.

‘Yes.’ replied Marina.

‘You look so tired. How about you have a bath first and then have dinner?’ said grandma.

‘That’s fine. We’re very tired. Aren’t you, mum?’ said Joanne.

‘Yes,’ replied her mother absently.

‘What’s wrong with you, Marina?’ Grandma thought that Marina was behaving strangely.

‘I’m fine. I think I’m just too tired.’

‘Yes, we’re very tired, and hungry, and...’ Joanne stopped in a low voice.

‘OK, have a bath and take a rest. I’m going to prepare the dinner,’ said grandma. ‘Oh, yes. How about we go to visit Uncle Wang tomorrow? You haven’t seen him for such a long time.’

‘OK, we don’t have any special plans,’ said Joanne, now assuming that the anniversary celebration would not be happening.

They didn’t want to make grandma worried. They stayed at grandma’s home for just one night. The house was small and mother and daughter slept in the one bed together. Joanne couldn’t sleep. She knew that her mother couldn’t sleep either. Joanne could feel her mother’s body trembling. Marina tossed and turned all night.

***

Next morning, they got up early. Actually neither of them had slept at all. Grandma took them to visit Uncle Wang. She seemed to know that they were unhappy about something. They looked pale and worried.

They knew that Uncle Wang had moved but they were absolutely astounded to find themselves just where they had gone in the taxi yesterday, when they had followed David. It was too much for Marina. She began weeping.

‘Marina, don’t be unhappy. See how nice this place is with flowers and trees all around. Dear daughter, please enjoy yourself. I don’t want to see you unhappy.’ Grandma was doing her best to cheer them up.

‘Yes, mum. Everything will be all right. Dad is no good,’ Joanne confided in a low voice. ‘I won’t talk to him anymore. Don’t worry, mum. I will always be with you.’

Her mother half whispered, half murmured back, ‘I think we need to listen to dad’s explanation first before jumping to conclusions. Maybe we’re wrong.’ Marina was trying to persuade herself more than Joanne.

‘You know what we saw yesterday, mum. We did see it. I will not believe dad anymore.’ Joanne was angry with her father. And both of them had forgotten all about Uncle Wang. At last Grandma interrupted them because they were walking a little slowly. She had led them to the building where David and the woman had gone last night. Marina and Joanne both felt strange. How was this coincidence possible? But they still followed grandma into the building. When they opened the door, they heard a loud cracking sound like fireworks. The lights came on. David and their relatives – including Uncle Wang – were there.

‘Congratulations!’ everyone shouted.

‘Marina, Happy twentieth anniversary,’ said David. ‘This flat is especially for you, so that you can live near your hometown. I hope you like it.’

‘I really don’t know what I should say.’ Marina was very surprised. ‘You all knew about this. Well, it is a great surprise. I am sorry. I knew I should believe in you.’

David looked confused at his wife’s last words. But Joanne couldn’t keep her thoughts to herself. ‘Dad, don’t lie. We saw you yesterday going inside this building with a woman. Who is she? Isn’t she your mistress? Mum treats you so well. Why do you betray her?’ Joanne was desperate to know the truth.

‘That woman is the agent who helped me to buy this house for your mum. Once I heard your mum saying that she misses her hometown very much, so I planned to buy this place for her as an anniversary present.’ But David was confused and a little distressed. He gave his wife a puzzled look.

‘Oh! Darling, thank you very much. I like it so much.’ Marina was sobbing. She embraced her husband and held him tightly.

‘Dad, I am so happy with you. I am proud of you, dad. I know you treat mum well. I am sorry I...’ But words failed her, so Joanne hugged her father.

‘That’s OK. The most important thing is you can understand at last.’ And he held his daughter close to him.

‘Sorry, dad. I scolded you. I gossiped about you. I misunderstood you.’

David patted Joanne’s head and hugged his wife and daughter together. ‘Never mind. The only thing that matters is your happiness. I hope you will appreciate what I have done.’

‘Thank you very much, dad,’ said Joanne.

‘Thank you very much, my love,’ said Marina.

It’s Too Late

Bella Lou

‘Di… Di… Di…’ It was morning news time. ‘…Hong Kong’s unemployment rate continues to rise…’ Ah Weng lifted his head  to glance at the news. He thought to himself how lucky he was to live in Macao. Ah Weng was a factory clerk. His plump belly revealed a lazy man in his late thirties. He was single and he lived with his seventy-year-old mother in an old flat in a building with no lift near the Red Market. He led a rather simple life and although his salary could barely make ends meet, they were happy.

