William and Sisi's relationship was blooming quickly. William now could relate to the old love cliché of life being in colour rather than a black and white photograph. It was brilliant, and he wondered why before, he had never really given girls a second look.
In fact, Sisi had now moved into William's university accomodation. This was because - in a remarkably similar situation to the deeply missed Chichang - her parents refused to fund her higher education, due to its "blatant ludicrousness". They would have much preferred to fly her out to an American university, wherein she could study at a good medicine school and "actually give something back to society at large, as well as using your English skills". (One of Sisi's traits that William particularly adored was their common fluency in English. It was brilliant if they wanted to say private things to one another in a public place.) However, Sisi was something of a stowaway in William's house - if the university landlord found out that he was being ripped off, there would be big trouble.
One day, William wanted to take Sisi to the Museum for the Development of the Modern Pterygoid - a must for all students of ornithology. However, to his massive disappointment, Sisi had come down with a cold that day; and insisted that he go without her, since she wouldn't want to deprive his extra learning, and much less for him to catch the illness too. William agreed, and at ten o' clock in the morning he got the bus into the inner city.
* * * * *
At about six o' clock in the evening, William came home, shivering and feeling ill. It had rained all day, and he had not dressed appropriately for the weather. It seemed he may as well have stayed home and caught Sisi's cold. As he entered through the door, soaked, he put the kettle on and made himself a cup of hot black tea with tapioca. Absentmindedly, he stuck his hands into the steam rising out of the kettle, wondering how good it would be to have a sauna one day. In fact, he could go to Finland with Sisi and they could experience it together... No. Finland was too close to Sweden, a place Chichang would associate with sadness.
After taking his crow-patterned mug of tea to the sofa and sipping it, William eventually fell asleep. It had been a rather exhausting day.
* * * * *
He awoke, forgetting why he had been on the sofa. Then he checked his watch. Quarter to nine! William scolded himself for napping so long - not really a nap, more like a coma. Now he would be up all night. But then he thought he could hear something in the background of the familiar buzz of the fridge. He tuned in his ears more. Yes, definitely something. Someone. He got up, and could now tell it was somebody laughing. Two voices, two people. Still dazed from his snooze, William made his way over to his bedroom.
He opened the door, and there was a man and a woman - in his bed - both naked (granted the duvet covered most of it). It was pretty obvious why they were emitting sounds of pleasure. William himself began to laugh. What a surreal situation! "I'll come back later," he chuckled.
No sooner had he left the room, shut the door and walked back to the kitchen, did he realise something was not quite right about this. He opened the door.
"....the hell?" William gasped.
Now that he had spoken, the couple turned their heads towards him, their faces the picture of horror. William's stomach lurched as he realised it was his girlfriend, Sisi... his girlfriend, and....
"MIKE FUCKING KEVINSON!" William roared. "Get out of my house, now! What are you doing? Who?... What?... Why?..... Just go -" he sank to his knees and pounded the floor, crying and crying.
By the time William had got up - after about five minutes - the only people left in the room were he and Sisi, who was now wearing a dressing gown and sitting on the bed. Mike Kevinson had apparently disappeared silently
"Why, Sisi? Why did you do it? Why did you lie?"
"I'm sorry, William. You're a guy who's been through a lot. I couldn't hurt your feelings like that."
"What, so you get... this guy who I've looked up to, who saved my life, who disappeared on me... and in my own bed? What the hell is wrong with you?" William picked up a stool, and threw it through the window. It smashed, and Sisi cowered.
"Get out. Find your own place to live, you whore."
Tears started rolling down Sisi's face. "You know I've got nowhe-"
"Didn't you hear me? GET OUT!"
Saturday, 27 December 2008
Friday, 19 December 2008
Relationships: Love Is All You Need
Unaware of Mike Kevinson's plight and subsequent lack of power, William had fallen into a slough of despondancy. He mourned Chichang for a long time. The Chinese History with Ornithology lectures were very lonely, and without a homework buddy William began to lose interest. It is all very well to never have a friend; but once you have had one you realise what it truly means to be alone. So it was that at the end of the year, his marks were falling terribly.
