I left my apartment at the worst possible time. There was a moment when I almost took the bus, only I glanced at my phone, knew I had time to walk, and did. But I didn’t pay attention to the skies. The air was thick and wet even before it started raining. Now it’s coming down steadily, and I’m still tired from a long, rare, joyous Friday night, a night when I read poetry and went clubbing for the first time in over a decade, shorn of the self-consciousness of my early twenties. The hangover spilled into Sunday and I spent this morning in bed, dozing and reading. Now I’m on my way to my final session with a local poetry group, a community that welcomed me even as I’m on my way out of this city. I haven’t let myself think about how to say goodbye.
I’m sweaty, and it’s raining harder now, and a mosquito lands on my thumb as I type these notes under my white umbrella. I suddenly recall that this south corner of Da’an Forest Park is where I first met my first friend here. This was two years ago, in September, at the tail end of typhoon season. I was fresh out of quarantine, still in self health management, and my new friend E. and I paced the park, getting drenched and getting to know one another. E. has now left, gone back to Illinois. A year ago I was at Liberty Square with I.K. We stood in the heat among the crowd. We heard speeches, and I partially understood them, and wondered safely about the future. I.K. has left now too, gone home to Penang. And I’m leaving soon, too, back to New York, where we don’t have typhoons but we are getting more and more rainstorms. The summer I left, the subway flooded. I don’t know if the city has a long-term plan.
Here in Taipei it’s raining harder now. My dress clings to my bare legs. I’m not quite near the cafe but there’s no closer bus stop. There’s nothing for it but to walk on.
How to cite: Wang, Laura. “Just Another Day: Laura Wang” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 4 Jun. 2023, chajournal.blog/2023/06/04/laura-wang.
Laura Wang is a writer and teacher based in New York and Taipei.
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