After finishing his breakfast in a coffee shop near Sam Chan Dang (Three Lamps), Ah Weng went to work. His factory was in Hac Sa Wan, a five minute bus ride away. Despite being in a poor district, Ah Weng’s workplace was always filled with happy chatter and it was rare for anyone to be angry. Ah Weng enjoyed working there, in fact he often regretted having to go home in the afternoon. Today, something was different, the atmosphere in the factory was so tense that Ah Weng felt uncomfortable. It wasn’t long before Ah Weng’s curiosity got the better of him. He approached one of his colleagues and asked, ‘Err… what happened? You guys seem so strange today.’

‘Haven’t you been told? We’re all fired. The factory’s closing.’

Ah Weng’s boss had decided to move the factory to Mainland China in order to cut down production costs. Seated at his old familiar desk, Ah Weng sank back in his chair. He could not believe his ears. He’d been here… forever. This was his… place. Being laid off, Ah Weng received compensation. The sum of money would be very helpful to Ah Weng and his mother.

Ah Weng left the familiar work place after having put the money in his old briefcase. Although it was noontime, Ah Weng felt that his shadow was extraordinarily long under the sun. It was as if he were carrying a weight around with him. He chose to wander around the streets rather than go home. He was afraid to let his mother know that he was now unemployed. He could still remember how his mother scolded him when he failed in a Mathematics test in primary school. He knew that she expected great things of him since he was her only son.

Ah Weng was very annoyed indeed, but his stomach reminded him of lunchtime. He went into McDonald’s and had a hamburger. Normally he’d have gone somewhere better, but Ah Weng realized that he had to reduce his expenses for the time being. More importantly, he needed a job as soon as possible. Ah Weng rarely read the newspaper but now he grabbed the McDonald’s customer copy and began reading it. He read and read through the positions vacant… read and read… until his mobile phone rang. ‘Hey, Weng Chai, come home for dinner.’ It was Ah Weng’s mother. ‘Okay, I’m on the bus already.’ Ah Weng hung up and sighed.

Ever obedient, Ah Weng was about to leave, but first he had to pack his briefcase, the contents of which he had spread around on the empty table at which he was sitting. He’d put everything back in the briefcase when he realised that…

The envelope which contained the compensation money was not in his briefcase. He was trying not to look alarmed in a fast food restaurant, so he quietly searched through the briefcase. He searched thoroughly and even turned it inside out. There was no sign of the envelope. Then, he walked forward to ask one of the staff members there, ‘Excuse me, miss. Did you happen to see a brown envelope somewhere here?’ The staff member shook her head. Ah Weng recollected as carefully as he could but he could remember nothing. He blamed himself for being careless. Ah Weng did not consider reporting the matter to the police because then the fact that he’d lost his job would be disclosed to his mother and his other relatives. 

Although he’d lost the money, Ah Weng still had to go home. Before opening the door, he wanted to make sure that he looked perfectly normal so that his mother would not suspect anything.

‘Ma, I’m home. I’m very hungry. Is dinner ready? I’ve been working all day and now I’m exhausted.’ Ah Weng was surprised at how normal he’d managed to make his voice sound.

‘Why are you so late tonight? Got a lot of work to do today?’

‘Um… my boss said that the factory was making business, so I… I had more to do.’

‘That’s good. I was worried that you might not have enough work to do. Tell you one thing, do you still remember who Ah Wah is?’

‘Yeah… so?’

‘I met him on the way to the market. He was in a BMW. He stopped and waved at me. Hmm, I’m sure he’s making big money. He was in a beautiful suit and looked so smart, much smarter than before.’

‘Does that have anything to do with me, ma?’

‘Ah Weng, you were always a good boy, I just don’t understand why. You deserved more. You were better than him at school in many ways. I guess he must just be lucky.’

‘…Ma, I’m full. I’m going to my room now.’

Bang! Ah Weng slammed the door behind him and jumped onto his comfortable bed. He just lay there looking at the ceiling. What his mother had just said made him even more determined not to tell her the truth. He made up his mind that he would pretend to go to work every day and while pretending he would look for a job. It had been a hard day. Once everything was settled in his mind, Ah Weng fell into deep sleep.

