Miss Ma was polishing her motorbike in the darkness of her subterranean garage when she heard the news. She'd been humming along to some pop song, an old favourite of hers. When the music cut short, she stopped polishing and inclined her head to listen, as a horse would swivel its ear. When the announcement was over she rolled her eyes and blew a thin, derisive stream of air through her lips. Then a smile crept up on her like winter sunlight and she let out a small laugh, a short spurt of breath through her nostrils. She shook her head, which set her ponytail swishing, gently, black shot through with streaks of grey. The Jade Emperor, yes, that was what they called him now. Dinner for Twelve at the Imperial Jade Palace. How crass! Like a tacky gameshow. She hoofed her feet into black leather boots and swung a long leg over the bike, a movement both oafish and graceful in equal measure. Her haunches shone, black and glossy in their tight leather. She kicked and the engine roared into life. She sped off, leaving behind her exhaust fumes and a red taillight like a cigarette butt flicked, still burning, into the night. Ponytail flying in the breeze beneath the roundness of her helmet. It had been a while, she thought, since she'd seen him. The Emperor. Her Emperor.
Xiao Se was sitting on the sidewalk, spitting the husks of sunflower seeds into the gutter. Phissst. Phissst. They shot from his lips with considerable precision and a hiss. Phissst. A thin pink tongue slipped out to lick the salt from his thin lips, set on a slim sallow face. His eyes slanted downwards sullenly, at his shoelaces. He began to roll himself a cigarette, slender fingers moving deftly, sharp tongue jutting out once more to lick the flimsy paper. The smoke soon snaked from his nostrils into the evening air. He sighed and stood up, in a sinuous movement which someone of his stature seldom seems capable of. A long thin body. And a long, thin face. Flicked the cigarette butt into the gutter and dropped his skateboard to the ground with a cacophonous clatter. He stepped on and, pushing off with his other foot, swerved away. Walking was for everyone else. This was how he would travel, always - gliding smoothly and swiftly, winding round pedestrians with prowess. A fat man with ruddy cheeks burst out of an alleyway, panting. Xiao Se wove around him sharply, so close a shave that he could smell his obstacle's sweat. Relieved, he turned back to the road, where he saw a beautiful woman on a motorbike slowing down for the traffic lights. Perfect. Crouching low on his board, he slipped behind her and, certain she hadn't seen him, tied one end of a rope around the back of her bike. Red, amber, green, and the bike and its strange trailer sped off, the parasite going unnoticed by his host, who dreamed of the look on her old lover's face when she turned up at his doorstep...
No comments:
Post a Comment