Siege
Carmel Pak U Secondary School , Tse , Gabrielle – 17
Let night and death on the border of darkness , Launch the thousandth siege of eternity ;
As we plunge whirling down , Heaven beneath ; Into the maelstrom of your limbs .
– Yu Guangzhong , The Double Bed , 1966
1930 , Year Geng Wu .
S omeone was already at the balcony . She was attempting to light a cigarette , but each of her ill-fated matches managed only a brief flare before the wind snuffed them away .
I approached and proffered a lighter . “ Need a light ?”
“ Thank you ,” she said without meeting my eyes ; and she cast away the dead match in her hand impetuously . The tip of her cigarette burned bright sulfur .
“ Couldn ’ t let a girl like you be covered in soot ,” I said . “ What ’ s your name ?” She inhaled a deep breath of smoke and turned aside . “ Shame ,” I said .
I looked down the balcony and saw Shanghai ’ s nighthawks , illuminated by their Mid-Autumn lamps , flickering like the figures on a revolving lantern . Here , and gone ; here , and gone again ... The mahjong players in the adjoining rooms let out a raucous whoop .
She rested her elbows on the mahogany balustrade and gazed listlessly at the full moon . The smoke engulfed her like a shawl .
“ Happy Mid-Autumn Festival ,” I said quietly . Her cigarette had burned out . She drew out another match from her purse languidly ; and this time , it went ablaze .
*
She was there again the next evening , her short hair coiffed into rakish curls that gleamed in the night . I strode towards her with my lighter in hand , and she accepted the gift of fire with an almost pious bow towards the flame .
“ Thanks , Mister ,” she said . Her Shanghainese was low and languorous . “ Sorry I didn ’ t talk much yesterday , I was dying for a smoke . You know how it is , right ?”
“ Of course ,” I replied . I hadn ’ t smoked in years .
She half-raised her cigarette to accede . I leant against the balustrade to watch the women in their silk cheongsams float below like butterflies ; their arms entwined , feet astride , and their cheeks pink with mulled wine .
“ You ’ re not from these parts ,” she said . It was a statement , not a question .