The next morning, just as on any other day for the last ten years and more, Ah Weng put on his decent suit, polished his black shoes, picked up his briefcase and left home. He used to have his breakfast in a coffee shop. Today, he only had a bun and a bottle of water for breakfast on his way to the Labour Department. He thought the Labour Department might help him. He entered the building and waited for the elevator. Two young men were there too. Ah Weng couldn’t help hearing their conversation.

‘Hi, Tommy. You’re here again!’

‘Yeah, I still can’t find any job. You’re here too, huh?’

‘You’re right. I have been looking for a job since I finished university in England. I’ve already sent thousands of application letters out.’

‘So have I. Although I studied architecture, I don’t really mind applying for other posts, like clerk, cleaner.’

After the two young men walked out of the elevator, Ah Weng was more worried than before. The two young men’s conversation had filled him with doubts. They were graduates and couldn’t get jobs, Ah Weng had only finished high school. What chance did he have? He had been in a job for decades and had no idea of the employment situation out there. In spite of what he had heard, Ah Weng had confidence in himself that his working experience was valuable. He walked towards one of the counters and asked for an application form. Filling in the form was an easy task for Ah Weng because there was not much he had to write. Once the application was complete, Ah Weng would receive phone calls and be informed when there was a job suitable for him. When asked to fill in the contact number, Ah Weng didn’t want to take the risk of letting his mother know about his situation. So for the sake of safety, he only put his mobile phone number down for contact. After all, no one else was going to answer his own phone.

After registering with the Labour Department, Ah Weng spent his days reading newspapers in Bak Gok Ting (the Eight Sided Library opposite Cineteatro) and sending application letters. Every night when he returned home, he tried very hard not to let his mother sense what was happening to him. Day after day, he continued to act as if he still had a job. Everything was under control for a couple of weeks until one night when Ah Weng got home, his mother was sitting on the sofa. There was a cold expression on her face.

‘Hi, ma. I’m home. Another tiring day,’ Ah Weng said in a low tone. He was used to pretending by now.

‘Oh, really? My dear son, did you take your mobile phone today?’ his mother asked.

Ah Weng searched through his pocket and briefcase and then said, ‘Oops, I forgot it. I left it at home, did I?’

‘Exactly, you did. Someone called you and I answered the call for you.’

‘Who called?’ Ah Weng asked anxiously.

‘It was the Labour Department, son.’ Ah Weng’s mother voice was flat.

‘Oh, really?’ he tried to stay calm. ‘Why did they call me then?’

‘Ah Weng, since when did you become so dishonest?’ His mother was shouting now. ‘I’m your mother. I’m not just anybody you can tell lies to.’

Ah Weng didn’t know what to say for a while. But then he went on, ‘Ma… I didn’t really mean to lie to you…’ Ah Weng burst into tears and slowly he told his mother the whole story. That night, the two of them sat in the sitting room and talked to each other with open hearts.

The next day, Ah Weng’s mother went out early in the morning. She did not tell her son but she was going to consult a Feng Shui master. She knew that her son would be mad at her if he knew of it. Ah Weng’s mother took the bus and got off in Sun Hao On, near the Kun Iam statue. She entered a new building and was surprised to find herself in such a grand lobby. Mrs Chu took the elevator to the twentieth floor where she came to a door on which hung a small sign: ‘Sang Sun Sin’ (Living God). As soon as she entered the apartment, she was welcomed by a woman of about thirty. A man in a black Chinese suit was waiting for her in another room.

‘Welcome, Mrs Chu. I’ve been waiting for you.’ The man was smiling. ‘Have a seat, please.’ The Feng Shui Master started to look at the picture of Ah Weng which his mother had brought. He looked at it carefully from top to bottom. A few seconds later, he said, ‘Mrs Chu, it’s smart of you to have come to see me. He’s not in a good state, I can tell.’ Ah Weng’s mother was very excited to know she’d done the right thing. ‘I’ve studied your son’s birth date and time from the information that you gave me. Yes, it’s true that he’s now in a cycle of bad luck.’ The Feng Shui master had a ponderous look.

Ah Weng’s mother grew more agitated and asked, ‘And then?’

‘Your son has been unemployed for some time. He’s been looking for jobs but failed. Am I right?’

She nodded.

‘The main problem is that you were born in the year of Tiger while your son was born in the year of the Mouse. You two just can’t get on together well this year.’ Then he wanted to explain in detail but Mrs Chu interrupted.

‘What should I do?’

