qianqian
10-22-2016, 10:09 AM
John leaned on the sofa in a small TV room. Lying quietly on his side was Kochi, a Boar Hound that was brought back home just a few days before. Only five weeks old, Kochi had already reached 40 pounds. At the moment, he snuggled up against John with a few yips, seeming to understand his master’s mind.
John sat there with a heavy heart. Memory in its details was like a monster blanketed with numerous eyes staring at him. He blamed himself for his mindlessness to have had put him in such an awkward predicament.
John loved Great Dane, probably because Great Dane was originated in Germany and so was John himself. Prior to Kochi, he had another Great Dane called Chico. With his ears straight up, Chico almost reached John’s chest. They were like brothers. What was more, Chico had witnessed the entire development of the relationship between John and Joan: from falling in love to the wedding party.
Joan came from a remote mountain village in China. When the two were love-struck with one another, one day, John mentioned his beloved dog Chico. Joan’s beautiful eyebrows suddenly ruffled.
“What’s wrong?” John asked.
“I’m not a fan of dogs, I’m afraid,” Joan replied with the unexpected explanation.
“Why?”
“I was bitten by a dog once.”
“Oh, it figures,” John relieved. “Don’t worry, Chico will never bite you. Although Great Danes are big and look scary, they are in fact very friendly.” While explaining, John’s hand gently fell over Joan’s shoulder.
“I ate dog meat when I was a kid,” Joan continued on this dog topic.
“What did you say?” John could not believe his ears and his hand slipped off Joan’s shoulder.
“I said, I ate dog meat—why, you don’t believe?” snorted Joan with laughter as she saw an astonished look on John’s face.
John felt at a loss for words. He would rather believe that Joan was simply kidding. But looking at her clear, honest eyes, he knew she was telling the “unfortunate” truth.
But so what, what really mattered was that he was in love with her; everything else was trivial.
Having seemingly sensed out the significance behind that silence, Joan added in an uneasy tone, “Actually, you know, I’ve become a vegetarian afterwards.”
(Original Chinese by qianqian (Minglu Zeng); Translated by Minglu Zeng/Gary Chen)
--- From "The Wonder of Encounters" (available in Amazon)
Also see my previous post The Boy of Mt. Puh (Continue...)
John sat there with a heavy heart. Memory in its details was like a monster blanketed with numerous eyes staring at him. He blamed himself for his mindlessness to have had put him in such an awkward predicament.
John loved Great Dane, probably because Great Dane was originated in Germany and so was John himself. Prior to Kochi, he had another Great Dane called Chico. With his ears straight up, Chico almost reached John’s chest. They were like brothers. What was more, Chico had witnessed the entire development of the relationship between John and Joan: from falling in love to the wedding party.
Joan came from a remote mountain village in China. When the two were love-struck with one another, one day, John mentioned his beloved dog Chico. Joan’s beautiful eyebrows suddenly ruffled.
“What’s wrong?” John asked.
“I’m not a fan of dogs, I’m afraid,” Joan replied with the unexpected explanation.
“Why?”
“I was bitten by a dog once.”
“Oh, it figures,” John relieved. “Don’t worry, Chico will never bite you. Although Great Danes are big and look scary, they are in fact very friendly.” While explaining, John’s hand gently fell over Joan’s shoulder.
“I ate dog meat when I was a kid,” Joan continued on this dog topic.
“What did you say?” John could not believe his ears and his hand slipped off Joan’s shoulder.
“I said, I ate dog meat—why, you don’t believe?” snorted Joan with laughter as she saw an astonished look on John’s face.
John felt at a loss for words. He would rather believe that Joan was simply kidding. But looking at her clear, honest eyes, he knew she was telling the “unfortunate” truth.
But so what, what really mattered was that he was in love with her; everything else was trivial.
Having seemingly sensed out the significance behind that silence, Joan added in an uneasy tone, “Actually, you know, I’ve become a vegetarian afterwards.”
(Original Chinese by qianqian (Minglu Zeng); Translated by Minglu Zeng/Gary Chen)
--- From "The Wonder of Encounters" (available in Amazon)
Also see my previous post The Boy of Mt. Puh (Continue...)