[Diary of the Absurd Life in 1997:
All Entries]

TH: Diary of the Absurd Life in 1997, in 28 sections, was written originally in Chinese by Mary Wong and serialised in Ming Pao 明報 in 1997. The pieces, translated into English by Chris Song, are serialised in Cha beginning from Monday 25 September 2023.

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Trapped in Between

22/28

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“Is he still lingering in the living room?” Ten minutes later, Kwong called. “He listened to his Mom and left you.” “What are you talking about?” “Ah, I mean, he’s gone. Where are you?”

We walked up the sloping road in front of the South District buildings, our memories a hazy tableau of the three of us. She spoke in a tone sticky with nostalgia, far removed from the crisp voice she had used when she dashed downstairs. Just moments ago, she exaggeratedly repeated “good, good, good” on the phone, a discord between her words and her inner turmoil. Her boss urgently called her regarding some business matter. Anything to get under Ming’s skin seemed worth a small sacrifice. Their relationship, she thought, was like an ice cream cone dropped in water and retrieved. Even if topped with her favourite rum raisin, something was lacking. She muses on rum-raisin ice cream, a metaphor suggesting their troubles could still be mended. But why call me to be part of this? I, the third wheel, squandered an evening for their drama.

“Enough talk,” said the boss. “Mr Lau is a renowned fashion designer in Hong Kong and also my nephew. I’ve done business with his father for over a decade. He has designed two dresses, and instead of professional models, he wants someone with star quality. I immediately thought of you. So, will it be the five stars in red or the white sun in blue?” “How about a sunset over Lok Ma Chau or a shepherd boy pointing towards an apricot village?” I mumbled incongruously. “Miss Sheung Kwun, what did you say? Are you also interested in trying on the dresses?” the boss asked.

“Let’s wait for Mr Lau to design men’s clothing,” I replied with a playful smile. “Miss Sheung Kwun, you do have a sense of humour,” the boss answered, though I suspected he’d prefer to say I had a keen self-awareness. “I’m too plump for modelling, and I don’t have any political stance,” Kwong interjected, employing as her excuse something she’d usually avoid.

Two flowing dresses were brought in by attendants, who stood behind them, hidden from view, making the garments look as if they had materialised from the shadows. In the looming darkness of this grand house, there was a slightly haunting atmosphere.

How to cite: Song, Chris and Mary Wong. “Trapped in Between.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 16 Oct. 2023, chajournal.blog/2023/10/16/trapped.

Mary Shuk-Han Wong 黃淑嫻 (author) is a Hong Kong writer. Her short story collection Surviving Central (中環人; 2013) received the “25th Secondary School Students’ Best Ten Books Award.” Her essay collections include How to Live the Sad Days (悲傷的日子如何過; 2021), Against the Grain (亂世破讀; 2017), and From Kafka (理性的遊藝：從卡夫卡談起; 2015). She has also published an online poetry collection, Cave Whispers (絕地抒情; 2022), in collaboration with Hong Kong composer and photographer. She was the co-producer and literary advisor of two literary documentaries: 1918: Liu Yichang (1918：劉以鬯紀錄片; 2015) and Boundary: Leung Ping Kwan (東西：也斯紀錄片; 2015).

Chris Song (translator) is a poet, editor, and translator from Hong Kong, and is an assistant professor in English and Chinese translation at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He won the “Extraordinary Mention” of the 2013 Nosside International Poetry Prize in Italy and the Award for Young Artist (Literary Arts) of the 2017 Hong Kong Arts Development Awards. In 2019, he won the 5th Haizi Poetry Award. He is a founding councilor of the Hong Kong Poetry Festival Foundation, executive director of the International Poetry Nights in Hong Kong, and editor-in-chief of Voice & Verse Poetry Magazine. He also serves as an advisor to various literary organisations.

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