‘Well, I suggest you leave your son for the time being, find somewhere else to live until the end of the cycle. Then your destiny won’t affect your son’s and he will be able to get a job very soon.’

Before Ah Weng’s mother left, she gave the master a fat lai see – all she could afford – as the consultation fee.

After the consultation, Ah Weng’s mother left home secretly, leaving a note on the table: ‘My son, don’t try to look for me. I’m leaving for your good. I’ll be back when the right time comes.’

Ah Weng saw the note when he returned home. He could not find his mother anywhere. He had ants in his pants. He could not report his mother missing to the police until forty-eight hours had passed. When he did, the police promised that they would try their best to help him find his mother even though her motive was unknown. Ah Weng assumed that it was the fact that he was unemployed that had made his mother so angry she felt she had to leave home.

With his mother gone, alone in the empty flat, Ah Weng was depressed. He had never been away from his mother for more than a week since he was born. Now, every day he not only had to continue his job-hunting, but also had to worry about his missing mother. These two missions were too much for him. He knew that his mother would be pleased if he could get a job, so he tried to concentrate on looking for one. Maybe if he found a job then somehow she’d know and come back and everything would be back to normal again. That was Ah Weng’s hope, but every morning when he got up, he missed her so much that he devoted his time to looking for her rather than for a job. Most of the day Ah Weng spent wandering around the streets, going to the market or other places he knew she always frequented. The house was never cleaned and it was messy all around. He had no chance of getting a job now because of his appearance. He didn’t have anybody to take care of him. His shirts and suits were not even properly ironed now that his mother was missing.

Months passed and there was no news from Ah Weng’s missing mother. Although Ah Weng was desperate, he still went to the cemetery on his father’s birthday. On his way there, Ah Weng remembered that this was something he did together with his mother every year. Approaching his father’s grave, Ah Weng saw a familiar silhouette. It was his mother. He rushed towards her but when she saw him coming, she tried to get away. It was obvious she wanted to avoid her son. Ah Weng fell to his knees to beg her to stay, to speak to him. She tried to argue but in the end she agreed to go home with him.

It was four months since Ah Weng’s mother had come home with him. Her return made no difference to Ah Weng’s employment situation. He was still desperately sending application letters for which he never received any responses. He started to believe what the two young men had said at the Labour Department.

‘Di… Di… Di…’ It was morning news time. ‘…Hong Kong’s unemployment rate continues to rise…’ Ah Weng lifted his head and to glance at the news. He knew it was too late.

Faith and Trust

Amy Wong

One Sunday afternoon, in the Kiang Wu Hospital.

‘Doctor Lam, you mean the operation must be done within this month?’ Mr Lee asked, very serious. His wife was sitting beside him, she was weeping. Mr Lee held her hands. How many times had she been crying like this since their sons’ birth? He couldn’t remember.

Mr Lee was the owner of a construction materials company. His company was running quite well and he had got a good profit these last few years. Two years ago, he had married. He loved his wife very much. They lived happily together and Mrs Lee had got pregnant one year after the marriage. In many people’s eyes, Mr Lee was a lucky man. Indeed, this was what he had thought. But it seemed that the god of luck had said goodbye to Mr Lee when his wife had given birth to a pair of Siamese twins.

‘Um… Mr Lee, it is not a ‘must’ but the best is to have the operation within this month. Your sons’ condition is called Terata Thoracopagus, which means their chests are linked together, but luckily they have independent organs, apart from sharing a common liver. But it doesn’t matter because we can cut the liver into two and it can still function well…’

Mr Lee had heard this explanation and plan many times by now, but the doctors kept explaining the same thing to him and his wife, as if they were idiots.

‘Doctor Lam, is it possible… to do the operation when they are older, after they are one?’ Mr Lee interrupted.

‘Mr Lee, I don’t know why you want to do so, but honestly speaking it’s possible, only it will be more dangerous. The twins are growing very fast, so the cut will be much bigger if we carry out the operation when they’re one. It means they will have much blood loss and take longer to recover. We have discussed the situation with the experts in Shanghai and they also agreed that the operation should be carried out as soon as possible. There’s another thing. Doctor Robertson is having a medical seminar in Shanghai. He is the world authority on Siamese twins separation but he will go back to the US early next month. If he agrees to direct the operation, the chances of success will be much higher. So Mr Lee, I think you should consider these things seriously. Now is the time for action.’

‘Thank you, Doctor Lam, I will think about it.’