The previously welcome break of the summer holidays was tedious for him. He worked on his Japanese, for lack of any other option, even though it was mostly perfect already. He supposed, when in the mood to analyse himself, that studying Japanese reminded him of that shining light, Mike Kevinson. He wondered what Mike Kevinson had meant when he had mentioned his own bereavement. Who had Mike lost? A friend? A colleague? A parent? William could only guess. He had, of course, lost almost everyone he had ever known. And now there seemed to be another Kevinson-shaped vacancy in his life; where was he on holiday now? Bermuda?
William tried to put these futile thoughts from his mind, but only succeeded in making himself more miserable. "If Chichang were here," He said to himself, "He would know what to do."
However, time, as we have seen before, waits for nothing; not even grief. William had to return to that dreaded academy, where Chichang had spent his idle days painting instead of studying.
This year, he expected once again to be the only person on the course; but as fate would have it, there was one other university in the whole of China that held this particular course. And, as fate would have it, there was a girl at that other university who had decided to transfer to William's place. Imagine his surprise when he saw, not an empty lecture hall, but the face of someone who was not Chichang...!
It was most distressing for him; but once he got over his shock he realised that the girl in question was really quite pretty, and became flustered.
It took him a while; but every time his courage failed him he thought of Chichang, and how disappointed he would have been. That made things easier. And then, one day, he decided on a way to ask Sisi (for that was her name) out. He printed off a list of chat-up lines he found online, and learned them by heart.
"Hey, baby." He said to her at last, the words sounding very strange on the tongue of William Xiu, "If you were words on a page... you'd be what they call fine print."
Sisi, of course, burst out laughing; but rather than reject William, she found him quirky, and made up her mind at once to date him. This made William so very happy that for a moment he even forgot that Chichang was dead.
The previously welcome break of the summer holidays was tedious for him. He worked on his Japanese, for lack of any other option, even though it was mostly perfect already. He supposed, when in the mood to analyse himself, that studying Japanese reminded him of that shining light, Mike Kevinson. He wondered what Mike Kevinson had meant when he had mentioned his own bereavement. Who had Mike lost? A friend? A colleague? A parent? William could only guess. He had, of course, lost almost everyone he had ever known. And now there seemed to be another Kevinson-shaped vacancy in his life; where was he on holiday now? Bermuda?
William tried to put these futile thoughts from his mind, but only succeeded in making himself more miserable. "If Chichang were here," He said to himself, "He would know what to do."
However, time, as we have seen before, waits for nothing; not even grief. William had to return to that dreaded academy, where Chichang had spent his idle days painting instead of studying.
This year, he expected once again to be the only person on the course; but as fate would have it, there was one other university in the whole of China that held this particular course. And, as fate would have it, there was a girl at that other university who had decided to transfer to William's place. Imagine his surprise when he saw, not an empty lecture hall, but the face of someone who was not Chichang...!
It was most distressing for him; but once he got over his shock he realised that the girl in question was really quite pretty, and became flustered.
It took him a while; but every time his courage failed him he thought of Chichang, and how disappointed he would have been. That made things easier. And then, one day, he decided on a way to ask Sisi (for that was her name) out. He printed off a list of chat-up lines he found online, and learned them by heart.
"Hey, baby." He said to her at last, the words sounding very strange on the tongue of William Xiu, "If you were words on a page... you'd be what they call fine print."
Sisi, of course, burst out laughing; but rather than reject William, she found him quirky, and made up her mind at once to date him. This made William so very happy that for a moment he even forgot that Chichang was dead.
Thursday, 11 December 2008
Vexation: Suspicious minds
When William next awoke, he could smell soap and plastic dinners. The smell of the ill.
He was in hospital, and this gave him considerably less freedom.
"Good morning, William," whispered a familiar voice. With pain, William mustered up strength to turn his neck, then he saw it was none other than Mike Kevinson.
"W-what? Why are you here? Where have you been?"
"On vacation in Thailand."
"Okay."
"What happened, then? How did you get here?"
"I don't know," said William, sounding somewhat irritated.
"The truth, please?"
