Newsletter (2017-2018) March 2018 Newsletter | Page 14

Till the Sun Turns Black
By Tyler Wong
The starry night was flowing into the daytime
sky. On the horizon at the edge of it the dusking
sun perched low, encircled by multiple layers
of colours. The further from the sun it was, the
deeper the colour was, fading from bright yel-
low to deep blue and eventually to black. Two
of us strolled along the never-ending flat road
which stretched under the dome-shaped sky.
The straight line of the road and the curved line
of the sky intercepted at the far end on the hori-
zon before and after us, stretching beyond the
past and the future.
I didn’t notice.
“I’ve got to go. I’ve got some errands.”
I nodded.
“Okay. Bye.”
I froze in front of the estate building. Although
what I saw was the sun descending and disap-
pearing into the horizon bit by bit, I knew that
it continued to glare unchangingly even if I
couldn’t see it. The person that I had known for a
We didn’t talk. On our way, our footsteps long time became a dark figure, and grew dark-
clomped like a ticking clock. A sound-proof er and smaller every second. The figure didn’t
screen distanced the rumble of the highway. hesitate or stop but entered the building, passing
Moving bicycles brought gusts of wind that the shadowy greenery, and disappeared without
squeezed between us. Despite this, the silence a trace, the same way the sun had disappeared.
was the loudest. Then we went into the under- I stood watching strangers going into and out of
pass lit by old, white fluorescent lamps.
the building until the flow of people reached its
equilibrium. And I walked away.
“Do you have anything to say to me? I’m nearly
home.”
However, I couldn’t help but to look back and,
at that moment, a memory suddenly flashed
I couldn’t answer, eyes unfocused to the front. through my mind. I saw a translucent version of
Normally, we’d chat about everything, but this me standing in front of the building, as I had just
time it was quiet. I became aware of the people seconds ago. The shape of the figure was unde-
walking on our path. Their faces were pale and finable and seamlessly blended with the build-
expressionless in the underpass. We and the peo- ing. I ignored the image––I turned, and contin-
ple around us had never lived at the same pace or ued walking. But I couldn’t help myself. I looked
at the same frequency. Usually when we walked back again. This time, the figure was gone.
side by side, I was at peace. Instead, I felt tired. I
wanted to escape to a peaceful, quiet grassland Then I strode forward.
under the shining sun. The grass would sway
with the wind, and I would lay there, feeling as
if the sun’s warmth was holding me in the blue
sky. Then I would notice the figure beside me,
Tyler majors in English at
and I would slowly fall asleep in the grass.
EdUHK. He established
his own blog, tylerhh-
Darkness greeted us as we left the underpass.
wong.wordpress.com, and
Glimmering lamp posts became the only thing
writes
for the EdUHK Ed-
lighting our path. Tiny flies surrounded the
itorial Board. He enjoys
lamp posts, which gradually became the stron-
writing
for the expansion
gest light source as night began to fall. We could
of human knowledgewith
not see the horizon after that. Still standing in
a cup of chocolate sundae
the midst of the horizon, I experienced streams
at McDonald’s.
of time passing through me, little by little so that
MARCH 2018
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