Mr Lee walked out with his wife. They took the lift up to the twelfth floor. His wife was still in hospital because she had been badly hurt during the babies’ delivery. Mr Lee helped her back to the sickbed and he sat down next to his wife.

‘Sing, nai nai¹  still doesn’t agree to have the operation this month?’ Mrs Lee asked weakly. She was still weeping, her eyes were red and swollen. Mr Lee did not know how to comfort her since he also felt sad and annoyed.

‘Yes… the feng shui lo²  told her the best time to do the operation is December. Mum said it would bring good fortune to our whole family.’ Mr Lee sighed.

‘It’s nonsense. Sing, you should tell her that it wouldn’t be good for our sons, her grandsons! The doctors all say not to wait!’ Mrs Lee was a bit angry, her face turned as red as her eyes.

‘I’ve talked to her. I’ve explained the situation to her, but she didn’t listen to me. She just trusted what the feng shui lo said, so what can I do? To scold her? You know I won’t do that…’

‘Yes, I know you won’t do that. You are always a perfect son in your mother’s eyes. May be let me do that, let me talk to her, okay?’

‘Calm down, Ting. You are still so weak, what you should do is to take a rest. I’ll talk to her. I’ll persuade her…’

‘Sing, you’ve been too obedient before. You listen to her all the time but this time you must not give in. If you won’t agree, I will bring the boys to Shanghai, alone.’ Mrs Lee stopped weeping. Her eyes showed a strong insistence.

‘Calm down, calm down. Ting, I’ll do it. If mum still won’t listen, I will just take them to Shanghai and have the operation, okay?’

‘You’ve promised me! I hope you can really do that or… you know what I will do.’

‘Yes… Ting. I’ll go home first. Believe me, I’ll talk to mum. Take care.’ Mr Lee sighed as he left the ward.

***

‘Mum, I’m back.’

‘Oh, Sing. You’re back. How’s ga so³ ? Is she better? Sing, come over here and sit down at the dining room table. I’ve cooked some ginseng and chicken soup for her. It’s good for her health. Remember to take it to her tomorrow.’ Mr Lee’s mother, Fong, smiled and continued. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve talked to our feng shui lo – you know Mr Hong – this morning and he gave me two amulets. This one is for ga so and this one is for the babies. Mr Hong said this is their predestined fate that we cannot avoid. But he told me that everything will be all right after the babies are separated…’

‘Mum… I… I’ve talked to the doctor this afternoon. He said that it is best to have the operation within this month, so… I think we should listen to him and send the babies to Shanghai…’

‘What? No, of course not. I’ve told you Sing, doing this will do no good to our family. It will just bring disasters to us. Don’t listen to the doctors! They only want to make more money. You should listen to Mr Hong. Remember he told you not to get married before thirty, or you would have bad luck in the following years? But you really got married when you were twenty nine, and that’s why ga so gave birth to a pair of Siamese twins.’

‘It’s just coincidence, mum. You shouldn’t believe everything he says. If he could really tell the future, he would have already become a millionaire.’ Mr Lee took out a cigarette and lit it.

‘You don’t understand. The feng shui lo cannot always tell their own future, so they help others to solve the problems. Sing, you were not like this before. You always listened to me. I know, now you are married. Now you have your own family, now you listen to ga so but not me. Your father died early, I looked after you and brought you up alone! But you have forgotten all of these things. I don’t want to live anymore, let me follow your dad. So you and ga so and can do what you like!’ Fong started crying as she was in deep sorrow.

‘Mum… mum… don’t be like that. Ting and I always respect you and we listen to you all the time, but this time… This time is not the problem of how to arrange the furniture or what colour will bring me good fortune this year. It’s about lives, mother!’ Mr Lee started to shout, but his mother just cried much louder.

‘Mum… stop crying mum. Okay, okay. I will consider. Please stop crying mum. I… I’ll go out for a walk mum.’ Mr Lee sighed deeply. He picked up his wallet and mobile phone, shut the door and went out.

***

Mr Lee drove fast into the night. He liked to speed when he was vexed. But this time, the speed could not release the tension that came with this puzzle. He stepped on the accelerator, the car went like a rocket and soon arrived at the Dynasty Plaza. Mr Lee got out of the car and went into a bar. He took a seat in the corner and ordered a whisky.

‘Hey Sing! It’s you. Long time no see. You’ve disappeared from here since you were married. I never thought you’d be the henpecked type, ha.’