"Look, Mike" - William dared to use the first name of his interrogator - "can't you see that I'm in a fragile state here? My best friend - my only friend at that - has just tragically died. Right next to me! I was there! It could have been me! It... it... it should have been me!" With that, William burst into tears, and vigorously pulled shut the curtain that went around his bed.
Mike Kevinson felt rather remorseful that he had approached this delicate matter so bluntly; for he himself knew bereavement well. From behind the curtain, he said, "I'm really sorry, William. Just tell me everything you know when you're ready, please." Then he walked off to the hospital canteen, to pursue a pretty nurse he had a-spied that morning.
* * *
A couple of days later, back at the police headquarters, Mike Kevinson was sitting in his office smoking a cigar just imported from Cuba by his high school classmate Esteban Fernandez, whilst playing tetris. Suddenly, he got a phonecall.
"Hello, Inspector Mike Kevinson speaking," he tried to sound as professional as possible whilst he lowered the volume on his computer, in order to mask the bleeps from the tetris game, and thus his procrastination.
"Kevinson, have you found out about William Xiu's involvement in that car accident?"
"Yes, I have. The boy says that he was talking about their plans to go into the city later that night, and that Chichang simply got distracted. He also mentioned some.... dark birds, that had congregated in the middle of the road."
"That's all? Sounds pretty legit to me."
"I'm not so sure. I can't fight the feeling that he is trying to hide something."
"Get over here, Kevinson." The chief constable put the phone down.
No sooner had Mike Kevinson reached the chief's office, than he realised he was going to have to do a lot of justification of himself.
"Now, I want to know exactly what it is that you've got against William. He has a flawless personal record, he's a quiet guy... look at this picture, he wouldn't hit a fly. Why is a man of your calibre being so asinine?" The chief referred to a internet news article photo of a grinning William, after having won a district chess championship.
"You seem to be forgetting, sir, that it is often the quiet ones," argued Mike Kevinson, looking at the photo doubtfully. "Even if William did not have malicious intentions, he could still be affected by concussion, or even a mild case of amnesia. I'm just not entirely convinced he's telling the whole truth."
A knock on the door. "Coffee!" said the jovial fat policeman - the same that had examined the case of Albert the bully's death with Mike Kevinson.
"Thanks!" said Mike with a nod.
"So... what's going on here?" the stout policeman asked.
"William Xiu. You know, the one who - "
"Oh yeah. The chief here was telling me about the new William case right now. He said he reckons you -" The chief's facial expression shot darts at him. "I mean.... man, can't you leave the poor boy alone?"
"Not everyone in this world is a fluffy cherub, you know," retorted Mike Kevinson, getting frustrated.
"That's enough," announced the chief, standing up. "I've simply had enough of your suspicions, Inspector Kevinson. You are mad. That is what I said. And do you know what else I'm going to say? You're suspended for six months. That's right. Now leave my office, leave this building, and take your cigars with you."
He was in hospital, and this gave him considerably less freedom.
"Good morning, William," whispered a familiar voice. With pain, William mustered up strength to turn his neck, then he saw it was none other than Mike Kevinson.
"W-what? Why are you here? Where have you been?"
"On vacation in Thailand."
"Okay."
"What happened, then? How did you get here?"
"I don't know," said William, sounding somewhat irritated.
"The truth, please?"
"Look, Mike" - William dared to use the first name of his interrogator - "can't you see that I'm in a fragile state here? My best friend - my only friend at that - has just tragically died. Right next to me! I was there! It could have been me! It... it... it should have been me!" With that, William burst into tears, and vigorously pulled shut the curtain that went around his bed.
Mike Kevinson felt rather remorseful that he had approached this delicate matter so bluntly; for he himself knew bereavement well. From behind the curtain, he said, "I'm really sorry, William. Just tell me everything you know when you're ready, please." Then he walked off to the hospital canteen, to pursue a pretty nurse he had a-spied that morning.
* * *
A couple of days later, back at the police headquarters, Mike Kevinson was sitting in his office smoking a cigar just imported from Cuba by his high school classmate Esteban Fernandez, whilst playing tetris. Suddenly, he got a phonecall.
