It was 10p.m. She
didn』t know how long she had lain in the same posture, on the bed. Two
hours remained—she looked at the clock on the wall and pulled her
blanket tighter—she felt cold even though she had wrapped a blanket
around her.
She lived alone in an apartment; Alan had found it
for her. She liked what he had arranged for her. He knew her very
well. (They had known each other since they were five years old.) And
she was her fiancée; they would get married the day after.
Silence reigned in the room. She held her blanket
tightly. How cold it was! She could hardly imagine how such a slim
body dared to drop itself into the cold water. The water must be much
colder than her room was.
「You should go to sleep,」 she told herself. Time
was easier to pass through sleeping. But she couldn』t. When she closed
her eyes, she saw Dora; her face was twisted in pain. It was a horrible
nightmare, she had it that morning, after receiving Dora』s call.
In her dream, she took a journey to a strange
country. There she met
三毛—a
popular writer who had committed suicide in Taiwan.
三毛looked
as beautiful as her photographs that she had seen before. And they were
like old friends who hadn』t met for a long time, as they went into a
garden. The garden was booming with flowers. There was a small plant,
bright green in color, which was in full bloom. The two women watched
the process of blooming together.
She still remembered every small change in the
plant. Everything was in slow motion: the plant began to sprout, new
leaves began to grow, the point of the leaf began to bud then, and a
small bud was produced. While she was amazed by the mystery of life,
the bud dissolved, and drops of bloods dripped onto the ground! Soon, a
river of blood formed and flowed in front of her. She was scared. She
wanted to leave but she couldn』t move.
「It』s a curse,」 it was
三毛』s
voice, she was still standing beside her. 「Help me!」 When she tried to
ask for 三毛』s
help, she heard a voice from the river. 「Help!」 She saw Dora drowning
in the river of blood, her face was twisted in pain. And she stood on
the bank of the river, witnessed the tragedy taking place. She felt
cold. She felt her hands, her feet, her ears were freezing. Still, she
couldn』t move. She thought she had died—her arms, her feet, her body no
longer belonged to her. She woke up after a long time, then. It』s a
curse, she knew.
They had made a promise before. She promised to
die with Dora on the same day! Now that Dora had gone, she might follow
her. But it』s not fair! She made the commitment during a fit of
depression. She thought Alan had left at that moment, she was
abandoned, and Dora did love her very much. She had no choice at that
moment but Dora. What was more, she was straight, she still loved
Alan—Dora knew it! But now Dora had killed herself and was asking her
to fulfill her promise.
Dora liked
三毛,
she did too. They liked
三毛』s
book, they liked Sahara, they admired the love between
三毛and
荷西...
And 荷西
died in the water!
She shivered all over with cold. It』s cold
tonight. Indeed, she hated Dora. How cruel she was! Dora knew she
would get married the next day and would have a new life—a life that
Dora couldn』t give her, a life that she had dreamt for a long time.
That』s why Dora intended to destroy it. Dora threatened to disclose
their relationship! This morning she cheated Dora—she promised to die
after her. How stupid Dora was! She believed her promise and died.
When she received the news from the reporter on TV: an anonymous corpse
was found in K.River, she couldn』t deny her unbearable delight. She had
fulfilled their promise.
She looked again at the clock; everything would be
all right twenty minutes later. But there was something strange in her
room: there were water stains on the floor. She knew it had rained all
day, but she hadn』t gone out since last night. So where did the water
stains come from? All of a sudden, a knife was pushed into her body.
She couldn』t make any response, but stiffened with terror at the
horrific sight. Everything was a blur immediately. She saw a river of
blood, and she was drowning in it.
「I didn』t kill myself—I didn』t feel at ease about
you. Now, I should fulfill my promise to you,」 came Dora』s voice.
She saw Dora pushing the bloody knife into her own
body. The clock struck twelve, then, while the telephone rang. She
knew it was from Alan—he had promised to call her at midnight to tell
her that this would be the day she became his bride.