Mr Lee looked up. It was Kong, one of his bar friends.

‘Kong, it’s you. Really long time no see.’ Mr Lee smiled bitterly.

‘What’s up, Sing? You look sad.’ Kong sat down.

Mr Lee sighed. He ordered another whisky and told Kong the whole story.

‘Oh, that’s really bad. Sing.’

‘Yes. What can I do? Listen to the doctor or my mother?’ Mr Lee drank up. He raised his hand and wanted to order a third whisky but Kong stopped him.

‘Drinking cannot help you to solve the problem. Maybe you can do it in another way.’

‘What way?’ Mr Lee asked immediately.

‘Maybe you can give some money to the feng shui lo and ask him to tell your mother that the operation can be done this month if she puts a bonsai in the bedroom or something like that… Easy.’

‘I’ve tried actually. But it didn’t work. I promised to give him thirty thousand dollars if he could say something like this with mum. You know what, he said that “I won’t do this, it will shorten my life. But if you give me a hundred thousand, maybe I can help you then.” He really thought that I am a shui yu⁴ . So I refused him.’

‘You’re right! Lucky you didn’t give him the money, I’m sure he would ask for more next time! If this way doesn’t work… Oh yes, maybe one of my friends can help you.’ Kong took out a pen and wrote down a telephone number on it. ‘I’ll tell him what to do tonight. You can phone him tomorrow and he will tell you what to do. I think it will work.’ Kong smiled.

‘Kong, what do you plan to do?’ Mr Lee was puzzled.

‘I won’t tell you yet. Sing, I have to go now. Oh, I forgot to tell you. I will go to Portugal tomorrow, maybe I will never come back. But I will phone you later to see whether my plan works. See you Sing. Have a good sleep tonight!’ Kong waved goodbye and went out of the bar.

***

        Two weeks later, the Siamese twins were successfully separated in Shanghai. Although there was a little blood loss during the surgery, the boys were recovering quickly. Mr Lee was very happy, so was his mother. She still believed what the feng shui lo said, not Mr Hong but a new consultant, Mr Chen.

‘Sing, Mr Chen said that you should name the babies as “Ga Tim” and “Ga Yu”.’ Fong smiled to her son and said.

‘Yes, mum. They’re good names!’ Mr Lee smiled.

‘Sing, Mr Chen said that you should paint the new babies’ room blue.’

‘Okay, mum, I will just follow what Mr Chen said.’ Mr Lee tittered silently to himself.

Do… do…

Sing pressed the answer key on his mobile. ‘Hello!’

‘Hola Sing! I’m Kong. I’m in Portugal. Like I told you. I just wanted to check if my plan worked?’

Sing hid in a corner and whispered. ‘Yup! Thank you Kong, it did work. Mr Chen is really a good man to work with. Now I know why he is a famous feng shui lo. He’s a good artist, a good businessman and even a good writer. I just gave him some of my mother’s information and some details of events that had happened recently. He acted so convincingly when he told these back to my mum, just as if all these things were from his guessing!

‘What he told my mum was that “Your grandsons are actually two princes in their previous lives. They died in a war, and they had promised to be brothers in their next lives, so they held each other closely in order not to let anybody separate them. But they held each other so close that they became Siamese twins. You should separate them as soon as possible, or else they will hold each other tighter and tighter.” He’s really a good writer, I guess he can write a book about mythology. Anyway, this is why she accepted that we had to do the operation this month.’

‘Sing, aren’t you afraid that Mr Chen will ask you for more and more money?’

‘No. He’s a clever businessman. He knows he doesn’t have a monopoly. If I can ask him to cheat my mum then I can also ask another feng shui lo to cheat her. I promised to give him ten thousand dollars a month. I will tell him what to tell my mum, just like how to name my boys, which colour should be used to paint the rooms etc. My mum listens to him and believes everything he says and my job is to act as an obedient son. I don’t think she will ever know she is actually following my orders.’ Mr Lee laughed loudly.

        ‘Congratulations! Sing, now you have won control of your mother.’

        ‘Yes! Kong, but there’s still one more thing to do.’ Mr Lee lowered his voice. ‘What’s that?’

        ‘My wife, do you have any good ideas about how to get her to listen to me?’

Notes on Cantonese words

1. nai nai: mother-in-law

2. feng shui lo: a kind of Chinese fortune teller

3. ga so: daughter-in-law

4. shui yu: someone who is easily cheated