Dialogues in Paradise by Can Xue

Author:Can Xue [Xue, Can]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780810108318
Amazon: 0810108313
Publisher: Northwestern University Press
Published: 1989-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

The

Date

Today he had a date with me. He is the same type of person as I, the type I have created in my imagination. In recent years all kinds of people have made dates with me. They have all belonged to the type I have created in my imagination. Most often, I didn’t go for the date in person. Instead, I had the rendezvous in my mind. But occasionally I went for the appointment, and brought back waxed-paper souvenirs. My bookcase is full of those colorful little things. I sit here gazing at them and all of a sudden can’t hold back a chuckle. My husband always jabs at these trinkets with a specially made whisk broom pretending to clean up.

He invited me to go to a deserted island at three PM Then he added that I could refuse because it was not at all necessary. In fact, it might be too bad if I went.

I considered, and decided to go because it was not at all necessary not to go. It might be worse if I didn’t. I had souvenirs on my mind when I made the decision.

The weather in the afternoon was not very promising, a little bit gloomy. A man stood at the other side of the street with a broken mirror, reflecting sunbeams on my wall which danced and circled daz- zlingly. I put on a rat-gray trenchcoat and stepped out. I glanced around, dashed to the street, and sneaked into a taxi. Before I could open my mouth, the driver sped me to the island.

He was not there. The sun fell at a slant on the dry grass A mud-colored locust whooshed into the sky, then fell into the grass. I’d been taken in. When the wind blew, tears ran from one eye, a sign of old age. It has been like that for a couple of years, and it is always the left eye.

The taxi was gone. I would have to walk home. I walked and walked. The wilderness was endless. A cold wind gusted, blowing my gray hair upright, patting against my face.

I could not leave the desert island. There was no way out. The glass sun disappeared. An incredible green light shone all around. It came from nowhere. The sky itself was pitch-dark.

I tried hard to remember. I recalled the taxi and its driver of vague appearance. But how could a car traverse the sea? Hadn’t I arrived here directly? Somewhere in the distance I heard the waves and the whistle of steamships. I listened intently; nothing but fantasy was in my mind. My pocket watch was not working. Its works stuck so tightly it groaned and creaked and sweated like a human being, making the spot on my shirt wet through.

In the dim light, I realized he was there. His vague figure had its back toward me, bathed in that fantastic green light.

“Why have you come?” He still had the voice of an April morning, touched with the rasp of a cold.

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