"Hello, Inspector Mike Kevinson speaking," he tried to sound as professional as possible whilst he lowered the volume on his computer, in order to mask the bleeps from the tetris game, and thus his procrastination.
"Kevinson, have you found out about William Xiu's involvement in that car accident?"
"Yes, I have. The boy says that he was talking about their plans to go into the city later that night, and that Chichang simply got distracted. He also mentioned some.... dark birds, that had congregated in the middle of the road."
"That's all? Sounds pretty legit to me."
"I'm not so sure. I can't fight the feeling that he is trying to hide something."
"Get over here, Kevinson." The chief constable put the phone down.
No sooner had Mike Kevinson reached the chief's office, than he realised he was going to have to do a lot of justification of himself.
"Now, I want to know exactly what it is that you've got against William. He has a flawless personal record, he's a quiet guy... look at this picture, he wouldn't hit a fly. Why is a man of your calibre being so asinine?" The chief referred to a internet news article photo of a grinning William, after having won a district chess championship.
"You seem to be forgetting, sir, that it is often the quiet ones," argued Mike Kevinson, looking at the photo doubtfully. "Even if William did not have malicious intentions, he could still be affected by concussion, or even a mild case of amnesia. I'm just not entirely convinced he's telling the whole truth."
A knock on the door. "Coffee!" said the jovial fat policeman - the same that had examined the case of Albert the bully's death with Mike Kevinson.
"Thanks!" said Mike with a nod.
"So... what's going on here?" the stout policeman asked.
"William Xiu. You know, the one who - "
"Oh yeah. The chief here was telling me about the new William case right now. He said he reckons you -" The chief's facial expression shot darts at him. "I mean.... man, can't you leave the poor boy alone?"
"Not everyone in this world is a fluffy cherub, you know," retorted Mike Kevinson, getting frustrated.
"That's enough," announced the chief, standing up. "I've simply had enough of your suspicions, Inspector Kevinson. You are mad. That is what I said. And do you know what else I'm going to say? You're suspended for six months. That's right. Now leave my office, leave this building, and take your cigars with you."
Saturday, 6 December 2008
Crash: A Terrible Accident
William was certainly delighted with the way his life was going. Not only were his studies going extremely well (and it was already halfway through the year!) , but he had a great friend in Chichang, a good place to live, and lots to occupy his time. This, he thought, was really the way to live. Now he finally knew what he had been missing for all those years, as the other children enjoyed time together instead of studying.
Chichang really was a brilliant artist. One day he promised to paint William's portrait, and William agreed immediately. He had to sit for it for hours, because Chichang liked to paint from life instead of photographs, but in the end it was worth it. The portrait, when it was finished, was magnificent. Chichang portrayed William as a scholar from ancient China (he used their course textbook for inspiration), in traditional robes, with a bird perching on his shoulder and reading what he was writing on a scroll. The likeness was alarming.
William was so pleased that he hung it on his dorm room wall. Things were going great; until one day, Chichang appeared a little more pre-occupied than usual. He asked William if he would like to go for a ride in his car, since it was quite new, and William agreed, thinking it would be nice to see a bit of what was going on outside the university.
They set off very shortly, not needing to take much with them. As they went along, they started to chat about random things, and Chichang seemed to ease up a bit more.
"Do you think I'll ever be a famous artist, William?" He asked whimsically.
William glanced over at him. "Yeah, of course. All you have to do is sell a painting and that's it, everyone will want to buy your stuff when they see it."
"Hmm, I wish I was as optimistic as you." Chichang replied doubtfully. "I'd just really like to achieve my dreams, and I don't know if I can."
"Of course you can!" William mock-punched him on the shoulder (a habit he had picked up from Chichang himself). "You just have to believe in yourself. Isn't that what you're always saying to me?"
Chichang chuckled a bit. "Yes, I suppose you're right. As always."
"I'm glad you know it." William grinned. "So, what are we going to do this weekend?"
"I was thinking we should maybe go to a bar in town? We hardly ever do, and I've heard there's a really great new electro band playing there. They're called Future Artists, I'm sure you'll love them."
"Really?" Now it was William's turn to be doubtful, unfamiliar as he was with the modern music scene. "Well... I'll take your word for it. You know more about these things than I - Chichang - look out!!"
The reason for this outburst was that, as Chichang was looking at William, he had not noticed the flock of birds that had settled onto the road. It was near to the edge of the town, next to a grassy park, and they were searching for grain. Chichang slammed on the breaks, but it was too late; they hit at least three birds on the way through the flock, which had been disguising a large puddle of water just beyond. The puddle in turn was hiding a pothole in the road, and it was these three combined elements that resulted in the car spinning around and over. It landed heavily, upside-down, one wheel still spinning long after it had come to a rest.
Dazed and confused by the impact, William stirred slowly, feeling a few shallow cuts on his face from the shattered windscreen. He tugged at his seat belt, and it came off easily, landing him on what had been the roof of the car. He looked back at Chichang, and tried to pull on his sleeve, but Chichang made no reply. William noticed that there was blood on Chichang's temple, and a little trickle that had come from his mouth. Horrified, William checked for a pulse, but could not find one. He was too shocked even to cry. His whole body ached from his own injuries, and he was dizzy from flipping over, and everything seemed very strange and distressing. With a slight whimper, William fainted, and that was all he knew for a long time.
Chichang really was a brilliant artist. One day he promised to paint William's portrait, and William agreed immediately. He had to sit for it for hours, because Chichang liked to paint from life instead of photographs, but in the end it was worth it. The portrait, when it was finished, was magnificent. Chichang portrayed William as a scholar from ancient China (he used their course textbook for inspiration), in traditional robes, with a bird perching on his shoulder and reading what he was writing on a scroll. The likeness was alarming.
William was so pleased that he hung it on his dorm room wall. Things were going great; until one day, Chichang appeared a little more pre-occupied than usual. He asked William if he would like to go for a ride in his car, since it was quite new, and William agreed, thinking it would be nice to see a bit of what was going on outside the university.
They set off very shortly, not needing to take much with them. As they went along, they started to chat about random things, and Chichang seemed to ease up a bit more.
"Do you think I'll ever be a famous artist, William?" He asked whimsically.
William glanced over at him. "Yeah, of course. All you have to do is sell a painting and that's it, everyone will want to buy your stuff when they see it."
"Hmm, I wish I was as optimistic as you." Chichang replied doubtfully. "I'd just really like to achieve my dreams, and I don't know if I can."
"Of course you can!" William mock-punched him on the shoulder (a habit he had picked up from Chichang himself). "You just have to believe in yourself. Isn't that what you're always saying to me?"
Chichang chuckled a bit. "Yes, I suppose you're right. As always."
"I'm glad you know it." William grinned. "So, what are we going to do this weekend?"
"I was thinking we should maybe go to a bar in town? We hardly ever do, and I've heard there's a really great new electro band playing there. They're called Future Artists, I'm sure you'll love them."
"Really?" Now it was William's turn to be doubtful, unfamiliar as he was with the modern music scene. "Well... I'll take your word for it. You know more about these things than I - Chichang - look out!!"
The reason for this outburst was that, as Chichang was looking at William, he had not noticed the flock of birds that had settled onto the road. It was near to the edge of the town, next to a grassy park, and they were searching for grain. Chichang slammed on the breaks, but it was too late; they hit at least three birds on the way through the flock, which had been disguising a large puddle of water just beyond. The puddle in turn was hiding a pothole in the road, and it was these three combined elements that resulted in the car spinning around and over. It landed heavily, upside-down, one wheel still spinning long after it had come to a rest.
Dazed and confused by the impact, William stirred slowly, feeling a few shallow cuts on his face from the shattered windscreen. He tugged at his seat belt, and it came off easily, landing him on what had been the roof of the car. He looked back at Chichang, and tried to pull on his sleeve, but Chichang made no reply. William noticed that there was blood on Chichang's temple, and a little trickle that had come from his mouth. Horrified, William checked for a pulse, but could not find one. He was too shocked even to cry. His whole body ached from his own injuries, and he was dizzy from flipping over, and everything seemed very strange and distressing. With a slight whimper, William fainted, and that was all he knew for a long time.
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